diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 82cc9b5..1dd50fc 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -246,6 +246,40 @@ It can be enabled by using the ``-q``/``--quiet`` flag:
 
 If enabled, the tool will only print errors and failures but no information or warning messages.
 
+Configuration files
+-------------------
+Both tools allow users to specify the options in a configuration file with `--config-file`/`-c`:
+
+.. code:: bash
+
+    diff-cover coverage.xml --config-file myconfig.toml
+    diff-quality --violations=pycodestyle --config-file myconfig.toml
+
+Currently, only TOML files are supported.
+Please note, that only non-mandatory options are supported.
+If an option is specified in the configuration file and over the command line, the value of the
+command line is used.
+
+TOML configuration
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The parser will only react to configuration files ending with `.toml`.
+To use it, install `diff-cover` with the extra requirement `toml`.
+
+The option names are the same as on the command line, but all dashes should be underscores.
+If an option can be specified multiple times, the configuration value should be specified as a list.
+
+.. code:: toml
+
+    [tool.diff_quality]
+    compare_branch = "origin/feature"
+    quiet = true
+
+    [tool.diff_quality]
+    compare_branch = "origin/feature"
+    ignore_staged = true
+
+
 Troubleshooting
 ----------------------
 
diff --git a/diff_cover/config_parser.py b/diff_cover/config_parser.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2621f4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/diff_cover/config_parser.py
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+import abc
+import enum
+
+try:
+    import tomli
+
+    _HAS_TOML = True
+except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
+    _HAS_TOML = False
+
+
+class Tool(enum.Enum):
+    DIFF_COVER = enum.auto()
+    DIFF_QUALITY = enum.auto()
+
+
+class ParserError(Exception):
+    pass
+
+
+class ConfigParser(abc.ABC):
+    def __init__(self, file_name, tool):
+        self._file_name = file_name
+        self._tool = tool
+
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def parse(self):
+        """Returns a dict of the parsed data or None if the file cannot be handled."""
+
+
+class TOMLParser(ConfigParser):
+    def __init__(self, file_name, tool):
+        super().__init__(file_name, tool)
+        self._section = "diff_cover" if tool == Tool.DIFF_COVER else "diff_quality"
+
+    def parse(self):
+        if not self._file_name.endswith(".toml"):
+            return None
+
+        if not _HAS_TOML:
+            raise ParserError("tomli is not installed")
+
+        with open(self._file_name, "rb") as file_handle:
+            config = tomli.load(file_handle)
+
+        config = config.get("tool", {}).get(self._section, {})
+        if not config:
+            raise ParserError(f"No 'tool.{self._section}' configuration available")
+        return config
+
+
+_PARSERS = [TOMLParser]
+
+
+def _parse_config_file(file_name, tool):
+    for parser_class in _PARSERS:
+        parser = parser_class(file_name, tool)
+        config = parser.parse()
+        if config:
+            return config
+
+    raise ParserError(f"No config parser could handle {file_name}")
+
+
+def get_config(parser, argv, defaults, tool):
+    cli_config = vars(parser.parse_args(argv))
+    if cli_config["config_file"]:
+        file_config = _parse_config_file(cli_config["config_file"], tool)
+    else:
+        file_config = {}
+
+    config = defaults
+    for config_dict in [file_config, cli_config]:
+        for key, value in config_dict.items():
+            if value is None:
+                # if the value is None, it's a default one; only override if not present
+                config.setdefault(key, value)
+            else:
+                # else just override the existing value
+                config[key] = value
+
+    return config
diff --git a/diff_cover/diff_cover_tool.py b/diff_cover/diff_cover_tool.py
index fc660ae..1e88187 100644
--- a/diff_cover/diff_cover_tool.py
+++ b/diff_cover/diff_cover_tool.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import sys
 import xml.etree.ElementTree as etree
 
 from diff_cover import DESCRIPTION, VERSION
+from diff_cover.config_parser import Tool, get_config
 from diff_cover.diff_reporter import GitDiffReporter
 from diff_cover.git_diff import GitDiffTool
 from diff_cover.git_path import GitPathTool
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ DIFF_RANGE_NOTATION_HELP = (
 QUIET_HELP = "Only print errors and failures"
 SHOW_UNCOVERED = "Show uncovered lines on the console"
 INCLUDE_UNTRACKED_HELP = "Include untracked files"
+CONFIG_FILE_HELP = "The configuration file to use"
 
