diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index 5a6b3bc60f1..0eb823b23a3 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ func Execute() error {
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&cfgFile, "config", "", "config file (default is $HOME/.otelcol-builder.yaml)")
 
 	// the distribution parameters, which we accept as CLI flags as well
+	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&cfg.SkipCompilation, "skip-compilation", false, "Whether builder should only generate go code with no compile of the collector (default false)")
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&cfg.Distribution.ExeName, "name", "otelcol-custom", "The executable name for the OpenTelemetry Collector distribution")
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&cfg.Distribution.LongName, "description", "Custom OpenTelemetry Collector distribution", "A descriptive name for the OpenTelemetry Collector distribution")
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&cfg.Distribution.Version, "version", "1.0.0", "The version for the OpenTelemetry Collector distribution")
diff --git a/internal/builder/config.go b/internal/builder/config.go
index 0fecfccd1b3..8b9bc865797 100644
--- a/internal/builder/config.go
+++ b/internal/builder/config.go
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ var ErrInvalidGoMod = errors.New("invalid gomod specification for module")
 
 // Config holds the builder's configuration
 type Config struct {
-	Logger logr.Logger
+	Logger          logr.Logger
+	SkipCompilation bool
 
 	Distribution Distribution `mapstructure:"dist"`
 	Exporters    []Module     `mapstructure:"exporters"`
diff --git a/internal/builder/main.go b/internal/builder/main.go
index 1b514023179..12228414a54 100644
--- a/internal/builder/main.go
+++ b/internal/builder/main.go
@@ -93,6 +93,11 @@ func Generate(cfg Config) error {
 
 // Compile generates a binary from the sources based on the configuration
 func Compile(cfg Config) error {
+	if cfg.SkipCompilation {
+		cfg.Logger.Info("Generating source codes only, the distribution will not be compiled.")
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	// first, we test to check if we have Go at all
 	goBinary, err := getGoPath(cfg)
 	if err != nil {