diff --git a/tests/samples/configs/has_everything.cfg b/tests/samples/configs/has_everything.cfg
index 1711e0e..8cde60a 100644
--- a/tests/samples/configs/has_everything.cfg
+++ b/tests/samples/configs/has_everything.cfg
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ exclude =
     ^/etc/
 include =
     .*
+include_only_with_project_file = false
 offline = false
 proxy = https://user:pass@localhost:8080
 no_ssl_verify = false
diff --git a/wakatime/arguments.py b/wakatime/arguments.py
index 140393c..4fb2da0 100644
--- a/wakatime/arguments.py
+++ b/wakatime/arguments.py
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ def parse_arguments():
         except TypeError:  # pragma: nocover
             pass
     if not args.include_only_with_project_file and configs.has_option('settings', 'include_only_with_project_file'):
-        args.include_only_with_project_file = configs.get('settings', 'include_only_with_project_file')
+        args.include_only_with_project_file = configs.get('settings', 'include_only_with_project_file') == 'true'
     if not args.include:
         args.include = []
     if configs.has_option('settings', 'include'):