diff --git a/audio/meson.build b/audio/meson.build
index 18a831129e..7d53b0f920 100644
--- a/audio/meson.build
+++ b/audio/meson.build
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+softmmu_ss.add([spice_headers, files('audio.c')])
 softmmu_ss.add(files(
-  'audio.c',
   'audio_legacy.c',
   'mixeng.c',
   'noaudio.c',
diff --git a/chardev/meson.build b/chardev/meson.build
index dd2699a11b..859d8b04d4 100644
--- a/chardev/meson.build
+++ b/chardev/meson.build
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ chardev_ss.add(when: 'CONFIG_WIN32', if_true: files(
 chardev_ss = chardev_ss.apply(config_host, strict: false)
 
 softmmu_ss.add(files('chardev-sysemu.c', 'msmouse.c', 'wctablet.c', 'testdev.c'))
-softmmu_ss.add(when: ['CONFIG_SPICE', spice], if_true: files('spice.c'))
 
 chardev_modules = {}
 
@@ -36,4 +35,10 @@ if config_host.has_key('CONFIG_BRLAPI')
   chardev_modules += { 'baum': module_ss }
 endif
 
+if config_host.has_key('CONFIG_SPICE')
+  module_ss = ss.source_set()
+  module_ss.add(when: [spice], if_true: files('spice.c'))
+  chardev_modules += { 'spice': module_ss }
+endif
+
 modules += { 'chardev': chardev_modules }
diff --git a/chardev/spice.c b/chardev/spice.c
index bf7ea1e294..7d1fb17718 100644
--- a/chardev/spice.c
+++ b/chardev/spice.c
@@ -14,9 +14,6 @@ typedef struct SpiceCharSource {
     SpiceChardev       *scd;
 } SpiceCharSource;
 
-static QLIST_HEAD(, SpiceChardev) spice_chars =
-    QLIST_HEAD_INITIALIZER(spice_chars);
-
 static int vmc_write(SpiceCharDeviceInstance *sin, const uint8_t *buf, int len)
 {
     SpiceChardev *scd = container_of(sin, SpiceChardev, sin);
@@ -216,8 +213,6 @@ static void char_spice_finalize(Object *obj)
 
     vmc_unregister_interface(s);
 
-    QLIST_SAFE_REMOVE(s, next);
-
     g_free((char *)s->sin.subtype);
     g_free((char *)s->sin.portname);
 }
@@ -256,8 +251,6 @@ static void chr_open(Chardev *chr, const char *subtype)
 
     s->active = false;
     s->sin.subtype = g_strdup(subtype);
-
-    QLIST_INSERT_HEAD(&spice_chars, s, next);
 }
 
 static void qemu_chr_open_spice_vmc(Chardev *chr,
@@ -296,10 +289,10 @@ static void qemu_chr_open_spice_vmc(Chardev *chr,
     chr_open(chr, type);
 }
 
-void qemu_chr_open_spice_port(Chardev *chr,
-                              ChardevBackend *backend,
-                              bool *be_opened,
-                              Error **errp)
+static void qemu_chr_open_spice_port(Chardev *chr,
+                                     ChardevBackend *backend,
+                                     bool *be_opened,
+                                     Error **errp)
 {
     ChardevSpicePort *spiceport = backend->u.spiceport.data;
     const char *name = spiceport->fqdn;
@@ -310,28 +303,18 @@ void qemu_chr_open_spice_port(Chardev *chr,
         return;
     }
 
+    if (!using_spice) {
+        error_setg(errp, "spice not enabled");
+        return;
+    }
+
     chr_open(chr, "port");
 
     *be_opened = false;
     s = SPICE_CHARDEV(chr);
     s->sin.portname = g_strdup(name);
 
-    if (using_spice) {
-        /* spice server already created */
-        vmc_register_interface(s);
-    }
-}
-
-void qemu_spice_register_ports(void)
-{
-    SpiceChardev *s;
-
-    QLIST_FOREACH(s, &spice_chars, next) {
-        if (s->sin.portname == NULL) {
-            continue;
-        }
-        vmc_register_interface(s);
-    }
+    vmc_register_interface(s);
 }
 
 static void qemu_chr_parse_spice_vmc(QemuOpts *opts, ChardevBackend *backend,
diff --git a/include/chardev/spice.h b/include/chardev/spice.h
index 99f26aedde..58e5b727e9 100644
--- a/include/chardev/spice.h
+++ b/include/chardev/spice.h
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ struct SpiceChardev {
     bool                  blocked;
     const uint8_t         *datapos;
     int                   datalen;
-    QLIST_ENTRY(SpiceChardev) next;
 };
 typedef struct SpiceChardev SpiceChardev;
 
