diff --git a/tc/m_skbedit.c b/tc/m_skbedit.c
index cca05ed1..6b582f30 100644
--- a/tc/m_skbedit.c
+++ b/tc/m_skbedit.c
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@ parse_skbedit(struct action_util *a, int *argc_p, char ***argv_p, int tca_id,
 		argv++;
 	}
 
+	sel.action = TC_ACT_PIPE;
 	if (argc) {
 		if (matches(*argv, "reclassify") == 0) {
 			sel.action = TC_ACT_RECLASSIFY;