diff --git a/core/cli/upgrade.el b/core/cli/upgrade.el
index 334fae5d3..a11f3438c 100644
--- a/core/cli/upgrade.el
+++ b/core/cli/upgrade.el
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ following shell commands:
     bin/doom update"
   :bare t
   (when (doom-cli-upgrade doom-auto-accept force-p)
+    (require 'core-packages)
     (doom-initialize)
     (doom-initialize-packages)
     (when (doom-cli-packages-update)