diff --git a/build.zig b/build.zig
index a88deaad25b92f9c218cf64ff5855225eb194b70..e74e4ac5acfb2a316dbeaef92a386d25554d2bbe 100644
--- a/build.zig
+++ b/build.zig
@@ -3,9 +3,11 @@ const std = @import("std");
 pub fn build(b: *std.Build) void {
     const target = b.standardTargetOptions(.{});
     const mode = b.option(std.builtin.Mode, "mode", "") orelse .Debug;
+    const disable_llvm = b.option(bool, "disable_llvm", "use the non-llvm zig codegen") orelse false;
 
     _ = target;
     _ = mode;
+    _ = disable_llvm;
 
     // this doesnt need tests since the consumers of this library do have tests
     const test_step = b.step("test", "dummy test step to pass CI checks");