@@ -24,7 +23,4 @@ typedef struct SpiceChardev SpiceChardev;
 DECLARE_INSTANCE_CHECKER(SpiceChardev, SPICE_CHARDEV,
                          TYPE_CHARDEV_SPICE)
 
-void qemu_chr_open_spice_port(Chardev *chr, ChardevBackend *backend,
-                              bool *be_opened, Error **errp);
-
 #endif
diff --git a/include/qemu/module.h b/include/qemu/module.h
index 9121a475c1..944d403cbd 100644
--- a/include/qemu/module.h
+++ b/include/qemu/module.h
@@ -61,15 +61,15 @@ typedef enum {
 #define fuzz_target_init(function) module_init(function, \
                                                MODULE_INIT_FUZZ_TARGET)
 #define migration_init(function) module_init(function, MODULE_INIT_MIGRATION)
-#define block_module_load_one(lib) module_load_one("block-", lib)
-#define ui_module_load_one(lib) module_load_one("ui-", lib)
-#define audio_module_load_one(lib) module_load_one("audio-", lib)
+#define block_module_load_one(lib) module_load_one("block-", lib, false)
+#define ui_module_load_one(lib) module_load_one("ui-", lib, false)
+#define audio_module_load_one(lib) module_load_one("audio-", lib, false)
 
 void register_module_init(void (*fn)(void), module_init_type type);
 void register_dso_module_init(void (*fn)(void), module_init_type type);
 
 void module_call_init(module_init_type type);
-bool module_load_one(const char *prefix, const char *lib_name);
+bool module_load_one(const char *prefix, const char *lib_name, bool mayfail);
 void module_load_qom_one(const char *type);
 void module_load_qom_all(void);
 
diff --git a/include/ui/qemu-spice.h b/include/ui/qemu-spice.h
index 12474d88f4..0e8ec3f0d7 100644
--- a/include/ui/qemu-spice.h
+++ b/include/ui/qemu-spice.h
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ int qemu_spice_migrate_info(const char *hostname, int port, int tls_port,
 #else
 #define SPICE_NEEDS_SET_MM_TIME 0
 #endif
-void qemu_spice_register_ports(void);
 
 #else  /* CONFIG_SPICE */
 
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 1a4a482492..2c6169fab0 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -321,9 +321,11 @@ if 'CONFIG_LIBJACK' in config_host
   jack = declare_dependency(link_args: config_host['JACK_LIBS'].split())
 endif
 spice = not_found
+spice_headers = not_found
 if 'CONFIG_SPICE' in config_host
   spice = declare_dependency(compile_args: config_host['SPICE_CFLAGS'].split(),
                              link_args: config_host['SPICE_LIBS'].split())
+  spice_headers = declare_dependency(compile_args: config_host['SPICE_CFLAGS'].split())
 endif
 rt = cc.find_library('rt', required: false)
 libdl = not_found
diff --git a/monitor/meson.build b/monitor/meson.build
index eb2a534fdc..6d00985ace 100644
--- a/monitor/meson.build
+++ b/monitor/meson.build
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ qmp_ss.add(files('monitor.c', 'qmp.c', 'qmp-cmds-control.c'))
 softmmu_ss.add(files(
   'hmp-cmds.c',
   'hmp.c',
-  'qmp-cmds.c',
 ))
+softmmu_ss.add([spice_headers, files('qmp-cmds.c')])
 
 specific_ss.add(when: 'CONFIG_SOFTMMU', if_true: [files('misc.c'), spice])
diff --git a/softmmu/qtest.c b/softmmu/qtest.c
index 2c6e8dc858..7965dc9a16 100644
--- a/softmmu/qtest.c
+++ b/softmmu/qtest.c
@@ -757,7 +757,7 @@ static void qtest_process_command(CharBackend *chr, gchar **words)
         g_assert(words[1] && words[2]);
 
         qtest_send_prefix(chr);
-        if (module_load_one(words[1], words[2])) {
+        if (module_load_one(words[1], words[2], false)) {
             qtest_sendf(chr, "OK\n");
         } else {
             qtest_sendf(chr, "FAIL\n");
diff --git a/softmmu/vl.c b/softmmu/vl.c
index 254ee5e525..cb476aa70b 100644
--- a/softmmu/vl.c
+++ b/softmmu/vl.c
@@ -4148,6 +4148,11 @@ void qemu_init(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
                       user_creatable_add_opts_foreach,
                       object_create_initial, &error_fatal);
 
+    /* spice needs the timers to be initialized by this point */
+    /* spice must initialize before audio as it changes the default auiodev */
+    /* spice must initialize before chardevs (for spicevmc and spiceport) */
+    qemu_spice_init();
+
     qemu_opts_foreach(qemu_find_opts("chardev"),
                       chardev_init_func, NULL, &error_fatal);
 
