diff --git a/production/helm/loki/CHANGELOG.md b/production/helm/loki/CHANGELOG.md
index 0054b96810de..91889639fe3b 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/production/helm/loki/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ Entries should include a reference to the pull request that introduced the chang
 
 - [CHANGE] the lokiCanary section was moved from under monitoring to be under the root of the file.
 - [CHANGE] the definitions for topologySpreadConstraints and podAffinity were converted from string templates to objects. Also removed the soft constraint on zone.
+- [CHANGE] the externalConfigSecretName was replaced with more generic configs
 
 ## 5.41.8
 
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/_helpers.tpl b/production/helm/loki/templates/_helpers.tpl
index fe7604911e76..69aacf777351 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/_helpers.tpl
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/_helpers.tpl
@@ -464,10 +464,10 @@ The volume to mount for loki configuration
 {{- define "loki.configVolume" -}}
 {{- if eq .Values.loki.configStorageType "Secret" -}}
 secret:
-  secretName: {{ tpl .Values.loki.externalConfigSecretName . }}
-{{- else if eq .Values.loki.configStorageType "ConfigMap" -}}
+  secretName: {{ tpl .Values.loki.configObjectName . }}
+{{- else -}}
 configMap:
-  name: {{ tpl .Values.loki.externalConfigSecretName . }}
+  name: {{ tpl .Values.loki.configObjectName . }}
   items:
     - key: "config.yaml"
       path: "config.yaml"
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/admin-api/deployment-admin-api.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/admin-api/deployment-admin-api.yaml
index 6893a51ac350..636dedabdb9d 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/admin-api/deployment-admin-api.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/admin-api/deployment-admin-api.yaml
@@ -135,12 +135,7 @@ spec:
       terminationGracePeriodSeconds: {{ .Values.adminApi.terminationGracePeriodSeconds }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          secret:
-          {{- if .Values.useExternalConfig }}
-            secretName: {{ .Values.externalConfigName }}
-          {{- else }}
-            secretName: enterprise-logs-config
-          {{- end }}
+          {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
         - name: license
           secret:
           {{- if .Values.useExternalLicense }}
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/backend/statefulset-backend.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/backend/statefulset-backend.yaml
index c60098aadf93..2792b0ffca24 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/backend/statefulset-backend.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/backend/statefulset-backend.yaml
@@ -231,12 +231,7 @@ spec:
         {{- toYaml .Values.backend.persistence.dataVolumeParameters | nindent 10 }}
         {{- end}}
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.name" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/compactor/statefulset-compactor.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/compactor/statefulset-compactor.yaml
index 29eb941e0f6e..451cfcdf003f 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/compactor/statefulset-compactor.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/compactor/statefulset-compactor.yaml
@@ -146,12 +146,7 @@ spec:
         - name: temp
           emptyDir: {}
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.name" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/config.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/config.yaml
index 101abc353e26..fe47590078e5 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/config.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/config.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{{- if not .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig -}}
+{{- if .Values.loki.generatedConfigObjectName -}}
 apiVersion: v1
 {{- if eq .Values.loki.configStorageType "Secret" }}
 kind: Secret
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ kind: Secret
 kind: ConfigMap
 {{- end }}
 metadata:
-  name: {{ tpl .Values.loki.externalConfigSecretName . }}
+  name: {{ tpl .Values.loki.generatedConfigObjectName . }}
   namespace: {{ $.Release.Namespace }}
   labels:
     {{- include "loki.labels" . | nindent 4 }}
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/distributor/deployment-distributor.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/distributor/deployment-distributor.yaml
index a8fa934720c9..e58102668880 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/distributor/deployment-distributor.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/distributor/deployment-distributor.yaml
@@ -129,12 +129,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.name" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/gateway/deployment-gateway-enterprise.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/gateway/deployment-gateway-enterprise.yaml
index 6965acf83842..f8e00f9b6bdd 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/gateway/deployment-gateway-enterprise.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/gateway/deployment-gateway-enterprise.yaml
@@ -116,12 +116,7 @@ spec:
       terminationGracePeriodSeconds: {{ .Values.enterpriseGateway.terminationGracePeriodSeconds }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          secret:
-          {{- if .Values.useExternalConfig }}
-            secretName: {{ .Values.externalConfigName }}
-          {{- else }}
-            secretName: enterprise-logs-config
-          {{- end }}
+          {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
         - name: license
           secret:
           {{- if .Values.useExternalLicense }}
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/index-gateway/statefulset-index-gateway.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/index-gateway/statefulset-index-gateway.yaml
index 430d8c061b7f..a56f076fde2f 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/index-gateway/statefulset-index-gateway.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/index-gateway/statefulset-index-gateway.yaml
