diff --git a/task.py b/task.py
index 53cc8ed..9638a05 100644
--- a/task.py
+++ b/task.py
@@ -13,7 +13,10 @@
 def load_config():
     """Load configuration from file."""
     config_path = Path.home() / ".config" / "task-cli" / "config.yaml"
-    # NOTE: This will crash if config doesn't exist - known bug for bounty testing
+    if not config_path.exists():
+        raise FileNotFoundError(
+            f"Config not found at {config_path}. Copy config.yaml.example to this location to get started."
+        )
     with open(config_path) as f:
         return f.read()
 
@@ -35,6 +38,12 @@ def main():
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
+    try:
+        load_config()
+    except FileNotFoundError as e:
+        print(str(e), file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+
     if args.command == "add":
         add_task(args.description)
     elif args.command == "list":
diff --git a/test_task.py b/test_task.py
index ba98e43..34b30ba 100644
--- a/test_task.py
+++ b/test_task.py
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 """Basic tests for task CLI."""
 
-import json
 import pytest
 from pathlib import Path
 from commands.add import add_task, validate_description
 from commands.done import validate_task_id
+from task import load_config
 
 
 def test_validate_description():
@@ -28,3 +28,20 @@ def test_validate_task_id():
 
     with pytest.raises(ValueError):
         validate_task_id(tasks, 99)
+
+
+def test_load_config_missing_file(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """Missing config should raise a friendly FileNotFoundError."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(Path, "home", lambda: tmp_path)
+    with pytest.raises(FileNotFoundError, match="config.yaml.example"):
+        load_config()
+
+
+def test_load_config_success(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """Existing config should be loaded successfully."""
+    monkeypatch.setattr(Path, "home", lambda: tmp_path)
+    config_dir = tmp_path / ".config" / "task-cli"
+    config_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
+    config_file = config_dir / "config.yaml"
+    config_file.write_text("theme: default\n")
+    assert load_config() == "theme: default\n"