diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index 0f7c4d36a..767fe1223 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 
 - Fix config file value interpolation for the `diff-file` option `PR #1715`
 - Fix diff-file being created when the option wasn't set `PR #1716`
+- Provide default values for most config options in the `[mirror]` section `PR #1740`
 
 # 6.5.0
 
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/config/exceptions.py b/src/bandersnatch/config/exceptions.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..796c6e827
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/config/exceptions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+"""Exception subclasses for configuration file loading and validation."""
+
+
+class ConfigError(Exception):
+    """Base exception for configuration file exceptions."""
+
+    pass
+
+
+class ConfigFileNotFound(ConfigError):
+    """A specified configuration file is missing or unreadable."""
+
+    pass
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/configuration.py b/src/bandersnatch/configuration.py
index 8e2ca4da5..b05f9c594 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/configuration.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/configuration.py
@@ -2,24 +2,34 @@
 Module containing classes to access the bandersnatch configuration file
 """
 
+import abc
 import configparser
 import importlib.resources
 import logging
+import shutil
+from configparser import ConfigParser
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, NamedTuple
 
 from .config.diff_file_reference import eval_config_reference, has_config_reference
+from .config.exceptions import ConfigError, ConfigFileNotFound
 from .simple import SimpleDigest, SimpleFormat, get_digest_value, get_format_value
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("bandersnatch")
 
+# Filename of example configuration file inside the bandersnatch package
+_example_conf_file = "example.conf"
+
+# Filename of default values file inside the bandersnatch package
+_defaults_conf_file = "defaults.conf"
+
 
 class SetConfigValues(NamedTuple):
     json_save: bool
     root_uri: str
     diff_file_path: str
     diff_append_epoch: bool
-    digest_name: str
+    digest_name: SimpleDigest
     storage_backend_name: str
     cleanup: bool
     release_files_save: bool
@@ -38,70 +48,108 @@ def __call__(cls, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> type:
         return cls._instances[cls]
 
 
-class BandersnatchConfig(metaclass=Singleton):
+# ConfigParser's metaclass is abc.ABCMeta; we can't inherit from ConfigParser and
+# also use the Singleton metaclass unless we "manually" combine the metaclasses.
+class _SingletonABCMeta(Singleton, abc.ABCMeta):
+    pass
+
+
+class BandersnatchConfig(ConfigParser, metaclass=_SingletonABCMeta):
+    """Configuration singleton. Provides global access to loaded configuration
+    options as a ConfigParser subclass. Always reads default mirror options when
+    initialized. If given a file path, that file is loaded second so its values
+    overwrite corresponding defaults.
+    """
+
     # Ensure we only show the deprecations once
     SHOWN_DEPRECATIONS = False
 
-    def __init__(self, config_file: str | None = None) -> None:
-        """
-        Bandersnatch configuration class singleton
-
-        This class is a singleton that parses the configuration once at the
-        start time.
+    def __init__(
+        self, config_file: Path | None = None, load_defaults: bool = True
+    ) -> None:
+        """Create the singleton configuration object. Default configuration values are
+        read from a configuration file inside the package. If a file path is given, that
+        file is read after reading defaults such that it's values overwrite defaults.
 
-        Parameters
-        ==========
-        config_file: str, optional
-            Path to the configuration file to use
+        :param Path | None config_file: non-default configuration file to load, defaults to None
         """
+        super(ConfigParser, self).__init__(delimiters="=")
         self.found_deprecations: list[str] = []
-        self.default_config_file = str(
-            importlib.resources.files("bandersnatch") / "default.conf"
-        )
-        self.config_file = config_file
-        self.load_configuration()
-        # Keeping for future deprecations ... Commenting to save function call etc.
-        # self.check_for_deprecations()
+
+        # ConfigParser.read can process an iterable of file paths, but separate read
+        # calls are used on purpose to add more information to error messages.
+        if load_defaults:
+            self._read_defaults_file()
+        if config_file:
+            self._read_user_config_file(config_file)
+
+    def optionxform(self, optionstr: str) -> str:
+        return optionstr
 
     def check_for_deprecations(self) -> None:
         if self.SHOWN_DEPRECATIONS:
             return
         self.SHOWN_DEPRECATIONS = True
 
