diff --git a/include/qapi/visitor-impl.h b/include/qapi/visitor-impl.h
index 7419684..44a21b7 100644
--- a/include/qapi/visitor-impl.h
+++ b/include/qapi/visitor-impl.h
@@ -44,9 +44,8 @@
     void (*type_any)(Visitor *v, QObject **obj, const char *name,
                      Error **errp);
 
-    /* May be NULL */
-    void (*optional)(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name,
-                     Error **errp);
+    /* May be NULL; most useful for input visitors. */
+    void (*optional)(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name);
 
     void (*type_uint8)(Visitor *v, uint8_t *obj, const char *name, Error **errp);
     void (*type_uint16)(Visitor *v, uint16_t *obj, const char *name, Error **errp);
diff --git a/include/qapi/visitor.h b/include/qapi/visitor.h
index 1414de1..9be60d4 100644
--- a/include/qapi/visitor.h
+++ b/include/qapi/visitor.h
@@ -36,8 +36,14 @@
 void visit_start_list(Visitor *v, const char *name, Error **errp);
 GenericList *visit_next_list(Visitor *v, GenericList **list, Error **errp);
 void visit_end_list(Visitor *v, Error **errp);
-void visit_optional(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name,
-                    Error **errp);
+
+/**
+ * Check if an optional member @name of an object needs visiting.
+ * For input visitors, set *@present according to whether the
+ * corresponding visit_type_*() needs calling; for other visitors,
+ * leave *@present unchanged.
+ */
+void visit_optional(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name);
 
 /**
  * Determine the qtype of the item @name in the current object visit.
diff --git a/qapi/opts-visitor.c b/qapi/opts-visitor.c
index cd10392..ef5fb8b 100644
--- a/qapi/opts-visitor.c
+++ b/qapi/opts-visitor.c
@@ -488,7 +488,7 @@
 
 
 static void
-opts_optional(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name, Error **errp)
+opts_optional(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name)
 {
     OptsVisitor *ov = DO_UPCAST(OptsVisitor, visitor, v);
 
diff --git a/qapi/qapi-visit-core.c b/qapi/qapi-visit-core.c
index cee76bc..e07d6f9 100644
--- a/qapi/qapi-visit-core.c
+++ b/qapi/qapi-visit-core.c
@@ -73,11 +73,10 @@
     }
 }
 
-void visit_optional(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name,
-                    Error **errp)
+void visit_optional(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name)
 {
     if (v->optional) {
-        v->optional(v, present, name, errp);
+        v->optional(v, present, name);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/qapi/qmp-input-visitor.c b/qapi/qmp-input-visitor.c
index 26b7414..932b5f3 100644
--- a/qapi/qmp-input-visitor.c
+++ b/qapi/qmp-input-visitor.c
@@ -303,8 +303,7 @@
     *obj = qobj;
 }
 
-static void qmp_input_optional(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name,
-                               Error **errp)
+static void qmp_input_optional(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name)
 {
     QmpInputVisitor *qiv = to_qiv(v);
     QObject *qobj = qmp_input_get_object(qiv, name, true);
diff --git a/qapi/string-input-visitor.c b/qapi/string-input-visitor.c
index bbd6a54..dee780a 100644
--- a/qapi/string-input-visitor.c
+++ b/qapi/string-input-visitor.c
@@ -299,8 +299,7 @@
     *obj = val;
 }
 
-static void parse_optional(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name,
-                           Error **errp)
+static void parse_optional(Visitor *v, bool *present, const char *name)
 {
     StringInputVisitor *siv = DO_UPCAST(StringInputVisitor, visitor, v);
 
diff --git a/scripts/qapi.py b/scripts/qapi.py
index 7e6c396..8bf41db 100644
--- a/scripts/qapi.py
+++ b/scripts/qapi.py
@@ -1656,15 +1656,11 @@
     for memb in members:
         if memb.optional:
             ret += mcgen('''
-    visit_optional(v, &%(prefix)shas_%(c_name)s, "%(name)s", %(errp)s);
+    visit_optional(v, &%(prefix)shas_%(c_name)s, "%(name)s");
+    if (%(prefix)shas_%(c_name)s) {
 ''',
                          prefix=prefix, c_name=c_name(memb.name),
                          name=memb.name, errp=errparg)
-            ret += gen_err_check(skiperr=skiperr)
-            ret += mcgen('''
-    if (%(prefix)shas_%(c_name)s) {
-''',
-                         prefix=prefix, c_name=c_name(memb.name))
             push_indent()
 
         # Ugly: sometimes we need to cast away const