diff --git a/lisp/emacs-lisp/package.el b/lisp/emacs-lisp/package.el
index b4a33db1a77..b3c0e7bccfa 100644
--- a/lisp/emacs-lisp/package.el
+++ b/lisp/emacs-lisp/package.el
@@ -1848,7 +1848,7 @@ package-refresh-contents
 and make them available for download.
 Optional argument ASYNC specifies whether to perform the
 downloads in the background."
-  (interactive)
+  (interactive (list t))
   (unless (file-exists-p package-user-dir)
     (make-directory package-user-dir t))
   (let ((default-keyring (expand-file-name "package-keyring.gpg"