diff --git a/core/server/config/loader.js b/core/server/config/loader.js
index d14943c0ed..ad7c73ece3 100644
--- a/core/server/config/loader.js
+++ b/core/server/config/loader.js
@@ -12,15 +12,20 @@ var fs      = require('fs'),
     paths   = require('./paths'),
 
     appRoot = paths().appRoot,
-    configexample = paths().configExample,
-    configFile =  process.env.GHOST_CONFIG || paths().config;
+    configExample = paths().configExample,
+    configFile =  process.env.GHOST_CONFIG || paths().config,
+    rejectMessage = 'Unable to load config';
+
+function readConfigFile(envVal) {
+    return require(configFile)[envVal];
+}
 
 function writeConfigFile() {
     var written = when.defer();
 
     /* Check for config file and copy from config.example.js
         if one doesn't exist. After that, start the server. */
-    fs.exists(configexample, function checkTemplate(templateExists) {
+    fs.exists(configExample, function checkTemplate(templateExists) {
         var read,
             write;
 
@@ -29,7 +34,7 @@ function writeConfigFile() {
         }
 
         // Copy config.example.js => config.js
-        read = fs.createReadStream(configexample);
+        read = fs.createReadStream(configExample);
         read.on('error', function (err) {
             /*jslint unparam:true*/
             return errors.logError(new Error('Could not open config.example.js for read.'), appRoot, 'Please check your deployment for config.js or config.example.js.');
@@ -50,14 +55,13 @@ function writeConfigFile() {
 
 function validateConfigEnvironment() {
     var envVal = process.env.NODE_ENV || undefined,
-        rejectMessage = 'Unable to load config',
         hasHostAndPort,
         hasSocket,
         config,
         parsedUrl;
 
     try {
-        config = require(configFile)[envVal];
+        config = readConfigFile(envVal);
     } catch (ignore) {
 
     }
@@ -76,8 +80,13 @@ function validateConfigEnvironment() {
         return when.reject(rejectMessage);
     }
 
+    if (/\/ghost(\/|$)/.test(parsedUrl.pathname)) {
+        errors.logError(new Error('Your site url in config.js cannot contain a subdirectory called ghost.'), config.url, 'Please rename the subdirectory before restarting');
+        return when.reject(rejectMessage);
+    }
+
     // Check that we have database values
-    if (!config.database) {
+    if (!config.database || !config.database.client) {
         errors.logError(new Error('Your database configuration in config.js is invalid.'), JSON.stringify(config.database), 'Please make sure this is a valid Bookshelf database configuration');
         return when.reject(rejectMessage);
     }
diff --git a/core/server/storage/localfilesystem.js b/core/server/storage/localfilesystem.js
index d6efa1675f..53b30810d5 100644
--- a/core/server/storage/localfilesystem.js
+++ b/core/server/storage/localfilesystem.js
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ var _       = require('underscore'),
     path    = require('path'),
     when    = require('when'),
     errors  = require('../errorHandling'),
-    config  = require('../config'),
+    configPaths = require('../config/paths'),
     baseStore   = require('./base'),
 
     localFileStore;
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ localFileStore = _.extend(baseStore, {
     // - returns a promise which ultimately returns the full url to the uploaded image
     'save': function (image) {
         var saved = when.defer(),
-            targetDir = this.getTargetDir(config.paths().imagesRelPath),
+            targetDir = this.getTargetDir(configPaths().imagesRelPath),
             targetFilename;
 
         this.getUniqueFileName(this, image, targetDir).then(function (filename) {
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ localFileStore = _.extend(baseStore, {
         }).then(function () {
             // The src for the image must be in URI format, not a file system path, which in Windows uses \
             // For local file system storage can use relative path so add a slash
-            var fullUrl = (config.paths().subdir + '/' + targetFilename).replace(new RegExp('\\' + path.sep, 'g'), '/');
+            var fullUrl = (configPaths().subdir + '/' + targetFilename).replace(new RegExp('\\' + path.sep, 'g'), '/');
             return saved.resolve(fullUrl);
         }).otherwise(function (e) {
             errors.logError(e);
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ localFileStore = _.extend(baseStore, {
 
     // middleware for serving the files
     'serve': function () {
-        return express['static'](config.paths().imagesPath);
+        return express['static'](configPaths().imagesPath);
     }
 });
 
diff --git a/core/test/unit/config_spec.js b/core/test/unit/config_spec.js
index 606d28da1f..a19b245266 100644
--- a/core/test/unit/config_spec.js
+++ b/core/test/unit/config_spec.js
@@ -1,14 +1,221 @@
 /*globals describe, it, beforeEach, afterEach */
 
-var should  = require('should'),
-    sinon   = require('sinon'),
-    when    = require('when'),
-    path    = require('path'),
+var should         = require('should'),
+    sinon          = require('sinon'),
+    when           = require('when'),
+    path           = require('path'),
+    fs             = require('fs'),
+    _              = require('underscore'),
+    rewire         = require("rewire"),
 
