diff --git a/src/aiida/tools/archive/create.py b/src/aiida/tools/archive/create.py
index 94ca88cd4..c4f0671d5 100644
--- a/src/aiida/tools/archive/create.py
+++ b/src/aiida/tools/archive/create.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ The archive is a subset of the provenance graph,
 stored in a single file.
 """
 
+import os
 import shutil
 import tempfile
 from datetime import datetime
@@ -59,6 +60,7 @@ def create_archive(
     compression: int = 6,
     test_run: bool = False,
     backend: Optional[StorageBackend] = None,
+    tmp_dir: Optional[Union[str, Path]] = None,
     **traversal_rules: bool,
 ) -> Path:
     """Export AiiDA data to an archive file.
@@ -139,6 +141,12 @@ def create_archive(
 
     :param backend: the backend to export from. If not specified, the default backend is used.
 
+    :param tmp_dir: Directory to use for temporary files during archive creation.
+        If not specified, a temporary directory will be created in the same directory as the output file
+        with a '.aiida-export-' prefix. This parameter is useful when the output directory has limited
+        space or when you want to use a specific filesystem (e.g., faster storage) for temporary operations.
+        The directory must exist and be writable.
+
     :param traversal_rules: graph traversal rules. See :const:`aiida.common.links.GraphTraversalRules`
         what rule names are toggleable and what the defaults are.
 
@@ -280,10 +288,32 @@ def create_archive(
 
     EXPORT_LOGGER.report(f'Creating archive with:\n{tabulate(count_summary)}')
 
+    # Handle temporary directory configuration
+    tmp_prefix = '.aiida-export-'
+    if tmp_dir is not None:
+        tmp_dir = Path(tmp_dir)
+        if not tmp_dir.exists():
+            EXPORT_LOGGER.warning(f"Specified temporary directory '{tmp_dir}' doesn't exist. Creating it.")
+            tmp_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+        if not tmp_dir.is_dir():
+            msg = f"Specified temporary directory '{tmp_dir}' is not a directory"
+            raise ArchiveExportError(msg)
+        # Check if directory is writable
+        # Taken from: https://stackoverflow.com/a/2113511
+        if not os.access(tmp_dir, os.W_OK | os.X_OK):
+            msg = f"Specified temporary directory '{tmp_dir}' is not writable"
+            raise ArchiveExportError(msg)
+
+    else:
+        # Create temporary directory in the same folder as the output file
+        tmp_dir = filename.parent
+
     # Create and open the archive for writing.
     # We create in a temp dir then move to final place at end,
     # so that the user cannot end up with a half written archive on errors
-    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+    try:
+        tmp_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(dir=tmp_dir, prefix=tmp_prefix) as tmpdir:
             tmp_filename = Path(tmpdir) / 'export.zip'
             with archive_format.open(tmp_filename, mode='x', compression=compression) as writer:
                 # add metadata
@@ -302,7 +332,9 @@ def create_archive(
                     }
                 )
                 # stream entity data to the archive
-            with get_progress_reporter()(desc='Archiving database: ', total=sum(entity_counts.values())) as progress:
+                with get_progress_reporter()(
+                    desc='Archiving database: ', total=sum(entity_counts.values())
+                ) as progress:
                     for etype, ids in entity_ids.items():
                         if etype == EntityTypes.NODE and strip_checkpoints:
 
@@ -359,7 +391,9 @@ def create_archive(
 
                 # stream node repository files to the archive
                 if entity_ids[EntityTypes.NODE]:
-                _stream_repo_files(archive_format.key_format, writer, entity_ids[EntityTypes.NODE], backend, batch_size)
+                    _stream_repo_files(
+                        archive_format.key_format, writer, entity_ids[EntityTypes.NODE], backend, batch_size
+                    )
 
                 EXPORT_LOGGER.report('Finalizing archive creation...')
 
@@ -368,6 +402,16 @@ def create_archive(
 
             filename.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
             shutil.move(tmp_filename, filename)
+    except OSError as e:
+        if e.errno == 28:  # No space left on device
+            msg = (
+                f"Insufficient disk space in temporary directory '{tmp_dir}'. "
+                f'Consider using --tmp-dir to specify a location with more available space.'
+            )
+            raise ArchiveExportError(msg) from e
+
+        msg = f'Failed to create temporary directory: {e}'
+        raise ArchiveExportError(msg) from e
 
     EXPORT_LOGGER.report('Archive created successfully')