diff --git a/src/pycage/compile.py b/src/pycage/compile.py
index 016d708..746126f 100644
--- a/src/pycage/compile.py
+++ b/src/pycage/compile.py
@@ -40,9 +40,16 @@ def compile(
         click.echo("Base interpreter path could not be found", err=True)
         return
 
+    opt_level: str = ""
+    if optimise == 1:
+        opt_level = "-O"
+    elif optimise == 2:
+        opt_level = "-OO"
+
     exclude_rx: str = "[\\\\|/]+tcl[\\\\|/]+"
-    cmd = [
+    run_cmd: list[str] = [
         str(pth_intp),
+        opt_level,
         "-m",
         "compileall",
         "./python/",
@@ -52,10 +59,12 @@ def compile(
         str(optimise),
     ]
     if force:
-        cmd.extend(("-f",))
+        run_cmd.extend(("-f",))
+
+    run_cmd = [cmd for cmd in run_cmd if cmd]
 
     try:
-        subprocess.run(cmd)
+        subprocess.run(run_cmd)
     except Exception as err:
         print_error(err)
         return