-    def load_configuration(self) -> None:
-        """
-        Read the configuration from a configuration file
-        """
-        config_file = self.default_config_file
-        if self.config_file:
-            config_file = self.config_file
-        self.config = configparser.ConfigParser(delimiters="=")
-        # mypy is unhappy with us assigning to a method - (monkeypatching?)
-        self.config.optionxform = lambda option: option  # type: ignore
-        self.config.read(config_file)
+    def _read_defaults_file(self) -> None:
+        try:
+            defaults_file = (
+                importlib.resources.files("bandersnatch") / _defaults_conf_file
+            )
+            self.read(str(defaults_file))
+            logger.debug("Read configuration defaults file.")
+        except OSError as err:
+            raise ConfigError("Error reading configuration defaults: %s", err) from err
+
+    def _read_user_config_file(self, config_file: Path) -> None:
+        # Check for this case explicitly instead of letting it fall under the OSError
+        # case, so we can use the exception type for control flow:
+        if not config_file.exists():
+            raise ConfigFileNotFound(
+                f"Specified configuration file doesn't exist: {config_file}"
+            )
+
+        # Standard configparser, but we want to add context information to an OSError
+        try:
+            self.read(config_file)
+            logger.info("Read configuration file '%s'", config_file)
+        except OSError as err:
+            raise ConfigError(
+                "Error reading configuration file '%s': %s", config_file, err
+            ) from err
+
+
+def create_example_config(dest: Path) -> None:
+    """Create an example configuration file at the specified location.
+
+    :param Path dest: destination path for the configuration file.
+    """
+    example_source = importlib.resources.files("bandersnatch") / _example_conf_file
+    try:
+        shutil.copy(str(example_source), dest)
+    except OSError as err:
+        logger.error("Could not create config file '%s': %s", dest, err)
 
 
 def validate_config_values(  # noqa: C901
     config: configparser.ConfigParser,
 ) -> SetConfigValues:
-    try:
-        json_save = config.getboolean("mirror", "json")
-    except configparser.NoOptionError:
-        logger.error(
-            "Please update your config to include a json "
-            + "boolean in the [mirror] section. Setting to False"
-        )
-        json_save = False
 
-    try:
-        root_uri = config.get("mirror", "root_uri")
-    except configparser.NoOptionError:
-        root_uri = ""
+    json_save = config.getboolean("mirror", "json")
 
-    try:
-        diff_file_path = config.get("mirror", "diff-file")
-    except configparser.NoOptionError:
-        diff_file_path = ""
+    root_uri = config.get("mirror", "root_uri")
+
+    release_files_save = config.getboolean("mirror", "release-files")
+
+    if not release_files_save and not root_uri:
+        root_uri = "https://files.pythonhosted.org"
+        logger.warning(
+            "Please update your config to include a root_uri in the [mirror] "
+            + "section when disabling release file sync. Setting to "
+            + root_uri
+        )
+
+    diff_file_path = config.get("mirror", "diff-file")
 
     if diff_file_path and has_config_reference(diff_file_path):
         try:
@@ -114,27 +162,12 @@ def validate_config_values(  # noqa: C901
             mirror_dir = config.get("mirror", "directory")
             diff_file_path = (Path(mirror_dir) / "mirrored-files").as_posix()
 
-    try:
-        diff_append_epoch = config.getboolean("mirror", "diff-append-epoch")
-    except configparser.NoOptionError:
-        diff_append_epoch = False
+    diff_append_epoch = config.getboolean("mirror", "diff-append-epoch")
 
-    try:
-        logger.debug("Checking config for storage backend...")
-        storage_backend_name = config.get("mirror", "storage-backend")
-        logger.debug("Found storage backend in config!")
-    except configparser.NoOptionError:
-        storage_backend_name = "filesystem"
-        logger.debug(
-            "Failed to find storage backend in config, falling back to default!"
-        )
-    logger.info(f"Selected storage backend: {storage_backend_name}")
+    storage_backend_name = config.get("mirror", "storage-backend")
 
