diff --git a/plugins.env.js b/plugins.env.js
index 7be520cc0..ed3b2cbfd 100644
--- a/plugins.env.js
+++ b/plugins.env.js
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-module.exports = JSON.parse(process.env.TALK_PLUGINS_JSON);
+const hjson = require('hjson');
+module.exports = hjson.parse(process.env.TALK_PLUGINS_JSON);
diff --git a/plugins.js b/plugins.js
index 05d245c8a..9280f508f 100644
--- a/plugins.js
+++ b/plugins.js
@@ -26,17 +26,20 @@ try {
   if (PLUGINS_JSON && PLUGINS_JSON.length > 0) {
     debug('Now using TALK_PLUGINS_JSON environment variable for plugins');
     pluginsPath = envPlugins;
-  } else if (fs.existsSync(customPlugins)) {
-    debug(`Now using ${customPlugins} for plugins`);
-    pluginsPath = customPlugins;
+    plugins = require(pluginsPath);
   } else {
-    debug(`Now using ${defaultPlugins} for plugins`);
-    pluginsPath = defaultPlugins;
-  }
+    if (fs.existsSync(customPlugins)) {
+      debug(`Now using ${customPlugins} for plugins`);
+      pluginsPath = customPlugins;
+    } else {
+      debug(`Now using ${defaultPlugins} for plugins`);
+      pluginsPath = defaultPlugins;
+    }
 
-  // Load/parse the plugin content using hjson.
-  const pluginContent = fs.readFileSync(pluginsPath, 'utf8');
-  plugins = hjson.parse(pluginContent);
+    // Load/parse the plugin content using hjson.
+    const pluginContent = fs.readFileSync(pluginsPath, 'utf8');
+    plugins = hjson.parse(pluginContent);
+  }
 } catch (err) {
   if (err.code === 'ENOENT') {
     console.error(