diff --git a/rdmd/rdmd.d b/rdmd/rdmd.d
index 06f46d7..af22c35 100755
--- a/rdmd/rdmd.d
+++ b/rdmd/rdmd.d
@@ -386,7 +386,13 @@ bool inALibrary(string source, string object)
 
 private @property string myOwnTmpDir()
 {
-    auto tmpRoot = userTempDir ? userTempDir : tempDir();
+    import std.file : empty, exists;
+    import std.process : environment;
+
+    string shellTemp = environment.get("TMPDIR");
+    string defaultTemp = !shellTemp.empty && shellTemp.exists ? shellTemp
+                                                              : tempDir();
+    auto tmpRoot = userTempDir ? userTempDir : defaultTemp;
     version (Posix)
     {
         import core.sys.posix.unistd;