     try:
         digest_name = get_digest_value(config.get("mirror", "digest_name"))
-    except configparser.NoOptionError:
-        digest_name = SimpleDigest.SHA256
-        logger.debug(f"Using digest {digest_name} by default ...")
     except ValueError as e:
         logger.error(
             f"Supplied digest_name {config.get('mirror', 'digest_name')} is "
@@ -144,64 +177,38 @@ def validate_config_values(  # noqa: C901
         raise e
 
     try:
-        cleanup = config.getboolean("mirror", "cleanup")
-    except configparser.NoOptionError:
-        logger.debug(
-            "bandersnatch is not cleaning up non PEP 503 normalized Simple "
-            + "API directories"
-        )
-        cleanup = False
-
-    release_files_save = config.getboolean("mirror", "release-files", fallback=True)
-    if not release_files_save and not root_uri:
-        root_uri = "https://files.pythonhosted.org"
+        simple_format_raw = config.get("mirror", "simple-format")
+        simple_format = get_format_value(simple_format_raw)
+    except ValueError as e:
         logger.error(
-            "Please update your config to include a root_uri in the [mirror] "
-            + "section when disabling release file sync. Setting to "
-            + root_uri
+            f"Supplied simple-format {simple_format_raw} is not supported!"
+            + " Please updare the simple-format in the [mirror] section of"
+            + " your config to a supported value."
         )
+        raise e
 
-    try:
-        logger.debug("Checking config for compare method...")
-        compare_method = config.get("mirror", "compare-method")
-        logger.debug("Found compare method in config!")
-    except configparser.NoOptionError:
-        compare_method = "hash"
-        logger.debug(
-            "Failed to find compare method in config, falling back to default!"
-        )
+    compare_method = config.get("mirror", "compare-method")
     if compare_method not in ("hash", "stat"):
         raise ValueError(
             f"Supplied compare_method {compare_method} is not supported! Please "
             + "update compare_method to one of ('hash', 'stat') in the [mirror] "
             + "section."
         )
-    logger.info(f"Selected compare method: {compare_method}")
 
-    try:
-        logger.debug("Checking config for alternative download mirror...")
-        download_mirror = config.get("mirror", "download-mirror")
-        logger.info(f"Selected alternative download mirror {download_mirror}")
-    except configparser.NoOptionError:
-        download_mirror = ""
-        logger.debug("No alternative download mirror found in config.")
+    download_mirror = config.get("mirror", "download-mirror")
 
     if download_mirror:
-        try:
-            logger.debug(
-                "Checking config for only download from alternative download"
-                + "mirror..."
-            )
-            download_mirror_no_fallback = config.getboolean(
-                "mirror", "download-mirror-no-fallback"
-            )
-            if download_mirror_no_fallback:
-                logger.info("Setting to download from mirror without fallback")
-            else:
-                logger.debug("Setting to fallback to original if download mirror fails")
-        except configparser.NoOptionError:
-            download_mirror_no_fallback = False
-            logger.debug("No download mirror fallback setting found in config.")
+
+        logger.debug(
+            "Checking config for only download from alternative download" + "mirror..."
+        )
+        download_mirror_no_fallback = config.getboolean(
+            "mirror", "download-mirror-no-fallback"
+        )
+        if download_mirror_no_fallback:
+            logger.info("Setting to download from mirror without fallback")
+        else:
+            logger.debug("Setting to fallback to original if download mirror fails")
     else:
         download_mirror_no_fallback = False
         logger.debug(
@@ -209,11 +216,7 @@ def validate_config_values(  # noqa: C901
             + "is not set in config."
         )
 
-    try:
-        simple_format = get_format_value(config.get("mirror", "simple-format"))
-    except configparser.NoOptionError:
-        logger.debug("Storing all Simple Formats by default ...")
-        simple_format = SimpleFormat.ALL
+    cleanup = config.getboolean("mirror", "cleanup", fallback=False)
 