@@ -4156,10 +4161,6 @@ void qemu_init(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
                       fsdev_init_func, NULL, &error_fatal);
 #endif
 
-    /* spice needs the timers to be initialized by this point */
-    /* spice must initialize before audio as it changes the default auiodev */
-    qemu_spice_init();
-
     /*
      * Note: we need to create audio and block backends before
      * machine_set_property(), so machine properties can refer to
diff --git a/ui/meson.build b/ui/meson.build
index 78ad792ffb..6ce8148678 100644
--- a/ui/meson.build
+++ b/ui/meson.build
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ softmmu_ss.add(files(
 ))
 
 softmmu_ss.add(when: 'CONFIG_LINUX', if_true: files('input-linux.c'))
-softmmu_ss.add(when: 'CONFIG_SPICE', if_true: files('spice-core.c', 'spice-input.c', 'spice-display.c'))
+softmmu_ss.add(when: [spice, 'CONFIG_SPICE'], if_true: files('spice-core.c', 'spice-input.c', 'spice-display.c'))
 softmmu_ss.add(when: cocoa, if_true: files('cocoa.m'))
 
 vnc_ss = ss.source_set()
diff --git a/ui/spice-app.c b/ui/spice-app.c
index 93e105c6ee..026124ef56 100644
--- a/ui/spice-app.c
+++ b/ui/spice-app.c
@@ -44,11 +44,15 @@ static char *sock_path;
 struct VCChardev {
     SpiceChardev parent;
 };
-typedef struct VCChardev VCChardev;
+
+struct VCChardevClass {
+    ChardevClass parent;
+    void (*parent_open)(Chardev *chr, ChardevBackend *backend,
+                        bool *be_opened, Error **errp);
+};
 
 #define TYPE_CHARDEV_VC "chardev-vc"
-DECLARE_INSTANCE_CHECKER(VCChardev, VC_CHARDEV,
-                         TYPE_CHARDEV_VC)
+OBJECT_DECLARE_TYPE(VCChardev, VCChardevClass, CHARDEV_VC)
 
 static ChardevBackend *
 chr_spice_backend_new(void)
@@ -66,6 +70,7 @@ static void vc_chr_open(Chardev *chr,
                         bool *be_opened,
                         Error **errp)
 {
+    VCChardevClass *vc = CHARDEV_VC_GET_CLASS(chr);
     ChardevBackend *be;
     const char *fqdn = NULL;
 
@@ -80,7 +85,7 @@ static void vc_chr_open(Chardev *chr,
     be = chr_spice_backend_new();
     be->u.spiceport.data->fqdn = fqdn ?
         g_strdup(fqdn) : g_strdup_printf("org.qemu.console.%s", chr->label);
-    qemu_chr_open_spice_port(chr, be, be_opened, errp);
+    vc->parent_open(chr, be, be_opened, errp);
     qapi_free_ChardevBackend(be);
 }
 
@@ -91,8 +96,11 @@ static void vc_chr_set_echo(Chardev *chr, bool echo)
 
 static void char_vc_class_init(ObjectClass *oc, void *data)
 {
+    VCChardevClass *vc = CHARDEV_VC_CLASS(oc);
     ChardevClass *cc = CHARDEV_CLASS(oc);
 
+    vc->parent_open = cc->open;
+
     cc->parse = qemu_chr_parse_vc;
     cc->open = vc_chr_open;
     cc->chr_set_echo = vc_chr_set_echo;
@@ -103,6 +111,7 @@ static const TypeInfo char_vc_type_info = {
     .parent = TYPE_CHARDEV_SPICEPORT,
     .instance_size = sizeof(VCChardev),
     .class_init = char_vc_class_init,
+    .class_size = sizeof(VCChardevClass),
 };
 
 static void spice_app_atexit(void)
@@ -120,7 +129,6 @@ static void spice_app_atexit(void)
 static void spice_app_display_early_init(DisplayOptions *opts)
 {
     QemuOpts *qopts;
-    ChardevBackend *be = chr_spice_backend_new();
     GError *err = NULL;
 
     if (opts->has_full_screen) {
@@ -165,6 +173,15 @@ static void spice_app_display_early_init(DisplayOptions *opts)
     qemu_opt_set(qopts, "gl", opts->has_gl ? "on" : "off", &error_abort);
     display_opengl = opts->has_gl;
 #endif
+}
+
+static void spice_app_display_init(DisplayState *ds, DisplayOptions *opts)
+{
+    ChardevBackend *be = chr_spice_backend_new();
+    QemuOpts *qopts;
+    GError *err = NULL;
+    gchar *uri;
+
     be->u.spiceport.data->fqdn = g_strdup("org.qemu.monitor.qmp.0");
     qemu_chardev_new("org.qemu.monitor.qmp", TYPE_CHARDEV_SPICEPORT,
                      be, NULL, &error_abort);
@@ -174,13 +191,6 @@ static void spice_app_display_early_init(DisplayOptions *opts)
     qemu_opt_set(qopts, "mode", "control", &error_abort);
 
