diff --git a/lib/gs-appstream.c b/lib/gs-appstream.c
index 38cc31bb5..c73adce6d 100644
--- a/lib/gs-appstream.c
+++ b/lib/gs-appstream.c
@@ -1626,12 +1626,12 @@ gs_appstream_add_categories (XbSilo *silo,
 			for (guint k = 0; k < groups->len; k++) {
 				const gchar *group = g_ptr_array_index (groups, k);
 				guint cnt = gs_appstream_count_component_for_groups (silo, group);
-				for (guint l = 0; l < cnt; l++) {
-					gs_category_increment_size (parent);
+				if (cnt > 0) {
+					gs_category_increment_size (parent, cnt);
 					if (children->len > 1) {
 						/* Parent category has multiple groups, so increment
 						 * each group's size too */
-						gs_category_increment_size (cat);
+						gs_category_increment_size (cat, cnt);
 					}
 				}
 			}
diff --git a/lib/gs-category.c b/lib/gs-category.c
index b311c4941..4baede3bc 100644
--- a/lib/gs-category.c
+++ b/lib/gs-category.c
@@ -147,17 +147,19 @@ gs_category_set_size (GsCategory *category, guint size)
 /**
  * gs_category_increment_size:
  * @category: a #GsCategory
+ * @value: how many to add
  *
- * Adds one to the size count if an application is available
+ * Adds @value to the size count.
  *
  * Since: 3.22
  **/
 void
-gs_category_increment_size (GsCategory *category)
+gs_category_increment_size (GsCategory *category,
+			    guint value)
 {
 	g_return_if_fail (GS_IS_CATEGORY (category));
 
-	category->size++;
+	category->size += value;
 	g_object_notify_by_pspec (G_OBJECT (category), obj_props[PROP_SIZE]);
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/gs-category.h b/lib/gs-category.h
index ecd2e1e23..1e82591aa 100644
--- a/lib/gs-category.h
+++ b/lib/gs-category.h
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ GsCategory	*gs_category_find_child		(GsCategory	*category,
 GPtrArray	*gs_category_get_children	(GsCategory	*category);
 
 guint		 gs_category_get_size		(GsCategory	*category);
-void		 gs_category_increment_size	(GsCategory	*category);
+void		 gs_category_increment_size	(GsCategory	*category,
+						 guint		 value);
 
 G_END_DECLS
diff --git a/src/gs-shell.c b/src/gs-shell.c
index db449a9b0..796d7b05a 100644
--- a/src/gs-shell.c
+++ b/src/gs-shell.c
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ struct _GsShell
 	GtkWidget		*primary_menu;
 	GtkWidget		*sub_page_header_title;
 
+	gboolean		 active_after_setup;
 	gboolean		 is_narrow;
 	guint			 allocation_changed_cb_id;
 
@@ -165,6 +166,12 @@ gs_shell_modal_dialog_present (GsShell *shell, GtkWindow *window)
 void
 gs_shell_activate (GsShell *shell)
 {
+	/* Waiting for plugin loader to setup first */
+	if (shell->plugin_loader == NULL) {
+		shell->active_after_setup = TRUE;
+		return;
+	}
+
 	gtk_widget_show (GTK_WIDGET (shell));
 	gtk_window_present (GTK_WINDOW (shell));
 }
@@ -2237,6 +2244,11 @@ gs_shell_setup (GsShell *shell, GsPluginLoader *plugin_loader, GCancellable *can
 		if (g_settings_get_boolean (shell->settings, "first-run"))
 			g_settings_set_boolean (shell->settings, "first-run", FALSE);
 	}
+
+	if (shell->active_after_setup) {
+		shell->active_after_setup = FALSE;
+		gs_shell_activate (shell);
+	}
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/src/gs-application.c b/src/gs-application.c
index e3f5f55c7..bdadd5c34 100644
--- a/src/gs-application.c
+++ b/src/gs-application.c
@@ -968,12 +968,9 @@ gs_application_startup (GApplication *application)
 							 G_CALLBACK (gs_application_shell_loaded_cb),
 							 app);
 
-	gs_shell_setup (app->shell, app->plugin_loader, app->cancellable);
 	app->main_window = GTK_WINDOW (app->shell);
 	gtk_application_add_window (GTK_APPLICATION (app), app->main_window);
 
-	app->update_monitor = gs_update_monitor_new (app, app->plugin_loader);
-
 	gs_application_update_software_sources_presence (application);
 
 	/* Set up the plugins. */
@@ -990,6 +987,7 @@ startup_cb (GObject      *source_object,
             GAsyncResult *result,
             gpointer      user_data)
 {
+	GsApplication *app = GS_APPLICATION (user_data);
 	GsPluginLoader *plugin_loader = GS_PLUGIN_LOADER (source_object);
 	g_autoptr(GError) local_error = NULL;
 
@@ -1002,6 +1000,11 @@ startup_cb (GObject      *source_object,
 
 	/* show the priority of each plugin */
 	gs_plugin_loader_dump_state (plugin_loader);
+
+	/* Setup the shell only after the plugin loader finished its setup,
+	   thus all plugins are loaded and ready for the jobs. */
+	gs_shell_setup (app->shell, app->plugin_loader, app->cancellable);
+	app->update_monitor = gs_update_monitor_new (app, app->plugin_loader);
 }
 
 static void