diff --git a/libapper/CMakeLists.txt b/libapper/CMakeLists.txt
--- a/libapper/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/libapper/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -59,7 +59,10 @@
     KF5::I18n
     Qt5::Core
     PK::packagekitqt5
-    AppStreamQt
 )
 
+if(APPSTREAM)
+target_link_libraries(apper_private AppStreamQt)
+endif()
+
 install(TARGETS apper_private DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR}/apper)