     qapi_free_ChardevBackend(be);
-}
-
-static void spice_app_display_init(DisplayState *ds, DisplayOptions *opts)
-{
-    GError *err = NULL;
-    gchar *uri;
-
     uri = g_strjoin("", "spice+unix://", app_dir, "/", "spice.sock", NULL);
     info_report("Launching display with URI: %s", uri);
     g_app_info_launch_default_for_uri(uri, NULL, &err);
diff --git a/ui/spice-core.c b/ui/spice-core.c
index 10aa309f78..47700b2200 100644
--- a/ui/spice-core.c
+++ b/ui/spice-core.c
@@ -812,8 +812,6 @@ void qemu_spice_init(void)
     g_free(x509_cert_file);
     g_free(x509_cacert_file);
 
-    qemu_spice_register_ports();
-
 #ifdef HAVE_SPICE_GL
     if (qemu_opt_get_bool(opts, "gl", 0)) {
         if ((port != 0) || (tls_port != 0)) {
diff --git a/util/module.c b/util/module.c
index a44ec38d93..f0ed05fbd0 100644
--- a/util/module.c
+++ b/util/module.c
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ void module_call_init(module_init_type type)
 }
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_MODULES
-static int module_load_file(const char *fname)
+static int module_load_file(const char *fname, bool mayfail)
 {
     GModule *g_module;
     void (*sym)(void);
@@ -134,8 +134,10 @@ static int module_load_file(const char *fname)
 
     g_module = g_module_open(fname, G_MODULE_BIND_LAZY | G_MODULE_BIND_LOCAL);
     if (!g_module) {
-        fprintf(stderr, "Failed to open module: %s\n",
-                g_module_error());
+        if (!mayfail) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "Failed to open module: %s\n",
+                    g_module_error());
+        }
         ret = -EINVAL;
         goto out;
     }
@@ -167,7 +169,7 @@ out:
 }
 #endif
 
-bool module_load_one(const char *prefix, const char *lib_name)
+bool module_load_one(const char *prefix, const char *lib_name, bool mayfail)
 {
     bool success = false;
 
@@ -218,7 +220,7 @@ bool module_load_one(const char *prefix, const char *lib_name)
     for (i = 0; i < n_dirs; i++) {
         fname = g_strdup_printf("%s/%s%s",
                 dirs[i], module_name, CONFIG_HOST_DSOSUF);
-        ret = module_load_file(fname);
+        ret = module_load_file(fname, mayfail);
         g_free(fname);
         fname = NULL;
         /* Try loading until loaded a module file */
@@ -248,8 +250,10 @@ bool module_load_one(const char *prefix, const char *lib_name)
  * only a very few devices & objects.
  *
  * So with the expectation that this will be rather the exception than
- * to rule and the list will not gain that many entries go with a
+ * the rule and the list will not gain that many entries, go with a
  * simple manually maintained list for now.
+ *
+ * The list must be sorted by module (module_load_qom_all() needs this).
  */
 static struct {
     const char *type;
@@ -264,6 +268,8 @@ static struct {
     { "virtio-gpu-device",     "hw-", "display-virtio-gpu"    },
     { "vhost-user-gpu",        "hw-", "display-virtio-gpu"    },
     { "chardev-braille",       "chardev-", "baum"             },
+    { "chardev-spicevmc",      "chardev-", "spice"            },
+    { "chardev-spiceport",     "chardev-", "spice"            },
 };
 
 static bool module_loaded_qom_all;
@@ -275,13 +281,11 @@ void module_load_qom_one(const char *type)
     if (!type) {
         return;
     }
-    if (module_loaded_qom_all) {
-        return;
-    }
     for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(qom_modules); i++) {
         if (strcmp(qom_modules[i].type, type) == 0) {
             module_load_one(qom_modules[i].prefix,
-                            qom_modules[i].module);
+                            qom_modules[i].module,
+                            false);
             return;
         }
     }
@@ -302,7 +306,7 @@ void module_load_qom_all(void)
             /* one module implementing multiple types -> load only once */
             continue;
         }
-        module_load_one(qom_modules[i].prefix, qom_modules[i].module);
+        module_load_one(qom_modules[i].prefix, qom_modules[i].module, true);
     }
     module_loaded_qom_all = true;
 }