diff --git a/src/alignment/data.py b/src/alignment/data.py
index 8d3bb314..c60be140 100644
--- a/src/alignment/data.py
+++ b/src/alignment/data.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 import logging
-
+import os
 import datasets
 from datasets import DatasetDict, concatenate_datasets
 
@@ -23,30 +23,45 @@
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+
 def get_dataset(args: ScriptArguments) -> DatasetDict:
     """Load a dataset or a mixture of datasets based on the configuration.
-
+    
     Args:
         args (ScriptArguments): Script arguments containing dataset configuration.
-
+    
     Returns:
         DatasetDict: The loaded datasets.
     """
     if args.dataset_name and not args.dataset_mixture:
         logger.info(f"Loading dataset: {args.dataset_name}")
-        return datasets.load_dataset(args.dataset_name, args.dataset_config)
+        # Check if it's a local path
+        if os.path.exists(args.dataset_name):
+            logger.info(f"Loading local dataset from disk: {args.dataset_name}")
+            return datasets.load_from_disk(args.dataset_name)
+        else:
+            return datasets.load_dataset(args.dataset_name, args.dataset_config)
     elif args.dataset_mixture:
         logger.info(f"Creating dataset mixture with {len(args.dataset_mixture.datasets)} datasets")
         seed = args.dataset_mixture.seed
         datasets_list = []
-
         for dataset_config in args.dataset_mixture.datasets:
             logger.info(f"Loading dataset for mixture: {dataset_config.id} (config: {dataset_config.config})")
-            ds = datasets.load_dataset(
-                dataset_config.id,
-                dataset_config.config,
-                split=dataset_config.split,
-            )
+            
+            # Check if it's a local path
+            if os.path.exists(dataset_config.id):
+                logger.info(f"Loading local dataset from disk: {dataset_config.id}")
+                ds = datasets.load_from_disk(dataset_config.id)
+                # Handle split if specified
+                if dataset_config.split and isinstance(ds, DatasetDict):
+                    ds = ds[dataset_config.split]
+            else:
+                ds = datasets.load_dataset(
+                    dataset_config.id,
+                    dataset_config.config,
+                    split=dataset_config.split,
+                )
+            
             if dataset_config.columns is not None:
                 ds = ds.select_columns(dataset_config.columns)
             if dataset_config.weight is not None:
@@ -54,14 +69,11 @@ def get_dataset(args: ScriptArguments) -> DatasetDict:
                 logger.info(
                     f"Subsampled dataset '{dataset_config.id}' (config: {dataset_config.config}) with weight={dataset_config.weight} to {len(ds)} examples"
                 )
-
             datasets_list.append(ds)
-
         if datasets_list:
             combined_dataset = concatenate_datasets(datasets_list)
             combined_dataset = combined_dataset.shuffle(seed=seed)
             logger.info(f"Created dataset mixture with {len(combined_dataset)} examples")
-
             if args.dataset_mixture.test_split_size is not None:
                 combined_dataset = combined_dataset.train_test_split(
                     test_size=args.dataset_mixture.test_split_size, seed=seed
@@ -74,6 +86,5 @@ def get_dataset(args: ScriptArguments) -> DatasetDict:
                 return DatasetDict({"train": combined_dataset})
         else:
             raise ValueError("No datasets were loaded from the mixture configuration")
-
     else:
         raise ValueError("Either `dataset_name` or `dataset_mixture` must be provided")