diff --git a/pipreqs/pipreqs.py b/pipreqs/pipreqs.py
index 6caa83b..44698e9 100755
--- a/pipreqs/pipreqs.py
+++ b/pipreqs/pipreqs.py
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ def join(f):
 
 
 def init(args):
-    encoding = args.get('encoding')
+    encoding = args.get('--encoding')
     candidates = get_all_imports(args['<path>'], encoding=encoding)
     candidates = get_pkg_names(candidates)
     logging.debug("Found imports: " + ", ".join(candidates))