diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 7bcfa0e9..318b5c00 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-a12-178-g522bacb1f0+1
\ No newline at end of file
+a12-179-g785bc33192+1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/c-host/src/app.c b/c-host/src/app.c
index 6f2b0cc9..e147a031 100644
--- a/c-host/src/app.c
+++ b/c-host/src/app.c
@@ -268,6 +268,9 @@ int app_main(int argc, char * argv[])
     if (CaptureInterfaces[i]->initOptions)
       CaptureInterfaces[i]->initOptions();
 
+  // try load values from a config file
+  option_load("looking-glass-host.ini");
+
   // parse the command line arguments
   if (!option_parse(argc, argv))
   {