diff --git a/src/main/scala/org/scalastyle/sbt/Plugin.scala b/src/main/scala/org/scalastyle/sbt/Plugin.scala
index ba93d37..cf3f5c1 100644
--- a/src/main/scala/org/scalastyle/sbt/Plugin.scala
+++ b/src/main/scala/org/scalastyle/sbt/Plugin.scala
@@ -65,7 +65,8 @@ object ScalastylePlugin extends Plugin {
   val scalastyleGenerateConfig = taskKey[Unit]("Generate a default configuration files for scalastyle")
 
   val scalastyleTarget = settingKey[File]("XML output file from scalastyle")
-  val scalastyleConfig = settingKey[File]("Scalastyle configuration file")
+  val scalastyleConfig = settingKey[Option[ScalastyleConfiguration]]("Scalastyle configuration object")
+  val scalastyleConfigFile = settingKey[File]("Scalastyle configuration file")
   val scalastyleConfigUrl = settingKey[Option[URL]]("Scalastyle configuration file as a URL")
   val scalastyleFailOnError = settingKey[Boolean]("If true, Scalastyle will fail the task when an error level rule is violated")
   val scalastyleConfigRefreshHours = settingKey[Integer]("How many hours until next run will fetch the scalastyle-config.xml again if location is a URI.")
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@ object ScalastylePlugin extends Plugin {
         val args: Seq[String] = spaceDelimited("<arg>").parsed
         val scalastyleSourcesV = scalastyleSources.value
         val configV = scalastyleConfig.value
+        val configFileV = scalastyleConfigFile.value
         val configUrlV = scalastyleConfigUrl.value
         val streamsV = streams.value
         val failOnErrorV = scalastyleFailOnError.value
@@ -86,19 +88,21 @@ object ScalastylePlugin extends Plugin {
         val targetV = target.value
         val configCacheFileV = scalastyleConfigUrlCacheFile.value
 
-        Tasks.doScalastyle(args, configV, configUrlV, failOnErrorV, scalastyleSourcesV, scalastyleTargetV, streamsV, configRefreshHoursV, targetV, configCacheFileV)
+        Tasks.doScalastyle(args, configV, configFileV, configUrlV, failOnErrorV, scalastyleSourcesV, scalastyleTargetV, streamsV, configRefreshHoursV, targetV, configCacheFileV)
       },
       scalastyleGenerateConfig := {
         val streamsValue = streams.value
-        val configValue = scalastyleConfig.value
-        Tasks.doGenerateConfig(configValue, streamsValue)
+        val configFileValue = scalastyleConfigFile.value
+        Tasks.doGenerateConfig(configFileValue, streamsValue)
       }
     )
 
   override def projectSettings =
     Seq(
-      scalastyleConfig := file("scalastyle-config.xml"),
-      (scalastyleConfig in Test) := (scalastyleConfig in scalastyle).value,
+      scalastyleConfig := None,
+      (scalastyleConfig in Test) := None,
+      scalastyleConfigFile := file("scalastyle-config.xml"),
+      (scalastyleConfigFile in Test) := (scalastyleConfigFile in scalastyle).value,
       scalastyleConfigUrl := None,
       (scalastyleConfigUrl in Test) := None,
       scalastyleConfigUrlCacheFile := "scalastyle-config.xml",
@@ -117,7 +121,7 @@ object ScalastylePlugin extends Plugin {
 }
 
 object Tasks {
-  def doScalastyle(args: Seq[String], config: File, configUrl: Option[URL], failOnError: Boolean, scalastyleSources: Seq[File], scalastyleTarget: File,
+  def doScalastyle(args: Seq[String], config: Option[ScalastyleConfiguration], configFile: File, configUrl: Option[URL], failOnError: Boolean, scalastyleSources: Seq[File], scalastyleTarget: File,
                       streams: TaskStreams[ScopedKey[_]], refreshHours: Integer, target: File, urlCacheFile: String): Unit = {
     val logger = streams.log
     val quietArg = "q"
@@ -135,7 +139,7 @@ object Tasks {
       }
     }
 
