diff --git a/src/mergerfs_api.cpp b/src/mergerfs_api.cpp
index 213a32e1..44bff7cb 100644
--- a/src/mergerfs_api.cpp
+++ b/src/mergerfs_api.cpp
@@ -54,12 +54,11 @@ mergerfs::api::get_kvs(const fs::path                    &mountpoint_,
   return 0;
 }
 
-std::string
+int
 get_kv(const fs::path    &mountpoint_,
        const std::string &key_,
        std::string       *val_)
 {
-  std::string val;
   fs::path cfgfile;
 
   cfgfile = ::_mergerfs_config_file(mountpoint_);