diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index d0293d3..c46a54e 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@ellipsis/cli",
-  "version": "0.1.2",
+  "version": "0.1.3",
   "description": "Ellipsis agent CLI — drive the Ellipsis cloud from your terminal",
   "license": "MIT",
   "type": "module",
diff --git a/src/commands/run.tsx b/src/commands/run.tsx
index 7657037..72d416c 100644
--- a/src/commands/run.tsx
+++ b/src/commands/run.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import type { Command } from 'commander'
 import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { extname } from 'node:path'
+import { parse as parseYaml } from 'yaml'
 import { ApiClient } from '../lib/api'
 import { requireToken, resolveApiBase, resolveAppBase } from '../lib/config'
 import { formatTs, printJson, printTable, runAction, usdFromMillicents } from '../lib/output'
@@ -38,7 +40,10 @@ export function registerRun(program: Command): void {
     .command('start')
     .description('Start a new agent run (POST /v1/agents/runs)')
     .option('-c, --config <id>', 'start from a saved agent config id')
-    .option('-f, --config-file <path>', 'start from an inline agent config (JSON file)')
+    .option(
+      '-f, --config-file <path>',
+      'start from an inline agent config (.yaml/.yml or .json file)',
+    )
     .option(
       '-t, --template <slug>',
       'start from a maintained run template (e.g. welcome-to-ellipsis)',
@@ -83,7 +88,7 @@ export function registerRun(program: Command): void {
             metadata: opts.metadata,
           }
           if (opts.config) req.config_id = opts.config
-          if (opts.configFile) req.config = readJsonFile(opts.configFile)
+          if (opts.configFile) req.config = readConfigFile(opts.configFile)
           if (opts.template) req.template_id = opts.template
           // A budget is expressed as a config override of limits.run (the server
           // merges it onto the chosen config and re-validates).
@@ -349,12 +354,27 @@ async function printRunUrl(api: ApiClient, runId: string): Promise<void> {
   console.log(`  ${runUrl(resolveAppBase(), me.customer_login, runId)}`)
 }
 
-function readJsonFile(path: string): Record<string, unknown> {
+// Parse an inline agent config from disk, choosing the parser by file
+// extension: .yaml/.yml as YAML, .json as JSON. (YAML is a JSON superset, so
+// unknown extensions fall back to YAML, which still accepts JSON input.)
+export function readConfigFile(path: string): Record<string, unknown> {
+  let text: string
   try {
-    return JSON.parse(readFileSync(path, 'utf8')) as Record<string, unknown>
+    text = readFileSync(path, 'utf8')
   } catch (err) {
     throw new Error(`could not read config file ${path}: ${(err as Error).message}`)
   }
+  const ext = extname(path).toLowerCase()
+  try {
+    const parsed = ext === '.json' ? JSON.parse(text) : parseYaml(text)
+    if (parsed === null || typeof parsed !== 'object' || Array.isArray(parsed)) {
+      throw new Error('config must be a mapping of fields')
+    }
+    return parsed as Record<string, unknown>
+  } catch (err) {
+    const kind = ext === '.json' ? 'JSON' : 'YAML'
+    throw new Error(`could not parse ${kind} config file ${path}: ${(err as Error).message}`)
+  }
 }
 
 function sleep(ms: number): Promise<void> {
diff --git a/src/lib/constants.ts b/src/lib/constants.ts
index 8eade0d..e671385 100644
--- a/src/lib/constants.ts
+++ b/src/lib/constants.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-export const VERSION = '0.1.2'
+export const VERSION = '0.1.3'
 
 // The bare default; env (ELLIPSIS_API_BASE_URL / ELLIPSIS_API_BASE) and the
 // config file take precedence and are layered in resolveApiBase() (config.ts).
diff --git a/test/run.test.ts b/test/run.test.ts
index 2753aa2..aabc217 100644
--- a/test/run.test.ts
+++ b/test/run.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
+import { mkdtempSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
-import { watchRun } from '../src/commands/run'
+import { readConfigFile, watchRun } from '../src/commands/run'
 import type { ApiClient } from '../src/lib/api'
 import type { AgentRun, AgentRunStatus } from '../src/lib/types'
 
@@ -65,3 +68,46 @@ describe('watchRun', () => {
     }
   })
 })
+
+describe('readConfigFile', () => {
+  const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'agent-cfg-'))
+  const write = (name: string, body: string): string => {
+    const path = join(dir, name)
+    writeFileSync(path, body)
+    return path
+  }
+
+  it('parses a .yaml file', () => {
+    const path = write('cfg.yaml', 'name: demo\nlimits:\n  run: 5\n')
+    expect(readConfigFile(path)).toEqual({ name: 'demo', limits: { run: 5 } })
+  })
+
+  it('parses a .yml file', () => {
+    const path = write('cfg.yml', 'name: demo\n')
+    expect(readConfigFile(path)).toEqual({ name: 'demo' })
+  })
+
+  it('parses a .json file', () => {
+    const path = write('cfg.json', '{"name":"demo","limits":{"run":5}}')
+    expect(readConfigFile(path)).toEqual({ name: 'demo', limits: { run: 5 } })
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to YAML for unknown extensions (JSON is valid YAML)', () => {
+    const path = write('cfg.txt', '{"name":"demo"}')
+    expect(readConfigFile(path)).toEqual({ name: 'demo' })
+  })
+
+  it('rejects a JSON file containing invalid JSON', () => {
+    const path = write('bad.json', 'name: demo')
+    expect(() => readConfigFile(path)).toThrow(/could not parse JSON config file/)
+  })
+
+  it('rejects a non-mapping top-level value', () => {
+    const path = write('list.yaml', '- a\n- b\n')
+    expect(() => readConfigFile(path)).toThrow(/could not parse YAML config file/)
+  })
+
+  it('errors clearly when the file is missing', () => {
+    expect(() => readConfigFile(join(dir, 'nope.yaml'))).toThrow(/could not read config file/)
+  })
+})