diff --git a/sway/config.c b/sway/config.c
index 71382b864..75bce77f1 100644
--- a/sway/config.c
+++ b/sway/config.c
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@ struct sway_config *config = NULL;
 static struct xkb_state *keysym_translation_state_create(
 		struct xkb_rule_names rules) {
 	struct xkb_context *context = xkb_context_new(XKB_CONTEXT_NO_FLAGS);
+	if (!context)
+		sway_abort("Failed to create XKB context");
+
 	struct xkb_keymap *xkb_keymap = xkb_keymap_new_from_names(
 		context,
 		&rules,