diff --git a/main.cc b/main.cc
index c20fc43eb8..e7ce5379b9 100644
--- a/main.cc
+++ b/main.cc
@@ -448,6 +448,7 @@ int main(int ac, char** av) {
     auto init = app.get_options_description().add_options();
 
     init("version", bpo::bool_switch(), "print version number and exit");
+    init("build-id", bpo::bool_switch(), "print build-id and exit");
 
     bpo::options_description deprecated("Deprecated options - ignored");
     deprecated.add_options()
@@ -471,6 +472,11 @@ int main(int ac, char** av) {
         return 0;
     }
 
+    if (vm["build-id"].as<bool>()) {
+        fmt::print("{}\n", get_build_id());
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     print_starting_message(ac, av, parsed_opts);
 
     sharded<locator::token_metadata> token_metadata;