diff --git a/airbyte_cdk/test/standard_tests/_job_runner.py b/airbyte_cdk/test/standard_tests/_job_runner.py
index 3bb0ea470..07be77420 100644
--- a/airbyte_cdk/test/standard_tests/_job_runner.py
+++ b/airbyte_cdk/test/standard_tests/_job_runner.py
@@ -75,7 +75,8 @@ def run_test_job(
         empty_if_missing=True,
         connector_root=connector_root,
     )
-    if config_dict and verb != "spec":
+    has_config = test_scenario.config_dict is not None or test_scenario.config_path is not None
+    if verb != "spec" and (config_dict or has_config):
         # Write the config to a temp json file and pass the path to the file as an argument.
         config_path = (
             Path(tempfile.gettempdir()) / "airbyte-test" / f"temp_config_{uuid.uuid4().hex}.json"
diff --git a/unit_tests/test/test_job_runner_config.py b/unit_tests/test/test_job_runner_config.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..93df70655
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unit_tests/test/test_job_runner_config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
+
+import pytest
+
+from airbyte_cdk.test import entrypoint_wrapper
+from airbyte_cdk.test.entrypoint_wrapper import EntrypointOutput
+from airbyte_cdk.test.models.scenario import ConnectorTestScenario
+from airbyte_cdk.test.standard_tests._job_runner import run_test_job
+
+
+def _run_test_job_args(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+    tmp_path: Path,
+    scenario: ConnectorTestScenario,
+    verb: str = "discover",
+) -> list[str]:
+    captured_args: list[str] = []
+
+    def fake_run_command(
+        *,
+        source: Any,
+        args: list[str],
+        expected_outcome: Any,
+    ) -> EntrypointOutput:
+        captured_args.extend(args)
+        return EntrypointOutput(messages=[], command=args)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(entrypoint_wrapper, "_run_command", fake_run_command)
+    run_test_job(
+        object,  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+        verb,  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+        connector_root=tmp_path,
+        test_scenario=scenario,
+    )
+    return captured_args
+
+
+def test_config_path_with_empty_object_passes_config(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+    tmp_path: Path,
+) -> None:
+    config_path = tmp_path / "config.json"
+    config_path.write_text("{}")
+
+    args = _run_test_job_args(
+        monkeypatch,
+        tmp_path,
+        ConnectorTestScenario(config_path=config_path),
+    )
+
+    assert "--config" in args
+    config_index = args.index("--config") + 1
+    assert Path(args[config_index]).read_text() == "{}"
+
+
+def test_config_dict_passes_config(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+    tmp_path: Path,
+) -> None:
+    args = _run_test_job_args(
+        monkeypatch,
+        tmp_path,
+        ConnectorTestScenario(config_dict={"a": 1}),
+    )
+
+    assert "--config" in args
+
+
+def test_missing_config_does_not_pass_config(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+    tmp_path: Path,
+) -> None:
+    args = _run_test_job_args(monkeypatch, tmp_path, ConnectorTestScenario())
+
+    assert "--config" not in args
+
+
+def test_spec_does_not_pass_config(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+    tmp_path: Path,
+) -> None:
+    config_path = tmp_path / "config.json"
+    config_path.write_text("{}")
+
+    args = _run_test_job_args(
+        monkeypatch,
+        tmp_path,
+        ConnectorTestScenario(config_path=config_path),
+        verb="spec",
+    )
+
+    assert "--config" not in args