     return SetConfigValues(
         json_save,
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/defaults.conf b/src/bandersnatch/defaults.conf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ca1cbc709
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/defaults.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+; [ Default Config Values ]
+; Bandersnatch loads this file prior to loading the user config file.
+; The values in this file serve as defaults and are overriden if also
+; specified in a user config.
+[mirror]
+storage-backend = filesystem
+
+master = https://pypi.org
+proxy =
+download-mirror =
+download-mirror-no-fallback = false
+
+json = false
+release-files = true
+hash-index = false
+simple-format = ALL
+compare-method = hash
+digest_name = sha256
+keep-index-versions = 0
+cleanup = false
+
+stop-on-error = false
+timeout = 10
+global-timeout = 1800
+workers = 3
+verifiers = 3
+
+; dynamic default: this URI used if `release-files = false`
+; root_uri = https://files.pythonhosted.org
+root_uri =
+diff-file =
+diff-append-epoch = false
+
+log-config =
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/default.conf b/src/bandersnatch/example.conf
similarity index 100%
rename from src/bandersnatch/default.conf
rename to src/bandersnatch/example.conf
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/filter.py b/src/bandersnatch/filter.py
index d78735825..33d72df03 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/filter.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/filter.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ class Filter:
     deprecated_name: str = ""
 
     def __init__(self, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
-        self.configuration = BandersnatchConfig().config
+        self.configuration = BandersnatchConfig()
         if (
             "plugins" not in self.configuration
             or "enabled" not in self.configuration["plugins"]
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ def __init__(self, load_all: bool = False) -> None:
         """
         Loads and stores all of specified filters from the config file
         """
-        self.config = BandersnatchConfig().config
+        self.config = BandersnatchConfig()
         self.loaded_filter_plugins: dict[str, list["Filter"]] = defaultdict(list)
         self.enabled_plugins = self._load_enabled()
         if load_all:
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/main.py b/src/bandersnatch/main.py
index 92a0386e8..5b165699c 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/main.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/main.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 import bandersnatch.master
 import bandersnatch.mirror
 import bandersnatch.verify
+from bandersnatch.config.exceptions import ConfigError, ConfigFileNotFound
 from bandersnatch.storage import storage_backend_plugins
 
 # See if we have uvloop and use if so
@@ -202,23 +203,22 @@ def main(loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop | None = None) -> int:
 
     # Prepare default config file if needed.
     config_path = Path(args.config)
-    if not config_path.exists():
+    try:
+        logger.info("Reading configuration file '%s'", config_path)
+        config = bandersnatch.configuration.BandersnatchConfig(config_path)
+    except ConfigFileNotFound:
         logger.warning(f"Config file '{args.config}' missing, creating default config.")
         logger.warning("Please review the config file, then run 'bandersnatch' again.")
-
-        default_config_path = Path(__file__).parent / "default.conf"
-        try:
-            shutil.copy(default_config_path, args.config)
-        except OSError as e:
-            logger.error(f"Could not create config file: {e}")
+        bandersnatch.configuration.create_example_config(config_path)
         return 1
-
-    config = bandersnatch.configuration.BandersnatchConfig(
-        config_file=args.config
-    ).config
-
-    if config.has_option("mirror", "log-config"):
-        logging.config.fileConfig(str(Path(config.get("mirror", "log-config"))))
+    except ConfigError as err:
+        logger.error("Unable to load configuration: %s", err)
+        logger.debug("Error details:", exc_info=err)
+        return 2
+
+    user_log_config = config.get("mirror", "log-config", fallback=None)
+    if user_log_config:
+        logging.config.fileConfig(Path(user_log_config))
 
     if loop:
         loop.set_debug(args.debug)
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/storage.py b/src/bandersnatch/storage.py
index d51665782..5f0709afc 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/storage.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/storage.py
@@ -63,11 +63,9 @@ def __init__(
     ) -> None:
         self.flock_path: PATH_TYPES = ".lock"
         if config is not None:
-            if isinstance(config, BandersnatchConfig):
-                config = config.config
             self.configuration = config
         else:
-            self.configuration = BandersnatchConfig().config
+            self.configuration = BandersnatchConfig()
         try:
             storage_backend = self.configuration["mirror"]["storage-backend"]
         except (KeyError, TypeError):
@@ -342,7 +340,7 @@ def load_storage_plugins(
     """
     global loaded_storage_plugins
     if config is None:
-        config = BandersnatchConfig().config
+        config = BandersnatchConfig()
     if not enabled_plugin:
         try:
             enabled_plugin = config["mirror"]["storage-backend"]
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/tests/mock_config.py b/src/bandersnatch/tests/mock_config.py
index b9830aecb..0db5c707b 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/tests/mock_config.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/tests/mock_config.py
@@ -3,13 +3,18 @@
 
