diff --git a/test/app/stub/stub.c b/test/app/stub/stub.c
index bdae3e140..2a4d4a7c1 100644
--- a/test/app/stub/stub.c
+++ b/test/app/stub/stub.c
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ usage(char *executable_name)
 {
 	printf("%s [options]\n", executable_name);
 	printf("options:\n");
-	printf(" -i shared memory ID\n");
+	printf(" -i shared memory ID [required]\n");
 	printf(" -m mask    core mask for DPDK\n");
 	printf(" -n channel number of memory channels used for DPDK\n");
 	printf(" -p core    master (primary) core for DPDK\n");
@@ -99,6 +99,12 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		}
 	}
 
+	if (opts.shm_id < 0) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s: -i shared memory ID must be specified\n", argv[0]);
+		usage(argv[0]);
+		exit(1);
+	}
+
 	optind = 1; /* reset the optind */
 
 	spdk_env_init(&opts);