 LOGGER = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -65,7 +67,6 @@ def parse_coverage_args(argv):
         "--html-report",
         metavar="FILENAME",
         type=str,
-        default=None,
         help=HTML_REPORT_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -73,7 +74,6 @@ def parse_coverage_args(argv):
         "--json-report",
         metavar="FILENAME",
         type=str,
-        default=None,
         help=JSON_REPORT_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -81,19 +81,17 @@ def parse_coverage_args(argv):
         "--markdown-report",
         metavar="FILENAME",
         type=str,
-        default=None,
         help=MARKDOWN_REPORT_HELP,
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--show-uncovered", action="store_true", default=False, help=SHOW_UNCOVERED
+        "--show-uncovered", action="store_true", default=None, help=SHOW_UNCOVERED
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
         "--external-css-file",
         metavar="FILENAME",
         type=str,
-        default=None,
         help=CSS_FILE_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -101,7 +99,6 @@ def parse_coverage_args(argv):
         "--compare-branch",
         metavar="BRANCH",
         type=str,
-        default="origin/main",
         help=COMPARE_BRANCH_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -110,20 +107,20 @@ def parse_coverage_args(argv):
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--ignore-staged", action="store_true", default=False, help=IGNORE_STAGED_HELP
+        "--ignore-staged", action="store_true", default=None, help=IGNORE_STAGED_HELP
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
         "--ignore-unstaged",
         action="store_true",
-        default=False,
+        default=None,
         help=IGNORE_UNSTAGED_HELP,
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
         "--include-untracked",
         action="store_true",
-        default=False,
+        default=None,
         help=INCLUDE_UNTRACKED_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -136,7 +133,6 @@ def parse_coverage_args(argv):
         metavar="DIRECTORY",
         type=str,
         nargs="+",
-        default=["src/main/java", "src/test/java"],
         help=SRC_ROOTS_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -144,7 +140,6 @@ def parse_coverage_args(argv):
         "--diff-range-notation",
         metavar="RANGE_NOTATION",
         type=str,
-        default="...",
         choices=["...", ".."],
         help=DIFF_RANGE_NOTATION_HELP,
     )
@@ -154,13 +149,32 @@ def parse_coverage_args(argv):
     parser.add_argument(
         "--ignore-whitespace",
         action="store_true",
-        default=False,
+        default=None,
         help=IGNORE_WHITESPACE,
     )
 
-    parser.add_argument("-q", "--quiet", action="store_true", help=QUIET_HELP)
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-q", "--quiet", action="store_true", default=None, help=QUIET_HELP
+    )
+
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-c", "--config-file", help=CONFIG_FILE_HELP, metavar="CONFIG_FILE"
+    )
 
-    return vars(parser.parse_args(argv))
+    defaults = {
+        "show_uncovered": False,
+        "compare_branch": "origin/main",
+        "fail_under": "0",
+        "ignore_staged": False,
+        "ignore_unstaged": False,
+        "ignore_untracked": False,
+        "src_roots": ["src/main/java", "src/test/java"],
+        "ignore_whitespace": False,
+        "diff_range_notation": "...",
+        "quiet": False,
+    }
+
+    return get_config(parser=parser, argv=argv, defaults=defaults, tool=Tool.DIFF_COVER)
 
 
 def generate_coverage_report(
diff --git a/diff_cover/diff_quality_tool.py b/diff_cover/diff_quality_tool.py
index b9d3e37..29663e5 100644
--- a/diff_cover/diff_quality_tool.py
+++ b/diff_cover/diff_quality_tool.py
@@ -12,8 +12,10 @@ import pluggy
 
 import diff_cover
 from diff_cover import hookspecs
+from diff_cover.config_parser import Tool, get_config
 from diff_cover.diff_cover_tool import (
     COMPARE_BRANCH_HELP,
+    CONFIG_FILE_HELP,
     CSS_FILE_HELP,
     DIFF_RANGE_NOTATION_HELP,
     EXCLUDE_HELP,
@@ -103,7 +105,6 @@ def parse_quality_args(argv):
         "--html-report",
         metavar="FILENAME",
         type=str,
-        default=None,
         help=HTML_REPORT_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -111,7 +112,6 @@ def parse_quality_args(argv):
         "--json-report",
         metavar="FILENAME",
         type=str,
-        default=None,
         help=JSON_REPORT_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -119,7 +119,6 @@ def parse_quality_args(argv):
         "--markdown-report",
         metavar="FILENAME",
         type=str,
-        default=None,
         help=MARKDOWN_REPORT_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -127,7 +126,6 @@ def parse_quality_args(argv):
         "--external-css-file",
         metavar="FILENAME",
         type=str,
-        default=None,
         help=CSS_FILE_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -135,37 +133,32 @@ def parse_quality_args(argv):
         "--compare-branch",
         metavar="BRANCH",
         type=str,
-        default="origin/main",
         help=COMPARE_BRANCH_HELP,
     )
 
