diff --git a/lightningd/plugin.c b/lightningd/plugin.c
index 72457a46f..0cf31a15e 100644
--- a/lightningd/plugin.c
+++ b/lightningd/plugin.c
@@ -785,7 +785,7 @@ void plugins_init(struct plugins *plugins, const char *dev_plugin_debug)
 		cmd[0] = p->cmd;
 		if (debug)
 			cmd[1] = "--debugger";
-		p->pid = pipecmdarr(&stdin, &stdout, NULL, cmd);
+		p->pid = pipecmdarr(&stdin, &stdout, &pipecmd_preserve, cmd);
 
 		if (p->pid == -1)
 			fatal("error starting plugin '%s': %s", p->cmd,