diff --git a/lua/plugins/lsp.lua b/lua/plugins/lsp.lua
index 30f8606..e1fd2c9 100644
--- a/lua/plugins/lsp.lua
+++ b/lua/plugins/lsp.lua
@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
-local configs = require "configs.lspconfig"
-
-vim.g.rustaceanvim = configs.rustacean
-
+-- configs.lspconfig pulls in nvchad.configs.lspconfig, which does not exist until
+-- NvChad is installed. Requiring it at spec-import time makes this whole file fail
+-- on a cold clone, silently dropping every LSP plugin below from the first launch.
 return {
   {
     "neovim/nvim-lspconfig",
     config = function()
-      configs.defaults()
+      require("configs.lspconfig").defaults()
     end,
   },
 
@@ -14,6 +13,9 @@ return {
     "mrcjkb/rustaceanvim",
     version = "^6",
     lazy = false,
+    init = function()
+      vim.g.rustaceanvim = require("configs.lspconfig").rustacean
+    end,
   },
 
   {
@@ -21,7 +23,7 @@ return {
     ft = { "typescript", "typescriptreact" },
     dependencies = { "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim", "neovim/nvim-lspconfig" },
     config = function()
-      require("typescript-tools").setup(configs.typescript)
+      require("typescript-tools").setup(require("configs.lspconfig").typescript)
     end,
   },