diff --git a/packages/rstack/src/config.ts b/packages/rstack/src/config.ts
index 81fa02f..ce73030 100644
--- a/packages/rstack/src/config.ts
+++ b/packages/rstack/src/config.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,15 @@ type LoadedRstackConfig = {
   dependencies: string[];
 };
 
+type LoadRstackConfigOptions = {
+  /**
+   * The path to the Rstack config file, can be a relative or absolute path.
+   * If `configFilePath` is not provided, the config path set by the CLI is used.
+   * If neither path is provided, the function will search for the config file in the current working directory.
+   */
+  configFilePath?: string;
+};
+
 type ConfigState = {
   configs: Configs;
   configPath?: string;
@@ -108,8 +117,11 @@ export const define: Define = {
   staged: (config) => setConfig('staged', config),
 };
 
-export const loadRstackConfig = async (): Promise<LoadedRstackConfig> => {
+export const loadRstackConfig = async ({
+  configFilePath,
+}: LoadRstackConfigOptions = {}): Promise<LoadedRstackConfig> => {
   const state = getConfigState();
+  const configPath = configFilePath ?? state.configPath;
   state.configs = {};
 
   try {
@@ -117,8 +129,8 @@ export const loadRstackConfig = async (): Promise<LoadedRstackConfig> => {
       loader: 'native',
       exportName: false,
       fresh: true,
-      ...(state.configPath !== undefined
-        ? { path: state.configPath }
+      ...(configPath !== undefined
+        ? { path: configPath }
         : {
             configFileNames: [
               'rstack.config.ts',
diff --git a/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-config/explicit.config.ts b/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-config/explicit.config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..89e13f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-config/explicit.config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+import { define } from 'rstack';
+
+define.app({});
diff --git a/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-config/index.test.ts b/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-config/index.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aa2d834
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-config/index.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { afterEach, expect, test } from 'rstack/test';
+import { getConfigState, loadRstackConfig } from '../../../src/config.ts';
+
+const state = getConfigState();
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  state.configs = {};
+  delete state.configPath;
+});
+
+test('should reset config state before and after loading', async () => {
+  state.configs = { app: {} };
+  state.configPath = path.join(import.meta.dirname, 'rstack.config.ts');
+
+  await expect(loadRstackConfig()).rejects.toThrow('test config error');
+  expect(state.configs).toEqual({});
+});
+
+test('should prefer an explicit config path over the state config path', async () => {
+  const configFilePath = path.join(import.meta.dirname, 'explicit.config.ts');
+  state.configPath = path.join(import.meta.dirname, 'rstack.config.ts');
+
+  const { configs, filePath } = await loadRstackConfig({ configFilePath });
+
+  expect(configs.app).toEqual({});
+  expect(filePath).toBe(configFilePath);
+});
diff --git a/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-state/rstack.config.ts b/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-config/rstack.config.ts
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/rstack/tests/config/load-state/rstack.config.ts
rename to packages/rstack/tests/config/load-config/rstack.config.ts
diff --git a/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-state/index.test.ts b/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-state/index.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 1f4e34f..0000000
--- a/packages/rstack/tests/config/load-state/index.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
-import path from 'node:path';
-import { expect, test } from 'rstack/test';
-import { getConfigState, loadRstackConfig } from '../../../src/config.ts';
-
-test('should reset config state before and after loading', async () => {
-  const state = getConfigState();
-  state.configs = { app: {} };
-  state.configPath = path.join(import.meta.dirname, 'rstack.config.ts');
-
-  try {
-    await expect(loadRstackConfig()).rejects.toThrow('test config error');
-    expect(state.configs).toEqual({});
-  } finally {
-    state.configs = {};
-    delete state.configPath;
-  }
-});