diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index 7b09f87bf..aeda5281d 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ impl AutolabelConfig {
 
 #[derive(PartialEq, Eq, Debug, serde::Deserialize)]
 pub(crate) struct AutolabelLabelConfig {
+    #[serde(default)]
     pub(crate) trigger_labels: Vec<String>,
     #[serde(default)]
     pub(crate) exclude_labels: Vec<String>,