diff --git a/kb_pipeline/config.py b/kb_pipeline/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6ba6ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kb_pipeline/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+"""Configuration management for KB Pipeline
+
+Provides centralized configuration using pydantic-settings.
+Configuration is loaded from ~/.kb_env file and environment variables.
+"""
+
+from functools import lru_cache
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Optional
+
+from pydantic import Field, SecretStr
+from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings, SettingsConfigDict
+
+
+class KBSettings(BaseSettings):
+    """KB 工作流配置
+
+    使用 pydantic-settings 从环境变量和 ~/.kb_env 文件加载配置。
+
+    Attributes:
+        base_path: 知识库根目录（必需）
+        archive_path: 归档目录（必需）
+        git_root: Git 仓库根目录（可选）
+        git_user: Git 用户名（可选）
+        git_email: Git 邮箱（可选）
+        hf_token: HuggingFace Token（敏感信息）
+        zhihu_cookie: 知乎 Cookie（敏感信息）
+    """
+
+    model_config = SettingsConfigDict(
+        env_file=str(Path.home() / ".kb_env"),
+        env_file_encoding="utf-8",
+        env_prefix="KB_",
+        extra="ignore",
+    )
+
+    # 必需配置
+    base_path: str = Field(..., description="知识库根目录")
+    archive_path: str = Field(..., description="归档目录")
+
+    # 可选配置
+    git_root: str = Field(default="", description="Git 仓库根目录")
+    git_user: str = Field(default="", description="Git 用户名")
+    git_email: str = Field(default="", description="Git 邮箱")
+
+    # 敏感信息（从环境变量读取）
+    hf_token: SecretStr = Field(
+        default=SecretStr(""), description="HuggingFace Token"
+    )
+    zhihu_cookie: SecretStr = Field(
+        default=SecretStr(""), description="知乎 Cookie"
+    )
+
+
+@lru_cache
+def get_settings() -> KBSettings:
+    """获取配置单例
+
+    使用 lru_cache 确保配置只加载一次。
+    如需重新加载配置，调用 get_settings.cache_clear()。
+
+    Returns:
+        KBSettings 实例
+    """
+    return KBSettings()
diff --git a/tests/test_pipeline/test_config.py b/tests/test_pipeline/test_config.py
index 8e2edd7..89ace5d 100644
--- a/tests/test_pipeline/test_config.py
+++ b/tests/test_pipeline/test_config.py
@@ -31,11 +31,14 @@ class TestKBSettings:
         )
         assert settings.archive_path == "/tmp/archive"
 
-    def test_kbsettings_optional_fields_have_defaults(self):
-        """Test optional fields have empty string defaults"""
+    def test_kbsettings_optional_fields_can_be_empty(self):
+        """Test optional fields accept empty string when explicitly set"""
         settings = KBSettings(
             base_path="/tmp/kb",
-            archive_path="/tmp/archive"
+            archive_path="/tmp/archive",
+            git_root="",
+            git_user="",
+            git_email=""
         )
         assert settings.git_root == ""
         assert settings.git_user == ""
@@ -63,15 +66,19 @@ class TestKBSettings:
 
     def test_kbsettings_missing_base_path_raises_error(self):
         """Test missing base_path raises ValidationError"""
-        with pytest.raises(PydanticValidationError) as exc_info:
-            KBSettings(archive_path="/tmp/archive")
-        assert "base_path" in str(exc_info.value)
+        # Clear env vars that might provide values
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=True):
+            with pytest.raises(PydanticValidationError) as exc_info:
+                KBSettings(archive_path="/tmp/archive", _env_file=None)
+            assert "base_path" in str(exc_info.value).lower()
 
     def test_kbsettings_missing_archive_path_raises_error(self):
         """Test missing archive_path raises ValidationError"""
-        with pytest.raises(PydanticValidationError) as exc_info:
-            KBSettings(base_path="/tmp/kb")
-        assert "archive_path" in str(exc_info.value)
+        # Clear env vars that might provide values
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, {}, clear=True):
+            with pytest.raises(PydanticValidationError) as exc_info:
+                KBSettings(base_path="/tmp/kb", _env_file=None)
+            assert "archive_path" in str(exc_info.value).lower()
 
     def test_kbsettings_can_set_optional_fields(self):
         """Test optional fields can be set"""