diff --git a/src/config/mod.rs b/src/config/mod.rs
index 7eb45f1..7f2fe26 100644
--- a/src/config/mod.rs
+++ b/src/config/mod.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ use crate::modules::tray::TrayModule;
 use crate::modules::upower::UpowerModule;
 #[cfg(feature = "workspaces")]
 use crate::modules::workspaces::WorkspacesModule;
+use cfg_if::cfg_if;
 use serde::Deserialize;
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
@@ -109,6 +110,35 @@ pub struct Config {
     pub monitors: Option<HashMap<String, MonitorConfig>>,
 }
 
+impl Default for Config {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        cfg_if! {
+            if #[cfg(feature = "clock")] {
+                let end = Some(vec![ModuleConfig::Clock(Box::default())]);
+            }
+            else {
+                let end = None;
+            }
+        }
+
+        Self {
+            position: Default::default(),
+            height: default_bar_height(),
+            margin: Default::default(),
+            popup_gap: default_popup_gap(),
+            icon_theme: None,
+            ironvar_defaults: None,
+            start: Some(vec![ModuleConfig::Label(
+                LabelModule::new("ℹ️ Using default config".to_string()).into(),
+            )]),
+            center: Some(vec![ModuleConfig::Focused(Box::default())]),
+            end,
+            anchor_to_edges: default_true(),
+            monitors: None,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 const fn default_bar_height() -> i32 {
     42
 }
diff --git a/src/error.rs b/src/error.rs
index bfb22b2..002e1a1 100644
--- a/src/error.rs
+++ b/src/error.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 pub enum ExitCode {
     GtkDisplay = 1,
     CreateBars = 2,
-    Config = 3,
 }
 
 pub const ERR_OUTPUTS: &str = "GTK and Wayland are reporting a different set of outputs - this is a severe bug and should never happen";
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index eca31ea..23d11cd 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ use tokio::task::{block_in_place, spawn_blocking};
 
 use crate::error::ExitCode;
 use clients::wayland;
-use tracing::{debug, error, info};
+use tracing::{debug, error, info, warn};
 use universal_config::ConfigLoader;
 
 const GTK_APP_ID: &str = "dev.jstanger.ironbar";
@@ -159,18 +159,19 @@ pub fn load_interface(app: &Application) {
         |display| display,
     );
 
-    let config_res = env::var("IRONBAR_CONFIG").map_or_else(
-        |_| ConfigLoader::new("ironbar").find_and_load(),
-        ConfigLoader::load,
-    );
+    let mut config = env::var("IRONBAR_CONFIG")
+        .map_or_else(
+            |_| ConfigLoader::new("ironbar").find_and_load(),
+            ConfigLoader::load,
+        )
+        .unwrap_or_else(|err| {
+            error!("Failed to load config: {}", err);
+            warn!("Falling back to the default config");
+            info!("If this is your first time using Ironbar, you should create a config in ~/.config/ironbar/");
+            info!("More info here: https://github.com/JakeStanger/ironbar/wiki/configuration-guide");
 
-    let mut config: Config = match config_res {
-        Ok(config) => config,
-        Err(err) => {
-            error!("{:?}", err);
-            exit(ExitCode::Config as i32)
-        }
-    };
+            Config::default()
+        });
 
     debug!("Loaded config file");
 
diff --git a/src/modules/clock.rs b/src/modules/clock.rs
index 77252f9..6175dfd 100644
--- a/src/modules/clock.rs
+++ b/src/modules/clock.rs
@@ -34,6 +34,17 @@ pub struct ClockModule {
     pub common: Option<CommonConfig>,
 }
 
+impl Default for ClockModule {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        ClockModule {
+            format: default_format(),
+            format_popup: default_popup_format(),
+            locale: default_locale(),
+            common: Some(CommonConfig::default()),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 fn default_format() -> String {
     String::from("%d/%m/%Y %H:%M")
 }
diff --git a/src/modules/focused.rs b/src/modules/focused.rs
index 6dcaedf..282b3d3 100644
--- a/src/modules/focused.rs
+++ b/src/modules/focused.rs
@@ -32,6 +32,18 @@ pub struct FocusedModule {
     pub common: Option<CommonConfig>,
 }
 
+impl Default for FocusedModule {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            show_icon: crate::config::default_true(),
+            show_title: crate::config::default_true(),
+            icon_size: default_icon_size(),
+            truncate: None,
+            common: Some(CommonConfig::default()),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 const fn default_icon_size() -> i32 {
     32
 }
diff --git a/src/modules/label.rs b/src/modules/label.rs
index a10a362..223f944 100644
--- a/src/modules/label.rs
+++ b/src/modules/label.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,15 @@ pub struct LabelModule {
     pub common: Option<CommonConfig>,
 }
 
+impl LabelModule {
+    pub(crate) fn new(label: String) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            label,
+            common: Some(CommonConfig::default()),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 impl Module<Label> for LabelModule {
     type SendMessage = String;
     type ReceiveMessage = ();
@@ -45,11 +54,12 @@ impl Module<Label> for LabelModule {
         _info: &ModuleInfo,
     ) -> Result<ModuleWidget<Label>> {
         let label = Label::new(None);
+        label.set_use_markup(true);
 
         {
             let label = label.clone();
             context.widget_rx.attach(None, move |string| {
-                label.set_label(&string);
+                label.set_markup(&string);
                 Continue(true)
             });
         }