diff --git a/scripts/merge-to-branch.sh b/scripts/merge-to-branch.sh
index ac269f8a8..af1eff451 100644
--- a/scripts/merge-to-branch.sh
+++ b/scripts/merge-to-branch.sh
@@ -1,11 +1,8 @@
+set -ex
 
 branch="$1"
 default_branch="central"
 
-if [ -z "$branch" ]; then
-  branch="$default_branch"
-fi
-
 git checkout "$branch"
 git merge "$default_branch"
 git push origin "$branch"