diff --git a/src/common-principles.md b/src/common-principles.md
index 395b72a959..781643d6b7 100644
--- a/src/common-principles.md
+++ b/src/common-principles.md
@@ -351,6 +351,7 @@ Derivatives can be stored/distributed in two ways:
     MAY be included in the `code/` subdirectory.
     Extra documentation (and relevant images) MAY be included in the `docs/` subdirectory.
     Logs from running the code or other commands MAY be stored under `logs/` subdirectory.
+    Temporary working files MAY be stored under the `scratch/` subdirectory.
 
     Example of a derivative dataset including the raw dataset as source:
 
diff --git a/src/schema/rules/directories.yaml b/src/schema/rules/directories.yaml
index e5415e8c14..59e728d85b 100644
--- a/src/schema/rules/directories.yaml
+++ b/src/schema/rules/directories.yaml
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ study:
       - docs
       - derivatives
       - logs
+      - scratch
       - sourcedata
   code:
     name: code
@@ -40,6 +41,10 @@ study:
     name: logs
     level: optional
     opaque: true
+  scratch:
+    name: scratch
+    level: optional
+    opaque: true
   sourcedata:
     name: sourcedata
     level: optional
diff --git a/src/schema/rules/files/common/core.yaml b/src/schema/rules/files/common/core.yaml
index fe8535d0ce..897923d7c8 100644
--- a/src/schema/rules/files/common/core.yaml
+++ b/src/schema/rules/files/common/core.yaml
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ docs:
 logs:
   level: optional
   path: logs
+scratch:
+  level: optional
+  path: scratch
 sourcedata:
   level: optional
   path: sourcedata