diff --git a/src/Core/ServiceWrapper/Program.cs b/src/Core/ServiceWrapper/Program.cs
index 05152e8..c1fd861 100644
--- a/src/Core/ServiceWrapper/Program.cs
+++ b/src/Core/ServiceWrapper/Program.cs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ using log4net.Layout;
 using WinSW.Configuration;
 using WinSW.Logging;
 using WinSW.Native;
+using WinSW.Util;
 using WMI;
 using ServiceType = WMI.ServiceType;
 
@@ -63,8 +64,20 @@ namespace WinSW
         {
             bool inConsoleMode = argsArray.Length > 0;
 
+            string baseName;
+            DirectoryInfo d;
+
+            var configType = GetConfigType(out baseName, out d);
+
             // If descriptor is not specified, initialize the new one (and load configs from there)
-            descriptor ??= new ServiceDescriptor();
+            if (configType == ConfigType.XML)
+            {
+                descriptor ??= new ServiceDescriptor(baseName, d);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                descriptor ??= new ServiceDescriptorYaml(baseName, d).Configurations;
+            }
 
             // Configure the wrapper-internal logging.
             // STDOUT and STDERR of the child process will be handled independently.
@@ -658,6 +671,39 @@ namespace WinSW
             }
         }
 
+        private static ConfigType GetConfigType(out string baseName, out DirectoryInfo d)
+        {
+            var executablePath = new DefaultWinSWSettings().ExecutablePath;
+            baseName = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(executablePath);
+
+            if (baseName.EndsWith(".vshost"))
+            {
+                baseName = baseName.Substring(0, baseName.Length - 7);
+            }
+
+            d = new DirectoryInfo(Path.GetDirectoryName(executablePath));
+
+            while (true)
+            {
+                if (File.Exists(Path.Combine(d.FullName, baseName + ".xml")))
+                {
+                    return ConfigType.XML;
+                }
+
+                if (File.Exists(Path.Combine(d.FullName, baseName + ".yml")))
+                {
+                    return ConfigType.YAML;
+                }
+
+                if (d.Parent is null)
+                {
+                    throw new FileNotFoundException("Unable to locate " + baseName + ".xml " + "or " + baseName + ".yml " + "file within executable directory or any parents");
+                }
+
+                d = d.Parent;
+            }
+        }
+
         private static void PrintHelp()
         {
             Console.WriteLine("A wrapper binary that can be used to host executables as Windows services");
diff --git a/src/Core/ServiceWrapper/WrapperService.cs b/src/Core/ServiceWrapper/WrapperService.cs
index 5b53bba..04ba60d 100644
--- a/src/Core/ServiceWrapper/WrapperService.cs
+++ b/src/Core/ServiceWrapper/WrapperService.cs
@@ -73,11 +73,6 @@ namespace WinSW
             eventLogProvider.Service = this;
         }
 
-        public WrapperService()
-            : this(new ServiceDescriptor())
-        {
-        }
-
         /// <summary>
         /// Process the file copy instructions, so that we can replace files that are always in use while
         /// the service runs.
diff --git a/src/Core/WinSWCore/ServiceDescriptor.cs b/src/Core/WinSWCore/ServiceDescriptor.cs
index 4d31d83..78d8872 100644
--- a/src/Core/WinSWCore/ServiceDescriptor.cs
+++ b/src/Core/WinSWCore/ServiceDescriptor.cs
@@ -41,34 +41,8 @@ namespace WinSW
         // Currently there is no opportunity to alter the executable path
         public virtual string ExecutablePath => Defaults.ExecutablePath;
 
-        public ServiceDescriptor()
+        public ServiceDescriptor(string baseName, DirectoryInfo d)
         {
-            // find co-located configuration xml. We search up to the ancestor directories to simplify debugging,
-            // as well as trimming off ".vshost" suffix (which is used during debugging)
-            // Get the first parent to go into the recursive loop
-            string p = this.ExecutablePath;
-            string baseName = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(p);
-            if (baseName.EndsWith(".vshost"))
-            {
-                baseName = baseName.Substring(0, baseName.Length - 7);
-            }
-
-            DirectoryInfo d = new DirectoryInfo(Path.GetDirectoryName(p));
-            while (true)
-            {
-                if (File.Exists(Path.Combine(d.FullName, baseName + ".xml")))
-                {
-                    break;
-                }
-
-                if (d.Parent is null)
-                {
-                    throw new FileNotFoundException("Unable to locate " + baseName + ".xml file within executable directory or any parents");
-                }
-
-                d = d.Parent;
-            }
-
             this.BaseName = baseName;
             this.BasePath = Path.Combine(d.FullName, this.BaseName);
 
diff --git a/src/Core/WinSWCore/ServiceDescriptorYaml.cs b/src/Core/WinSWCore/ServiceDescriptorYaml.cs
index 0dec860..332b78b 100644
--- a/src/Core/WinSWCore/ServiceDescriptorYaml.cs
+++ b/src/Core/WinSWCore/ServiceDescriptorYaml.cs
@@ -7,35 +7,12 @@ namespace WinSW
 {
     public class ServiceDescriptorYaml
     {
-        public readonly YamlConfiguration Configurations = new YamlConfiguration();
+        public readonly YamlConfiguration Configurations;
 
         public static DefaultWinSWSettings Defaults { get; } = new DefaultWinSWSettings();
 
-        public ServiceDescriptorYaml()
+        public ServiceDescriptorYaml(string baseName, DirectoryInfo d)
         {
-            string p = Defaults.ExecutablePath;
-            string baseName = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(p);
-            if (baseName.EndsWith(".vshost"))
-            {
-                baseName = baseName.Substring(0, baseName.Length - 7);
-            }
-
-            DirectoryInfo d = new DirectoryInfo(Path.GetDirectoryName(p));
-            while (true)
-            {
-                if (File.Exists(Path.Combine(d.FullName, baseName + ".yml")))
-                {
-                    break;
-                }
-
-                if (d.Parent is null)
-                {
-                    throw new FileNotFoundException("Unable to locate " + baseName + ".yml file within executable directory or any parents");
-                }
-
-                d = d.Parent;
-            }
-
             var basepath = Path.Combine(d.FullName, baseName);
 
             using (var reader = new StreamReader(basepath + ".yml"))
diff --git a/src/Core/WinSWCore/Util/ConfigType.cs b/src/Core/WinSWCore/Util/ConfigType.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e3ba976
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Core/WinSWCore/Util/ConfigType.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+namespace WinSW.Util
+{
+    public enum ConfigType
+    {
+        XML,
+        YAML
+    }
+}