diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 31bee8d5..834ee6f6 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ if (NOT SURGE_COMPILE_BLOCK_SIZE)
   set(SURGE_COMPILE_BLOCK_SIZE 32)
 endif()
 
+option(SURGE_BUILD_CLAP "Build Surge as a CLAP" ON)
+
 set(SURGE_JUCE_PATH "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../libs/JUCE" CACHE STRING "Path to JUCE library source tree")
 
 list(APPEND CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake")
@@ -29,7 +31,6 @@ if(${CMAKE_VERSION} VERSION_LESS 3.21)
   set(SURGE_BUILD_CLAP FALSE)
 else()
   message(STATUS "CMake version ${CMAKE_VERSION} allows CLAP build")
-  set(SURGE_BUILD_CLAP TRUE)
 endif()
 
 if(SURGE_BUILD_CLAP)