 def mock_config(contents: str, filename: str = "test.conf") -> BandersnatchConfig:
     """
-    Creates a config file with contents and loads them into a
-    BandersnatchConfig instance.
+    Creates a config file with contents and loads them into a BandersnatchConfig instance.
+    Because BandersnatchConfig is a singleton, it needs to be cleared before reading any
+    new configuration so the configuration from different tests aren't re-used.
     """
-    with open(filename, "w") as fd:
-        fd.write(contents)
-
-    instance = BandersnatchConfig()
-    instance.config_file = filename
-    instance.load_configuration()
+    # If this is the first time BandersnatchConfig was initialized during a test run,
+    # skip loading defaults in init b/c we're going to do that explicitly instead.
+    instance = BandersnatchConfig(load_defaults=False)
+    # If this *isn't* the first time BandersnatchConfig was initialized, then we've
+    # got to clear any previously loaded configuration from the singleton.
+    instance.clear()
+    # explicitly load defaults here
+    instance._read_defaults_file()
+    # load specified config content
+    instance.read_string(contents)
     return instance
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/tests/plugins/test_storage_plugin_s3.py b/src/bandersnatch/tests/plugins/test_storage_plugin_s3.py
index a7c91741c..17c20fb6f 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/tests/plugins/test_storage_plugin_s3.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/tests/plugins/test_storage_plugin_s3.py
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ def test_scandir(s3_mock: S3Path) -> None:
 
 
 def test_plugin_init(s3_mock: S3Path) -> None:
-    config_loader = mock_config(
+    config = mock_config(
         """
 [mirror]
 directory = /tmp/pypi
@@ -168,14 +168,14 @@ def test_plugin_init(s3_mock: S3Path) -> None:
 signature_version = s3v4
 """
     )
-    backend = s3.S3Storage(config=config_loader.config)
+    backend = s3.S3Storage(config=config)
     backend.initialize_plugin()
 
     path = s3.S3Path("/tmp/pypi")
     resource, _ = configuration_map.get_configuration(path)
     assert resource.meta.client.meta.endpoint_url == "http://localhost:9090"
 
-    config_loader = mock_config(
+    config = mock_config(
         """
 [mirror]
 directory = /tmp/pypi
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ def test_plugin_init(s3_mock: S3Path) -> None:
 endpoint_url = http://localhost:9090
 """
     )
-    backend = s3.S3Storage(config=config_loader.config)
+    backend = s3.S3Storage(config=config)
     backend.initialize_plugin()
 
     path = s3.S3Path("/tmp/pypi")
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ def test_plugin_init(s3_mock: S3Path) -> None:
 
 
 def test_plugin_init_with_boto3_configs(s3_mock: S3Path) -> None:
-    config_loader = mock_config(
+    config = mock_config(
         """
 [mirror]
 directory = /tmp/pypi
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ def test_plugin_init_with_boto3_configs(s3_mock: S3Path) -> None:
 config_param_ServerSideEncryption = AES256
 """
     )
-    backend = s3.S3Storage(config=config_loader.config)
+    backend = s3.S3Storage(config=config)
     backend.initialize_plugin()
 
     assert backend.configuration_parameters["ServerSideEncryption"] == "AES256"
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/tests/plugins/test_storage_plugins.py b/src/bandersnatch/tests/plugins/test_storage_plugins.py
index e8f8ed3b3..a383d242c 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/tests/plugins/test_storage_plugins.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/tests/plugins/test_storage_plugins.py
@@ -622,7 +622,7 @@ def test_plugin_type(self) -> None:
         self.assertTrue(self.plugin.PATH_BACKEND is self.path_backends[self.backend])
 
     def test_json_paths(self) -> None:
-        config = mock_config(self.config_contents).config
+        config = mock_config(self.config_contents)
         mirror_dir = self.plugin.PATH_BACKEND(config.get("mirror", "directory"))
         packages = {
             "bandersnatch": [
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_configuration.py b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_configuration.py
index 89e628693..900574144 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_configuration.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_configuration.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import importlib.resources
 import os
 import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
 from tempfile import TemporaryDirectory
 from unittest import TestCase
 
