diff --git a/lua/tokyonight/util.lua b/lua/tokyonight/util.lua
index a70a996..7bce362 100644
--- a/lua/tokyonight/util.lua
+++ b/lua/tokyonight/util.lua
@@ -172,7 +172,9 @@ end
 ---@param theme Theme
 function M.load(theme)
   -- only needed to clear when not the default colorscheme
-  vim.cmd("hi clear")
+  if vim.g.colors_name then
+    vim.cmd("hi clear")
+  end
 
   vim.o.termguicolors = true
   vim.g.colors_name = "tokyonight"