diff --git a/cmd/prometheus/main.go b/cmd/prometheus/main.go
index e69e9f2db..d78e1420a 100644
--- a/cmd/prometheus/main.go
+++ b/cmd/prometheus/main.go
@@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ func main() {
 
 	// Throw error for invalid config before starting other components.
 	var cfgFile *config.Config
-	if cfgFile, err = config.LoadFile(cfg.configFile, false, log.NewNopLogger()); err != nil {
+	if cfgFile, err = config.LoadFile(cfg.configFile, agentMode, false, log.NewNopLogger()); err != nil {
 		level.Error(logger).Log("msg", fmt.Sprintf("Error loading config (--config.file=%s)", cfg.configFile), "err", err)
 		os.Exit(2)
 	}
@@ -1162,7 +1162,7 @@ func reloadConfig(filename string, expandExternalLabels bool, enableExemplarStor
 		}
 	}()
 
-	conf, err := config.LoadFile(filename, expandExternalLabels, logger)
+	conf, err := config.LoadFile(filename, agentMode, expandExternalLabels, logger)
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrapf(err, "couldn't load configuration (--config.file=%q)", filename)
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/prometheus/main_test.go b/cmd/prometheus/main_test.go
index 6f9a1d566..6f4d58b94 100644
--- a/cmd/prometheus/main_test.go
+++ b/cmd/prometheus/main_test.go
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ import (
 
 var promPath = os.Args[0]
 var promConfig = filepath.Join("..", "..", "documentation", "examples", "prometheus.yml")
+var agentConfig = filepath.Join("..", "..", "documentation", "examples", "prometheus-agent.yml")
 var promData = filepath.Join(os.TempDir(), "data")
 
 func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
@@ -349,7 +350,7 @@ func getCurrentGaugeValuesFor(t *testing.T, reg prometheus.Gatherer, metricNames
 }
 
 func TestAgentSuccessfulStartup(t *testing.T) {
-	prom := exec.Command(promPath, "-test.main", "--agent", "--config.file="+promConfig)
+	prom := exec.Command(promPath, "-test.main", "--agent", "--config.file="+agentConfig)
 	err := prom.Start()
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
@@ -367,3 +368,23 @@ func TestAgentSuccessfulStartup(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	require.Equal(t, expectedExitStatus, actualExitStatus)
 }
+
+func TestAgentStartupWithInvalidConfig(t *testing.T) {
+	prom := exec.Command(promPath, "-test.main", "--agent", "--config.file="+promConfig)
+	err := prom.Start()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	expectedExitStatus := 2
+	actualExitStatus := 0
+
+	done := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() { done <- prom.Wait() }()
+	select {
+	case err := <-done:
+		t.Logf("prometheus agent should not be running: %v", err)
+		actualExitStatus = prom.ProcessState.ExitCode()
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		prom.Process.Kill()
+	}
+	require.Equal(t, expectedExitStatus, actualExitStatus)
+}
diff --git a/cmd/promtool/main.go b/cmd/promtool/main.go
index 9b436ff71..8763e78b6 100644
--- a/cmd/promtool/main.go
+++ b/cmd/promtool/main.go
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ func main() {
 	).Required().ExistingFiles()
 
 	checkMetricsCmd := checkCmd.Command("metrics", checkMetricsUsage)
+	agentMode := checkConfigCmd.Flag("agent", "Check config file for Prometheus in Agent mode.").Bool()
 
 	queryCmd := app.Command("query", "Run query against a Prometheus server.")
 	queryCmdFmt := queryCmd.Flag("format", "Output format of the query.").Short('o').Default("promql").Enum("promql", "json")
@@ -202,7 +203,7 @@ func main() {
 
 	switch parsedCmd {
 	case checkConfigCmd.FullCommand():
-		os.Exit(CheckConfig(*configFiles...))
+		os.Exit(CheckConfig(*agentMode, *configFiles...))
 
 	case checkWebConfigCmd.FullCommand():
 		os.Exit(CheckWebConfig(*webConfigFiles...))
@@ -258,11 +259,11 @@ func main() {
 }
 
 // CheckConfig validates configuration files.
-func CheckConfig(files ...string) int {
+func CheckConfig(agentMode bool, files ...string) int {
 	failed := false
 
 	for _, f := range files {
-		ruleFiles, err := checkConfig(f)
+		ruleFiles, err := checkConfig(agentMode, f)
 		if err != nil {
 			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "  FAILED:", err)
 			failed = true
@@ -317,10 +318,10 @@ func checkFileExists(fn string) error {
 	return err
 }
 
