diff --git a/bin/git-count b/bin/git-count
index bab5da5..f4a401d 100755
--- a/bin/git-count
+++ b/bin/git-count
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-arg=$1; shift
+if [ ! -z "$1" ]; then arg=$1; shift; fi
 if test "$arg" = "--all"; then
   git shortlog -n $@ | grep "):" | sed 's|:||'
   echo