diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 940ed302..a6d09aa4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -285,6 +285,10 @@ of the rules within.
     - Search [`markdown-it-plugins` on npm][markdown-it-plugins]
   - `modulePaths`: `Array` of `String`s providing additional paths to use when
     resolving module references (e.g., alternate locations for `node_modules`)
+  - `noBanner`: `Boolean` value to disable the display of the banner message and
+    version numbers on `stdout`
+    - This top-level setting is valid **only** in the directory from which
+      `markdownlint-cli2` is run
   - `noInlineConfig`: `Boolean` value to disable the support of
     [HTML comments][html-comment] within Markdown content
     - For example: `<!-- markdownlint-disable some-rule -->`
diff --git a/markdownlint-cli2.js b/markdownlint-cli2.js
index ded56451..129a035f 100755
--- a/markdownlint-cli2.js
+++ b/markdownlint-cli2.js
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ const packageName = "markdownlint-cli2";
 const packageVersion = "0.12.1";
 const libraryName = "markdownlint";
 const libraryVersion = markdownlintLibrary.getVersion();
+const bannerMessage = `${packageName} v${packageVersion} (${libraryName} v${libraryVersion})`;
 const dotOnlySubstitute = "*.{md,markdown}";
 const utf8 = "utf8";
 
@@ -241,7 +242,10 @@ const processArgv = (argv) => {
 };
 
 // Show help if missing arguments
-const showHelp = (logMessage) => {
+const showHelp = (logMessage, showBanner) => {
+  if (showBanner) {
+    logMessage(bannerMessage);
+  }
   logMessage(`https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint-cli2
 
 Syntax: markdownlint-cli2 glob0 [glob1] [...] [globN] [--config file] [--fix] [--help]
@@ -903,10 +907,6 @@ const main = async (params) => {
     (directory && pathDefault.resolve(directory)) ||
     process.cwd();
   const baseDir = posixPath(baseDirSystem);
-  // Output banner
-  logMessage(
-    `${packageName} v${packageVersion} (${libraryName} v${libraryVersion})`
-  );
   // Merge and process args/argv
   let fixDefault = false;
   // eslint-disable-next-line unicorn/no-useless-undefined
@@ -933,22 +933,24 @@ const main = async (params) => {
     return true;
   });
   if (shouldShowHelp) {
-    return showHelp(logMessage);
+    return showHelp(logMessage, true);
   }
   // Read argv configuration file (if relevant and present)
   let optionsArgv = null;
   let relativeDir = null;
-  if (configPath) {
-    const resolvedConfigPath =
-      posixPath(pathDefault.resolve(baseDirSystem, configPath));
-    optionsArgv =
-      await readOptionsOrConfig(resolvedConfigPath, fs, noRequire);
-    relativeDir = pathPosix.dirname(resolvedConfigPath);
-  }
-  // Process arguments and get base options
-  const globPatterns = processArgv(argvFiltered);
-  const { baseMarkdownlintOptions, dirToDirInfo } =
-    await getBaseOptions(
+  let globPatterns = null;
+  let baseOptions = null;
+  try {
+    if (configPath) {
+      const resolvedConfigPath =
+        posixPath(pathDefault.resolve(baseDirSystem, configPath));
+      optionsArgv =
+        await readOptionsOrConfig(resolvedConfigPath, fs, noRequire);
+      relativeDir = pathPosix.dirname(resolvedConfigPath);
+    }
+    // Process arguments and get base options
+    globPatterns = processArgv(argvFiltered);
+    baseOptions = await getBaseOptions(
       fs,
       baseDir,
       relativeDir,
@@ -958,13 +960,19 @@ const main = async (params) => {
       noGlobs,
       noRequire
     );
+  } finally {
+    if (!baseOptions?.baseMarkdownlintOptions.noBanner) {
+      logMessage(bannerMessage);
+    }
+  }
   if (
     ((globPatterns.length === 0) && !nonFileContents) ||
     (configPath === null)
   ) {
-    return showHelp(logMessage);
+    return showHelp(logMessage, false);
   }
   // Include any file overrides or non-file content
+  const { baseMarkdownlintOptions, dirToDirInfo } = baseOptions;
   const resolvedFileContents = {};
   for (const file in fileContents) {
     const resolvedFile = posixPath(pathDefault.resolve(baseDirSystem, file));
diff --git a/schema/markdownlint-cli2-config-schema.json b/schema/markdownlint-cli2-config-schema.json
index def6ad50..bb807b8e 100644
--- a/schema/markdownlint-cli2-config-schema.json
+++ b/schema/markdownlint-cli2-config-schema.json
@@ -85,6 +85,11 @@
         "minLength": 1
       }
     },
+    "noBanner": {
+      "description": "Whether to disable the display of the banner message and version numbers on stdout (only valid at the root) : https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint-cli2/blob/v0.12.1/README.md#markdownlint-cli2jsonc",
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "default": false
+    },
     "noInlineConfig": {
       "description": "Whether to disable support of HTML comments within Markdown content : https://github.com/DavidAnson/markdownlint-cli2/blob/v0.12.1/README.md#markdownlint-cli2jsonc",
       "type": "boolean",
diff --git a/test/markdownlint-cli2-jsonc-example/.markdownlint-cli2.jsonc b/test/markdownlint-cli2-jsonc-example/.markdownlint-cli2.jsonc
index 87cd4992..babf3e7e 100644
--- a/test/markdownlint-cli2-jsonc-example/.markdownlint-cli2.jsonc
+++ b/test/markdownlint-cli2-jsonc-example/.markdownlint-cli2.jsonc
@@ -39,6 +39,9 @@
     "./modules"
   ],
 
