diff --git a/slither/__main__.py b/slither/__main__.py
index b92e727b7..37d43d1da 100644
--- a/slither/__main__.py
+++ b/slither/__main__.py
@@ -462,7 +462,7 @@ def parse_args(detector_classes, printer_classes):  # pylint: disable=too-many-s
         help="Provide a config file (default: slither.config.json)",
         action="store",
         dest="config_file",
-        default="slither.config.json",
+        default=None,
     )
 
     group_misc.add_argument(
diff --git a/slither/utils/command_line.py b/slither/utils/command_line.py
index e7806f68a..c6ab83bfa 100644
--- a/slither/utils/command_line.py
+++ b/slither/utils/command_line.py
@@ -52,6 +52,15 @@ defaults_flag_in_config = {
 
 
 def read_config_file(args):
+    # No config file was provided as an argument
+    if args.config_file is None:
+        # Check wether the default config file is present
+        if os.path.exists("slither.config.json"):
+            # The default file exists, use it
+            args.config_file = "slither.config.json"
+        else:
+            return
+
     if os.path.isfile(args.config_file):
         try:
             with open(args.config_file, encoding="utf8") as f: