diff --git a/zathura/main.c b/zathura/main.c
index 3c6f0dd..33c5d07 100644
--- a/zathura/main.c
+++ b/zathura/main.c
@@ -28,9 +28,6 @@ main(int argc, char* argv[])
   bind_textdomain_codeset(GETTEXT_PACKAGE, "UTF-8");
   textdomain(GETTEXT_PACKAGE);
 
-  /* init gtk */
-  gtk_init(&argc, &argv);
-
   /* parse command line arguments */
   gchar* config_dir     = NULL;
   gchar* data_dir       = NULL;
@@ -166,6 +163,9 @@ main(int argc, char* argv[])
     }
   }
 
+  /* init gtk */
+  gtk_init(&argc, &argv);
+
   /* create zathura session */
   zathura_t* zathura = zathura_create();
   if (zathura == NULL) {