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "input_reports", type=str, nargs="*", default=[], help=INPUT_REPORTS_HELP
-    )
+    parser.add_argument("input_reports", type=str, nargs="*", help=INPUT_REPORTS_HELP)
 
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "--options", type=str, nargs="?", default=None, help=OPTIONS_HELP
-    )
+    parser.add_argument("--options", type=str, nargs="?", help=OPTIONS_HELP)
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--fail-under", metavar="SCORE", type=float, default="0", help=FAIL_UNDER_HELP
+        "--fail-under", metavar="SCORE", type=float, help=FAIL_UNDER_HELP
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
-        "--ignore-staged", action="store_true", default=False, help=IGNORE_STAGED_HELP
+        "--ignore-staged", action="store_true", default=None, help=IGNORE_STAGED_HELP
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
         "--ignore-unstaged",
         action="store_true",
-        default=False,
+        default=None,
         help=IGNORE_UNSTAGED_HELP,
     )
 
     parser.add_argument(
         "--include-untracked",
         action="store_true",
-        default=False,
+        default=None,
         help=INCLUDE_UNTRACKED_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -181,7 +174,6 @@ def parse_quality_args(argv):
         "--diff-range-notation",
         metavar="RANGE_NOTATION",
         type=str,
-        default="...",
         help=DIFF_RANGE_NOTATION_HELP,
     )
 
@@ -193,13 +185,33 @@ def parse_quality_args(argv):
     parser.add_argument(
         "--ignore-whitespace",
         action="store_true",
-        default=False,
+        default=None,
         help=IGNORE_WHITESPACE,
     )
 
-    parser.add_argument("-q", "--quiet", action="store_true", help=QUIET_HELP)
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-q", "--quiet", action="store_true", default=None, help=QUIET_HELP
+    )
+
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "-c", "--config-file", help=CONFIG_FILE_HELP, metavar="CONFIG_FILE"
+    )
 
-    return vars(parser.parse_args(argv))
+    defaults = {
+        "ignore_whitespace": False,
+        "compare_branch": "origin/main",
+        "diff_range_notation": "...",
+        "input_reports": [],
+        "fail_under": 0,
+        "ignore_staged": False,
+        "ignore_unstaged": False,
+        "ignore_untracked": False,
+        "quiet": False,
+    }
+
+    return get_config(
+        parser=parser, argv=argv, defaults=defaults, tool=Tool.DIFF_QUALITY
+    )
 
 
 def generate_quality_report(
diff --git a/poetry.lock b/poetry.lock
index 9b11ba7..98838a3 100644
--- a/poetry.lock
+++ b/poetry.lock
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@ optional = false
 python-versions = ">=2.7, !=3.0.*, !=3.1.*, !=3.2.*, !=3.3.*, !=3.4.*"
 
 [package.extras]
-dev = ["coverage[toml] (>=5.0.2)", "hypothesis", "pympler", "pytest (>=4.3.0)", "six", "mypy", "pytest-mypy-plugins", "zope.interface", "furo", "sphinx", "sphinx-notfound-page", "pre-commit"]
 docs = ["furo", "sphinx", "zope.interface", "sphinx-notfound-page"]
 tests = ["coverage[toml] (>=5.0.2)", "hypothesis", "pympler", "pytest (>=4.3.0)", "six", "mypy", "pytest-mypy-plugins", "zope.interface"]
 tests_no_zope = ["coverage[toml] (>=5.0.2)", "hypothesis", "pympler", "pytest (>=4.3.0)", "six", "mypy", "pytest-mypy-plugins"]
+dev = ["coverage[toml] (>=5.0.2)", "hypothesis", "pympler", "pytest (>=4.3.0)", "six", "mypy", "pytest-mypy-plugins", "zope.interface", "furo", "sphinx", "sphinx-notfound-page", "pre-commit"]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "black"
@@ -62,10 +62,10 @@ typed-ast = {version = ">=1.4.2", markers = "python_version < \"3.8\""}
 typing-extensions = {version = ">=3.7.4", markers = "python_version < \"3.8\""}
 
