diff --git a/common/arg.cpp b/common/arg.cpp
index 788a9ab4e6..19f22f883f 100644
--- a/common/arg.cpp
+++ b/common/arg.cpp
@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ static bool common_params_parse_ex(int argc, char ** argv, common_params_context
 
     // model is required (except for server)
     // TODO @ngxson : maybe show a list of available models in CLI in this case
-    if (params.model.path.empty() && ctx_arg.ex != LLAMA_EXAMPLE_SERVER && !params.usage) {
+    if (params.model.path.empty() && ctx_arg.ex != LLAMA_EXAMPLE_SERVER && !params.usage && !params.completion) {
         throw std::invalid_argument("error: --model is required\n");
     }