@@ -133,16 +133,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else if .Values.loki.configAsSecret }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ include "loki.fullname" . }}-config
-          {{- else }}
-          configMap:
-            name: {{ include "loki.fullname" . }}
-          {{- end }}
+          {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.fullname" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-a.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-a.yaml
index 2131731714db..63c529ba2c45 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-a.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-a.yaml
@@ -171,12 +171,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.fullname" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-b.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-b.yaml
index 5f481a7fcd28..ae321c4cc22b 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-b.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-b.yaml
@@ -171,12 +171,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.fullname" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-c.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-c.yaml
index db186b08f080..55552e03518e 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-c.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester-zone-c.yaml
@@ -171,12 +171,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.fullname" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester.yaml
index 2e09225caba9..9810fa1858c4 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/ingester/statefulset-ingester.yaml
@@ -149,16 +149,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else if .Values.loki.configAsSecret }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ include "loki.fullname" . }}-config
-          {{- else }}
-          configMap:
-            name: {{ include "loki.fullname" . }}
-          {{- end }}
+          {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.fullname" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/querier/deployment-querier.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/querier/deployment-querier.yaml
index 0b50ac672218..68cf8cb79a53 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/querier/deployment-querier.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/querier/deployment-querier.yaml
@@ -141,12 +141,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.name" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/query-frontend/deployment-query-frontend.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/query-frontend/deployment-query-frontend.yaml
index b956d873118b..f3371658fa33 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/query-frontend/deployment-query-frontend.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/query-frontend/deployment-query-frontend.yaml
@@ -119,16 +119,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else if .Values.loki.configAsSecret }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ include "loki.fullname" . }}-config
-          {{- else }}
-          configMap:
-            name: {{ include "loki.fullname" . }}
-          {{- end }}
+          {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.fullname" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/query-scheduler/deployment-query-scheduler.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/query-scheduler/deployment-query-scheduler.yaml
index e3f058b88d85..7631a5b4dac5 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/query-scheduler/deployment-query-scheduler.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/query-scheduler/deployment-query-scheduler.yaml
@@ -117,12 +117,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.name" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/read/deployment-read.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/read/deployment-read.yaml
index 92d35a875345..98ddb2bf6ea6 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/read/deployment-read.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/read/deployment-read.yaml
@@ -141,12 +141,7 @@ spec:
         - name: data
           emptyDir: {}
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.name" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/read/statefulset-read.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/read/statefulset-read.yaml
index 1422712f4762..ba885b91e0be 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/read/statefulset-read.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/read/statefulset-read.yaml
@@ -143,12 +143,7 @@ spec:
         - name: tmp
           emptyDir: {}
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.name" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/ruler/statefulset-ruler.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/ruler/statefulset-ruler.yaml
index f4ee76eb4786..9fb3c3a5e578 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/ruler/statefulset-ruler.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/ruler/statefulset-ruler.yaml
@@ -126,16 +126,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else if .Values.loki.configAsSecret }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ include "loki.fullname" . }}-config
-          {{- else }}
-          configMap:
-            name: {{ include "loki.fullname" . }}
-          {{- end }}
+          {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.fullname" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/single-binary/statefulset.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/single-binary/statefulset.yaml
index 70fc17fb7cb7..c92b5ac7a641 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/single-binary/statefulset.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/single-binary/statefulset.yaml
@@ -153,12 +153,7 @@ spec:
         - name: tmp
           emptyDir: {}
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.name" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/table-manager/deployment-table-manager.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/table-manager/deployment-table-manager.yaml
