diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 15c0a56..4cac6d9 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ Usage: In repo copies, the shared content lives inside `<shared>…</shared>` an
 - Whenever doing a large refactor, track work in `docs/refactor/<title><date>.md`, update it as you go, and delete it when the work is finished.
 - Only create new documentation when the user or local instructions explicitly request it; otherwise, edit the canonical file in place.
 - When you uncover a reproducible tooling or CI issue, record the repro steps and workaround in the designated troubleshooting doc for that repo.
+- Routine test additions don’t require changelog entries; reserve changelog lines for user-visible behavior changes.
 
 ### Troubleshooting & Observability
 - Design workflows so they are observable without constant babysitting: use tmux panes, CI logs, log-tail scripts, MCP/browser helpers, and similar tooling to surface progress.
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 30f19dc..532eeb7 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
 ### CLI
 - Nothing yet.
 
+## [0.6.6] - 2025-11-28
+### CLI
+- Prevented ENOENT crashes when no config file exists anywhere by only passing an explicit `--config`/`MCPORTER_CONFIG` path to the runtime; implicit defaults now fall back cleanly across list/config/daemon flows.
+
 ## [0.6.5] - 2025-11-26
 ### CLI
 - `mcporter call|auth|list help/--help` now print the command-specific usage text instead of attempting to run a server, matching the footer’s “mcporter <command> --help” hint.
diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index 40a13f0..19e49ed 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ export async function runCli(argv: string[]): Promise<void> {
   if (command === 'daemon') {
     await handleDaemonCli(args, {
       configPath: configPathResolved,
+      configExplicit: configResolution.explicit,
       rootDir: rootOverride,
     });
     return;
@@ -124,7 +125,13 @@ export async function runCli(argv: string[]): Promise<void> {
       .map((entry) => entry.name)
   );
   const daemonClient =
-    keepAliveServers.size > 0 ? new DaemonClient({ configPath: configResolution.path, rootDir: rootOverride }) : null;
+    keepAliveServers.size > 0
+      ? new DaemonClient({
+          configPath: configResolution.path,
+          configExplicit: configResolution.explicit,
+          rootDir: rootOverride,
+        })
+      : null;
   const runtime = createKeepAliveRuntime(baseRuntime, { daemonClient, keepAliveServers });
 
   const inference = inferCommandRouting(command, args, runtime.getDefinitions());
diff --git a/src/cli/daemon-command.ts b/src/cli/daemon-command.ts
index 2e24f9f..af77fed 100644
--- a/src/cli/daemon-command.ts
+++ b/src/cli/daemon-command.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ import { createRuntime } from '../runtime.js';
 
 interface DaemonCliOptions {
   readonly configPath: string;
+  // Whether the config path was explicitly provided (flag/env). If false, runtime should
+  // treat config as implicit and allow missing files without throwing ENOENT.
+  readonly configExplicit?: boolean;
   readonly rootDir?: string;
 }
 
@@ -29,6 +32,7 @@ export async function handleDaemonCli(args: string[], options: DaemonCliOptions)
 
   const client = new DaemonClient({
     configPath: options.configPath,
+    configExplicit: options.configExplicit,
     rootDir: options.rootDir,
   });
 
@@ -80,7 +84,7 @@ async function handleDaemonStart(args: string[], options: DaemonCliOptions, clie
   const logging = await resolveDaemonLoggingOptions(args, paths.key);
 
   const runtime = await createRuntime({
-    configPath: options.configPath,
+    configPath: options.configExplicit ? options.configPath : undefined,
     rootDir: options.rootDir,
   });
   const keepAlive = runtime.getDefinitions().filter(isKeepAliveServer);
@@ -95,6 +99,7 @@ async function handleDaemonStart(args: string[], options: DaemonCliOptions, clie
       socketPath,
       metadataPath,
       configPath: options.configPath,
+      configExplicit: options.configExplicit,
       rootDir: options.rootDir,
       logPath: logging.enabled ? logging.logPath : undefined,
       logServers: logging.serverFilter,
@@ -119,6 +124,7 @@ async function handleDaemonStart(args: string[], options: DaemonCliOptions, clie
 
   launchDaemonDetached({
     configPath: options.configPath,
+    configExplicit: options.configExplicit,
     rootDir: options.rootDir,
     metadataPath,
     socketPath,
diff --git a/src/daemon/client.ts b/src/daemon/client.ts
index 7bbc6db..23f2a94 100644
--- a/src/daemon/client.ts
+++ b/src/daemon/client.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import type {
 
 export interface DaemonClientOptions {
   readonly configPath: string;
+  readonly configExplicit?: boolean;
   readonly rootDir?: string;
 }
 
