diff --git a/shell-integration/fish/vendor_conf.d/kitty-shell-integration.fish b/shell-integration/fish/vendor_conf.d/kitty-shell-integration.fish
index 7d9f0f2b3..6a1b4866d 100644
--- a/shell-integration/fish/vendor_conf.d/kitty-shell-integration.fish
+++ b/shell-integration/fish/vendor_conf.d/kitty-shell-integration.fish
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 function _ksi_main
     test -z "$KITTY_SHELL_INTEGRATION" && return
     if set -q KITTY_FISH_XDG_DATA_DIRS
-        set --export XDG_DATA_DIRS "$KITTY_FISH_XDG_DATA_DIRS"
+        set --global --export XDG_DATA_DIRS "$KITTY_FISH_XDG_DATA_DIRS"
     else
         set --erase XDG_DATA_DIRS
     end