diff --git a/docs/reference/cli.rst b/docs/reference/cli.rst
index 9ab18f26e..eb4115e54 100644
--- a/docs/reference/cli.rst
+++ b/docs/reference/cli.rst
@@ -304,6 +304,30 @@ fields
 Show the item and album metadata fields available for use in :doc:`query` and
 :doc:`pathformat`. Includes any template fields provided by plugins.
 
+.. _config-cmd:
+
+config
+``````
+::
+
+    beet config [-pd]
+    beet config -e
+
+Show or edit the user configuration. Without any options this command
+prints a YAML representation of the current user configuration. If the
+``--path`` option is given it instead prints the aboslute path to the
+user configuration file. Note that this path may not exist. The
+``--default`` option can be set with or without the ``--path`` option.
+If it is set it also load the default configuration from the beets
+package. Showing the configuration or the paths also works if an
+additional ``--config`` option is given on the command line.
+
+If the ``--edit`` option is given, beets will open the user configuration
+in an editor. If the ``EDITOR`` environment variable is set it uses that
+command to start the editor. Otherwise, beets tries the ``open`` command on
+OSX, the ``xdg-open`` command on Unixes and will try to execute the
+configuration file directly on Windows.
+
 .. _global-flags:
 
 Global Flags
diff --git a/docs/reference/config.rst b/docs/reference/config.rst
index 040db565a..c470eac89 100644
--- a/docs/reference/config.rst
+++ b/docs/reference/config.rst
@@ -3,16 +3,12 @@ Configuration
 
 Beets has an extensive configuration system that lets you customize nearly
 every aspect of its operation. To configure beets, you'll edit a file called
-``config.yaml``. The location of this file depends on your OS:
-
-* On Unix-like OSes, you want ``~/.config/beets/config.yaml``.
-* On Windows, use ``%APPDATA%\beets\config.yaml``. This is usually in a
-  directory like ``C:\Users\You\AppData\Roaming``.
-* On OS X, it is ``~/Library/Application Support/beets/config.yaml``.
-
-It is also possible to customize the location of the configuration file
-and even use multiple layers of configuration. Just have a look at
-`Configuration Location`_.
+``config.yaml``. The ``beets config -p`` shows you the location where
+beets expects its configuration file to be placed. You can start editing
+it right away by running ``beets config -e``.  This will open the
+configuration file in your default text editor. The section
+`Configuration Location`_ explains in depth the possible paths for
+configuration files and how to change them.
 
 The config file uses `YAML`_ syntax. You can use the full power of YAML, but
 most configuration options are simple key/value pairs. This means your config