diff --git a/pelican/__init__.py b/pelican/__init__.py
index 96849bae2..2e2b735d6 100644
--- a/pelican/__init__.py
+++ b/pelican/__init__.py
@@ -547,12 +547,16 @@ def get_config(args):
 
 
 def get_instance(args):
-    config_file = args.settings
-    if config_file is None and os.path.isfile(DEFAULT_CONFIG_NAME):
-        config_file = DEFAULT_CONFIG_NAME
-        args.settings = DEFAULT_CONFIG_NAME
+    config_settings_file = args.settings
+    if config_settings_file is None:
+        if os.path.isfile(DEFAULT_CONFIG_NAME):
+            config_settings_file = DEFAULT_CONFIG_NAME
+            args.settings = DEFAULT_CONFIG_NAME
+        else:
+            config_settings_file = "pelicanconf.py"
+            args.settings = "pelicanconf.py"
 
-    settings = read_settings(config_file, override=get_config(args))
+    settings = read_settings(config_settings_file, override=get_config(args))
 
     cls = settings["PELICAN_CLASS"]
     if isinstance(cls, str):
diff --git a/pelican/tests/test_pelican.py b/pelican/tests/test_pelican.py
index a43afa3ec..39f6fef68 100644
--- a/pelican/tests/test_pelican.py
+++ b/pelican/tests/test_pelican.py
@@ -295,13 +295,14 @@ def test_main_help(self):
 
     def test_main_on_content(self):
         """Invoke main on simple_content directory."""
+        content_subdir = "pelican/tests/simple_content"
         out, err = io.StringIO(), io.StringIO()
         with contextlib.redirect_stdout(out), contextlib.redirect_stderr(err):
             with TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
                 # Don't highlight anything.
                 # See https://rich.readthedocs.io/en/stable/highlighting.html
                 with patch("pelican.console", new=Console(highlight=False)):
-                    main(["-o", temp_dir, "pelican/tests/simple_content"])
+                    main(["-o", temp_dir, content_subdir])
             self.assertIn("Processed 1 article", out.getvalue())
             self.assertEqual("", err.getvalue())