diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index 1447951..23d1537 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ func initConfig() {
 
 	viper.SetDefault("diff.hide", "")
 	viper.SetDefault("layer.show-aggregated-changes", false)
+	viper.SetDefault("filetree.collapse-dir", false)
 
 	viper.AutomaticEnv() // read in environment variables that match
 
diff --git a/filetree/data.go b/filetree/data.go
index bdd8f90..0aa8d6c 100644
--- a/filetree/data.go
+++ b/filetree/data.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"crypto/md5"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 	"io"
 )
 
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ func (data *NodeData) Copy() *NodeData {
 // NewViewInfo creates a default ViewInfo
 func NewViewInfo() (view *ViewInfo) {
 	return &ViewInfo{
-		Collapsed: false,
+		Collapsed: viper.GetBool("filetree.collapse-dir"),
 		Hidden:    false,
 	}
 }