diff --git a/yarn/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/config.scala b/yarn/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/config.scala
index 8d576bebb062f8a11ced61839b80dc25147a92e2..edfbfc5d58d86e7e67e942062113a3921518d66c 100644
--- a/yarn/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/config.scala
+++ b/yarn/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/deploy/yarn/config.scala
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ package object config {
   private[spark] val STAGING_DIR = ConfigBuilder("spark.yarn.stagingDir")
     .doc("Staging directory used while submitting applications.")
     .stringConf
-    .optional
+    .createOptional
 
   /* Cluster-mode launcher configuration. */