diff --git a/programs/witness_node/main.cpp b/programs/witness_node/main.cpp
index bb7604ef..aad45e91 100644
--- a/programs/witness_node/main.cpp
+++ b/programs/witness_node/main.cpp
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
       auto history_plug = node.register_plugin<account_history::account_history_plugin>();
       auto market_history_plug = node.register_plugin<market_history::market_history_plugin>();
 
+      try
       {
          bpo::options_description cli, cfg;
          node.set_program_options(cli, cfg);
@@ -59,6 +60,11 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
          cfg_options.add(cfg);
          bpo::store(bpo::parse_command_line(argc, argv, app_options), options);
       }
+      catch (const boost::program_options::error& e)
+      {
+        std::cerr << "Error parsing command line: " << e.what() << "\n";
+        return 1;
+      }
 
       if( options.count("help") )
       {