 [package.extras]
-colorama = ["colorama (>=0.4.3)"]
-d = ["aiohttp (>=3.6.0)", "aiohttp-cors (>=0.4.0)"]
 python2 = ["typed-ast (>=1.4.2)"]
+colorama = ["colorama (>=0.4.3)"]
 uvloop = ["uvloop (>=0.15.2)"]
+d = ["aiohttp (>=3.6.0)", "aiohttp-cors (>=0.4.0)"]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "chardet"
@@ -164,8 +164,8 @@ zipp = ">=0.5"
 
 [package.extras]
 docs = ["sphinx", "jaraco.packaging (>=8.2)", "rst.linker (>=1.9)"]
-perf = ["ipython"]
 testing = ["pytest (>=4.6)", "pytest-checkdocs (>=2.4)", "pytest-flake8", "pytest-cov", "pytest-enabler (>=1.0.1)", "packaging", "pep517", "pyfakefs", "flufl.flake8", "pytest-perf (>=0.9.2)", "pytest-black (>=0.3.7)", "pytest-mypy", "importlib-resources (>=1.3)"]
+perf = ["ipython"]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "inflect"
@@ -196,9 +196,9 @@ optional = false
 python-versions = ">=3.6.1,<4.0"
 
 [package.extras]
+colors = ["colorama (>=0.4.3,<0.5.0)"]
 pipfile_deprecated_finder = ["pipreqs", "requirementslib"]
 requirements_deprecated_finder = ["pipreqs", "pip-api"]
-colors = ["colorama (>=0.4.3,<0.5.0)"]
 plugins = ["setuptools"]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -535,10 +535,13 @@ python-versions = ">=3.6"
 docs = ["sphinx", "jaraco.packaging (>=8.2)", "rst.linker (>=1.9)"]
 testing = ["pytest (>=4.6)", "pytest-checkdocs (>=2.4)", "pytest-flake8", "pytest-cov", "pytest-enabler (>=1.0.1)", "jaraco.itertools", "func-timeout", "pytest-black (>=0.3.7)", "pytest-mypy"]
 
+[extras]
+toml = ["tomli"]
+
 [metadata]
 lock-version = "1.1"
 python-versions = "^3.6.2"
-content-hash = "0b95c193832e8a28f469376c38f6d26f7a7cad6ce35bf557ffc5084fb6c30d1e"
+content-hash = "adaa725397777a11ed97ecaafb0f963c2ea1c246359ba729fbc2c79c8d752b37"
 
 [metadata.files]
 appdirs = [
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 1e4aa60..37cd898 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ black = "^21.7b0"
 isort = "^5.9.3"
 doc8 = "0.9.0"
 
+[tool.poetry.extras]
+toml = ["tomli"]
+
 [build-system]
 requires = ["poetry-core>=1.0.0"]
 build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"

diff --git a/tests/test_config_parser.py b/tests/test_config_parser.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb0e300
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_config_parser.py
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+import pytest
+
+from diff_cover import config_parser
+from diff_cover.config_parser import ParserError, TOMLParser, Tool, get_config
+
+tools = pytest.mark.parametrize("tool", list(Tool))
+
+
+class TestTOMLParser:
+    @tools
+    def test_parse_no_toml_file(self, tool):
+        parser = TOMLParser("myfile", tool)
+        assert parser.parse() is None
+
+    @tools
+    def test_parse_but_no_tomli_installed(self, tool, mocker):
+        mocker.patch.object(config_parser, "_HAS_TOML", False)
+        parser = TOMLParser("myfile.toml", tool)
+        with pytest.raises(ParserError):
+            parser.parse()
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "tool,content",
+        [
+            (Tool.DIFF_COVER, ""),
+            (Tool.DIFF_COVER, "[tool.diff_quality]"),
+            (Tool.DIFF_QUALITY, ""),
+            (Tool.DIFF_COVER, "[tool.diff_cover]"),
+        ],
+    )
+    def test_parse_but_no_data(self, tool, content, tmp_path):
+        toml_file = tmp_path / "foo.toml"
+        toml_file.write_text(content)
+
+        parser = TOMLParser(str(toml_file), tool)
+        with pytest.raises(ParserError):
+            parser.parse()
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "tool,content,expected",
+        [
+            (Tool.DIFF_COVER, "[tool.diff_cover]\nquiet=true", {"quiet": True}),
+            (Tool.DIFF_QUALITY, "[tool.diff_quality]\nquiet=true", {"quiet": True}),
+        ],
+    )
+    def test_parse(self, tool, content, tmp_path, expected):
+        toml_file = tmp_path / "foo.toml"
+        toml_file.write_text(content)
+
+        parser = TOMLParser(str(toml_file), tool)
+        assert parser.parse() == expected
+
+
+@tools
+def test_get_config_unrecognized_file(mocker, tool):
+    parser = mocker.Mock()
+    parser.parse_args().__dict__ = {"config_file": "foo.bar"}
+    with pytest.raises(ParserError):
+        get_config(parser, argv=[], defaults={}, tool=tool)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "tool,cli_config,defaults,file_content,expected",
+    [
+        (
+            Tool.DIFF_COVER,
+            {"a": 2, "b": None, "c": None},
+            {"a": 4, "b": 3},
+            None,
+            {"a": 2, "b": 3, "c": None},
+        ),
+        (
+            Tool.DIFF_QUALITY,
+            {"a": 2, "b": None, "c": None},
+            {"a": 4, "b": 3},
+            None,
+            {"a": 2, "b": 3, "c": None},
+        ),
+        (
+            Tool.DIFF_COVER,
+            {"a": 2, "b": None, "c": None, "d": None},
+            {"a": 4, "b": 3},
+            "[tool.diff_cover]\na=1\nd=6",
+            {"a": 2, "b": 3, "c": None, "d": 6},
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_get_config(
+    mocker, tmp_path, tool, cli_config, defaults, file_content, expected
+):
+    if file_content:
+        toml_file = tmp_path / "foo.toml"
+        toml_file.write_text(file_content)
+        cli_config["config_file"] = expected["config_file"] = str(toml_file)
+    else:
+        cli_config["config_file"] = expected["config_file"] = None
+
+    parser = mocker.Mock()
+    parser.parse_args().__dict__ = cli_config
+    assert get_config(parser, argv=[], defaults=defaults, tool=tool) == expected

