diff --git a/bin/update_sops.sh b/bin/update_sops.sh
index ea70bdc..0ad566b 100755
--- a/bin/update_sops.sh
+++ b/bin/update_sops.sh
@@ -114,6 +114,10 @@ fn_sops_updatekeys_and_verify(){
 }
 
 function main(){
+  if [[ ! -n "${@}" ]]; then
+    # if empty args, remove
+    shift
+  fi
   # "anchor" for actions relevant to this script
   repo_root="$(realpath $(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/..)"
   # OPTIONS: ARGPARSING and VALIDATION
@@ -209,5 +213,6 @@ function main(){
   fi
 }
 
-main "${@}"
+# pass-through, set default value
+main "${@-}"
 exit