diff --git a/config.go b/config.go
index dc9a1453c..fa2575d28 100644
--- a/config.go
+++ b/config.go
@@ -860,6 +860,18 @@ func LoadConfig(interceptor signal.Interceptor) (*Config, error) {
 func ValidateConfig(cfg Config, interceptor signal.Interceptor, fileParser,
 	flagParser *flags.Parser) (*Config, error) {
 
+	// Special show command to list supported subsystems and exit.
+	if cfg.DebugLevel == "show" {
+		subLogMgr := build.NewSubLoggerManager()
+
+		// Initialize logging at the default logging level.
+		SetupLoggers(subLogMgr, interceptor)
+
+		fmt.Println("Supported subsystems",
+			subLogMgr.SupportedSubsystems())
+		os.Exit(0)
+	}
+
 	// If the provided lnd directory is not the default, we'll modify the
 	// path to all of the files and directories that will live within it.
 	lndDir := CleanAndExpandPath(cfg.LndDir)
@@ -1408,13 +1420,6 @@ func ValidateConfig(cfg Config, interceptor signal.Interceptor, fileParser,
 	// Initialize logging at the default logging level.
 	SetupLoggers(cfg.SubLogMgr, interceptor)
 
-	// Special show command to list supported subsystems and exit.
-	if cfg.DebugLevel == "show" {
-		fmt.Println("Supported subsystems",
-			cfg.SubLogMgr.SupportedSubsystems())
-		os.Exit(0)
-	}
-
 	if cfg.MaxLogFiles != 0 {
 		if cfg.LogConfig.File.MaxLogFiles !=
 			build.DefaultMaxLogFiles {