diff --git a/cmd/restic/cmd_init.go b/cmd/restic/cmd_init.go
index 62c0b35ec..1bdb2f208 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/cmd_init.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/cmd_init.go
@@ -43,10 +43,6 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 func runInit(opts InitOptions, gopts GlobalOptions, args []string) error {
-	if gopts.Repo == "" {
-		return errors.Fatal("Please specify repository location (-r)")
-	}
-
 	chunkerPolynomial, err := maybeReadChunkerPolynomial(opts, gopts)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err