diff --git a/docs/USAGE.md b/docs/USAGE.md
index 6e1b607..0cd0646 100644
--- a/docs/USAGE.md
+++ b/docs/USAGE.md
@@ -8,10 +8,26 @@
 -http-headers string   optional headers for config URL: 'Key1:Value1;Key2:Value2'
 -http-timeout int      timeout (seconds) for remote config fetch (default 10)
 -insecure              skip TLS verification for remote config
+-check-config          load and validate the config, then exit without starting the server
 -version               print version and exit
 -help                  print help and exit
 ```
 
+### Validating config
+
+Use `-check-config` to load and validate the configured config (local file or
+remote URL, exactly as normal startup does) without binding the HTTP server. On
+success it prints the number of configured MCP servers and exits `0`; on an
+invalid config it prints an error and exits non-zero.
+
+```bash
+mcp-proxy -config config.json -check-config
+# Config OK: 3 MCP server(s) configured
+```
+
+This is handy for CI, init containers, deployment scripts, and dashboards that
+want to validate a generated config before restarting a live proxy.
+
 ## Endpoints
 
 Given `mcpProxy.baseURL = https://mcp.example.com` and a server key `fetch`:
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index cad5da6..f709f04 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ func main() {
 	expandEnv := flag.Bool("expand-env", true, "expand environment variables in config file")
 	httpHeaders := flag.String("http-headers", "", "optional HTTP headers for config URL, format: 'Key1:Value1;Key2:Value2'")
 	httpTimeout := flag.Int("http-timeout", 10, "HTTP timeout in seconds when fetching config from URL")
+	checkConfig := flag.Bool("check-config", false, "load and validate the config, then exit without starting the server")
 
 	version := flag.Bool("version", false, "print version and exit")
 	help := flag.Bool("help", false, "print help and exit")
@@ -30,6 +31,10 @@ func main() {
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("Failed to load config: %v", err)
 	}
+	if *checkConfig {
+		fmt.Printf("Config OK: %d MCP server(s) configured\n", len(config.McpServers))
+		return
+	}
 	err = startHTTPServer(config)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("Failed to start server: %v", err)