diff --git a/tools/devLauncher/src/IntellijDevLauncher.kt b/tools/devLauncher/src/IntellijDevLauncher.kt
index 912d2a2b7855..90093dabee1e 100644
--- a/tools/devLauncher/src/IntellijDevLauncher.kt
+++ b/tools/devLauncher/src/IntellijDevLauncher.kt
@@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ fun main(args: Array<String>) {
 
   startupTimings.add("building required modules")
   startupTimings.add(System.nanoTime())
-  buildRequiredModules(productModules)
+  if (System.getProperty("intellij.build.required.modules") != "false") {
+    buildRequiredModules(productModules)
+  }
 
   IntellijLoader.launch(args, moduleRepository, startupTimings, startTimeUnixNano)
 }