@@ -12,7 +13,7 @@
     Singleton,
     validate_config_values,
 )
-from bandersnatch.simple import SimpleFormat
+from bandersnatch.simple import SimpleDigest, SimpleFormat
 
 
 class TestBandersnatchConf(TestCase):
@@ -44,34 +45,43 @@ def test_is_singleton(self) -> None:
         self.assertEqual(id(instance1), id(instance2))
 
     def test_single_config__default__all_sections_present(self) -> None:
-        config_file = str(importlib.resources.files("bandersnatch") / "unittest.conf")
-        instance = BandersnatchConfig(str(config_file))
+        config_file = Path(
+            str(importlib.resources.files("bandersnatch") / "unittest.conf")
+        )
+        instance = BandersnatchConfig(config_file)
         # All default values should at least be present and be the write types
         for section in ["mirror", "plugins", "blocklist"]:
-            self.assertIn(section, instance.config.sections())
+            self.assertIn(section, instance.sections())
 
     def test_single_config__default__mirror__setting_attributes(self) -> None:
         instance = BandersnatchConfig()
-        options = [option for option in instance.config["mirror"]]
-        options.sort()
-        self.assertListEqual(
+        options = {option for option in instance["mirror"]}
+        self.assertSetEqual(
             options,
-            [
+            {
                 "cleanup",
                 "compare-method",
-                "directory",
+                "diff-append-epoch",
+                "diff-file",
+                "digest_name",
+                "download-mirror",
+                "download-mirror-no-fallback",
                 "global-timeout",
                 "hash-index",
                 "json",
+                "keep-index-versions",
+                "log-config",
                 "master",
+                "proxy",
                 "release-files",
+                "root_uri",
                 "simple-format",
                 "stop-on-error",
                 "storage-backend",
                 "timeout",
                 "verifiers",
                 "workers",
-            ],
+            },
         )
 
     def test_single_config__default__mirror__setting__types(self) -> None:
@@ -92,42 +102,34 @@ def test_single_config__default__mirror__setting__types(self) -> None:
             ("compare-method", str),
         ]:
             self.assertIsInstance(
-                option_type(instance.config["mirror"].get(option)), option_type
+                option_type(instance["mirror"].get(option)), option_type
             )
 
     def test_single_config_custom_setting_boolean(self) -> None:
-        with open("test.conf", "w") as testconfig_handle:
-            testconfig_handle.write("[mirror]\nhash-index=false\n")
         instance = BandersnatchConfig()
-        instance.config_file = "test.conf"
-        instance.load_configuration()
-        self.assertFalse(instance.config["mirror"].getboolean("hash-index"))
+        instance.read_string("[mirror]\nhash-index=false\n")
+
+        self.assertFalse(instance["mirror"].getboolean("hash-index"))
 
     def test_single_config_custom_setting_int(self) -> None:
-        with open("test.conf", "w") as testconfig_handle:
-            testconfig_handle.write("[mirror]\ntimeout=999\n")
         instance = BandersnatchConfig()
-        instance.config_file = "test.conf"
-        instance.load_configuration()
-        self.assertEqual(int(instance.config["mirror"]["timeout"]), 999)
+        instance.read_string("[mirror]\ntimeout=999\n")
+
+        self.assertEqual(int(instance["mirror"]["timeout"]), 999)
 
     def test_single_config_custom_setting_str(self) -> None:
-        with open("test.conf", "w") as testconfig_handle:
-            testconfig_handle.write("[mirror]\nmaster=https://foo.bar.baz\n")
         instance = BandersnatchConfig()
-        instance.config_file = "test.conf"
-        instance.load_configuration()
-        self.assertEqual(instance.config["mirror"]["master"], "https://foo.bar.baz")
+        instance.read_string("[mirror]\nmaster=https://foo.bar.baz\n")
+
+        self.assertEqual(instance["mirror"]["master"], "https://foo.bar.baz")
 
     def test_multiple_instances_custom_setting_str(self) -> None:
-        with open("test.conf", "w") as testconfig_handle:
-            testconfig_handle.write("[mirror]\nmaster=https://foo.bar.baz\n")
         instance1 = BandersnatchConfig()
-        instance1.config_file = "test.conf"
-        instance1.load_configuration()
+        instance1.read_string("[mirror]\nmaster=https://foo.bar.baz\n")
 
