diff --git a/builtin/multi-pack-index.c b/builtin/multi-pack-index.c
index 5d3ea445fd..8ff0dee2ec 100644
--- a/builtin/multi-pack-index.c
+++ b/builtin/multi-pack-index.c
@@ -176,8 +176,8 @@ int cmd_multi_pack_index(int argc, const char **argv,
 	else if (!strcmp(argv[0], "expire"))
 		return cmd_multi_pack_index_expire(argc, argv);
 	else {
-usage:
 		error(_("unrecognized subcommand: %s"), argv[0]);
+usage:
 		usage_with_options(builtin_multi_pack_index_usage,
 				   builtin_multi_pack_index_options);
 	}
diff --git a/t/t5319-multi-pack-index.sh b/t/t5319-multi-pack-index.sh
index 5641d158df..dab7123b3a 100755
--- a/t/t5319-multi-pack-index.sh
+++ b/t/t5319-multi-pack-index.sh
@@ -824,4 +824,9 @@ test_expect_success 'load reverse index when missing .idx, .pack' '
 	)
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'usage shown without sub-command' '
+	test_expect_code 129 git multi-pack-index 2>err &&
+	! test_i18ngrep "unrecognized subcommand" err
+'
+
 test_done