-    config  = require('../../server/config');
+    // Thing we are testing
+    defaultConfig  = require('../../../config.example')[process.env.NODE_ENV],
+    loader         = rewire('../../server/config/loader'),
+    theme          = rewire('../../server/config/theme'),
+    paths          = rewire('../../server/config/paths');
 
 describe('Config', function () {
 
+    describe('Loader', function () {
+        var sandbox,
+            rejectMessage = loader.__get__('rejectMessage'),
+            overrideConfig = function (newConfig) {
+                loader.__set__("readConfigFile",  sandbox.stub().returns(
+                    _.extend({}, defaultConfig, newConfig)
+                ));
+            };
+
+
+
+        beforeEach(function () {
+            sandbox = sinon.sandbox.create();
+        });
+
+        afterEach(function () {
+            loader         = rewire('../../server/config/loader');
+            sandbox.restore();
+
+        });
+
+        it('loads the config file if one exists', function (done) {
+            // the test infrastructure is setup so that there is always config present,
+            // but we want to overwrite the test to actually load config.example.js, so that any local changes
+            // don't break the tests
+            loader.__set__("configFile",  path.join(paths().appRoot, 'config.example.js'));
+
+            loader().then(function (config) {
+                config.url.should.equal(defaultConfig.url);
+                config.database.client.should.equal(defaultConfig.database.client);
+                config.database.connection.should.eql(defaultConfig.database.connection);
+                config.server.host.should.equal(defaultConfig.server.host);
+                config.server.port.should.equal(defaultConfig.server.port);
+
+                done();
+            }).then(null, done);
+        });
+
+        it('creates the config file if one does not exist', function (done) {
+
+            var deferred = when.defer(),
+                // trick loader into thinking that the config file doesn't exist yet
+                existsStub  = sandbox.stub(fs, 'exists', function (file, cb) { return cb(false); }),
+                // create a method which will return a pre-resolved promise
+                resolvedPromise = sandbox.stub().returns(deferred.promise);
+
+            deferred.resolve();
+
+            // ensure that the file creation is a stub, the tests shouldn't really create a file
+            loader.__set__("writeConfigFile",  resolvedPromise);
+            loader.__set__("validateConfigEnvironment",  resolvedPromise);
+
+            loader().then(function () {
+                existsStub.calledOnce.should.be.true;
+                resolvedPromise.calledTwice.should.be.true;
+                done();
+            }).then(null, done);
+        });
+
+        it('accepts valid urls', function (done) {
+            // replace the config file with invalid data
+            overrideConfig({url: 'http://testurl.com'});
+
+            loader().then(function (localConfig) {
+                localConfig.url.should.equal('http://testurl.com');
+
+                // Next test
+                overrideConfig({url: 'https://testurl.com'});
+                return loader();
+            }).then(function (localConfig) {
+                localConfig.url.should.equal('https://testurl.com');
+
+                 // Next test
+                overrideConfig({url: 'http://testurl.com/blog/'});
+                return loader();
+            }).then(function (localConfig) {
+                localConfig.url.should.equal('http://testurl.com/blog/');
+
+                 // Next test
+                overrideConfig({url: 'http://testurl.com/ghostly/'});
+                return loader();
+            }).then(function (localConfig) {
+                localConfig.url.should.equal('http://testurl.com/ghostly/');
+
+                // Next test
+                overrideConfig({url: '//testurl.com'});
+                return loader();
+            }).then(function (localConfig) {
+                localConfig.url.should.equal('//testurl.com');
+
+                done();
+            }).then(null, done);
+        });
+
+        it('rejects invalid urls', function (done) {
+            // replace the config file with invalid data
+            overrideConfig({url: 'notvalid'});
+
+            loader().otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                // Next test
+                overrideConfig({url: 'something.com'});
+                return loader();
+            }).otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                done();
+            }).then(function () {
+                should.fail('no error was thrown when it should have been');
+                done();
+            }).then(done, null);
+        });
+
+        it('does not permit subdirectories named ghost', function (done) {
+            // replace the config file with invalid data
+            overrideConfig({url: 'http://testurl.com/ghost/'});
+
+            loader().otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                 // Next test
+                overrideConfig({url: 'http://testurl.com/ghost/blog/'});
+                return loader();
+            }).otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                // Next test
+                overrideConfig({url: 'http://testurl.com/blog/ghost'});
+                return loader();
+            }).otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                done();
+            }).then(function () {
+                should.fail('no error was thrown when it should have been');
+                done();
+            }).then(done, null);
+        });
+
+        it('requires a database config', function (done) {
+            // replace the config file with invalid data
+            overrideConfig({database: null});
+
+            loader().otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                // Next test
+                overrideConfig({database: {}});
+                return loader();
+            }).otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                done();
+            }).then(function () {
+                should.fail('no error was thrown when it should have been');
+                done();
+            }).then(done, null);
+        });
+
+
+        it('requires a socket or a host and port', function (done) {
+            // replace the config file with invalid data
+            overrideConfig({server: {socket: 'test'}});
+
+            loader().then(function (localConfig) {
+                localConfig.server.socket.should.equal('test');
+
+                  // Next test
+                overrideConfig({server: null});
+                return loader();
+            }).otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                // Next test
+                overrideConfig({server: {host: null}});
+                return loader();
+            }).otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                // Next test
+                overrideConfig({server: {port: null}});
+                return loader();
+            }).otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                // Next test
+                overrideConfig({server: {host: null, port: null}});
+                return loader();
+            }).otherwise(function (error) {
+                error.should.include(rejectMessage);
+
+                done();
+            }).then(function () {
+                should.fail('no error was thrown when it should have been');
+                done();
+            }).then(done, null);
+        });
+    });
+
     describe('Theme', function () {
 
