diff --git a/doc/man/zathurarc.5.rst b/doc/man/zathurarc.5.rst
index 4daab87..5a48921 100644
--- a/doc/man/zathurarc.5.rst
+++ b/doc/man/zathurarc.5.rst
@@ -685,8 +685,9 @@ synchronization is not available.
 
 filemonitor
 ^^^^^^^^^^^
-Defines the filemonitor backend. Possible values are "glib" and "signal" (if
-signal handling is supported).
+Defines the file monitor backend used to check for changes in files. Possible
+values are "glib", "signal" (if signal handling is supported), and "noop". The
+"noop" file monitor does not trigger reloads.
 
 * Value type: String
 * Default value: glib
diff --git a/zathura/zathura.c b/zathura/zathura.c
index 8a9e546..208ea6c 100644
--- a/zathura/zathura.c
+++ b/zathura/zathura.c
@@ -1057,8 +1057,11 @@ document_open(zathura_t* zathura, const char* path, const char* uri, const char*
     char* filemonitor_backend = NULL;
     girara_setting_get(zathura->ui.session, "filemonitor", &filemonitor_backend);
     zathura_filemonitor_type_t type = ZATHURA_FILEMONITOR_GLIB;
+    if (g_strcmp0(filemonitor_backend, "noop") == 0) {
+      type = ZATHURA_FILEMONITOR_NOOP;
+    }
 #ifdef G_OS_UNIX
-    if (g_strcmp0(filemonitor_backend, "signal") == 0) {
+    else if (g_strcmp0(filemonitor_backend, "signal") == 0) {
       type = ZATHURA_FILEMONITOR_SIGNAL;
     }
 #endif