diff --git a/docs/zig.mod.md b/docs/zig.mod.md
index a61d71773f48fb0f060461afc67f308d2749bbb1..60e3010691f98930c2b6aad7afe98971365b2b0f 100644
--- a/docs/zig.mod.md
+++ b/docs/zig.mod.md
@@ -99,5 +99,10 @@ This attribute specifies a way to filter when the dependency will be generated i
 - Example: `linux`
 This attribute specifies a way to filter when the dependency will be generated into the contents of `deps.zig`. `except_os` is an exlusive filter in which the dependency will only be in the output if the host target operating is \*not\* in the list specified or if the field is ommitted.
 
+#### Dep `keep`
+- Type: `string`
+- Example: `true`|any
+This attribute is a manual override for having an external repo that contains no Zig or C code but other files be managed through Zigmod and `deps.zig`. `true` is the only value which will enable this flag.
+
 #### Dep Overrides
 There are a number of fields you can add to a `Dep` object that will override it's top-level value. This is most useful in the case where a project you want to use does not have a `zig.mod` manifest. You can then use overrides to define the values for them. The only top-level value you can not override is `dependencies`.
diff --git a/src/common.zig b/src/common.zig
index 93e294a4a8c1e13f8ba6c9c41c96fe3e26bceb2b..4cba6e3d1ebb2f069095cae2eb6bad754c9b1131 100644
--- a/src/common.zig
+++ b/src/common.zig
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ pub fn get_module_from_dep(d: *zigmod.Dep, cachepath: string, options: *CollectO
         else => {
             var dd = try collect_deps(cachepath, moddir, options) catch |e| switch (e) {
                 error.FileNotFound => {
-                    if (d.main.len > 0 or d.c_include_dirs.len > 0 or d.c_source_files.len > 0) {
+                    if (d.main.len > 0 or d.c_include_dirs.len > 0 or d.c_source_files.len > 0 or d.keep) {
                         var mod_from = try zigmod.Module.from(options.alloc, d.*, cachepath, options);
                         if (d.type != .local) mod_from.clean_path = u.trim_prefix(modpath, cachepath)[1..];
                         if (mod_from.is_for_this()) return mod_from;
@@ -329,6 +329,7 @@ pub fn add_files_package(alloc: *std.mem.Allocator, pkg_name: string, mdir: std.
         .version = "absolute",
         .yaml = null,
         .deps = &.{},
+        .keep = false,
     };
     var options = CollectOptions{
         .log = false,
@@ -372,6 +373,7 @@ pub fn parse_lockfile(alloc: *std.mem.Allocator, dir: std.fs.Dir) ![]const [4]st
                     .main = "",
                     .yaml = null,
                     .deps = &.{},
+                    .keep = false,
                 };
                 try list.append([4]string{
                     try asdep.clean_path(),
diff --git a/src/util/dep.zig b/src/util/dep.zig
index 53e87c99227e3eb8fdaa9cbf17a8d688b67bfc14..eaddf0801b5d3c16aaa1421cf28311a1bd386af4 100644
--- a/src/util/dep.zig
+++ b/src/util/dep.zig
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ pub const Dep = struct {
     except_os: []const string = &.{},
     yaml: ?yaml.Mapping,
     deps: []zigmod.Dep,
+    keep: bool,
 
     pub fn clean_path(self: Dep) !string {
         if (self.type == .local) {
diff --git a/src/util/modfile.zig b/src/util/modfile.zig
index 102759e9d8e5ba91f8f43283973fb5090415fadf..440e8f56b873224d9b4e462f13b360bb6f6efbbc 100644
--- a/src/util/modfile.zig
+++ b/src/util/modfile.zig
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ pub const ModFile = struct {
                         .except_os = try u.list_remove(alloc, try u.split(alloc, item.mapping.get_string("except_os"), ","), ""),
                         .yaml = item.mapping,
                         .deps = try dep_list_by_name(alloc, item.mapping, &.{"dependencies"}),
+                        .keep = std.mem.eql(u8, "true", item.mapping.get_string("keep")),
                     });
                 }
             }