diff --git a/src/odoc/bin/main.ml b/src/odoc/bin/main.ml
index 67fffd2fad..229e8174f1 100644
--- a/src/odoc/bin/main.ml
+++ b/src/odoc/bin/main.ml
@@ -188,13 +188,14 @@ end = struct
       match
         (parent_name_opt, package_opt, parent_id_opt, children, output_dir)
       with
-      | Some p, None, None, _, None ->
-          Ok (Compile.CliParent { parent = p; children; output })
+      | Some _, None, None, _, None ->
+          Ok (Compile.CliParent { parent = parent_name_opt; children; output })
       | None, Some p, None, [], None ->
           Ok (Compile.CliPackage { package = p; output })
       | None, None, Some p, [], Some output_dir ->
           Ok (Compile.CliParentId { parent_id = p; output_dir })
-      | None, None, None, _, None -> Ok (Compile.CliNoParent output)
+      | None, None, None, _ :: _, None -> Ok (Compile.CliParent {parent=None;output;children})
+      | None, None, None, [] , None -> Ok (Compile.CliNoParent output)
       | Some _, Some _, _, _, _ ->
           error "Either --package or --parent should be specified, not both."
       | _, Some _, Some _, _, _ ->
diff --git a/src/odoc/compile.ml b/src/odoc/compile.ml
index adbd840020..5256bf9b30 100644
--- a/src/odoc/compile.ml
+++ b/src/odoc/compile.ml
@@ -22,7 +22,11 @@ open Or_error
 type cli_spec =
   | CliNoParent of Fpath.t
   | CliPackage of { package : string; output : Fpath.t }
-  | CliParent of { parent : string; children : string list; output : Fpath.t }
+  | CliParent of {
+      parent : string option;
+      children : string list;
+      output : Fpath.t;
+    }
   | CliParentId of { parent_id : string; output_dir : string }
 
 type spec = {
@@ -81,7 +85,7 @@ let resolve_parent_page resolver f =
   in
   let extract_parent = function
     | { Paths.Identifier.iv = `Page _; _ } as container -> Ok container
-    | _ -> Error (`Msg "Specified parent is not a parent of this file")
+    | { Paths.Identifier.iv = `LeafPage _; _ } -> Error (`Msg "leaf page")
   in
   parse_parent_child_reference f >>= fun r ->
   find_parent r >>= fun page ->
@@ -258,14 +262,14 @@ let resolve_spec ~input resolver cli_spec =
            Format.eprintf
              "Warning: Potential name clash - child page named 'index'\n%!"
        | _ -> ());
-      resolve_parent_page resolver parent >>= fun (parent_id, siblings) ->
-      Ok
-        {
-          parent_id = Some parent_id;
-          siblings = Some siblings;
-          children;
-          output;
-        }
+      let parent =
+        match Option.map (resolve_parent_page resolver) parent with
+        | Some (Ok (parent_id, siblings)) -> Ok (Some parent_id, Some siblings)
+        | None -> Ok (None, None)
+        | Some (Error e) -> Error e
+      in
+      parent >>= fun (parent_id, siblings) ->
+      Ok { parent_id; siblings; children; output }
   | CliPackage { package; output } ->
       Ok
         {
diff --git a/src/odoc/compile.mli b/src/odoc/compile.mli
index 1d6fb83435..c93d7eae67 100644
--- a/src/odoc/compile.mli
+++ b/src/odoc/compile.mli
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ open Or_error
 type cli_spec =
   | CliNoParent of Fpath.t
   | CliPackage of { package : string; output : Fpath.t }
-  | CliParent of { parent : string; children : string list; output : Fpath.t }
+  | CliParent of { parent : string option; children : string list; output : Fpath.t }
   | CliParentId of { parent_id : string; output_dir : string }
 
 
diff --git a/test/pages/assets.t/run.t b/test/pages/assets.t/run.t
index 89439be4cb..04816657db 100644
--- a/test/pages/assets.t/run.t
+++ b/test/pages/assets.t/run.t
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ Compile the module first
 Then we need to odoc-compile the package mld file, listing its children
 
   $ odoc compile index.mld --child module-test --child asset-img.jpg
+  Warning: Potential name clash - child page named 'index'
 
 This will have produced a file called 'page-index.odoc'.
 Now we can odoc-compile the module odoc file passing that file as parent.
diff --git a/test/pages/errors.t/run.t b/test/pages/errors.t/run.t
index 778a984d7b..a5fd2ce6a5 100644
--- a/test/pages/errors.t/run.t
+++ b/test/pages/errors.t/run.t
@@ -7,26 +7,21 @@ Let's check for expected errors.
 We need to match parents with children
   $ odoc compile -c dummy top1.mld
   $ odoc compile -I . --parent top1 sub1.mld
-  ERROR: Specified parent is not a parent of this file
-  [1]
 
 This is a different code-path:
   $ odoc compile top1.mld --child foo
   $ odoc compile -I . --parent top1 sub1.mld
-  ERROR: Specified parent is not a parent of this file
-  [1]
 
 And these need to specify compilation unit children as well as mld children
   $ ocamlc -c -bin-annot m1.mli
   $ odoc compile m1.cmti -I . --parent top1
-  ERROR: Specified parent is not a parent of this file
+  ERROR: File "m1.cmti":
+  Specified parent is not a parent of this file
   [1]
 
 Parents must be pages
   $ odoc compile top1.mld --child M1
   $ odoc compile m1.cmti -I . --parent top1
-  ERROR: Specified parent is not a parent of this file
-  [1]
   $ odoc compile sub1.mld -I . --parent module-M1
   ERROR: Expecting page as parent
   [1]
@@ -34,6 +29,8 @@ Parents must be pages
 Linking checks the children are all present:
   $ odoc compile top1.mld --child foo
   $ odoc link page-top1.odoc -I .
+  File "page-top1.odoc":
+  Warning: Failed to lookup child page foo
 
   $ odoc compile --parent bla --parent-id blabla m1.mli
   Either --parent or --parent-id should be specified, not both.