diff --git a/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/Cache.java b/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/Cache.java
index 8d66843..deb170d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/Cache.java
+++ b/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/Cache.java
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ public class Cache
     private static final String heartbeatLink = "https://status.beatrice.wtf/api/push/%apikey%?status=up&msg=OK&ping=";
     private static String heartbeatApiKey = "";
 
+    private final static String execPath = System.getProperty("user.dir");
 
     private static final String botVersion = "0.1.5-slash"; // we should probably find a way to make this consistent with Maven
     private static final String botName = "HidekoBot";
@@ -232,5 +233,6 @@ public class Cache
     public static String getHeartBeatApiKey() {
         return heartbeatApiKey;
     }
+    public static String getExecPath() { return execPath; }
 
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/HidekoBot.java b/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/HidekoBot.java
index f9c6fe0..5e66c4d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/HidekoBot.java
+++ b/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/HidekoBot.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import wtf.beatrice.hidekobot.listeners.SlashCommandListener;
 import wtf.beatrice.hidekobot.runnables.CommandsUpdateTask;
 import wtf.beatrice.hidekobot.runnables.ExpiredMessageTask;
 import wtf.beatrice.hidekobot.runnables.HeartBeatTask;
+import wtf.beatrice.hidekobot.utils.ConfigurationUtil;
 import wtf.beatrice.hidekobot.utils.Logger;
 import wtf.beatrice.hidekobot.utils.SlashCommandUtil;
 
@@ -110,9 +111,16 @@ public class HidekoBot
         jda.getPresence().setStatus(OnlineStatus.ONLINE);
         jda.getPresence().setActivity(Activity.playing("Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA"));
 
+
+        // load configuration
+        String configFilePath = Cache.getExecPath() + File.separator + "config.yml";
+        ConfigurationUtil configurationUtil = new ConfigurationUtil(configFilePath);
+        configurationUtil.initConfig();
+
+
         // connect to database
         logger.log("Connecting to database...");
-        String dbFilePath = System.getProperty("user.dir") + File.separator + "db.sqlite"; // in current directory
+        String dbFilePath = Cache.getExecPath() + File.separator + "db.sqlite"; // in current directory
         DatabaseManager dbManager = new DatabaseManager(dbFilePath);
         if(dbManager.connect() && dbManager.initDb())
         {
diff --git a/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/utils/ConfigurationUtil.java b/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/utils/ConfigurationUtil.java
index 5103f7b..4439132 100644
--- a/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/utils/ConfigurationUtil.java
+++ b/src/main/java/wtf/beatrice/hidekobot/utils/ConfigurationUtil.java
@@ -1,40 +1,120 @@
 package wtf.beatrice.hidekobot.utils;
 
+import org.yaml.snakeyaml.DumperOptions;
 import org.yaml.snakeyaml.Yaml;
+import wtf.beatrice.hidekobot.HidekoBot;
 
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.io.InputStream;
-import java.util.Map;
+import java.io.*;
+import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
 
 public class ConfigurationUtil
 {
+
+    private final Logger logger;
     private final String configFilePath;
 
     public ConfigurationUtil(String configFilePath)
     {
         this.configFilePath = configFilePath;
+        logger = new Logger(getClass());
     }
 
     public void initConfig()
     {
+        // load the YAML file from the archive's resources folder
         Yaml internalConfigYaml = new Yaml();
-        Map<String, Object> internalConfigContents = null;
-
+        LinkedHashMap<String, Object> internalConfigContents = null; // map holding all file entries
         try (InputStream internalConfigStream = getClass()
                 .getClassLoader()
                 .getResourceAsStream("config.yml"))
-        {
-            internalConfigContents = internalConfigYaml.load(internalConfigStream);
-        } catch (IOException e) {
-            e.printStackTrace();
-        }
+        { internalConfigContents = internalConfigYaml.load(internalConfigStream); }
+        catch (IOException e) { logger.log(e.getMessage()); }
 
-        if(internalConfigContents == null) // todo error handling
+        if(internalConfigContents == null)
         {
-
+            logger.log("Error reading internal configuration!");
+            HidekoBot.shutdown();
             return;
         }
 
+        // check if config files exists in filesystem
+        File fsConfigFile = new File(configFilePath);
+        if(!fsConfigFile.exists())
+        {
+            // try to create config file
+            try { fsConfigFile.createNewFile(); }
+            catch (IOException e) {
+                logger.log("Error creating configuration file!");
+                logger.log(e.getMessage());
+                HidekoBot.shutdown();
+                return;
+            }
+        }
+        // load the YAML file from the filesystem
+        Yaml fsConfigYaml = new Yaml();
+        LinkedHashMap<String, Object> fsConfigContents = null; // map holding all file entries
+        try (InputStream fsConfigStream = new FileInputStream(fsConfigFile))
+        { fsConfigContents = fsConfigYaml.load(fsConfigStream); }
+        catch (IOException e) { logger.log(e.getMessage()); }
+
+
+        if(fsConfigContents == null) // if file contents are empty or corrupted...
+        {
+            // "clean" them (this effectively forces a config file reset)
+            fsConfigContents = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+        }
+
+        // check for missing keys
+        boolean missingKeys = false;
+        for(String key : internalConfigContents.keySet())
+        {
+            // if key is missing
+            if(!fsConfigContents.containsKey(key))
+            {
+                // quit and flag it, as we need to complete the file with the missing ones
+                missingKeys = true;
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+
+        // if keys are missing
+        if(missingKeys)
+        {
+            // create a new mixed map that will take existing values from the non-missing keys
+            // and fill everything else with the default values
+            LinkedHashMap<String, Object> filledEntries = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+            for(String key : internalConfigContents.keySet())
+            {
+                if(fsConfigContents.containsKey(key))
+                {
+                    // if the key already exists, copy the original value
+                    filledEntries.put(key, fsConfigContents.get(key));
+                } else {
+                    // else, copy the value from the example config file
+                    filledEntries.put(key, internalConfigContents.get(key));
+                }
+            }
+
+            try {
+                // new writer to actually write the contents to the file
+                PrintWriter missingKeysWriter = new PrintWriter(fsConfigFile);
+
+                // set yaml options to make the output prettier
+                DumperOptions dumperOptions = new DumperOptions();
+                dumperOptions.setIndent(2);
+                dumperOptions.setPrettyFlow(true);
+                dumperOptions.setDefaultFlowStyle(DumperOptions.FlowStyle.BLOCK);
+
+                // create the yaml object and dump the values to filesystem
+                Yaml yaml = new Yaml(dumperOptions);
+                yaml.dump(filledEntries, missingKeysWriter);
+            } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
+                logger.log(e.getMessage());
+                HidekoBot.shutdown();
+                return;
+            }
+
+        }
 
     }
 }