diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index ceb0116..5a8d4c2 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -98,11 +98,16 @@ export function normalizeConfig(
 export async function loadConfig(options: {
   explicitPath?: string;
   cwd?: string;
-}): Promise<{ config: McpAuditConfig; path?: string }> {
+} = {}): Promise<{ config: McpAuditConfig; path?: string }> {
   const path =
     options.explicitPath ?? findConfigFile(options.cwd ?? process.cwd());
   if (!path) return { config: DEFAULT_CONFIG };
   const raw = await readFile(resolve(path), "utf8");
-  const parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
+  let parsed: unknown;
+  try {
+    parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw new Error(`Failed to parse config file ${path}: ${(err as Error).message}`);
+  }
   return { config: normalizeConfig(parsed), path };
 }
diff --git a/test/config.test.ts b/test/config.test.ts
index d7f0877..b1b20a2 100644
--- a/test/config.test.ts
+++ b/test/config.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
-import { normalizeConfig, DEFAULT_CONFIG } from "../src/config.js";
+import { normalizeConfig, loadConfig, DEFAULT_CONFIG } from "../src/config.js";
+import { writeFile, rm } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 
 describe("normalizeConfig", () => {
   it("returns defaults for an empty object", () => {
@@ -40,3 +43,18 @@ describe("normalizeConfig", () => {
     expect(overlaid.failOn).toBe("medium");
   });
 });
+
+describe("loadConfig", () => {
+  it("wraps JSON syntax errors with the file path", async () => {
+    const tmpFile = join(tmpdir(), `mcp-audit-test-${Math.random()}.json`);
+    await writeFile(tmpFile, "{ invalid json ", "utf8");
+    try {
+      await loadConfig({ explicitPath: tmpFile });
+      expect.fail("Should have thrown");
+    } catch (err) {
+      expect((err as Error).message).toContain(tmpFile);
+    } finally {
+      await rm(tmpFile, { force: true });
+    }
+  });
+});