diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e1fbe41..ae81c84 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ if err != nil {
 
 `Load` reads, parses, and validates a file. `Parse` parses bytes when a caller owns file I/O; call `Config.Validate` before applying a parsed configuration.
 
-The current schema defines one `pawsql` block with a listener, TLS certificate/key paths, and one or more `database` routes. A route has exactly one of:
+The current schema defines one `pawsql` block with a listener, an optional TLS `cert`/`key` pair, and one or more `database` routes. A route has exactly one of:
 
 - `upstream <host:port>` for an external PostgreSQL server.
 - `postgres { ... }` for a managed PostgreSQL container. Its `image`, `volume`, and `password_env` directives are required. `idle_timeout` and `traffic_idle_timeout` accept Go duration strings.
diff --git a/parser_test.go b/parser_test.go
index 198f06d..3714675 100644
--- a/parser_test.go
+++ b/parser_test.go
@@ -81,13 +81,59 @@ func TestValidateMissingFieldsAndDuplicateHostname(t *testing.T) {
 	if err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("Validate() error = nil")
 	}
-	for _, want := range []string{"TLS private key is required", "upstream or postgres is required", "duplicate hostname"} {
+	for _, want := range []string{"tls requires both cert and key", "upstream or postgres is required", "duplicate hostname"} {
 		if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), want) {
 			t.Errorf("Validate() error = %q, missing %q", err, want)
 		}
 	}
 }
 
+func TestValidateAllowsConfigurationWithoutTLS(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := Config{
+		Listen: ":5432",
+		Databases: []DatabaseConfig{{
+			Name:     "analytics",
+			Upstream: "postgres-foo:5432",
+		}},
+	}
+	if err := cfg.Validate(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Validate() error = %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseAndValidateWithoutTLSBlock(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg, err := Parse([]byte(`pawsql {
+ listen :5432
+ database analytics {
+  upstream postgres-foo:5432
+ }
+}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Parse() error = %v", err)
+	}
+	if cfg.TLS.CertFile != "" || cfg.TLS.KeyFile != "" {
+		t.Errorf("TLS = %#v, want unset", cfg.TLS)
+	}
+	if err := cfg.Validate(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Validate() error = %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestValidateRejectsHalfConfiguredTLS(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := Config{
+		Listen: ":5432",
+		TLS:    TLSConfig{CertFile: "cert.pem"},
+		Databases: []DatabaseConfig{{
+			Name:     "analytics",
+			Upstream: "postgres-foo:5432",
+		}},
+	}
+	err := cfg.Validate()
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "tls requires both cert and key") {
+		t.Fatalf("Validate() error = %v, want tls requires both cert and key", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestValidateRejectsMalformedUpstreamAddress(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := Config{
 		Listen: ":5432",
diff --git a/validate.go b/validate.go
index 372e839..9a1f304 100644
--- a/validate.go
+++ b/validate.go
@@ -21,11 +21,10 @@ func (c Config) Validate() error {
 	} else if err := validateListenAddress(c.Listen); err != nil {
 		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("listen address %q: %w", c.Listen, err))
 	}
-	if strings.TrimSpace(c.TLS.CertFile) == "" {
-		errs = append(errs, errors.New("TLS certificate is required"))
-	}
-	if strings.TrimSpace(c.TLS.KeyFile) == "" {
-		errs = append(errs, errors.New("TLS private key is required"))
+	certificateSet := strings.TrimSpace(c.TLS.CertFile) != ""
+	keySet := strings.TrimSpace(c.TLS.KeyFile) != ""
+	if certificateSet != keySet {
+		errs = append(errs, errors.New("tls requires both cert and key"))
 	}
 	if len(c.Databases) == 0 {
 		errs = append(errs, errors.New("at least one database route is required"))