diff --git a/src/gui_interface.py b/src/gui_interface.py
index cb466a6ead72289789fa543b41083193f77c4c31..c81483ad60830d19682b7d9e2031f860d4e58d0c 100644
--- a/src/gui_interface.py
+++ b/src/gui_interface.py
@@ -2754,6 +2754,10 @@ class Interface:
 
         cfg_was_read = parser.read()
 
+        if not cfg_was_read:
+            # enable plugin_installer by default when creating config file
+            gajim.config.set_per('plugins', 'plugin_installer', 'active', True)
+
         gajim.logger.reset_shown_unread_messages()
         # override logging settings from config (don't take care of '-q' option)
         if gajim.config.get('verbose'):