diff --git a/gatorgrade/input/in_file_path.py b/gatorgrade/input/in_file_path.py
index deec75ad..3a622c6f 100644
--- a/gatorgrade/input/in_file_path.py
+++ b/gatorgrade/input/in_file_path.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 """Generates a list of commands to be run through gatorgrader."""
 
 from collections import namedtuple
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
 from typing import List
 
 import yaml
@@ -12,12 +14,26 @@
 # which is a file path associated with the check to be used when running the check.
 CheckData = namedtuple("CheckData", ["file_context", "check"])
 
+# define the default encoding
+DEFAULT_ENCODING = "utf8"
 
-def parse_yaml_file(file_path):
+
+def parse_yaml_file(file_path: Path) -> List[Any]:
     """Parse a YAML file and return its contents as a list of dictionaries."""
-    with open(file_path, encoding="utf8") as file:
-        data = yaml.load_all(file, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
-        return list(data)
+    # confirm that the file exists before attempting to read from it
+    if file_path.exists():
+        # read the contents of the specified file using the default
+        # encoding and then parse that file using the yaml package
+        with open(file_path, encoding=DEFAULT_ENCODING) as file:
+            # after parsing with the yaml module, return a list
+            # of all of the contents specified in the file
+            data = yaml.load_all(file, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
+            return list(data)
+    # some aspect of the file does not exist
+    # (i.e., wrong file or wrong directory)
+    # and thus parsing with YAML is not possible;
+    # return a blank list that calling function handles
+    return []
 
 
 def reformat_yaml_data(data):
diff --git a/gatorgrade/input/parse_config.py b/gatorgrade/input/parse_config.py
index 4ed2d6a5..d6ac12c7 100644
--- a/gatorgrade/input/parse_config.py
+++ b/gatorgrade/input/parse_config.py
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 """Returns the list of commands to be run through gatorgrader."""
 
+from pathlib import Path
+
 from gatorgrade.input.command_line_generator import generate_checks
 from gatorgrade.input.in_file_path import parse_yaml_file
 from gatorgrade.input.in_file_path import reformat_yaml_data
 
 
-def parse_config(file):
+def parse_config(file: Path):
     """Parse the input yaml file and generate specified checks.
 
     Args:
@@ -13,7 +15,18 @@ def parse_config(file):
     Returns:
         Returns a dictionary that specifies shell commands and gatorgrade commands
     """
-    parse_con = generate_checks(
-        reformat_yaml_data(parse_yaml_file(file))
-    )  # Call previously generated function to modify file
-    return parse_con
+    # parse the YAML file using parse_yaml_file provided by gatorgrade
+    parsed_yaml_file = parse_yaml_file(file)
+    # the parsed YAML file contains some contents in a list and thus
+    # the tool should generate a GatorGrader check for each element in list
+    if len(parsed_yaml_file) > 0:
+        # after reformatting the parse YAML file,
+        # use it to generate all of the checks;
+        # these will be valid checks that are now
+        # ready for execution with this tool
+        parse_con = generate_checks(reformat_yaml_data(parsed_yaml_file))
+        return parse_con
+    # return an empty list because of the fact that the
+    # parsing process did not return a list with content;
+    # allow the calling function to handle the empty list
+    return []
diff --git a/gatorgrade/main.py b/gatorgrade/main.py
index 917c3583..6aff2b06 100644
--- a/gatorgrade/main.py
+++ b/gatorgrade/main.py
@@ -6,13 +6,19 @@
 from typing import List
 
 import typer
+from rich.console import Console
 
 from gatorgrade.generate.generate import generate_config
 from gatorgrade.input.parse_config import parse_config
 from gatorgrade.output.output import run_checks
 
+# create an app for the Typer-based CLI
 app = typer.Typer(add_completion=False)
 
+# create a default console for printing with rich
+console = Console()
+
+# define constants used in this module
 FILE = "gatorgrade.yml"
 FAILURE = 1
 
