diff --git a/components/files/configurationmanager.cpp b/components/files/configurationmanager.cpp
index 10e10375bb..7b4cbac864 100644
--- a/components/files/configurationmanager.cpp
+++ b/components/files/configurationmanager.cpp
@@ -68,6 +68,9 @@ namespace Files
         bool silent = mSilent;
         mSilent = quiet;
 
+        // ensure defaults are present
+        bpo::store(bpo::parsed_options(&description), variables);
+
         std::optional<bpo::variables_map> config = loadConfig(mFixedPath.getLocalPath(), description);
         if (config)
             mActiveConfigPaths.push_back(mFixedPath.getLocalPath());