diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 78930062..564eb7a4 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -106,6 +106,5 @@ setup(
         ],
 )
 
-
-if options.xdg:
+if sys.argv[1] in ('install', 'develop') and options.xdg:
     install_xdg()