diff --git a/app.go b/app.go
index b9adf46..c7e2594 100644
--- a/app.go
+++ b/app.go
@@ -165,6 +165,10 @@ func (a *App) Setup() {
 	if a.Metadata == nil {
 		a.Metadata = make(map[string]interface{})
 	}
+
+	if a.Writer == nil {
+		a.Writer = os.Stdout
+	}
 }
 
 // Run is the entry point to the cli app. Parses the arguments slice and routes
diff --git a/app_test.go b/app_test.go
index 23c8aa6..59fea69 100644
--- a/app_test.go
+++ b/app_test.go
@@ -202,6 +202,12 @@ func TestApp_Command(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestApp_Setup_defaultsWriter(t *testing.T) {
+	app := &App{}
+	app.Setup()
+	expect(t, app.Writer, os.Stdout)
+}
+
 func TestApp_CommandWithArgBeforeFlags(t *testing.T) {
 	var parsedOption, firstArg string