-    def getConfigFile(targetDirectory: File, configUrl: Option[URL], config: File, outputFile: String): File = {
+    def getConfigFile(targetDirectory: File, configUrl: Option[URL], configFile: File, outputFile: String): File = {
       val f = configUrl match {
         case Some(url) => {
           val targetConfigFile = target / outputFile
@@ -149,7 +153,7 @@ object Tasks {
           }
           targetConfigFile
         }
-        case None => config
+        case None => configFile
       }
 
       if (!quiet) {
@@ -165,7 +169,7 @@ object Tasks {
         validFile
     }
 
-    def doScalastyleWithConfig(config: File): Unit = {
+    def doScalastyleWithConfig(config: ScalastyleConfiguration): Unit = {
       val messageConfig = ConfigFactory.load(new ScalastyleChecker().getClass().getClassLoader())
       //streams.log.error("messageConfig=" + messageConfig.root().render())
 
@@ -190,21 +194,26 @@ object Tasks {
       }
     }
 
-    val configFileToUse = getConfigFile(target, configUrl, config, urlCacheFile)
-    if (configFileToUse.exists) {
-      doScalastyleWithConfig(configFileToUse)
-    } else {
-      sys.error("config does not exist: %s".format(configFileToUse))
+    val c = config match {
+      case Some(config) => config
+      case None => {
+        val configFileToUse = getConfigFile(target, configUrl, configFile, urlCacheFile)
+        if (configFileToUse.exists) {
+          ScalastyleConfiguration.readFromXml(configFileToUse.absolutePath)
+        } else {
+          sys.error("config does not exist: %s".format(configFileToUse))
+        }
+      }
     }
+    doScalastyleWithConfig(c)
   }
 
-  def doGenerateConfig(config: File, streams: TaskStreams[ScopedKey[_]]): Unit = {
-    getFileFromJar(getClass.getResource("/scalastyle-config.xml"), config.absolutePath, streams.log)
+  def doGenerateConfig(configFile: File, streams: TaskStreams[ScopedKey[_]]): Unit = {
+    getFileFromJar(getClass.getResource("/scalastyle-config.xml"), configFile.absolutePath, streams.log)
   }
 
-  private[this] def runScalastyle(config: File, filesToProcess: Seq[File]) = {
-    val configuration = ScalastyleConfiguration.readFromXml(config.absolutePath)
-    new ScalastyleChecker().checkFiles(configuration, Directory.getFiles(None, filesToProcess, Nil))
+  private[this] def runScalastyle(config: ScalastyleConfiguration, filesToProcess: Seq[File]) = {
+    new ScalastyleChecker().checkFiles(config, Directory.getFiles(None, filesToProcess, Nil))
   }
 
   private[this] def printResults(config: Config, logger: Logger, messages: List[Message[FileSpec]], quiet: Boolean = false, warnError: Boolean = false): OutputResult = {
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config/alternative-config.xml b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/alternative-config.xml
similarity index 100%
rename from src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config/alternative-config.xml
rename to src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/alternative-config.xml
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/build.sbt b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/build.sbt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3664b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/build.sbt
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+scalastyleConfigFile := file("alternative-config.xml")
+
+version := "0.1"
+ 
+scalaVersion := "2.10.0"
+ 
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/project/build.properties b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/project/build.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0974fce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/project/build.properties
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+sbt.version=0.13.0
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/project/plugins.sbt b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/project/plugins.sbt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2c582ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/project/plugins.sbt
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+resolvers += "sonatype-snapshots" at "https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/"
+
+{
+  val pluginVersion = System.getProperty("plugin.version")
+  if(pluginVersion == null)
+    throw new RuntimeException("""|The system property 'plugin.version' is not defined.
+                                  |Specify this property using the scriptedLaunchOpts -D.""".stripMargin)
+  else addSbtPlugin("org.scalastyle" % "scalastyle-sbt-plugin" % pluginVersion)
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/src/main/scala/hello.scala b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/src/main/scala/hello.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3cb4df3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/src/main/scala/hello.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+
+object Main extends App {
+  println("hello")
+}
+
+object foo {
+  println("hello")
+}
+
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/test b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/test
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b16436a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config-file/test
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# scalastyle alternative config file
+> clean
+-> scalastyle w
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config/build.sbt b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config/build.sbt
index 050812f..1613fa9 100644
--- a/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config/build.sbt
+++ b/src/sbt-test/config/scalastyle-config/build.sbt
@@ -1,4 +1,18 @@
-scalastyleConfig := file("alternative-config.xml")
+import org.scalastyle.{ScalastyleConfiguration, ConfigurationChecker}
+
+scalastyleConfig := Some(ScalastyleConfiguration(
+  name = "Scalastyle standard configuration",
+  checks = List(
+    ConfigurationChecker[org.scalastyle.file.FileLengthChecker](
+      enabled = true,
+      parameters = Map("maxFileLength" -> "5")
+    ),
+    ConfigurationChecker[org.scalastyle.scalariform.ObjectNamesChecker](
+      enabled = true,
+      parameters = Map("regex" -> """[A-Z][A-Za-z]*""")
+    )
+  )
+))
 
 version := "0.1"
  