@@ -23,10 +29,28 @@ def gatorgrade(
     filename: Path = typer.Option(FILE, "--config", "-c", help="Name of the yml file."),
 ):
     """Run the GatorGrader checks in the gatorgrade.yml file."""
-    # check if ctx.subcommand is none
+    # if ctx.subcommand is None then this means
+    # that, by default, gatorgrade should run in checking mode
     if ctx.invoked_subcommand is None:
+        # parse the provided configuration file
         checks = parse_config(filename)
-        checks_status = run_checks(checks)
+        # there are valid checks and thus the
+        # tool should run them with run_checks
+        if len(checks) > 0:
+            checks_status = run_checks(checks)
+        # no checks were created and this means
+        # that, most likely, the file was not
+        # valid and thus the tool cannot run checks
+        else:
+            checks_status = False
+            console.print()
+            console.print(f"The file {filename} either does not exist or is not valid.")
+            console.print("Exiting now!")
+            console.print()
+        # at least one of the checks did not pass or
+        # the provided file was not valid and thus
+        # the tool should return a non-zero exit
+        # code to designate some type of failure
         if checks_status is not True:
             sys.exit(FAILURE)
 
diff --git a/poetry.lock b/poetry.lock
index b3e502bd..21f37bdd 100644
--- a/poetry.lock
+++ b/poetry.lock
@@ -800,6 +800,14 @@ typing-extensions = {version = ">=4.0.0,<5.0", markers = "python_version < \"3.9
 [package.extras]
 jupyter = ["ipywidgets (>=7.5.1,<8.0.0)"]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "shellingham"
+version = "1.5.0"
+description = "Tool to Detect Surrounding Shell"
+category = "main"
+optional = false
+python-versions = ">=3.4"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "six"
 version = "1.16.0"
@@ -872,7 +880,7 @@ python-versions = ">=3.6"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "typer"
-version = "0.4.1"
+version = "0.6.1"
 description = "Typer, build great CLIs. Easy to code. Based on Python type hints."
 category = "main"
 optional = false
@@ -880,12 +888,15 @@ python-versions = ">=3.6"
 
 [package.dependencies]
 click = ">=7.1.1,<9.0.0"
+colorama = {version = ">=0.4.3,<0.5.0", optional = true, markers = "extra == \"all\""}
+rich = {version = ">=10.11.0,<13.0.0", optional = true, markers = "extra == \"all\""}
+shellingham = {version = ">=1.3.0,<2.0.0", optional = true, markers = "extra == \"all\""}
 
 [package.extras]
-test = ["isort (>=5.0.6,<6.0.0)", "black (>=22.3.0,<23.0.0)", "mypy (==0.910)", "pytest-sugar (>=0.9.4,<0.10.0)", "pytest-xdist (>=1.32.0,<2.0.0)", "coverage (>=5.2,<6.0)", "pytest-cov (>=2.10.0,<3.0.0)", "pytest (>=4.4.0,<5.4.0)", "shellingham (>=1.3.0,<2.0.0)"]
-doc = ["mdx-include (>=1.4.1,<2.0.0)", "mkdocs-material (>=8.1.4,<9.0.0)", "mkdocs (>=1.1.2,<2.0.0)"]
-dev = ["flake8 (>=3.8.3,<4.0.0)", "autoflake (>=1.3.1,<2.0.0)"]
-all = ["shellingham (>=1.3.0,<2.0.0)", "colorama (>=0.4.3,<0.5.0)"]
+all = ["colorama (>=0.4.3,<0.5.0)", "shellingham (>=1.3.0,<2.0.0)", "rich (>=10.11.0,<13.0.0)"]
+dev = ["autoflake (>=1.3.1,<2.0.0)", "flake8 (>=3.8.3,<4.0.0)", "pre-commit (>=2.17.0,<3.0.0)"]
+doc = ["mkdocs (>=1.1.2,<2.0.0)", "mkdocs-material (>=8.1.4,<9.0.0)", "mdx-include (>=1.4.1,<2.0.0)"]
+test = ["shellingham (>=1.3.0,<2.0.0)", "pytest (>=4.4.0,<5.4.0)", "pytest-cov (>=2.10.0,<3.0.0)", "coverage (>=5.2,<6.0)", "pytest-xdist (>=1.32.0,<2.0.0)", "pytest-sugar (>=0.9.4,<0.10.0)", "mypy (==0.910)", "black (>=22.3.0,<23.0.0)", "isort (>=5.0.6,<6.0.0)", "rich (>=10.11.0,<13.0.0)"]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "typing-extensions"
@@ -942,7 +953,7 @@ testing = ["pytest (>=6)", "pytest-checkdocs (>=2.4)", "pytest-flake8", "pytest-
 [metadata]
 lock-version = "1.1"
 python-versions = ">=3.7,<4.0"
-content-hash = "099453941dc23764e6144c459fe0c1a6901b87b8dffaeafd954d5dbcf87f116c"
+content-hash = "b00f295850266d2f98df98eb8f876970d1bc15272f8f844f01abd771a7f7b330"
 
