diff --git a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor-eglstream.c b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor-eglstream.c
index c911ed987..e5131b09c 100644
--- a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor-eglstream.c
+++ b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor-eglstream.c
@@ -962,6 +962,11 @@ xwl_glamor_eglstream_init_egl(struct xwl_screen *xwl_screen)
     };
     int n;
 
+    if (!(xwl_screen->glamor & XWL_GLAMOR_GL)) {
+        ErrorF("glamor: eglstream backend requires desktop OpenGL\n");
+        goto error;
+    }
+
     xwl_screen->egl_display = glamor_egl_get_display(
         EGL_PLATFORM_DEVICE_EXT, xwl_eglstream->egl_device);
     if (!xwl_screen->egl_display)
diff --git a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor-gbm.c b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor-gbm.c
index fca476b86..5707b5e63 100644
--- a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor-gbm.c
+++ b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor-gbm.c
@@ -1072,6 +1072,9 @@ xwl_glamor_try_big_gl_api(struct xwl_screen *xwl_screen)
     };
     int gl_version;
 
+    if (!(xwl_screen->glamor & XWL_GLAMOR_GL))
+        return FALSE;
+
     eglBindAPI(EGL_OPENGL_API);
 
     xwl_screen->egl_context =
@@ -1112,6 +1115,9 @@ xwl_glamor_try_gles_api(struct xwl_screen *xwl_screen)
         EGL_NONE,
     };
 
+    if (!(xwl_screen->glamor & XWL_GLAMOR_GL))
+        return FALSE;
+
     eglBindAPI(EGL_OPENGL_ES_API);
 
     xwl_screen->egl_context = eglCreateContext(xwl_screen->egl_display,
diff --git a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor.h b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor.h
index 183fe755a..f4069553c 100644
--- a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor.h
+++ b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-glamor.h
@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@ typedef enum _xwl_egl_backend_flags {
     XWL_EGL_BACKEND_NEEDS_N_BUFFERING = (1 << 1),
 } xwl_egl_backend_flags;
 
+typedef enum _xwl_glamor_mode_flags{
+    XWL_GLAMOR_NONE = 0,
+    XWL_GLAMOR_GL = (1 << 0),
+} xwl_glamor_mode_flags;
+
 struct xwl_egl_backend {
     /* Set by the backend if available */
     Bool is_available;
diff --git a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.c b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.c
index cc14e0771..7cc7775d0 100644
--- a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.c
+++ b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.c
@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@
 #ifdef XWL_HAS_EI
 #include "xwayland-xtest.h"
 #endif
+#ifdef XWL_HAS_GLAMOR
+#include "xwayland-glamor.h"
+#endif
 
 #ifdef MITSHM
 #include "shmint.h"
@@ -757,7 +760,7 @@ xwl_screen_init(ScreenPtr pScreen, int argc, char **argv)
 #endif
 
 #ifdef XWL_HAS_GLAMOR
-    xwl_screen->glamor = 1;
+    xwl_screen->glamor = XWL_GLAMOR_GL;
 #endif
 
     for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
@@ -778,7 +781,7 @@ xwl_screen_init(ScreenPtr pScreen, int argc, char **argv)
             defaultScreenSaverInterval = 0;
         }
         else if (strcmp(argv[i], "-shm") == 0) {
-            xwl_screen->glamor = 0;
+            xwl_screen->glamor = XWL_GLAMOR_NONE;
         }
         else if (strcmp(argv[i], "-eglstream") == 0) {
 #ifdef XWL_HAS_EGLSTREAM
@@ -961,7 +964,7 @@ xwl_screen_init(ScreenPtr pScreen, int argc, char **argv)
 
         if (xwl_screen->egl_backend == NULL || !xwl_glamor_init(xwl_screen)) {
            ErrorF("Failed to initialize glamor, falling back to sw\n");
-           xwl_screen->glamor = 0;
+           xwl_screen->glamor = XWL_GLAMOR_NONE;
         }
     }
 #ifdef GLAMOR_HAS_GBM
diff --git a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.h b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.h
index bd66dd681..9eaac16db 100644
--- a/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.h
+++ b/hw/xwayland/xwayland-screen.h
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ struct xwl_screen {
     enum RootClipMode root_clip_mode;
 
     int rootless;
-    int glamor;
+    xwl_glamor_mode_flags glamor;
     int present;
     int force_xrandr_emulation;
     int fullscreen;