diff --git a/tubearchivist/home/src/es/index_setup.py b/tubearchivist/home/src/es/index_setup.py
index 4bb980b..8b0ed97 100644
--- a/tubearchivist/home/src/es/index_setup.py
+++ b/tubearchivist/home/src/es/index_setup.py
@@ -399,8 +399,7 @@ class ElasticBackup:
 def get_mapping():
     """read index_mapping.json and get expected mapping and settings"""
     with open("home/src/es/index_mapping.json", "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
-        config_str = f.read()
-        index_config = json.loads(config_str).get("index_config")
+        index_config = json.load(f).get("index_config")
 
     return index_config
 
diff --git a/tubearchivist/home/src/ta/config.py b/tubearchivist/home/src/ta/config.py
index 509e651..3258ed0 100644
--- a/tubearchivist/home/src/ta/config.py
+++ b/tubearchivist/home/src/ta/config.py
@@ -38,8 +38,7 @@ class AppConfig:
     def get_config_file(self):
         """read the defaults from config.json"""
         with open("home/config.json", "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            config_str = f.read()
-            config_file = json.loads(config_str)
+            config_file = json.load(f)
 
         config_file["application"].update(self.get_config_env())