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/generate/generate-directory/build.sbt b/src/sbt-test/generate/generate-directory/build.sbt
index 4830d72..11d3b50 100644
--- a/src/sbt-test/generate/generate-directory/build.sbt
+++ b/src/sbt-test/generate/generate-directory/build.sbt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-scalastyleConfig := file("foo/scalastyle-config.xml")
+scalastyleConfigFile := file("foo/scalastyle-config.xml")
 
 version := "0.1"
  
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/generate/test-generate/build.sbt b/src/sbt-test/generate/test-generate/build.sbt
index faab82e..7ddac73 100644
--- a/src/sbt-test/generate/test-generate/build.sbt
+++ b/src/sbt-test/generate/test-generate/build.sbt
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-scalastyleConfig := file("scalastyle-config.xml")
+scalastyleConfigFile := file("scalastyle-config.xml")
 
-(scalastyleConfig in Test) := file("test-scalastyle-config.xml")
+(scalastyleConfigFile in Test) := file("test-scalastyle-config.xml")
 
 version := "0.1"
  
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config/alternative-config.xml b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/alternative-config.xml
similarity index 100%
rename from src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config/alternative-config.xml
rename to src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/alternative-config.xml
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/build.sbt b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/build.sbt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b5c894
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/build.sbt
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+(scalastyleConfigFile in Test) := file("gggalternative-config.xml")
+
+version := "0.1"
+ 
+scalaVersion := "2.10.0"
+ 
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/project/build.properties b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/project/build.properties
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0974fce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/project/build.properties
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+sbt.version=0.13.0
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/project/plugins.sbt b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/project/plugins.sbt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2c582ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/project/plugins.sbt
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+resolvers += "sonatype-snapshots" at "https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/"
+
+{
+  val pluginVersion = System.getProperty("plugin.version")
+  if(pluginVersion == null)
+    throw new RuntimeException("""|The system property 'plugin.version' is not defined.
+                                  |Specify this property using the scriptedLaunchOpts -D.""".stripMargin)
+  else addSbtPlugin("org.scalastyle" % "scalastyle-sbt-plugin" % pluginVersion)
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/src/test/scala/hello.scala b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/src/test/scala/hello.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3cb4df3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/src/test/scala/hello.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+
+object Main extends App {
+  println("hello")
+}
+
+object foo {
+  println("hello")
+}
+
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/test b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/test
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..224314e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config-file/test
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# scalastyle alternative config file
+> clean
+-> test:scalastyle w
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config/build.sbt b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config/build.sbt
index 7ca23da..990dc4d 100644
--- a/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config/build.sbt
+++ b/src/sbt-test/test-config/scalastyle-config/build.sbt
@@ -1,4 +1,18 @@
-(scalastyleConfig in Test) := file("gggalternative-config.xml")
+import org.scalastyle.{ScalastyleConfiguration, ConfigurationChecker}
+
+(scalastyleConfig in Test) := Some(ScalastyleConfiguration(
+  name = "Scalastyle standard configuration",
+  checks = List(
+    ConfigurationChecker[org.scalastyle.file.FileLengthChecker](
+      enabled = true,
+      parameters = Map("maxFileLength" -> "5")
+    ),
+    ConfigurationChecker[org.scalastyle.scalariform.ObjectNamesChecker](
+      enabled = true,
+      parameters = Map("regex" -> """[A-Z][A-Za-z]*""")
+    )
+  )
+))
 
 version := "0.1"
  
diff --git a/src/sbt-test/test-scalastyle/config/build.sbt b/src/sbt-test/test-scalastyle/config/build.sbt
index 7c76456..908e3c4 100644
--- a/src/sbt-test/test-scalastyle/config/build.sbt
+++ b/src/sbt-test/test-scalastyle/config/build.sbt
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ version := "0.1"
  
 scalaVersion := "2.10.0"
 
-scalastyleConfig in Test := file("scalastyle-test-config.xml")
+scalastyleConfigFile in Test := file("scalastyle-test-config.xml")
  
 val containsMessage = taskKey[Boolean]("contains message")