diff --git a/bar/xcb.c b/bar/xcb.c
index a27b34f..db854dc 100644
--- a/bar/xcb.c
+++ b/bar/xcb.c
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ struct xcb_backend {
 void *
 bar_backend_xcb_new(void)
 {
+    xcb_init();
     return calloc(1, sizeof(struct xcb_backend));
 }
 
diff --git a/main.c b/main.c
index fd1c00c..8a35854 100644
--- a/main.c
+++ b/main.c
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
 #include "bar.h"
 #include "config.h"
 #include "yml.h"
-#include "xcb.h"
 
 #define LOG_MODULE "main"
 #include "log.h"
@@ -121,8 +120,6 @@ main(int argc, const char *const *argv)
         return 1;
     }
 
-    xcb_init();
-
     bar->abort_fd = abort_fd;
 
     thrd_t bar_thread;