diff --git a/bin/compose b/bin/compose
index 0e3fd97..ded9578 100755
--- a/bin/compose
+++ b/bin/compose
@@ -2010,8 +2010,11 @@ if [ -z "$DISABLE_SYSTEM_CONFIG_FILE" ]; then
 
     ## XXXvlab: should provide YML config opportunities in possible parent dirs ?
     ##  userdir ? and global /etc/compose.yml ?
-    . /etc/compose.conf          || exit 1
-    . /etc/compose.local.conf    || exit 1
+    for cfgfile in /etc/compose.conf /etc/compose.local.conf \
+                   /etc/default/compose /etc/compose/local.conf; do
+        [ -e "$cfgfile" ] || continue
+        . "$cfgfile" || die "Loading config file '$cfgfile' failed."
+    done
 fi
 
 _setup_state_dir