diff --git a/Applications/CMakeLists.txt b/Applications/CMakeLists.txt
index 5cf58e97cb4dc2fcc9ce0a2981e1a83b645ea4f9..3f9779020ff1ea812a9fb40eac293aa1885a6831 100644
--- a/Applications/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Applications/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+if(OGS_BUILD_GUI)
+	add_definitions(-DOGS_BUILD_GUI)
+endif()
+
 add_subdirectory(ApplicationsLib)
 
 if(OGS_BUILD_UTILS AND NOT IS_SUBPROJECT)
@@ -5,7 +9,6 @@ if(OGS_BUILD_UTILS AND NOT IS_SUBPROJECT)
 endif() # OGS_BUILD_UTILS AND NOT IS_SUBPROJECT
 
 if(OGS_BUILD_GUI)
-	add_definitions(-DOGS_BUILD_GUI)
 	add_subdirectory(DataExplorer)
 endif() # OGS_BUILD_GUI