diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2617c8cb..06af1405 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/)
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
 <!-- insertion marker -->
+## [0.26.1](https://github.com/mkdocstrings/mkdocstrings/releases/tag/0.26.1) - 2024-09-06
+
+<small>[Compare with 0.26.0](https://github.com/mkdocstrings/mkdocstrings/compare/0.26.0...0.26.1)</small>
+
+### Bug Fixes
+
+- Instantiate config of the autorefs plugin when it is not enabled by the user ([db2ab34](https://github.com/mkdocstrings/mkdocstrings/commit/db2ab3403a95034987d574a517ddc426a4b4e1bd) by Timothée Mazzucotelli). [Issue-autorefs#57](https://github.com/mkdocstrings/autorefs/issues/57)
+
 ## [0.26.0](https://github.com/mkdocstrings/mkdocstrings/releases/tag/0.26.0) - 2024-09-02
 
 <small>[Compare with 0.25.2](https://github.com/mkdocstrings/mkdocstrings/compare/0.25.2...0.26.0)</small>
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 03e82afb..f0fe22a4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -78,24 +78,31 @@ Come have a chat or ask questions on our [Gitter channel](https://gitter.im/mkdo
 
 ## Installation
 
-With `pip`:
+The `mkdocstrings` package doesn't provide support for any language: it's just a common base for language handlers.
+It means you likely want to install it with one or more official handlers, using [extras](https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/specifications/dependency-specifiers/#extras).
+For example, to install it with Python support:
 
 ```bash
-pip install mkdocstrings
+pip install 'mkdocstrings[python]'
 ```
 
-You can install support for specific languages using extras, for example:
+Alternatively, you can directly install the language handlers themselves,
+which depend on `mkdocstrings` anyway:
 
 ```bash
-pip install 'mkdocstrings[crystal,python]'
+pip install mkdocstrings-python
 ```
 
-See the [available language handlers](https://mkdocstrings.github.io/handlers/overview/).
+This will give you more control over the accepted range of versions for the handlers themselves.
+
+See the [official language handlers](https://mkdocstrings.github.io/handlers/overview/).
+
+---
 
 With `conda`:
 
 ```bash
-conda install -c conda-forge mkdocstrings
+conda install -c conda-forge mkdocstrings mkdocstrings-python
 ```
 
 ## Quick usage
diff --git a/src/mkdocstrings/plugin.py b/src/mkdocstrings/plugin.py
index 48a7d1ab..17f9fb13 100644
--- a/src/mkdocstrings/plugin.py
+++ b/src/mkdocstrings/plugin.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 from mkdocs.config import config_options as opt
 from mkdocs.plugins import BasePlugin
 from mkdocs.utils import write_file
-from mkdocs_autorefs.plugin import AutorefsPlugin
+from mkdocs_autorefs.plugin import AutorefsConfig, AutorefsPlugin
 
 from mkdocstrings._cache import download_and_cache_url, download_url_with_gz
 from mkdocstrings.extension import MkdocstringsExtension
@@ -181,6 +181,7 @@ def on_config(self, config: MkDocsConfig) -> MkDocsConfig | None:
         except KeyError:
             # Otherwise, add a limited instance of it that acts only on what's added through `register_anchor`.
             autorefs = AutorefsPlugin()
+            autorefs.config = AutorefsConfig()
             autorefs.scan_toc = False
             config.plugins["autorefs"] = autorefs
             log.debug(f"Added a subdued autorefs instance {autorefs!r}")