diff --git a/src/main/java/hudson/remoting/Launcher.java b/src/main/java/hudson/remoting/Launcher.java
index 58c5e0265..4c6393d46 100644
--- a/src/main/java/hudson/remoting/Launcher.java
+++ b/src/main/java/hudson/remoting/Launcher.java
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ public void run() throws CmdLineException, IOException, InterruptedException {
         if(connectionTarget!=null) {
             runAsTcpClient();
         } else
-        if (agentJnlpURL != null || !urls.isEmpty()) {
+        if (agentJnlpURL != null || !urls.isEmpty() || directConnection != null) {
             if (agentJnlpURL != null) {
                 bootstrapInboundAgent();
             }