diff --git a/cmd/cmd.go b/cmd/cmd.go
index 73aef330..865fd61d 100644
--- a/cmd/cmd.go
+++ b/cmd/cmd.go
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ var (
 	ran           bool
 	shutdownGrace = 10 * time.Second
 
-	federations = []string{}
+	federations = ""
 )
 
 func ParseCLI() (err error) {
@@ -198,7 +198,9 @@ func commonConfigure() error {
 
 	// If list of federations is specified on the CLI, mutate the configuration directly
 	if len(federations) > 0 {
-		cfg.Choria.FederationCollectives = federations
+		cfg.Choria.FederationCollectives = strings.Split(federations, ",")
+	} else {
+		fmt.Println("We are not setting federations")
 	}
 
 	applyBuildAndEnvironmentSettings()
diff --git a/cmd/discover.go b/cmd/discover.go
index e39497cc..c707b6cd 100644
--- a/cmd/discover.go
+++ b/cmd/discover.go
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@ type discoverCommand struct {
 	verbose    bool
 	silent     bool
 	fo         *discovery.StandardOptions
-
-	federations []string
 }
 
 func (d *discoverCommand) Setup() error {
@@ -37,7 +35,9 @@ func (d *discoverCommand) Setup() error {
 	d.fo.AddSelectionFlags(d.cmd)
 	d.fo.AddFlatFileFlags(d.cmd)
 
-	d.cmd.Flag("federations", "List of federations to search for collectives in").StringsVar(&federations)
+	d.cmd.Flag("federations", "List of federations to search for collectives in, comma seperated").StringVar(&federations)
+
+	fmt.Println("asdf")
 
 	d.cmd.Flag("verbose", "Log verbosely").Default("false").Short('v').UnNegatableBoolVar(&d.verbose)
 	d.cmd.Flag("json", "Produce JSON output").Short('j').UnNegatableBoolVar(&d.jsonFormat)
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ func (d *discoverCommand) Setup() error {
 
 func (d *discoverCommand) Configure() error {
 	err = commonConfigure()
+
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}