diff --git a/.changes/explicit_gtk_init.md b/.changes/explicit_gtk_init.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f23ff7264
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/explicit_gtk_init.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"tao": patch
+---
+
+Explicitly call `gtk::init()` as `gtk::Application::new` does not call it reliably.
+If `gtk::init()` is not called, 'GTK may only be used from the main thread' error can occur later.
+`gtk::init()` checks if already initialized and does nothing if so.