diff --git a/.github/workflows/linting_and_fixing.yml b/.github/workflows/linting_and_fixing.yml
index 95e0dca..81fd2e2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/linting_and_fixing.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/linting_and_fixing.yml
@@ -40,4 +40,3 @@ jobs:
         # stop the build if there are Python syntax errors or undefined names
         flake8: true
         flake8_args: "stranger/ --count --select=E9,F63,F7,F82 --show-source --statistics"
-        
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/stranger/cli.py b/stranger/cli.py
index 9a8c56e..e7f1928 100644
--- a/stranger/cli.py
+++ b/stranger/cli.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def print_version(ctx, param, value):
 @click.option(
     "-f",
     "--repeats-file",
-    type=click.Path(exists=True),
+    type=click.Path(exists=True, path_type=str,),
     help="Path to a file with repeat definitions. See README for explanation",
     default=repeats_json_path,
     show_default=True,