diff --git a/lib/cli/cli.js b/lib/cli/cli.js
index b51c2a1973..8e82983af4 100755
--- a/lib/cli/cli.js
+++ b/lib/cli/cli.js
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ exports.main = (argv = process.argv.slice(2)) => {
 
   Error.stackTraceLimit = Infinity; // configurable via --stack-trace-limit?
 
+  var args = loadOptions(argv);
+
   yargs()
     .scriptName('mocha')
     .command(commands.run)
@@ -60,7 +62,8 @@ exports.main = (argv = process.argv.slice(2)) => {
       `
     )
     .parserConfiguration(YARGS_PARSER_CONFIG)
-    .parse(argv, loadOptions(argv));
+    .config(args)
+    .parse(args._);
 };
 
 // allow direct execution