 [metadata.files]
 astroid = [
@@ -1367,6 +1378,10 @@ requests = [
     {file = "requests-2.27.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:68d7c56fd5a8999887728ef304a6d12edc7be74f1cfa47714fc8b414525c9a61"},
 ]
 rich = []
+shellingham = [
+    {file = "shellingham-1.5.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:a8f02ba61b69baaa13facdba62908ca8690a94b8119b69f5ec5873ea85f7391b"},
+    {file = "shellingham-1.5.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:72fb7f5c63103ca2cb91b23dee0c71fe8ad6fbfd46418ef17dbe40db51592dad"},
+]
 six = [
     {file = "six-1.16.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:8abb2f1d86890a2dfb989f9a77cfcfd3e47c2a354b01111771326f8aa26e0254"},
     {file = "six-1.16.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:1e61c37477a1626458e36f7b1d82aa5c9b094fa4802892072e49de9c60c4c926"},
@@ -1415,10 +1430,7 @@ typed-ast = [
     {file = "typed_ast-1.5.3-cp39-cp39-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:20d5118e494478ef2d3a2702d964dae830aedd7b4d3b626d003eea526be18718"},
     {file = "typed_ast-1.5.3.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:27f25232e2dd0edfe1f019d6bfaaf11e86e657d9bdb7b0956db95f560cceb2b3"},
 ]
-typer = [
-    {file = "typer-0.4.1-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:e8467f0ebac0c81366c2168d6ad9f888efdfb6d4e1d3d5b4a004f46fa444b5c3"},
-    {file = "typer-0.4.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:5646aef0d936b2c761a10393f0384ee6b5c7fe0bb3e5cd710b17134ca1d99cff"},
-]
+typer = []
 typing-extensions = [
     {file = "typing_extensions-4.2.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:6657594ee297170d19f67d55c05852a874e7eb634f4f753dbd667855e07c1708"},
     {file = "typing_extensions-4.2.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:f1c24655a0da0d1b67f07e17a5e6b2a105894e6824b92096378bb3668ef02376"},
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 9c509f48..b8e88595 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 [tool.poetry]
 name = "gatorgrade"
-version = "0.2.1"
+version = "0.2.2"
 description = "Python tool to execute GatorGrader"
 authors = ["Michael Abraham", "Jacob Allebach", "Liam Black", "Katherine Burgess", "Yanqiao Chen", "Ochirsaikhan Davaajambal", "Tuguldurnemekh Gantulga", "Anthony Grant-Cook", "Dylan Holland", "Gregory M. Kapfhammer", "Peyton Kelly", "Luke Lacaria", "Lauren Nevill", "Jack Turner", "Daniel Ullrich", "Garrison Vanzin", "Rian Watson"]
 