+  // Disable banner message on stdout (only valid at root)
+  "noBanner": true,
+
   // Disable inline config comments
   "noInlineConfig": true,
 
diff --git a/test/markdownlint-cli2-test.js b/test/markdownlint-cli2-test.js
index 516bb7de..39708993 100644
--- a/test/markdownlint-cli2-test.js
+++ b/test/markdownlint-cli2-test.js
@@ -6,8 +6,9 @@ const fs = require("node:fs/promises");
 const path = require("node:path");
 const Ajv = require("ajv");
 const test = require("ava").default;
-const jsoncParser = require("jsonc-parser");
 const { "main": markdownlintCli2 } = require("../markdownlint-cli2.js");
+const jsoncParse = require("../parsers/jsonc-parse.js");
+const yamlParse = require("../parsers/yaml-parse.js");
 const FsMock = require("./fs-mock");
 
 const schemaIdVersionRe = /^.*v(?<version>\d+\.\d+\.\d+).*$/u;
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@ test("validateMarkdownlintConfigSchema", async (t) => {
   );
   return Promise.all(files.map(async (file) => {
     const content = await fs.readFile(file, "utf8");
-    const json = jsoncParser.parse(content);
+    const json = jsoncParse(content);
     const instanceResult = validateConfigSchema(json);
     t.truthy(
       instanceResult,
@@ -145,7 +146,7 @@ test("validateMarkdownlintCli2ConfigSchema", async (t) => {
   );
   return Promise.all(files.map(async (file) => {
     const content = await fs.readFile(file, "utf8");
-    const json = jsoncParser.parse(content);
+    const json = jsoncParse(content);
     const instanceResult = validateConfigSchema(json);
     t.truthy(
       instanceResult,
@@ -154,6 +155,23 @@ test("validateMarkdownlintCli2ConfigSchema", async (t) => {
   }));
 });
 
