diff --git a/src/agent/rust/src/agent/mod.rs b/src/agent/rust/src/agent/mod.rs
index 20c1bf0acc..80691ba7b8 100644
--- a/src/agent/rust/src/agent/mod.rs
+++ b/src/agent/rust/src/agent/mod.rs
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ impl Agent {
             module,
             arg,
             nonce: &self.nonce_factory.generate(),
-            compute_allocation: attributes.compute_allocation.0,
+            compute_allocation: attributes.compute_allocation.map(|x| x.into()),
         })
         .await
     }
diff --git a/src/agent/rust/src/agent/replica_api.rs b/src/agent/rust/src/agent/replica_api.rs
index 01e81d3870..5ace9449eb 100644
--- a/src/agent/rust/src/agent/replica_api.rs
+++ b/src/agent/rust/src/agent/replica_api.rs
@@ -47,7 +47,8 @@ pub enum SubmitRequest<'a> {
         module: &'a Blob,
         arg: &'a Blob,
         nonce: &'a Option<Blob>,
-        compute_allocation: u8,
+        #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+        compute_allocation: Option<u8>,
     },
     Call {
         canister_id: &'a CanisterId,
diff --git a/src/agent/rust/src/types/canister_attributes.rs b/src/agent/rust/src/types/canister_attributes.rs
index eccc62cf16..5ee1fbe3d0 100644
--- a/src/agent/rust/src/types/canister_attributes.rs
+++ b/src/agent/rust/src/types/canister_attributes.rs
@@ -47,13 +47,13 @@ impl std::convert::TryFrom<u8> for ComputeAllocation {
 }
 
 pub struct CanisterAttributes {
-    pub compute_allocation: ComputeAllocation,
+    pub compute_allocation: Option<ComputeAllocation>,
 }
 
 impl Default for CanisterAttributes {
     fn default() -> Self {
         CanisterAttributes {
-            compute_allocation: ComputeAllocation(0),
+            compute_allocation: None,
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/dfx/src/commands/canister/install.rs b/src/dfx/src/commands/canister/install.rs
index 3e7b55e110..daea360e20 100644
--- a/src/dfx/src/commands/canister/install.rs
+++ b/src/dfx/src/commands/canister/install.rs
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ use crate::lib::message::UserMessage;
 use clap::{App, Arg, ArgMatches, SubCommand};
 use ic_agent::{Agent, Blob, CanisterAttributes, ComputeAllocation, RequestId};
 use slog::info;
-use std::convert::TryInto;
+use std::convert::TryFrom;
 use tokio::runtime::Runtime;
 
 pub fn construct() -> App<'static, 'static> {
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ pub fn construct() -> App<'static, 'static> {
                 .long("compute-allocation")
                 .short("c")
                 .takes_value(true)
-                .default_value("0")
                 .validator(compute_allocation_validator),
         )
 }
@@ -48,7 +47,7 @@ async fn install_canister(
     env: &dyn Environment,
     agent: &Agent,
     canister_info: &CanisterInfo,
-    compute_allocation: ComputeAllocation,
+    compute_allocation: Option<ComputeAllocation>,
 ) -> DfxResult<RequestId> {
     let log = env.get_logger();
     let canister_id = canister_info.get_canister_id().ok_or_else(|| {
@@ -93,13 +92,10 @@ pub fn exec(env: &dyn Environment, args: &ArgMatches<'_>) -> DfxResult {
     let agent = env
         .get_agent()
         .ok_or(DfxError::CommandMustBeRunInAProject)?;
-    let compute_allocation: ComputeAllocation = args
-        .value_of("compute-allocation")
-        .unwrap_or("0")
-        .parse::<u64>()
-        .unwrap()
-        .try_into()
-        .expect("Compute Allocation must be a percentage.");
+    let compute_allocation = args.value_of("compute-allocation").map(|arg| {
+        ComputeAllocation::try_from(arg.parse::<u64>().unwrap())
+            .expect("Compute Allocation must be a percentage.")
+    });
 
     let mut runtime = Runtime::new().expect("Unable to create a runtime");