diff --git a/src/libutil/args.hh b/src/libutil/args.hh
index 3c1f87f7e..f41242e17 100644
--- a/src/libutil/args.hh
+++ b/src/libutil/args.hh
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ public:
     {
         expectArgs({
             .label = label,
-            .optional = true,
+            .optional = optional,
             .handler = {dest}
         });
     }