diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2311.section.md b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2311.section.md
index 43e8b80b731..94471eddf16 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2311.section.md
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2311.section.md
@@ -64,6 +64,8 @@
 
 - `spamassassin` no longer supports the `Hashcash` module. The module needs to be removed from the `loadplugin` list if it was copied over from the default `initPreConf` option.
 
+- The Caddy module gained a new option named `services.caddy.enableReload` which is enabled by default. It allows reloading the service instead of restarting it, if only a config file has changed. This option must be disabled if you have turned off the [Caddy admin API](https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile/options#admin). If you keep this option enabled, you should consider setting [`grace_period`](https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile/options#grace-period) to a non-infinite value to prevent Caddy from delaying the reload indefinitely.
+
 ## Other Notable Changes {#sec-release-23.11-notable-changes}
 
 - The Cinnamon module now enables XDG desktop integration by default. If you are experiencing collisions related to xdg-desktop-portal-gtk you can safely remove `xdg.portal.extraPortals = [ pkgs.xdg-desktop-portal-gtk ];` from your NixOS configuration.
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/caddy/default.nix b/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/caddy/default.nix
index 70715a23725..5cc9ef6dd6d 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/caddy/default.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/caddy/default.nix
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ let
     in
       "${if pkgs.stdenv.buildPlatform == pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform then Caddyfile-formatted else Caddyfile}/Caddyfile";
 
+  etcConfigFile = "caddy/caddy_config";
+
+  configPath = "/etc/${etcConfigFile}";
+
   acmeHosts = unique (catAttrs "useACMEHost" acmeVHosts);
 
   mkCertOwnershipAssertion = import ../../../security/acme/mk-cert-ownership-assertion.nix;
@@ -155,11 +159,16 @@ in
       description = lib.mdDoc ''
         Override the configuration file used by Caddy. By default,
         NixOS generates one automatically.
+
+        The configuration file is exposed at {file}`${configPath}`.
       '';
     };
 
     adapter = mkOption {
-      default = null;
+      default = if (builtins.baseNameOf cfg.configFile) == "Caddyfile" then "caddyfile" else null;
+      defaultText = literalExpression ''
+        if (builtins.baseNameOf cfg.configFile) == "Caddyfile" then "caddyfile" else null
+      '';
       example = literalExpression "nginx";
       type = with types; nullOr str;
       description = lib.mdDoc ''
@@ -275,6 +284,21 @@ in
       '';
     };
 
+    enableReload = mkOption {
+      default = true;
+      type = types.bool;
+      description = lib.mdDoc ''
+        Reload Caddy instead of restarting it when configuration file changes.
+
+        Note that enabling this option requires the [admin API](https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile/options#admin)
+        to not be turned off.
+
+        If you enable this option, consider setting [`grace_period`](https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile/options#grace-period)
+        to a non-infinite value in {option}`services.caddy.globalConfig`
+        to prevent Caddy waiting for active connections to finish,
+        which could delay the reload essentially indefinitely.
+      '';
+    };
   };
 
   # implementation
@@ -311,13 +335,16 @@ in
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
       startLimitIntervalSec = 14400;
       startLimitBurst = 10;
+      reloadTriggers = optional cfg.enableReload cfg.configFile;
 
-      serviceConfig = {
+      serviceConfig = let
+        runOptions = ''--config ${configPath} ${optionalString (cfg.adapter != null) "--adapter ${cfg.adapter}"}'';
+      in {
         # https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemd.service.html#ExecStart=
         # If the empty string is assigned to this option, the list of commands to start is reset, prior assignments of this option will have no effect.
-        ExecStart = [ "" ''${cfg.package}/bin/caddy run --config ${cfg.configFile} ${optionalString (cfg.adapter != null) "--adapter ${cfg.adapter}"} ${optionalString cfg.resume "--resume"}'' ];
-        ExecReload = [ "" ''${cfg.package}/bin/caddy reload --config ${cfg.configFile} ${optionalString (cfg.adapter != null) "--adapter ${cfg.adapter}"} --force'' ];
-        ExecStartPre = ''${cfg.package}/bin/caddy validate --config ${cfg.configFile} ${optionalString (cfg.adapter != null) "--adapter ${cfg.adapter}"}'';
+        ExecStart = [ "" ''${cfg.package}/bin/caddy run ${runOptions} ${optionalString cfg.resume "--resume"}'' ];
+        # Validating the configuration before applying it ensures we’ll get a proper error that will be reported when switching to the configuration
+        ExecReload = [ "" ''${cfg.package}/bin/caddy reload ${runOptions} --force'' ];
         User = cfg.user;
         Group = cfg.group;
         ReadWriteDirectories = cfg.dataDir;
@@ -353,5 +380,6 @@ in
       in
         listToAttrs certCfg;
 
+    environment.etc.${etcConfigFile}.source = cfg.configFile;
   };
 }
diff --git a/nixos/tests/caddy.nix b/nixos/tests/caddy.nix
index c4abd33d039..ed88f08739e 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/caddy.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/caddy.nix
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, ... }: {
           }
         }
       '';
+      services.caddy.enableReload = true;
 
       specialisation.etag.configuration = {
         services.caddy.extraConfig = lib.mkForce ''
@@ -54,9 +55,9 @@ import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, ... }: {
 
   testScript = { nodes, ... }:
     let
-      etagSystem = "${nodes.webserver.config.system.build.toplevel}/specialisation/etag";
-      justReloadSystem = "${nodes.webserver.config.system.build.toplevel}/specialisation/config-reload";
-      multipleConfigs = "${nodes.webserver.config.system.build.toplevel}/specialisation/multiple-configs";
+      etagSystem = "${nodes.webserver.system.build.toplevel}/specialisation/etag";
+      justReloadSystem = "${nodes.webserver.system.build.toplevel}/specialisation/config-reload";
+      multipleConfigs = "${nodes.webserver.system.build.toplevel}/specialisation/multiple-configs";
     in
     ''
       url = "http://localhost/example.html"
@@ -96,6 +97,8 @@ import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, ... }: {
               "${justReloadSystem}/bin/switch-to-configuration test >&2"
           )
           webserver.wait_for_open_port(8080)
+          webserver.fail("journalctl -u caddy | grep -q -i stopped")
+          webserver.succeed("journalctl -u caddy | grep -q -i reloaded")
 
       with subtest("multiple configs are correctly merged"):
           webserver.succeed(