diff --git a/news.d/bugfix/1313.core.md b/news.d/bugfix/1313.core.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d29bae206
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news.d/bugfix/1313.core.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Don't try to start missing extensions.
diff --git a/plover/engine.py b/plover/engine.py
index ad108a585..e9bfcdb34 100644
--- a/plover/engine.py
+++ b/plover/engine.py
@@ -276,6 +276,10 @@ def _start_extensions(self, extension_list):
             log.info('starting `%s` extension', extension_name)
             try:
                 extension = registry.get_plugin('extension', extension_name).obj(self)
+            except KeyError:
+                # Plugin not installed, skip.
+                continue
+            try:
                 extension.start()
             except Exception:
                 log.error('initializing extension `%s` failed', extension_name, exc_info=True)