diff --git a/unittest/commands/CMakeLists.txt b/unittest/commands/CMakeLists.txt
index 6fae0c2463..a658c8a25d 100644
--- a/unittest/commands/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/unittest/commands/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -23,7 +23,9 @@ if(NOT ${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} STREQUAL "Windows" AND PKG_PLUGIN)
 endif()
 
 add_executable(test_simple_commands test_simple_commands.cpp)
-add_dependencies(test_simple_commands plugins)
+if(PKG_PLUGIN)
+  add_dependencies(test_simple_commands plugins)
+endif()
 target_link_libraries(test_simple_commands PRIVATE lammps GTest::GMock GTest::GTest)
 add_test(NAME SimpleCommands COMMAND test_simple_commands WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR})