diff --git a/src/plugins/qmakeprojectmanager/qmakebuildconfiguration.cpp b/src/plugins/qmakeprojectmanager/qmakebuildconfiguration.cpp
index 295d7b53a6f..da00fc54a8c 100644
--- a/src/plugins/qmakeprojectmanager/qmakebuildconfiguration.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/qmakeprojectmanager/qmakebuildconfiguration.cpp
@@ -644,7 +644,8 @@ BuildConfiguration *QmakeBuildConfigurationFactory::create(Target *parent, const
             = QmakeBuildConfiguration::removeQMLInspectorFromArguments(&additionalArguments);
     if (!additionalArguments.isEmpty())
         qmakeStep->setUserArguments(additionalArguments);
-    qmakeStep->setLinkQmlDebuggingLibrary(enableQmlDebugger);
+    if (!qmakeInfo->makefile.isEmpty())
+        qmakeStep->setLinkQmlDebuggingLibrary(enableQmlDebugger);
 
     bc->setQMakeBuildConfiguration(config);