diff --git a/libnm-core/nm-core-internal.h b/libnm-core/nm-core-internal.h
index 407d189e3c..769591065b 100644
--- a/libnm-core/nm-core-internal.h
+++ b/libnm-core/nm-core-internal.h
@@ -115,4 +115,6 @@ gboolean    _nm_utils_string_in_list   (const char *str,
 
 void _nm_dbus_errors_init (void);
 
+extern gboolean _nm_utils_is_manager_process;
+
 #endif
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index dd06f8f70a..b3206fb44e 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@
 #include "nm-dispatcher.h"
 #include "nm-settings.h"
 #include "nm-auth-manager.h"
+#include "nm-core-internal.h"
 
 #if !defined(NM_DIST_VERSION)
 # define NM_DIST_VERSION VERSION
@@ -231,6 +232,8 @@ main (int argc, char *argv[])
 		{NULL}
 	};
 
+	_nm_utils_is_manager_process = TRUE;
+
 	main_loop = g_main_loop_new (NULL, FALSE);
 
 	if (!nm_main_utils_early_setup ("NetworkManager",