         var sandbox,
@@ -24,13 +231,13 @@ describe('Config', function () {
                 return when({value: 'casper'});
             });
 
-            config.theme.update(settings, 'http://my-ghost-blog.com')
+            theme.update(settings, 'http://my-ghost-blog.com')
                 .then(done)
                 .then(null, done);
         });
 
         afterEach(function (done) {
-            config.theme.update(settings, config().url)
+            theme.update(settings, defaultConfig.url)
                 .then(done)
                 .then(null, done);
 
@@ -38,14 +245,14 @@ describe('Config', function () {
         });
 
         it('should have exactly the right keys', function () {
-            var themeConfig = config.theme();
+            var themeConfig = theme();
 
             // This will fail if there are any extra keys
             themeConfig.should.have.keys('url', 'title', 'description', 'logo', 'cover');
         });
 
         it('should have the correct values for each key', function () {
-            var themeConfig = config.theme();
+            var themeConfig = theme();
 
             // Check values are as we expect
             themeConfig.should.have.property('url', 'http://my-ghost-blog.com');
@@ -67,7 +274,7 @@ describe('Config', function () {
         });
 
         afterEach(function (done) {
-            config.paths.update(config().url)
+            paths.update(defaultConfig.url)
                 .then(done)
                 .then(null, done);
 
@@ -75,7 +282,7 @@ describe('Config', function () {
         });
 
         it('should have exactly the right keys', function () {
-            var pathConfig = config.paths();
+            var pathConfig = paths();
 
             // This will fail if there are any extra keys
             pathConfig.should.have.keys(
@@ -100,7 +307,7 @@ describe('Config', function () {
         });
 
         it('should have the correct values for each key', function () {
-            var pathConfig = config.paths(),
+            var pathConfig = paths(),
                 appRoot = path.resolve(__dirname, '../../../');
 
             pathConfig.should.have.property('appRoot', appRoot);
@@ -108,32 +315,32 @@ describe('Config', function () {
         });
 
         it('should not return a slash for subdir', function (done) {
-            config.paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com').then(function () {
-                config.paths().should.have.property('subdir', '');
+            paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com').then(function () {
+                paths().should.have.property('subdir', '');
 
-                return config.paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com/');
+                return paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com/');
             }).then(function () {
-                config.paths().should.have.property('subdir', '');
+                paths().should.have.property('subdir', '');
 
                 done();
             }).otherwise(done);
         });
 
         it('should handle subdirectories properly', function (done) {
-            config.paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com/blog').then(function () {
-                config.paths().should.have.property('subdir', '/blog');
+            paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com/blog').then(function () {
+                paths().should.have.property('subdir', '/blog');
 
-                return config.paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com/blog/');
+                return paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com/blog/');
             }).then(function () {
-                config.paths().should.have.property('subdir', '/blog');
+                paths().should.have.property('subdir', '/blog');
 
-                return config.paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com/my/blog');
+                return paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com/my/blog');
             }).then(function () {
-                config.paths().should.have.property('subdir', '/my/blog');
+                paths().should.have.property('subdir', '/my/blog');
 
-                return config.paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com/my/blog/');
+                return paths.update('http://my-ghost-blog.com/my/blog/');
             }).then(function () {
-                config.paths().should.have.property('subdir', '/my/blog');
+                paths().should.have.property('subdir', '/my/blog');
 
                 done();
             }).otherwise(done);
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 4944553166..015504973c 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@
         "grunt-update-submodules": "~0.2.0",
         "matchdep": "~0.3.0",
         "mocha": "~1.15.1",
+        "rewire": "~2.0.0",
         "request": "~2.29.0",
         "require-dir": "~0.1.0",
         "should": "~2.1.1",