diff --git a/doc/configuration.txt b/doc/configuration.txt
index 4883295a7..6c7d7470d 100644
--- a/doc/configuration.txt
+++ b/doc/configuration.txt
@@ -2328,6 +2328,25 @@ thread-groups <number>
   since up to 64 threads per group may be configured. The maximum number of
   groups is configured at compile time and defaults to 16. See also "nbthread".
 
+trace <args...>
+  This command configures one "trace" subsystem statement. Each of them can be
+  found in the management manual, and follow the exact same syntax. Only one
+  statement per line is permitted (i.e. if some long trace configurations using
+  semi-colons are to be imported, they must be placed one per line). Any output
+  that the "trace" command would produce will be emitted during the parsing
+  step of the section. Most of the time these will be errors and warnings, but
+  certain incomplete commands might list permissible choices. This command is
+  not meant for regular use, it will generally only be suggested by developers
+  along complex debugging sessions. For this reason it is internally marked as
+  experimental, meaning that "expose-experimental-directives" must appear on a
+  line before any "trace" statement. Note that these directives are parsed on
+  the fly, so referencing a ring buffer that is only declared further will not
+  work. For such use cases it is suggested to place another "global" section
+  with only the "trace" statements after the declaration of that ring. It is
+  important to keep in mind that depending on the trace level and details,
+  enabling traces can severely degrade the global performance. Please refer to
+  the management manual for the statements syntax.
+
 uid <number>
   Changes the process's user ID to <number>. It is recommended that the user ID
   is dedicated to HAProxy or to a small set of similar daemons. HAProxy must
diff --git a/src/trace.c b/src/trace.c
index 243174ab0..9c0b3f205 100644
--- a/src/trace.c
+++ b/src/trace.c
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #include <import/ist.h>
 #include <haproxy/api.h>
 #include <haproxy/buf.h>
+#include <haproxy/cfgparse.h>
 #include <haproxy/cli.h>
 #include <haproxy/errors.h>
 #include <haproxy/istbuf.h>
@@ -675,6 +676,28 @@ static int trace_parse_statement(char **args, const char **msg)
 
 }
 
+/* parse a "trace" statement in the "global" section, returns 1 if a message is returned, otherwise zero */
+static int cfg_parse_trace(char **args, int section_type, struct proxy *curpx,
+			   const struct proxy *defpx, const char *file, int line,
+			   char **err)
+{
+	const char *msg;
+	int severity;
+
+	severity = trace_parse_statement(args, &msg);
+	if (msg) {
+		if (severity >= LOG_NOTICE)
+			ha_notice("parsing [%s:%d] : '%s': %s\n", file, line, args[0], msg);
+		else if (severity >= LOG_WARNING)
+			ha_warning("parsing [%s:%d] : '%s': %s\n", file, line, args[0], msg);
+		else {
+			ha_alert("parsing [%s:%d] : '%s': %s\n", file, line, args[0], msg);
+			return -1;
+		}
+	}
+	return 0;
+}
+
 /* parse the command, returns 1 if a message is returned, otherwise zero */
 static int cli_parse_trace(char **args, char *payload, struct appctx *appctx, void *private)
 {
@@ -754,6 +777,13 @@ static struct cli_kw_list cli_kws = {{ },{
 
 INITCALL1(STG_REGISTER, cli_register_kw, &cli_kws);
 
+static struct cfg_kw_list cfg_kws = {ILH, {
+	{ CFG_GLOBAL, "trace", cfg_parse_trace, KWF_EXPERIMENTAL },
+	{ /* END */ },
+}};
+
+INITCALL1(STG_REGISTER, cfg_register_keywords, &cfg_kws);
+
 /*
  * Local variables:
  *  c-indent-level: 8