diff --git a/src/mergerfs.cpp b/src/mergerfs.cpp
index e427711f..516eb9c3 100644
--- a/src/mergerfs.cpp
+++ b/src/mergerfs.cpp
@@ -406,7 +406,6 @@ main(int    argc_,
   app.add_option("branches",branches)
     ->delimiter(':')
     ->expected(2,-1)
-    ->required()
     ;
 
   app.add_option("mountpoint")