diff --git a/src/compositor.c b/src/compositor.c
index 9198b3b0..1bb03d8b 100644
--- a/src/compositor.c
+++ b/src/compositor.c
@@ -3431,8 +3431,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	sigaction(SIGSEGV, &segv_action, NULL);
 	segv_compositor = ec;
 
-	free(config_file);
-
 	ec->option_idle_time = idle_time;
 	ec->idle_time = idle_time;
 
@@ -3443,6 +3441,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	if (load_modules(ec, option_modules, &argc, argv, config_file) < 0)
 		goto out;
 
+	free(config_file);
+
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++)
 		weston_log("fatal: unhandled option: %s\n", argv[i]);
 	if (argc > 1) {