diff --git a/heat/api/cfn/wsgi.py b/heat/api/cfn/wsgi.py
index 108e95ec66..a7d1f99f3a 100644
--- a/heat/api/cfn/wsgi.py
+++ b/heat/api/cfn/wsgi.py
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@ def init_application():
     # already contain registered options if the app is reloaded.
     CONF.reset()
     logging.register_options(CONF)
-    CONF(project='heat',
+    CONF(args=[],
+         project='heat',
          prog='heat-api-cfn',
          version=version.version_info.version_string())
     logging.setup(CONF, CONF.prog)
diff --git a/heat/api/openstack/wsgi.py b/heat/api/openstack/wsgi.py
index ef2cfb64af..db247ddebb 100644
--- a/heat/api/openstack/wsgi.py
+++ b/heat/api/openstack/wsgi.py
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ def init_application():
     CONF.reset()
     logging.register_options(CONF)
     version = hversion.version_info.version_string()
-    CONF(project='heat', prog='heat-api', version=version)
+    CONF(args=[], project='heat', prog='heat-api', version=version)
     logging.setup(CONF, CONF.prog)
     config.set_config_defaults()
     messaging.setup()
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/fix-wsgi-init-args-empty-9d86398edce73f54.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/fix-wsgi-init-args-empty-9d86398edce73f54.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4b99103dab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/fix-wsgi-init-args-empty-9d86398edce73f54.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    Fixed an issue where ``heat-api`` and ``heat-api-cfn``, when running
+    under uWSGI with ``wsgi-file``, could fail to load the WSGI application
+    with ``unable to load app 0 ... (callable not found or import error)``.
+    The ``init_application`` functions in ``heat.api.openstack.wsgi`` and
+    ``heat.api.cfn.wsgi`` invoked ``oslo.config`` without ``args=[]``, so
+    ``oslo.config`` fell back to ``sys.argv[1:]`` and rejected uWSGI's own
+    arguments (e.g. ``--ini``) with ``SystemExit(2)``. The calls now pass
+    an explicit empty argument list.