-func checkConfig(filename string) ([]string, error) {
+func checkConfig(agentMode bool, filename string) ([]string, error) {
 	fmt.Println("Checking", filename)
 
-	cfg, err := config.LoadFile(filename, false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	cfg, err := config.LoadFile(filename, agentMode, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/promtool/main_test.go b/cmd/promtool/main_test.go
index 8ca078cc5..138548fc7 100644
--- a/cmd/promtool/main_test.go
+++ b/cmd/promtool/main_test.go
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ func TestCheckTargetConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	for _, test := range cases {
 		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			_, err := checkConfig("testdata/" + test.file)
+			_, err := checkConfig(false, "testdata/"+test.file)
 			if test.err != "" {
 				require.Equalf(t, test.err, err.Error(), "Expected error %q, got %q", test.err, err.Error())
 				return
diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index dc2ed19a2..9729642ae 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ func Load(s string, expandExternalLabels bool, logger log.Logger) (*Config, erro
 }
 
 // LoadFile parses the given YAML file into a Config.
-func LoadFile(filename string, expandExternalLabels bool, logger log.Logger) (*Config, error) {
+func LoadFile(filename string, agentMode bool, expandExternalLabels bool, logger log.Logger) (*Config, error) {
 	content, err := ioutil.ReadFile(filename)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -108,6 +108,25 @@ func LoadFile(filename string, expandExternalLabels bool, logger log.Logger) (*C
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "parsing YAML file %s", filename)
 	}
+
+	if agentMode {
+		if len(cfg.RemoteWriteConfigs) == 0 {
+			return nil, errors.New("at least one remote_write target must be specified in agent mode")
+		}
+
+		if len(cfg.AlertingConfig.AlertmanagerConfigs) > 0 || len(cfg.AlertingConfig.AlertRelabelConfigs) > 0 {
+			return nil, errors.New("field alerting is not allowed in agent mode")
+		}
+
+		if len(cfg.RuleFiles) > 0 {
+			return nil, errors.New("field rule_files is not allowed in agent mode")
+		}
+
+		if len(cfg.RemoteReadConfigs) > 0 {
+			return nil, errors.New("field remote_read is not allowed in agent mode")
+		}
+	}
+
 	cfg.SetDirectory(filepath.Dir(filename))
 	return cfg, nil
 }
diff --git a/config/config_test.go b/config/config_test.go
index a2efaa676..f26e4f3e6 100644
--- a/config/config_test.go
+++ b/config/config_test.go
@@ -986,7 +986,7 @@ var expectedConf = &Config{
 }
 
 func TestYAMLRoundtrip(t *testing.T) {
-	want, err := LoadFile("testdata/roundtrip.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	want, err := LoadFile("testdata/roundtrip.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	out, err := yaml.Marshal(want)
@@ -999,7 +999,7 @@ func TestYAMLRoundtrip(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestRemoteWriteRetryOnRateLimit(t *testing.T) {
-	want, err := LoadFile("testdata/remote_write_retry_on_rate_limit.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	want, err := LoadFile("testdata/remote_write_retry_on_rate_limit.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	out, err := yaml.Marshal(want)
@@ -1015,16 +1015,16 @@ func TestRemoteWriteRetryOnRateLimit(t *testing.T) {
 func TestLoadConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	// Parse a valid file that sets a global scrape timeout. This tests whether parsing
 	// an overwritten default field in the global config permanently changes the default.
-	_, err := LoadFile("testdata/global_timeout.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	_, err := LoadFile("testdata/global_timeout.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
-	c, err := LoadFile("testdata/conf.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	c, err := LoadFile("testdata/conf.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Equal(t, expectedConf, c)
 }
 
 func TestScrapeIntervalLarger(t *testing.T) {
-	c, err := LoadFile("testdata/scrape_interval_larger.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	c, err := LoadFile("testdata/scrape_interval_larger.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Equal(t, 1, len(c.ScrapeConfigs))
 	for _, sc := range c.ScrapeConfigs {
@@ -1034,7 +1034,7 @@ func TestScrapeIntervalLarger(t *testing.T) {
 
