diff --git a/cli/slsa-verifier/verify.go b/cli/slsa-verifier/verify.go
index 82eb51e..5da05ef 100644
--- a/cli/slsa-verifier/verify.go
+++ b/cli/slsa-verifier/verify.go
@@ -32,7 +32,13 @@ func verifyArtifactCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	o := &verify.VerifyOptions{}
 
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "verify-artifact [flags] artifact [artifact..]",
+		Use: "verify-artifact [flags] artifact [artifact..]",
+		Args: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+			if len(args) < 1 {
+				return errors.New("expects at least one artifact")
+			}
+			return nil
+		},
 		Short: "Verifies SLSA provenance on artifact blobs given as arguments (assuming same provenance)",
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			v := verify.VerifyArtifactCommand{