diff --git a/doc/meson.build b/doc/meson.build
index 833df60..d178322 100644
--- a/doc/meson.build
+++ b/doc/meson.build
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-sphinx = find_program('sphinx-build', required: false)
+sphinx = find_program('sphinx-build', required: get_option('manpages'))
 if sphinx.found()
   custom_target('man pages',
     command: [
diff --git a/meson_options.txt b/meson_options.txt
index 462538a..4e59f2f 100644
--- a/meson_options.txt
+++ b/meson_options.txt
@@ -18,4 +18,8 @@ option('seccomp',
   value: 'auto',
   description: 'seccomp-based sandbox'
 )
+option('manpages',
+  type: 'feature',
+  value: 'auto',
+  description: 'manual pages'
 )