+test("validateExampleObjectsMatch", async (t) => {
+  t.plan(1);
+  const jsonExample = jsoncParse(
+    await fs.readFile(
+      "./test/markdownlint-cli2-jsonc-example/.markdownlint-cli2.jsonc",
+      "utf8"
+    )
+  );
+  const yamlExample = yamlParse(
+    await fs.readFile(
+      "./test/markdownlint-cli2-yaml-example/.markdownlint-cli2.yaml",
+      "utf8"
+    )
+  );
+  t.deepEqual(jsonExample, yamlExample);
+});
+
 test("absolute path to directory glob", async (t) => {
   t.plan(1);
   const argv = [ path.resolve("./test/no-config") ];
diff --git a/test/markdownlint-cli2-yaml-example/.markdownlint-cli2.yaml b/test/markdownlint-cli2-yaml-example/.markdownlint-cli2.yaml
index eca7edd6..7f53dda7 100644
--- a/test/markdownlint-cli2-yaml-example/.markdownlint-cli2.yaml
+++ b/test/markdownlint-cli2-yaml-example/.markdownlint-cli2.yaml
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ markdownItPlugins:
 modulePaths:
   - "./modules"
 
+# Disable banner message on stdout (only valid at root)
+noBanner: true
+
 # Disable inline config comments
 noInlineConfig: true
 
diff --git a/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-exec.js.md b/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-exec.js.md
index d7bc3566..bd72c57b 100644
--- a/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-exec.js.md
+++ b/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-exec.js.md
@@ -1184,8 +1184,7 @@ Generated by [AVA](https://avajs.dev).
       stderr: `title-case.md:1:1 titlecase-rule Titlecase rule [Title Case: 'Expected # Heading, found # heading']␊
       viewme.md:6 MD025/single-title/single-h1 Multiple top-level headings in the same document [Context: "# Description"]␊
       `,
-      stdout: `markdownlint-cli2 vX.Y.Z (markdownlint vX.Y.Z)␊
-      `,
+      stdout: '',
     }
 
 ## markdownlint-cli2-jsonc-invalid (exec)
@@ -1242,8 +1241,7 @@ Generated by [AVA](https://avajs.dev).
       stderr: `title-case.md:1:1 titlecase-rule Titlecase rule [Title Case: 'Expected # Heading, found # heading']␊
       viewme.md:6 MD025/single-title/single-h1 Multiple top-level headings in the same document [Context: "# Description"]␊
       `,
-      stdout: `markdownlint-cli2 vX.Y.Z (markdownlint vX.Y.Z)␊
-      `,
+      stdout: '',
     }
 
 ## markdownlint-cli2-yaml-invalid (exec)
diff --git a/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-exec.js.snap b/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-exec.js.snap
index 23949622..106c5e9b 100644
Binary files a/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-exec.js.snap and b/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-exec.js.snap differ
diff --git a/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-main.js.md b/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-main.js.md
index 5ab2ff73..5e41059a 100644
--- a/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-main.js.md
+++ b/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-main.js.md
@@ -1184,8 +1184,7 @@ Generated by [AVA](https://avajs.dev).
       stderr: `title-case.md:1:1 titlecase-rule Titlecase rule [Title Case: 'Expected # Heading, found # heading']␊
       viewme.md:6 MD025/single-title/single-h1 Multiple top-level headings in the same document [Context: "# Description"]␊
       `,
-      stdout: `markdownlint-cli2 vX.Y.Z (markdownlint vX.Y.Z)␊
-      `,
+      stdout: '',
     }
 
 ## markdownlint-cli2-jsonc-invalid (main)
@@ -1242,8 +1241,7 @@ Generated by [AVA](https://avajs.dev).
       stderr: `title-case.md:1:1 titlecase-rule Titlecase rule [Title Case: 'Expected # Heading, found # heading']␊
       viewme.md:6 MD025/single-title/single-h1 Multiple top-level headings in the same document [Context: "# Description"]␊
       `,
-      stdout: `markdownlint-cli2 vX.Y.Z (markdownlint vX.Y.Z)␊
-      `,
+      stdout: '',
     }
 
 ## markdownlint-cli2-yaml-invalid (main)
diff --git a/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-main.js.snap b/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-main.js.snap
index fd8077e7..c8ca827a 100644
Binary files a/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-main.js.snap and b/test/snapshots/markdownlint-cli2-test-main.js.snap differ