diff --git a/src/cmd/linuxkit/pkg_push.go b/src/cmd/linuxkit/pkg_push.go
index 7a84779fa..bb181ffbb 100644
--- a/src/cmd/linuxkit/pkg_push.go
+++ b/src/cmd/linuxkit/pkg_push.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ func pkgPush(args []string) {
 
 	force := flags.Bool("force", false, "Force rebuild")
 	release := flags.String("release", "", "Release the given version")
+	nobuild := flags.Bool("nobuild", false, "Skip the build")
 
 	p, err := pkglib.NewFromCLI(flags, args...)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -32,16 +33,24 @@ func pkgPush(args []string) {
 		setupContentTrustPassphrase()
 	}
 
-	fmt.Printf("Building and pushing %q\n", p.Tag())
-
 	var opts []pkglib.BuildOpt
 	opts = append(opts, pkglib.WithBuildPush())
 	if *force {
 		opts = append(opts, pkglib.WithBuildForce())
 	}
+	if *nobuild {
+		opts = append(opts, pkglib.WithBuildSkip())
+	}
 	if *release != "" {
 		opts = append(opts, pkglib.WithRelease(*release))
 	}
+
+	if *nobuild {
+		fmt.Printf("Pushing %q without building\n", p.Tag())
+	} else {
+		fmt.Printf("Building and pushing %q\n", p.Tag())
+	}
+
 	if err := p.Build(opts...); err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%v\n", err)
 		os.Exit(1)
diff --git a/src/cmd/linuxkit/pkglib/build.go b/src/cmd/linuxkit/pkglib/build.go
index c6df1f5af..8049ee632 100644
--- a/src/cmd/linuxkit/pkglib/build.go
+++ b/src/cmd/linuxkit/pkglib/build.go
@@ -7,14 +7,23 @@ import (
 )
 
 type buildOpts struct {
-	force   bool
-	push    bool
-	release string
+	skipBuild bool
+	force     bool
+	push      bool
+	release   string
 }
 
 // BuildOpt allows callers to specify options to Build
 type BuildOpt func(bo *buildOpts) error
 
+// WithBuildSkip skips the actual build and only pushes/releases (if configured)
+func WithBuildSkip() BuildOpt {
+	return func(bo *buildOpts) error {
+		bo.skipBuild = true
+		return nil
+	}
+}
+
 // WithBuildForce forces a build even if an image already exists
 func WithBuildForce() BuildOpt {
 	return func(bo *buildOpts) error {
@@ -95,34 +104,36 @@ func (p Pkg) Build(bos ...BuildOpt) error {
 		fmt.Println("No image pulled, continuing with build")
 	}
 
-	var args []string
+	if !bo.skipBuild {
+		var args []string
 
-	if p.git != nil && p.gitRepo != "" {
-		args = append(args, "--label", "org.opencontainers.image.source="+p.gitRepo)
-	}
-	if p.git != nil && !p.dirty {
-		commit, err := p.git.commitHash("HEAD")
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
+		if p.git != nil && p.gitRepo != "" {
+			args = append(args, "--label", "org.opencontainers.image.source="+p.gitRepo)
+		}
+		if p.git != nil && !p.dirty {
+			commit, err := p.git.commitHash("HEAD")
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			args = append(args, "--label", "org.opencontainers.image.revision="+commit)
 		}
-		args = append(args, "--label", "org.opencontainers.image.revision="+commit)
-	}
 
-	if !p.network {
-		args = append(args, "--network=none")
-	}
+		if !p.network {
+			args = append(args, "--network=none")
+		}
 
-	if err := d.build(p.Tag()+suffix, p.pkgPath, args...); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	if !bo.push {
-		if err := d.tag(p.Tag()+suffix, p.Tag()); err != nil {
+		if err := d.build(p.Tag()+suffix, p.pkgPath, args...); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 
-		fmt.Printf("Build complete, not pushing, all done.\n")
-		return nil
+		if !bo.push {
+			if err := d.tag(p.Tag()+suffix, p.Tag()); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			fmt.Printf("Build complete, not pushing, all done.\n")
+			return nil
+		}
 	}
 
 	if p.dirty {