         instance2 = BandersnatchConfig()
-        self.assertEqual(instance2.config["mirror"]["master"], "https://foo.bar.baz")
+
+        self.assertEqual(instance2["mirror"]["master"], "https://foo.bar.baz")
 
     def test_validate_config_values(self) -> None:
         default_values = SetConfigValues(
@@ -135,7 +137,7 @@ def test_validate_config_values(self) -> None:
             "",
             "",
             False,
-            "sha256",
+            SimpleDigest.SHA256,
             "filesystem",
             False,
             True,
@@ -144,8 +146,7 @@ def test_validate_config_values(self) -> None:
             False,
             SimpleFormat.ALL,
         )
-        no_options_configparser = configparser.ConfigParser()
-        no_options_configparser["mirror"] = {}
+        no_options_configparser = BandersnatchConfig(load_defaults=True)
         self.assertEqual(
             default_values, validate_config_values(no_options_configparser)
         )
@@ -156,7 +157,7 @@ def test_validate_config_values_release_files_false_sets_root_uri(self) -> None:
             "https://files.pythonhosted.org",
             "",
             False,
-            "sha256",
+            SimpleDigest.SHA256,
             "filesystem",
             False,
             False,
@@ -165,8 +166,8 @@ def test_validate_config_values_release_files_false_sets_root_uri(self) -> None:
             False,
             SimpleFormat.ALL,
         )
-        release_files_false_configparser = configparser.ConfigParser()
-        release_files_false_configparser["mirror"] = {"release-files": "false"}
+        release_files_false_configparser = BandersnatchConfig(load_defaults=True)
+        release_files_false_configparser["mirror"].update({"release-files": "false"})
         self.assertEqual(
             default_values, validate_config_values(release_files_false_configparser)
         )
@@ -179,7 +180,7 @@ def test_validate_config_values_download_mirror_false_sets_no_fallback(
             "",
             "",
             False,
-            "sha256",
+            SimpleDigest.SHA256,
             "filesystem",
             False,
             True,
@@ -188,10 +189,12 @@ def test_validate_config_values_download_mirror_false_sets_no_fallback(
             False,
             SimpleFormat.ALL,
         )
-        release_files_false_configparser = configparser.ConfigParser()
-        release_files_false_configparser["mirror"] = {
-            "download-mirror-no-fallback": "true",
-        }
+        release_files_false_configparser = BandersnatchConfig(load_defaults=True)
+        release_files_false_configparser["mirror"].update(
+            {
+                "download-mirror-no-fallback": "true",
+            }
+        )
         self.assertEqual(
             default_values, validate_config_values(release_files_false_configparser)
         )
@@ -247,7 +250,7 @@ def test_validate_config_diff_file_reference(self) -> None:
                 expected=expected,
                 cfg_data=cfg_data,
             ):
-                cfg = configparser.ConfigParser()
+                cfg = BandersnatchConfig(load_defaults=True)
                 cfg.read_dict(cfg_data)
                 config_values = validate_config_values(cfg)
                 self.assertIsInstance(config_values.diff_file_path, str)
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_delete.py b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_delete.py
index f120a4bb3..4a08b07f2 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_delete.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_delete.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 from aiohttp import ClientResponseError
 from pytest import MonkeyPatch
 
+from bandersnatch.configuration import BandersnatchConfig
 from bandersnatch.delete import delete_packages, delete_path, delete_simple_page
 from bandersnatch.master import Master
 from bandersnatch.mirror import BandersnatchMirror
@@ -77,6 +78,7 @@ def _fake_config() -> ConfigParser:
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_delete_path() -> None:
+    BandersnatchConfig().read_dict(_fake_config())
     with TemporaryDirectory() as td:
         td_path = Path(td)
         fake_path = td_path / "unittest-file.tgz"
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_filter.py b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_filter.py
index 4932db05c..87d75d205 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_filter.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_filter.py
@@ -124,11 +124,9 @@ def test__filter_base_clases(self) -> None:
         self.assertFalse(error)
 
