diff --git a/compose_runner/cli.py b/compose_runner/cli.py
index 8d73ecd..27f99d5 100644
--- a/compose_runner/cli.py
+++ b/compose_runner/cli.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 @click.option("nsc_key", "--nsc-key", help="Neurosynth Compose api key.")
 @click.option("nv_key", "--nv-key", help="Neurovault api key.")
 @click.option("--no-upload", is_flag=True, help="Do not upload results.")
-@click.option("--n-cores", help="Number of cores to use for parallelization.")
+@click.option("--n-cores", type=int, help="Number of cores to use for parallelization.")
 def cli(meta_analysis_id, environment, result_dir, nsc_key, nv_key, no_upload, n_cores):
     """Execute and upload a meta-analysis workflow.
 
diff --git a/compose_runner/tests/test_cli.py b/compose_runner/tests/test_cli.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..09749e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compose_runner/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+from click.testing import CliRunner
+
+from compose_runner.cli import cli
+
+
+def test_cli():
+    runner = CliRunner()
+    result = runner.invoke(cli, [
+        "4nBwrGsqVWtt",
+        '--environment', "staging",
+        "--n-cores", 1,
+        "--no-upload"])
+    assert result.exit_code == 0