diff --git a/javaagent-core/src/main/java/org/hypertrace/agent/core/config/HypertraceConfig.java b/javaagent-core/src/main/java/org/hypertrace/agent/core/config/HypertraceConfig.java
index e1fce9f7c..bb96fe85a 100644
--- a/javaagent-core/src/main/java/org/hypertrace/agent/core/config/HypertraceConfig.java
+++ b/javaagent-core/src/main/java/org/hypertrace/agent/core/config/HypertraceConfig.java
@@ -140,7 +140,8 @@ static AgentConfig load(String filename) throws IOException {
     File configFile = new File(filename);
     if (!configFile.exists() || configFile.isDirectory() || !configFile.canRead()) {
       log.error("Config file {} does not exist", filename);
-      return AgentConfig.newBuilder().build();
+      AgentConfig.Builder configBuilder = AgentConfig.newBuilder();
+      return EnvironmentConfig.applyPropertiesAndEnvVars(applyDefaults(configBuilder)).build();
     }
 
     AgentConfig.Builder configBuilder = AgentConfig.newBuilder();