diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index a3e026662..54cbb2429 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -373,6 +373,10 @@ add_custom_command(TARGET postbuild POST_BUILD COMMAND cmake .)
 
 # strip binaries in release mode
 if (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE MATCHES Release)
-  message(STATUS "stripping binaries...")
-  add_custom_command(TARGET postbuild POST_BUILD COMMAND "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/strip-nix.sh")
+  if ((NOT DEFINED DISABLE_STRIP) OR (NOT ${DISABLE_STRIP} MATCHES "true"))
+    message(STATUS "[build] binary stripping enabled")
+    add_custom_command(TARGET postbuild POST_BUILD COMMAND "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/strip-nix.sh")
+  else()
+    message(STATUS "[build] DISABLE_STRIP=true, *NOT* stripping binaries.")
+  endif()
 endif()