     def test_deprecated_keys(self) -> None:
-        with open("test.conf", "w") as f:
-            f.write("[allowlist]\npackages=foo\n[blocklist]\npackages=bar\n")
         instance = BandersnatchConfig()
-        instance.config_file = "test.conf"
-        instance.load_configuration()
+        instance.read_string("[allowlist]\npackages=foo\n[blocklist]\npackages=bar\n")
+
         plugin = Filter()
         assert plugin.allowlist.name == "allowlist"
         assert plugin.blocklist.name == "blocklist"
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_main.py b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_main.py
index 5fc34b340..47fcdd14d 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_main.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_main.py
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ def test_main_reads_custom_config_values(
     sys.argv = ["bandersnatch", "-c", conffile, "mirror"]
     main(asyncio.new_event_loop())
     (log_config, _kwargs) = logging_mock.call_args_list[0]
-    assert log_config == (str(customconfig / "bandersnatch-log.conf"),)
+    assert log_config == ((customconfig / "bandersnatch-log.conf"),)
 
 
 def test_main_throws_exception_on_unsupported_digest_name(
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_mirror.py b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_mirror.py
index 2b1a5d64e..1e4dbffe7 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_mirror.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_mirror.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 import time
 import unittest.mock as mock
 from collections.abc import Awaitable, Callable, Iterator, Mapping
-from configparser import ConfigParser
 from os import sep
 from pathlib import Path
 from tempfile import TemporaryDirectory
@@ -144,9 +143,9 @@ def test_mirror_filter_packages_match(tmpdir: Path) -> None:
     example1
 """
     Singleton._instances = {}
-    with open("test.conf", "w") as testconfig_handle:
-        testconfig_handle.write(test_configuration)
-    BandersnatchConfig("test.conf")
+    test_conf = Path("test.conf")
+    test_conf.write_text(test_configuration)
+    BandersnatchConfig(config_file=test_conf)
     m = BandersnatchMirror(tmpdir, mock.Mock())
     m.packages_to_sync = {"example1": "", "example2": ""}
     m._filter_packages()
@@ -167,9 +166,9 @@ def test_mirror_filter_packages_nomatch_package_with_spec(tmpdir: Path) -> None:
     example3>2.0.0
 """
     Singleton._instances = {}
-    with open("test.conf", "w") as testconfig_handle:
-        testconfig_handle.write(test_configuration)
-    BandersnatchConfig("test.conf")
+    test_conf = Path("test.conf")
+    test_conf.write_text(test_configuration)
+    BandersnatchConfig(config_file=test_conf)
     m = BandersnatchMirror(tmpdir, mock.Mock())
     m.packages_to_sync = {"example1": "", "example3": ""}
     m._filter_packages()
@@ -1332,7 +1331,7 @@ async def test_mirror_subcommand_only_creates_diff_file_if_configured(
 ) -> None:
     # Setup: create a configuration for the 'mirror' subcommand
     # Mirror section only contains required options and omits 'diff-file'
-    config = ConfigParser()
+    config = BandersnatchConfig(load_defaults=True)
     config.read_dict(
         {
             "mirror": {
@@ -1415,7 +1414,7 @@ async def test_mirror_subcommand_diff_file_dir_with_epoch(
 
     # Setup: create configuration for 'mirror' subcommand that includes both
     # `diff-file` and `diff-append-epoch`
-    config = ConfigParser()
+    config = BandersnatchConfig(load_defaults=True)
     config.read_dict(
         {
             "mirror": {
diff --git a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_simple.py b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_simple.py
index 4ac9de7c1..54d2b257d 100644
--- a/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_simple.py
+++ b/src/bandersnatch/tests/test_simple.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 import pytest
 
 from bandersnatch import utils
-from bandersnatch.configuration import validate_config_values
+from bandersnatch.configuration import BandersnatchConfig, validate_config_values
 from bandersnatch.package import Package
 from bandersnatch.simple import (
     InvalidDigestFormat,
@@ -46,8 +46,7 @@ def test_digest_valid() -> None:
 
 
 def test_digest_config_default() -> None:
-    c = ConfigParser()
-    c.add_section("mirror")
+    c = BandersnatchConfig(load_defaults=True)
     config = validate_config_values(c)
     s = SimpleAPI(Storage(), "ALL", [], config.digest_name, False, None)
     assert config.digest_name.upper() in [v.name for v in SimpleDigest]