diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index 563d18956d..411573647b 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -110,11 +110,14 @@ type Dogstatsd struct {
 	URL string `yaml:"url"`
 }
 
+// DefaultAddress is used if an http_listen_addr is not provided in the config.
+const DefaultAddress = ":6060"
+
 func Validate(conf Config) error {
 	switch strings.ToLower(conf.Mode) {
 	case ComboMode:
 		if conf.HTTPListenAddr == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("dev mode selected but no global HTTPListenAddr")
+			conf.HTTPListenAddr = DefaultAddress
 		}
 		if conf.Indexer.ConnString == "" {
 			return fmt.Errorf("indexer mode requires a database connection string")
@@ -124,14 +127,14 @@ func Validate(conf Config) error {
 		}
 	case IndexerMode:
 		if conf.HTTPListenAddr == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("indexer mode selected but no http listen address")
+			conf.HTTPListenAddr = DefaultAddress
 		}
 		if conf.Indexer.ConnString == "" {
 			return fmt.Errorf("indexer mode requires a database connection string")
 		}
 	case MatcherMode:
 		if conf.HTTPListenAddr == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("matcher mode selected but no http listen address")
+			conf.HTTPListenAddr = DefaultAddress
 		}
 		if conf.Matcher.ConnString == "" {
 			return fmt.Errorf("matcher mode requires a database connection string")
diff --git a/config/config_test.go b/config/config_test.go
index 6d886861d5..f979bdbd38 100644
--- a/config/config_test.go
+++ b/config/config_test.go
@@ -19,13 +19,6 @@ func Test_Config_Validate_Failure(t *testing.T) {
 				Mode: "",
 			},
 		},
-		{
-			name: "ComboMode, No Global HTTP Listen Addr",
-			conf: config.Config{
-				Mode:           config.ComboMode,
-				HTTPListenAddr: "",
-			},
-		},
 		{
 			name: "ComboMode, Malformed Global HTTP Listen Addr",
 			conf: config.Config{
@@ -33,18 +26,6 @@ func Test_Config_Validate_Failure(t *testing.T) {
 				HTTPListenAddr: "xyz",
 			},
 		},
-		// Indexer and Matcher modes require both a listen http addr and a database connection string
-		// other fields will use defaults defined in claircore. Matcher mode requires an address to a remote Indexer.
-		{
-			name: "IndexerMode, No HTTPListenAddr",
-			conf: config.Config{
-				Mode:           config.IndexerMode,
-				HTTPListenAddr: "",
-				Indexer: config.Indexer{
-					ConnString: "example@example/db",
-				},
-			},
-		},
 		{
 			name: "IndexerMode, No ConnString",
 			conf: config.Config{
@@ -55,16 +36,6 @@ func Test_Config_Validate_Failure(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		},
-		{
-			name: "MatcherMode, No HTTPListenAddr",
-			conf: config.Config{
-				Mode:           config.MatcherMode,
-				HTTPListenAddr: "",
-				Matcher: config.Matcher{
-					ConnString: "example@example/db",
-				},
-			},
-		},
 		{
 			name: "MatcherMode, No ConnString",
 			conf: config.Config{