diff --git a/lib/direnv.ncl b/lib/direnv.ncl
index a80126b9..273f4556 100644
--- a/lib/direnv.ncl
+++ b/lib/direnv.ncl
@@ -8,6 +8,13 @@
         | Bool
         | default
         = true,
+      watch_files
+        | doc m%"
+          Reload the shell when the contents of these files change.
+        "%
+        | Array String
+        | default
+        = []
     },
     files =
       if direnv.enable then
@@ -16,7 +23,7 @@
             if ! has nix_direnv_version || ! nix_direnv_version 2.4.0; then
               source_url "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nix-community/nix-direnv/2.4.0/direnvrc" "sha256-XQzUAvL6pysIJnRJyR7uVpmUSZfc7LSgWQwq/4mBr1U="
             fi
-            nix_direnv_watch_file project.ncl nickel.lock.ncl
+            nix_direnv_watch_file project.ncl nickel.lock.ncl %{std.string.join " " direnv.watch_files}
             source_env_if_exists ".envrc.private"
             use flake
           "%,