index 00c150abecf4..2a932994c88e 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/table-manager/deployment-table-manager.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/table-manager/deployment-table-manager.yaml
@@ -106,12 +106,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         {{- with .Values.tableManager.extraVolumes }}
         {{- toYaml . | nindent 8 }}
         {{- end }}
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/tokengen/job-tokengen.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/tokengen/job-tokengen.yaml
index 56d95589ad7c..f9ae7374c2d1 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/tokengen/job-tokengen.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/tokengen/job-tokengen.yaml
@@ -116,12 +116,7 @@ spec:
       {{- end }}
       volumes:
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.name" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/templates/write/statefulset-write.yaml b/production/helm/loki/templates/write/statefulset-write.yaml
index 34ca5d747f65..9c14c72326de 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/templates/write/statefulset-write.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/templates/write/statefulset-write.yaml
@@ -167,12 +167,7 @@ spec:
         {{- toYaml .Values.write.persistence.dataVolumeParameters | nindent 10 }}
         {{- end}}
         - name: config
-          {{- if .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          secret:
-            secretName: {{ .Values.loki.existingSecretForConfig }}
-          {{- else }}
           {{- include "loki.configVolume" . | nindent 10 }}
-          {{- end }}
         - name: runtime-config
           configMap:
             name: {{ template "loki.name" . }}-runtime
diff --git a/production/helm/loki/values.yaml b/production/helm/loki/values.yaml
index 94a026a13806..fed28d5db502 100644
--- a/production/helm/loki/values.yaml
+++ b/production/helm/loki/values.yaml
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ deploymentMode: SimpleScalable
 
 ######################################################################################################################
 #
-# Base Loki Configs
+# Base Loki Configs including kubernetes configurations and configurations for Loki itself,
+# see below for more specifics on Loki's configuration.
 #
 ######################################################################################################################
 # -- Configuration for running Loki
@@ -84,14 +85,44 @@ loki:
     allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
   # -- Should enableServiceLinks be enabled. Default to enable
   enableServiceLinks: true
-  # -- Specify an existing secret containing loki configuration. If non-empty, overrides `loki.config`
-  existingSecretForConfig: ""
+  ######################################################################################################################
+  #
+  # Loki Configuration
+  #
+  # There are several ways to pass configuration to Loki, listing them here in order of our preference for how
+  # you should use this chart.
+  # 1. Use the templated value of loki.config below and the corresponding override sections which follow.
+  #    This allows us to set a lot of important Loki configurations and defaults and also allows us to maintain them
+  #    over time as Loki changes and evolves.
+  # 2. Use the loki.structuredConfig section.
+  #    This will completely override the templated value of loki.config, so you MUST provide the entire Loki config
+  #    including any configuration that we set in loki.config unless you explicitly are trying to change one of those
+  #    values and are not able to do so with the templated sections.
+  #    If you choose this approach the burden is on you to maintain any changes we make to the templated config.
+  # 3. Use an existing secret or configmap to provide the configuration.
+  #    This option is mostly provided for folks who have external processes which provide or modify the configuration.
+  #    When using this option you can specify a different name for loki.generatedConfigObjectName and configObjectName
+  #    if you have a process which takes the generated config and modifies it, or you can stop the chart from generating
+  #    a config entirely by setting loki.generatedConfigObjectName to
+  #
+  ######################################################################################################################
+
   # -- Defines what kind of object stores the configuration, a ConfigMap or a Secret.
   # In order to move sensitive information (such as credentials) from the ConfigMap/Secret to a more secure location (e.g. vault), it is possible to use [environment variables in the configuration](https://grafana.com/docs/loki/latest/configuration/#use-environment-variables-in-the-configuration).
   # Such environment variables can be then stored in a separate Secret and injected via the global.extraEnvFrom value. For details about environment injection from a Secret please see [Secrets](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/secret/#use-case-as-container-environment-variables).
   configStorageType: ConfigMap
-  # -- Name of the Secret or ConfigMap that contains the configuration (used for naming even if config is internal).
-  externalConfigSecretName: '{{ include "loki.name" . }}'
+
+  # -- The name of the object which Loki will mount as a volume containing the config.
+  # If the configStorageType is Secret, this will be the name of the Secret, if it is ConfigMap, this will be the name of the ConfigMap.
+  # The value will be passed through tpl.
+  configObjectName: '{{ include "loki.name" . }}'
+
+  # -- The name of the Secret or ConfigMap that will be created by this chart.
+  # If empty, no configmap or secret will be created.
+  # The value will be passed through tpl.
+  generatedConfigObjectName: '{{ include "loki.name" . }}'
+
+
   # -- Config file contents for Loki
   # @default -- See values.yaml
   config: |