@@ -121,6 +122,7 @@ export class DaemonClient {
       .then(() => {
         launchDaemonDetached({
           configPath: this.options.configPath,
+          configExplicit: this.options.configExplicit,
           rootDir: this.options.rootDir,
           metadataPath: this.metadataPath,
           socketPath: this.socketPath,
diff --git a/src/daemon/host.ts b/src/daemon/host.ts
index 1091af0..010b215 100644
--- a/src/daemon/host.ts
+++ b/src/daemon/host.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ interface DaemonHostOptions {
   readonly socketPath: string;
   readonly metadataPath: string;
   readonly configPath: string;
+  readonly configExplicit?: boolean;
   readonly rootDir?: string;
   readonly logPath?: string;
   readonly logServers?: Set<string>;
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ interface ServerActivity {
 
 export async function runDaemonHost(options: DaemonHostOptions): Promise<void> {
   const runtime = await createRuntime({
-    configPath: options.configPath,
+    configPath: options.configExplicit ? options.configPath : undefined,
     rootDir: options.rootDir,
   });
   const keepAliveDefinitions = runtime.getDefinitions().filter(isKeepAliveServer);
diff --git a/src/daemon/launch.ts b/src/daemon/launch.ts
index 0b4a351..504f54f 100644
--- a/src/daemon/launch.ts
+++ b/src/daemon/launch.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import path from 'node:path';
 
 export interface DaemonLaunchOptions {
   readonly configPath: string;
+  readonly configExplicit?: boolean;
   readonly rootDir?: string;
   readonly socketPath: string;
   readonly metadataPath: string;
@@ -11,11 +12,11 @@ export interface DaemonLaunchOptions {
 
 export function launchDaemonDetached(options: DaemonLaunchOptions): void {
   const cliEntry = resolveCliEntry();
+  const configArgs = options.configExplicit ? ['--config', options.configPath] : [];
   const args = [
     ...process.execArgv,
     cliEntry,
-    '--config',
-    options.configPath,
+    ...configArgs,
     ...(options.rootDir ? ['--root', options.rootDir] : []),
     'daemon',
     'start',
diff --git a/tests/cli-config-fallback.test.ts b/tests/cli-config-fallback.test.ts
index 6cac7a6..ce6cf6b 100644
--- a/tests/cli-config-fallback.test.ts
+++ b/tests/cli-config-fallback.test.ts
@@ -238,4 +238,22 @@ describe('mcporter CLI with completely empty environment (ENOENT regression)', (
     logSpy.mockRestore();
     warnSpy.mockRestore();
   });
+
+  it('daemon start no-ops gracefully with no config files anywhere', async () => {
+    const { runCli } = await cliModulePromise;
+    const logs: string[] = [];
+    const logSpy = vi.spyOn(console, 'log').mockImplementation((value?: unknown) => {
+      if (typeof value === 'string') {
+        logs.push(value);
+      }
+    });
+    const warnSpy = vi.spyOn(console, 'warn').mockImplementation(() => {});
+
+    await expect(runCli(['daemon', 'start'])).resolves.not.toThrow();
+    expect(warnSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(logs.join('\n')).toContain('No MCP servers are configured for keep-alive; daemon not started.');
+
+    logSpy.mockRestore();
+    warnSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
 });
diff --git a/tests/daemon-cli-command.test.ts b/tests/daemon-cli-command.test.ts
index 39cfca9..dae0040 100644
--- a/tests/daemon-cli-command.test.ts
+++ b/tests/daemon-cli-command.test.ts
@@ -83,15 +83,30 @@ describe('daemon CLI restart', () => {
       .mockResolvedValueOnce(null) // waitFor: daemon not ready yet
       .mockResolvedValueOnce({ pid: 420, socketPath: '/tmp/socket', servers: [], logPath: '/tmp/mock-daemon.log' });
 
-    await handleDaemonCli(['restart', '--log'], { configPath: '/tmp/config.json' });
+    await handleDaemonCli(['restart', '--log'], { configPath: '/tmp/config.json', configExplicit: true });
 
     expect(stopMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
     expect(launchDaemonDetachedMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
       configPath: '/tmp/config.json',
+      configExplicit: true,
       rootDir: undefined,
       metadataPath: '/tmp/meta',
       socketPath: '/tmp/socket',
       extraArgs: ['--log-file', '/tmp/mock-daemon.log'],
     });
   });
+
+  it('uses implicit config when no explicit path is provided, avoiding ENOENT', async () => {
+    statusMock
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(null) // restart wait sees daemon already stopped
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce(null) // handleDaemonStart: no existing daemon
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ pid: 321, socketPath: '/tmp/socket', servers: [], logPath: undefined }); // waitFor ready
+
+    await handleDaemonCli(['restart'], { configPath: '/tmp/config.json', configExplicit: false });
+
+    expect(createRuntimeMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      configPath: undefined,
+      rootDir: undefined,
+    });
+  });
 });