diff --git a/DESIGN_CHOICES.md b/DESIGN_CHOICES.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da90831
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DESIGN_CHOICES.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# Design Choices
+
+## Configuration Persistence
+- **Choice**: Persist `ScholarConfig` to `scholar.json` in the project root.
+- **Rationale**: The CLI `init` command description explicitly mentions initializing `scholar.json`. Saving it in the project root ensures it's easily discoverable and follows standard Node.js practices for local configuration.
+- **Implementation**: Used `node:fs/promises`'s `writeFile` in the `GatewayServer`'s `init_config` request handler. This ensures that the response and event broadcast only happen after a successful write, maintaining consistency.
+
+## Error Handling in WebSocket Requests
+- **Choice**: Use `.then().catch()` for asynchronous file operations within the request handler.
+- **Rationale**: This prevents the server from hanging if an error occurs during file I/O and allows sending a meaningful error response to the client.
diff --git a/src/daemon/gateway/server.ts b/src/daemon/gateway/server.ts
index 518e220..4a2d4d9 100644
--- a/src/daemon/gateway/server.ts
+++ b/src/daemon/gateway/server.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { WebSocketServer, WebSocket } from 'ws';
+import { writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
 import { createResponse, createEvent } from '../../core/protocol.js';
 import type { ProtocolMessage, RequestMessage } from '../../core/protocol.js';
 
@@ -49,11 +50,16 @@ export class GatewayServer {
                 break;
             case 'init_config':
                 console.log('Received config init payload:', request.payload);
-                // Implementation for saving the config logic would go here
-                ws.send(JSON.stringify(createResponse(request.id, true, { status: 'saved' })));
-
-                // Broadcast an event to all connected clients that config changed
-                this.broadcastEvent('config_updated', { version: request.payload?.version || '1.0' });
+                this.saveConfig(request.payload)
+                    .then(() => {
+                        ws.send(JSON.stringify(createResponse(request.id, true, { status: 'saved' })));
+                        // Broadcast an event to all connected clients that config changed
+                        this.broadcastEvent('config_updated', { version: request.payload?.version || '1.0' });
+                    })
+                    .catch((err) => {
+                        console.error('Failed to save config:', err);
+                        ws.send(JSON.stringify(createResponse(request.id, false, undefined, `Failed to save config: ${err.message}`)));
+                    });
                 break;
             default:
                 ws.send(JSON.stringify(createResponse(request.id, false, undefined, 'Unknown command')));
@@ -73,6 +79,12 @@ export class GatewayServer {
     public stop() {
         this.wss.close();
     }
+
+    private async saveConfig(config: any) {
+        const configPath = './scholar.json';
+        await writeFile(configPath, JSON.stringify(config, null, 4), 'utf-8');
+        console.log(`Config saved to ${configPath}`);
+    }
 }
 
 // Support running the daemon directly