diff --git a/lib/forever/cli.js b/lib/forever/cli.js
index b1cf288b..c1657a2c 100644
--- a/lib/forever/cli.js
+++ b/lib/forever/cli.js
@@ -204,8 +204,10 @@ var getOptions = cli.getOptions = function (file) {
     options[key] = app.config.get(key);
   });
   
-  options.watchIgnore         = options.watchIgnore || [ ];
-  options.watchIgnorePatterns = (options.watchIgnore instanceof Array) ? options.watchIgnore : [ options.watchIgnore ];
+  options.watchIgnore         = options.watchIgnore || [];
+  options.watchIgnorePatterns = !Array.isArray(options.watchIgnore)
+    ? options.watchIgnore
+    : [options.watchIgnore];
 
   if (!options.minUptime) {
     forever.log.warn('--minUptime not set. Defaulting to: 1000ms');