diff --git a/lib/herb/configuration.rb b/lib/herb/configuration.rb
index a8058264e..c293a10d2 100644
--- a/lib/herb/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/herb/configuration.rb
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ def load_config
       return deep_merge(DEFAULTS, {}) unless @config_path&.exist?
 
       begin
-        user_config = YAML.safe_load_file(@config_path, permitted_classes: [Symbol]) || {}
+        user_config = YAML.safe_load_file(@config_path, permitted_classes: [Symbol], aliases: true) || {}
         deep_merge(DEFAULTS, user_config)
       rescue Psych::SyntaxError => e
         warn "Warning: Invalid YAML in #{@config_path}: #{e.message}"
diff --git a/test/configuration_test.rb b/test/configuration_test.rb
index 720022205..96b22d78e 100644
--- a/test/configuration_test.rb
+++ b/test/configuration_test.rb
@@ -41,6 +41,24 @@ def write_config(content, filename = ".herb.yml")
     assert_includes config.file_include_patterns, "**/*.custom.erb"
   end
 
+  test "loads configuration using YAML anchors and aliases" do
+    write_config(<<~YAML)
+      version: "0.9.6"
+      files:
+        include: &patterns
+          - "**/*.custom.erb"
+          - "**/*.other.erb"
+        exclude: *patterns
+    YAML
+
+    config = Herb::Configuration.load(@temp_dir)
+
+    assert_includes config.file_include_patterns, "**/*.custom.erb"
+    assert_includes config.file_include_patterns, "**/*.other.erb"
+    assert_includes config.file_exclude_patterns, "**/*.custom.erb"
+    assert_includes config.file_exclude_patterns, "**/*.other.erb"
+  end
+
   test "searches parent directories for config file" do
     subdir = File.join(@temp_dir, "app", "views")
     FileUtils.mkdir_p(subdir)