Support configuration files
### Current state
All options are given over the CLI which works fine for the most use cases

### My suggestion
In some use cases it's better to use configuration files to define options. In addition, these options can be overwritten with options given to the CLI.

### Implementation
Personally, I would first create a configuration file reader (abstract so it can handle other files in the future). Then I would add a TOML parser (pyproject.toml), because this seems to be the go-to way.

Example toml
```toml
[tool.diff_cover]
compare_branch = "origin/foo"
fail_under = 42

[tool.diff_quality]
fail_under = 23
include = [
  "project/foo/**"
]
```
So, the toml file:

- uses both tools with their name
- same options as on CLI, but with underscores
- if an option can be specified multiple times, the value is a list

### Flow

1. Check if the user specifies a configuration file over CLI; if yes, use that (`--config myfile.toml`)
2. If no, then check if a pyproject.toml exists and check if it contains any section which belongs to us **(do we want to have a magic file name?)**
3. Afterwards merge all configuration values with the given CLI parameters (CLI overwrite config)
4. Proceed as normal
tests/test_config_parser.py::TestTOMLParser::test_parse_no_toml_file[Tool.DIFF_COVER] tests/test_config_parser.py::TestTOMLParser::test_parse_no_toml_file[Tool.DIFF_QUALITY] tests/test_config_parser.py::TestTOMLParser::test_parse_but_no_tomli_installed[Tool.DIFF_COVER] tests/test_config_parser.py::TestTOMLParser::test_parse_but_no_tomli_installed[Tool.DIFF_QUALITY] tests/test_config_parser.py::TestTOMLParser::test_parse_but_no_data[Tool.DIFF_COVER-] tests/test_config_parser.py::TestTOMLParser::test_parse_but_no_data[Tool.DIFF_COVER-[tool.diff_quality]] tests/test_config_parser.py::TestTOMLParser::test_parse_but_no_data[Tool.DIFF_QUALITY-] tests/test_config_parser.py::TestTOMLParser::test_parse_but_no_data[Tool.DIFF_COVER-[tool.diff_cover]] tests/test_config_parser.py::TestTOMLParser::test_parse[Tool.DIFF_COVER-[tool.diff_cover]\nquiet=true-expected0] tests/test_config_parser.py::TestTOMLParser::test_parse[Tool.DIFF_QUALITY-[tool.diff_quality]\nquiet=true-expected1] tests/test_config_parser.py::test_get_config_unrecognized_file[Tool.DIFF_COVER] tests/test_config_parser.py::test_get_config_unrecognized_file[Tool.DIFF_QUALITY] tests/test_config_parser.py::test_get_config[Tool.DIFF_COVER-cli_config0-defaults0-None-expected0] tests/test_config_parser.py::test_get_config[Tool.DIFF_QUALITY-cli_config1-defaults1-None-expected1] tests/test_config_parser.py::test_get_config[Tool.DIFF_COVER-cli_config2-defaults2-[tool.diff_cover]\na=1\nd=6-expected2]