diff --git a/news.d/bugfix/1832.linux.md b/news.d/bugfix/1832.linux.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0310d5acc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news.d/bugfix/1832.linux.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Make wmctrl optional on Wayland so it doesnt crash the program on startup.
diff --git a/plover/oslayer/linux/wmctrl.py b/plover/oslayer/linux/wmctrl.py
index 8f6e23303..810188c43 100644
--- a/plover/oslayer/linux/wmctrl.py
+++ b/plover/oslayer/linux/wmctrl.py
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
-from .wmctrl_x11 import WmCtrl
+from .display_server import DISPLAY_SERVER
 
-
-_wmctrl = WmCtrl()
-
-GetForegroundWindow = _wmctrl.get_foreground_window
-SetForegroundWindow = _wmctrl.set_foreground_window
+if DISPLAY_SERVER == "x11":
+    from .wmctrl_x11 import WmCtrl
+    _wmctrl = WmCtrl()
+    GetForegroundWindow = _wmctrl.get_foreground_window
+    SetForegroundWindow = _wmctrl.set_foreground_window
+else:
+    GetForegroundWindow = lambda: None
+    SetForegroundWindow = lambda w: None