 [tool.poetry.dependencies]
 python = ">=3.7,<4.0"
-typer = "^0.4.1"
 PyYAML = "^6.0"
 gatorgrader = "^1.1.0"
 rich = "^12.5.1"
+typer = {extras = ["all"], version = "^0.6.1"}
 
 [tool.poetry.dev-dependencies]
 taskipy = "^1.10.1"
diff --git a/tests/input/test_input_gg_checks.py b/tests/input/test_input_gg_checks.py
index baaa02ef..6633fb8a 100644
--- a/tests/input/test_input_gg_checks.py
+++ b/tests/input/test_input_gg_checks.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 """Test suite for parse_config function."""
 
+from pathlib import Path
+
 from gatorgrade.input.checks import GatorGraderCheck
 from gatorgrade.input.checks import ShellCheck
 from gatorgrade.input.parse_config import parse_config
@@ -8,7 +10,7 @@
 def test_parse_config_gg_check_in_file_context_contains_file():
     """Test to make sure that the file context is included in the GatorGrader arguments."""
     # Given a configuration file with a GatorGrader check within a file context
-    config = "tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrade_one_gg_check_in_file.yml"
+    config = Path("tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrade_one_gg_check_in_file.yml")
     # When parse_config is run
     output = parse_config(config)
     # Then the file path should be in the GatorGrader arguments
@@ -18,7 +20,7 @@ def test_parse_config_gg_check_in_file_context_contains_file():
 def test_parse_config_check_gg_matchfilefragment():
     """Test to make sure the description, check name, and options appear in the GatorGrader arguments."""
     # Given a configuration file with a GatorGrader check
-    config = "tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrade_matchfilefragment.yml"
+    config = Path("tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrade_matchfilefragment.yml")
     # When parse_config is run
     output = parse_config(config)
     # Then the description, check name, and options appear in the GatorGrader arguments
@@ -41,7 +43,9 @@ def test_parse_config_check_gg_matchfilefragment():
 def test_parse_config_gg_check_no_file_context_contains_no_file():
     """Test to make sure checks without a file context do not have a file path in GatorGrader arguments."""
     # Given a configuration file with a GatorGrader check without a file context
-    config = "tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrade_one_gg_check_no_file_context.yml"
+    config = Path(
+        "tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrade_one_gg_check_no_file_context.yml"
+    )
     # When parse_config is run
     output = parse_config(config)
     # Then the GatorGrader arguments do not contain a file path
@@ -57,7 +61,7 @@ def test_parse_config_gg_check_no_file_context_contains_no_file():
 def test_parse_config_parses_both_shell_and_gg_checks():
     """Test to make sure that both shell and GatorGrader checks are parsed."""
     # Given a configuration file that contains a shell check and GatorGrader check
-    config = "tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrader_both_checks.yml"
+    config = Path("tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrader_both_checks.yml")
     # When parse_config is run
     output = parse_config(config)
     # Then the output should contain a shell check and GatorGrader check
@@ -68,7 +72,7 @@ def test_parse_config_parses_both_shell_and_gg_checks():
 def test_parse_config_yml_file_runs_setup_shell_checks():
     """Test to make sure that a configuration file without setup commands can be parsed."""
     # Given a configuration file without setup commands
-    config = "tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrade_no_shell_setup_check.yml"
+    config = Path("tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrade_no_shell_setup_check.yml")
     # When parse_config run
     output = parse_config(config)
     # Then the output should contain the GatorGrader check
@@ -84,7 +88,7 @@ def test_parse_config_yml_file_runs_setup_shell_checks():
 def test_parse_config_shell_check_contains_command():
     """Test to make sure that the command for a shell check is stored."""
     # Given a configuration file with a shell check
-    config = "tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrade_one_shell_command_check.yml"
+    config = Path("tests/input/yml_test_files/gatorgrade_one_shell_command_check.yml")
     # When the parse_config is run
     output = parse_config(config)
     # Then the command should be stored in the shell check