diff --git a/src/calibre/gui2/webengine.py b/src/calibre/gui2/webengine.py
index 719e5b60a9..a2c47dcb05 100644
--- a/src/calibre/gui2/webengine.py
+++ b/src/calibre/gui2/webengine.py
@@ -130,8 +130,9 @@ class Bridge(QObject):
                     elif mt == 'qt-ready':
                         self._register_signals()
         except Exception:
-            import traceback
-            traceback.print_exc()
+            if messages:
+                import traceback
+                traceback.print_exc()
 
 
 class RestartingWebEngineView(QWebEngineView):