diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/api/generator/gapic/protoparser/Parser.java b/src/main/java/com/google/api/generator/gapic/protoparser/Parser.java
index 3d41f3d84e..a794bf0d49 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/api/generator/gapic/protoparser/Parser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/api/generator/gapic/protoparser/Parser.java
@@ -65,7 +65,6 @@ public class Parser {
   private static final String COLON = ":";
   private static final String DEFAULT_PORT = "443";
   private static final String DOT = ".";
-
   // Allow other parsers to access this.
   protected static final SourceCodeInfoParser SOURCE_CODE_INFO_PARSER = new SourceCodeInfoParser();
 
@@ -83,7 +82,9 @@ public static GapicContext parse(CodeGeneratorRequest request) {
     Optional<String> serviceYamlConfigPathOpt =
         PluginArgumentParser.parseServiceYamlConfigPath(request);
     Optional<com.google.api.Service> serviceYamlProtoOpt =
-        ServiceYamlParser.parse(serviceYamlConfigPathOpt.get());
+        serviceYamlConfigPathOpt.isPresent()
+            ? ServiceYamlParser.parse(serviceYamlConfigPathOpt.get())
+            : Optional.empty();
 
     // Keep message and resource name parsing separate for cleaner logic.
     // While this takes an extra pass through the protobufs, the extra time is relatively trivial