diff --git a/pkg/loki/loki.go b/pkg/loki/loki.go
index f3964238d254..656310d9edf3 100644
--- a/pkg/loki/loki.go
+++ b/pkg/loki/loki.go
@@ -51,9 +51,9 @@ import (
 
 // Config is the root config for Loki.
 type Config struct {
-	Target      string `yaml:"target,omitempty"`
-	AuthEnabled bool   `yaml:"auth_enabled,omitempty"`
-	HTTPPrefix  string `yaml:"http_prefix"`
+	Target      flagext.StringSliceCSV `yaml:"target,omitempty"`
+	AuthEnabled bool                   `yaml:"auth_enabled,omitempty"`
+	HTTPPrefix  string                 `yaml:"http_prefix"`
 
 	Server           server.Config               `yaml:"server,omitempty"`
 	Distributor      distributor.Config          `yaml:"distributor,omitempty"`
@@ -80,7 +80,10 @@ func (c *Config) RegisterFlags(f *flag.FlagSet) {
 	c.Server.MetricsNamespace = "loki"
 	c.Server.ExcludeRequestInLog = true
 
-	f.StringVar(&c.Target, "target", All, "target module (default All)")
+	// Set the default module list to 'all'
+	c.Target = []string{All}
+	f.Var(&c.Target, "target", "Comma-separated list of Loki modules to load. "+
+		"The alias 'all' can be used in the list to load a number of core modules and will enable single-binary mode. ")
 	f.BoolVar(&c.AuthEnabled, "auth.enabled", true, "Set to false to disable auth.")
 
 	c.Server.RegisterFlags(f)
@@ -148,6 +151,10 @@ func (c *Config) Validate() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (c *Config) isModuleEnabled(m string) bool {
+	return util.StringsContain(c.Target, m)
+}
+
 // Loki is the root datastructure for Loki.
 type Loki struct {
 	Cfg Config
@@ -231,7 +238,7 @@ func newDefaultConfig() *Config {
 
 // Run starts Loki running, and blocks until a Loki stops.
 func (t *Loki) Run() error {
-	serviceMap, err := t.ModuleManager.InitModuleServices(t.Cfg.Target)
+	serviceMap, err := t.ModuleManager.InitModuleServices(t.Cfg.Target...)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -393,7 +400,7 @@ func (t *Loki) setupModuleManager() error {
 	}
 
 	// Add IngesterQuerier as a dependency for store when target is either ingester or querier.
-	if t.Cfg.Target == Querier || t.Cfg.Target == Ruler {
+	if t.Cfg.isModuleEnabled(Querier) || t.Cfg.isModuleEnabled(Ruler) {
 		deps[Store] = append(deps[Store], IngesterQuerier)
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/loki/modules.go b/pkg/loki/modules.go
index 6a04381da06e..d112f4641c59 100644
--- a/pkg/loki/modules.go
+++ b/pkg/loki/modules.go
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ func (t *Loki) initDistributor() (services.Service, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	if t.Cfg.Target != All {
+	if !t.Cfg.isModuleEnabled(All) {
 		logproto.RegisterPusherServer(t.Server.GRPC, t.distributor)
 	}
 
@@ -291,8 +291,8 @@ func (t *Loki) initStore() (_ services.Service, err error) {
 
 	if loki_storage.UsingBoltdbShipper(t.Cfg.SchemaConfig.Configs) {
 		t.Cfg.StorageConfig.BoltDBShipperConfig.IngesterName = t.Cfg.Ingester.LifecyclerConfig.ID
-		switch t.Cfg.Target {
-		case Ingester:
+		switch true {
+		case t.Cfg.isModuleEnabled(Ingester):
 			// We do not want ingester to unnecessarily keep downloading files
 			t.Cfg.StorageConfig.BoltDBShipperConfig.Mode = shipper.ModeWriteOnly
 			// Use fifo cache for caching index in memory.
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ func (t *Loki) initStore() (_ services.Service, err error) {
 				},
 			}
 			t.Cfg.StorageConfig.BoltDBShipperConfig.IngesterDBRetainPeriod = boltdbShipperQuerierIndexUpdateDelay(t.Cfg) + 2*time.Minute
-		case Querier, Ruler:
+		case t.Cfg.isModuleEnabled(Querier), t.Cfg.isModuleEnabled(Ruler):
 			// We do not want query to do any updates to index
 			t.Cfg.StorageConfig.BoltDBShipperConfig.Mode = shipper.ModeReadOnly
 		default:
@@ -324,8 +324,8 @@ func (t *Loki) initStore() (_ services.Service, err error) {
 
 	if loki_storage.UsingBoltdbShipper(t.Cfg.SchemaConfig.Configs) {
 		boltdbShipperMinIngesterQueryStoreDuration := boltdbShipperMinIngesterQueryStoreDuration(t.Cfg)
-		switch t.Cfg.Target {
-		case Querier, Ruler:
+		switch true {
+		case t.Cfg.isModuleEnabled(Querier), t.Cfg.isModuleEnabled(Ruler):
 			// Do not use the AsyncStore if the querier is configured with QueryStoreOnly set to true
 			if t.Cfg.Querier.QueryStoreOnly {
 				break
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@ func (t *Loki) initStore() (_ services.Service, err error) {
 			chunkStore = loki_storage.NewAsyncStore(chunkStore, t.ingesterQuerier,
 				calculateAsyncStoreQueryIngestersWithin(t.Cfg.Querier.QueryIngestersWithin, boltdbShipperMinIngesterQueryStoreDuration),
 			)
-		case All:
+		case t.Cfg.isModuleEnabled(All):
 			// We want ingester to also query the store when using boltdb-shipper but only when running with target All.
 			// We do not want to use AsyncStore otherwise it would start spiraling around doing queries over and over again to the ingesters and store.
 			// ToDo: See if we can avoid doing this when not running loki in clustered mode.
@@ -498,7 +498,7 @@ func (t *Loki) initRulerStorage() (_ services.Service, err error) {
 	// unfortunately there is no way to generate a "default" config and compare default against actual
 	// to determine if it's unconfigured.  the following check, however, correctly tests this.
 	// Single binary integration tests will break if this ever drifts
-	if t.Cfg.Target == All && t.Cfg.Ruler.StoreConfig.IsDefaults() {
+	if t.Cfg.isModuleEnabled(All) && t.Cfg.Ruler.StoreConfig.IsDefaults() {
 		level.Info(util_log.Logger).Log("msg", "RulerStorage is not configured in single binary mode and will not be started.")
 		return
 	}