 // YAML marshaling must not reveal authentication credentials.
 func TestElideSecrets(t *testing.T) {
-	c, err := LoadFile("testdata/conf.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	c, err := LoadFile("testdata/conf.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	secretRe := regexp.MustCompile(`\\u003csecret\\u003e|<secret>`)
@@ -1051,31 +1051,31 @@ func TestElideSecrets(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestLoadConfigRuleFilesAbsolutePath(t *testing.T) {
 	// Parse a valid file that sets a rule files with an absolute path
-	c, err := LoadFile(ruleFilesConfigFile, false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	c, err := LoadFile(ruleFilesConfigFile, false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Equal(t, ruleFilesExpectedConf, c)
 }
 
 func TestKubernetesEmptyAPIServer(t *testing.T) {
-	_, err := LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_empty_apiserver.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	_, err := LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_empty_apiserver.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 }
 
 func TestKubernetesWithKubeConfig(t *testing.T) {
-	_, err := LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_kubeconfig_without_apiserver.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	_, err := LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_kubeconfig_without_apiserver.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 }
 
 func TestKubernetesSelectors(t *testing.T) {
-	_, err := LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_selectors_endpoints.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	_, err := LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_selectors_endpoints.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	_, err = LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_selectors_node.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	_, err = LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_selectors_node.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	_, err = LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_selectors_ingress.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	_, err = LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_selectors_ingress.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	_, err = LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_selectors_pod.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	_, err = LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_selectors_pod.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	_, err = LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_selectors_service.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	_, err = LoadFile("testdata/kubernetes_selectors_service.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 }
 
@@ -1381,7 +1381,7 @@ var expectedErrors = []struct {
 
 func TestBadConfigs(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, ee := range expectedErrors {
-		_, err := LoadFile("testdata/"+ee.filename, false, log.NewNopLogger())
+		_, err := LoadFile("testdata/"+ee.filename, false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 		require.Error(t, err, "%s", ee.filename)
 		require.Contains(t, err.Error(), ee.errMsg,
 			"Expected error for %s to contain %q but got: %s", ee.filename, ee.errMsg, err)
@@ -1415,20 +1415,20 @@ func TestExpandExternalLabels(t *testing.T) {
 	// Cleanup ant TEST env variable that could exist on the system.
 	os.Setenv("TEST", "")
 
-	c, err := LoadFile("testdata/external_labels.good.yml", false, log.NewNopLogger())
+	c, err := LoadFile("testdata/external_labels.good.yml", false, false, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Equal(t, labels.Label{Name: "bar", Value: "foo"}, c.GlobalConfig.ExternalLabels[0])
 	require.Equal(t, labels.Label{Name: "baz", Value: "foo${TEST}bar"}, c.GlobalConfig.ExternalLabels[1])
 	require.Equal(t, labels.Label{Name: "foo", Value: "${TEST}"}, c.GlobalConfig.ExternalLabels[2])
 
-	c, err = LoadFile("testdata/external_labels.good.yml", true, log.NewNopLogger())
+	c, err = LoadFile("testdata/external_labels.good.yml", false, true, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Equal(t, labels.Label{Name: "bar", Value: "foo"}, c.GlobalConfig.ExternalLabels[0])
 	require.Equal(t, labels.Label{Name: "baz", Value: "foobar"}, c.GlobalConfig.ExternalLabels[1])
 	require.Equal(t, labels.Label{Name: "foo", Value: ""}, c.GlobalConfig.ExternalLabels[2])
 
 	os.Setenv("TEST", "TestValue")
-	c, err = LoadFile("testdata/external_labels.good.yml", true, log.NewNopLogger())
+	c, err = LoadFile("testdata/external_labels.good.yml", false, true, log.NewNopLogger())
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Equal(t, labels.Label{Name: "bar", Value: "foo"}, c.GlobalConfig.ExternalLabels[0])
 	require.Equal(t, labels.Label{Name: "baz", Value: "fooTestValuebar"}, c.GlobalConfig.ExternalLabels[1])
diff --git a/documentation/examples/prometheus-agent.yml b/documentation/examples/prometheus-agent.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0e5180817
--- /dev/null
+++ b/documentation/examples/prometheus-agent.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# my global config
+global:
+  scrape_interval: 15s # Set the scrape interval to every 15 seconds. Default is every 1 minute.
+  evaluation_interval: 15s # Evaluate rules every 15 seconds. The default is every 1 minute.
+  # scrape_timeout is set to the global default (10s).
+
+# A scrape configuration containing exactly one endpoint to scrape:
+# Here it's Prometheus itself.
+scrape_configs:
+  # The job name is added as a label `job=<job_name>` to any timeseries scraped from this config.
+  - job_name: "prometheus"
+
+    # metrics_path defaults to '/metrics'
+    # scheme defaults to 'http'.
+
+    static_configs:
+      - targets: ["localhost:9090"]
+
+# When running prometheus in Agent mode, remote-write is required.
+remote_write:
+  # Agent is able to run with a invalid remote-write URL, but, of course, will fail to push timeseries.
+  - url: "http://remote-write-url"