diff --git a/pkg/cmd/grafana-cli/commands/upgrade_command.go b/pkg/cmd/grafana-cli/commands/upgrade_command.go
index a122f55b2fc..a0a3ba4500e 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/grafana-cli/commands/upgrade_command.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/grafana-cli/commands/upgrade_command.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package commands
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/fatih/color"
@@ -15,6 +16,9 @@ func upgradeCommand(c utils.CommandLine) error {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	pluginsDir := c.PluginDirectory()
 	pluginID := c.Args().First()
+	if pluginID == "" {
+		return errors.New("please specify plugin to update")
+	}
 
 	localPlugin, err := services.GetLocalPlugin(pluginsDir, pluginID)
 	if err != nil {