diff --git a/metadata-ingestion/src/datahub/cli/ingest_cli.py b/metadata-ingestion/src/datahub/cli/ingest_cli.py
index 115a9b57b1d5d9..2cae9826cff595 100644
--- a/metadata-ingestion/src/datahub/cli/ingest_cli.py
+++ b/metadata-ingestion/src/datahub/cli/ingest_cli.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 import json
 import logging
 import os
-import pathlib
 import sys
 from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Optional
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@ def ingest() -> None:
 @click.option(
     "-c",
     "--config",
-    type=click.Path(exists=True, dir_okay=False),
+    type=click.Path(dir_okay=False),
     help="Config file in .toml or .yaml format.",
     required=True,
 )
@@ -182,12 +181,14 @@ async def run_func_check_upgrade(pipeline: Pipeline) -> None:
     # main function begins
     logger.info("DataHub CLI version: %s", datahub_package.nice_version_name())
 
-    config_file = pathlib.Path(config)
     pipeline_config = load_config_file(
-        config_file, squirrel_original_config=True, squirrel_field="__raw_config"
+        config,
+        squirrel_original_config=True,
+        squirrel_field="__raw_config",
+        allow_stdin=True,
     )
-    raw_pipeline_config = pipeline_config["__raw_config"]
-    pipeline_config = {k: v for k, v in pipeline_config.items() if k != "__raw_config"}
+    raw_pipeline_config = pipeline_config.pop("__raw_config")
+
     if test_source_connection:
         _test_source_connection(report_to, pipeline_config)
 
diff --git a/metadata-ingestion/src/datahub/configuration/config_loader.py b/metadata-ingestion/src/datahub/configuration/config_loader.py
index d94aead3273680..513c15ee444268 100644
--- a/metadata-ingestion/src/datahub/configuration/config_loader.py
+++ b/metadata-ingestion/src/datahub/configuration/config_loader.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import io
 import pathlib
 import re
+import sys
 from typing import Any, Dict, Union
 
 from expandvars import UnboundVariable, expandvars
@@ -54,26 +55,32 @@ def load_config_file(
     config_file: Union[pathlib.Path, str],
     squirrel_original_config: bool = False,
     squirrel_field: str = "__orig_config",
+    allow_stdin: bool = False,
 ) -> dict:
-    if isinstance(config_file, str):
-        config_file = pathlib.Path(config_file)
-    if not config_file.is_file():
-        raise ConfigurationError(f"Cannot open config file {config_file}")
-
     config_mech: ConfigurationMechanism
-    if config_file.suffix in [".yaml", ".yml"]:
+    if allow_stdin and config_file == "-":
+        # If we're reading from stdin, we assume that the input is a YAML file.
         config_mech = YamlConfigurationMechanism()
-    elif config_file.suffix == ".toml":
-        config_mech = TomlConfigurationMechanism()
+        raw_config_file = sys.stdin.read()
     else:
-        raise ConfigurationError(
-            "Only .toml and .yml are supported. Cannot process file type {}".format(
-                config_file.suffix
+        if isinstance(config_file, str):
+            config_file = pathlib.Path(config_file)
+        if not config_file.is_file():
+            raise ConfigurationError(f"Cannot open config file {config_file}")
+
+        if config_file.suffix in {".yaml", ".yml"}:
+            config_mech = YamlConfigurationMechanism()
+        elif config_file.suffix == ".toml":
+            config_mech = TomlConfigurationMechanism()
+        else:
+            raise ConfigurationError(
+                "Only .toml and .yml are supported. Cannot process file type {}".format(
+                    config_file.suffix
+                )
             )
-        )
 
-    with config_file.open() as raw_config_fp:
-        raw_config_file = raw_config_fp.read()
+        raw_config_file = config_file.read_text()
+
     config_fp = io.StringIO(raw_config_file)
     raw_config = config_mech.load_config(config_fp)
     config = resolve_env_variables(raw_config)