diff --git a/jira/jirashell.py b/jira/jirashell.py
index 9309ed38f..83cd6b51b 100644
--- a/jira/jirashell.py
+++ b/jira/jirashell.py
@@ -244,6 +244,8 @@ def main():
     if oauth['oauth_dance']:
         oauth = oauth_dance(
             options['server'], oauth['consumer_key'], oauth['key_cert'], oauth['print_tokens'], options['verify'])
+    else:
+        oauth = None
 
     jira = JIRA(options=options, basic_auth=basic_auth, oauth=oauth)