diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index d42db12..bada16b 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -108,7 +108,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "crossterm",
  "directories",
  "dunce",
- "env_logger",
  "log",
  "relative-path",
  "rustc_codegen_spirv-target-specs",
@@ -119,6 +118,17 @@ dependencies = [
  "test-log",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "cargo-gpu-cli"
+version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "anyhow",
+ "cargo-gpu",
+ "clap",
+ "env_logger",
+ "log",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "cargo-platform"
 version = "0.2.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 62ca2ec..55af6bc 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,17 +1,25 @@
 [workspace]
 members = [
 	"crates/cargo-gpu",
+	"crates/cargo-gpu-cli",
 	"crates/xtask",
 ]
 
 exclude = [
 	# This currently needs to be excluded because it depends on a version of `rust-gpu` that
-	# uses a toolchain whose Cargo version doesn't recognise version 4 of `Cargo.lock`.
-	"crates/shader-crate-template"
+	# uses a toolchain whose Cargo version doesn't recognize version 4 of `Cargo.lock`.
+	"crates/shader-crate-template",
 ]
 
 resolver = "2"
 
+[workspace.package]
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2021"
+repository = "https://github.com/Rust-GPU/cargo-gpu"
+keywords = ["gpu", "compiler", "rust-gpu"]
+license = "MIT OR Apache-2.0"
+
 [workspace.dependencies]
 spirv-builder = { git = "https://github.com/Rust-GPU/rust-gpu", rev = "3df836eb9d7b01344f52737bf9a310d1fb5a0c26", default-features = false }
 anyhow = "1.0.98"
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9065311..45bd5ec 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Command line tool for building Rust shaders using rust-gpu.
 To install the tool ensure you have `rustup`. Then run:
 
 ```
-cargo install --git https://github.com/rust-gpu/cargo-gpu cargo-gpu
+cargo install --git https://github.com/rust-gpu/cargo-gpu cargo-gpu-cli
 ```
 
 After that you can use `cargo gpu` to compile your shader crates with:
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu-cli/Cargo.toml b/crates/cargo-gpu-cli/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e825066
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/cargo-gpu-cli/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+[package]
+name = "cargo-gpu-cli"
+description = "Command line tool for building Rust shaders using `rust-gpu`"
+version.workspace = true
+edition.workspace = true
+repository.workspace = true
+keywords.workspace = true
+license.workspace = true
+
+default-run = "cargo-gpu"
+
+[[bin]]
+name = "cargo-gpu"
+path = "src/main.rs"
+
+[dependencies]
+cargo-gpu = { path = "../cargo-gpu", features = ["watch", "clap"] }
+clap.workspace = true
+log.workspace = true
+env_logger.workspace = true
+anyhow.workspace = true
+
+[lints]
+workspace = true
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/main.rs b/crates/cargo-gpu-cli/src/main.rs
similarity index 100%
rename from crates/cargo-gpu/src/main.rs
rename to crates/cargo-gpu-cli/src/main.rs
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu/Cargo.toml b/crates/cargo-gpu/Cargo.toml
index 8de68b2..f5c85a8 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-gpu/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/cargo-gpu/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,23 +1,20 @@
 [package]
 name = "cargo-gpu"
-version = "0.1.0"
-edition = "2021"
-description = "Generates shader .spv files from rust-gpu shader crates"
-repository = "https://github.com/Rust-GPU/cargo-gpu"
+description = "Generates shader .spv files from `rust-gpu` shader crates"
 readme = "../../README.md"
-keywords = ["gpu", "compiler", "rust-gpu"]
-license = "MIT OR Apache-2.0"
-default-run = "cargo-gpu"
-# See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html
+version.workspace = true
+edition.workspace = true
+repository.workspace = true
+keywords.workspace = true
+license.workspace = true
 
 [dependencies]
 cargo_metadata.workspace = true
 anyhow.workspace = true
-spirv-builder = { workspace = true, features = ["clap", "watch"] }
+spirv-builder.workspace = true
 legacy_target_specs.workspace = true
-clap.workspace = true
+clap = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 directories.workspace = true
-env_logger.workspace = true
 log.workspace = true
 relative-path.workspace = true
 serde.workspace = true
@@ -29,7 +26,13 @@ dunce.workspace = true
 [dev-dependencies]
 test-log.workspace = true
 cargo_metadata = { workspace = true, features = ["builder"] }
-cargo-util-schemas = "0.8.2"
+cargo-util-schemas.workspace = true
+
+[features]
+# Rebuilds target shader crate upon changes
+watch = ["spirv-builder/watch"]
+# Enables `clap` support for public structs
+clap = ["dep:clap", "spirv-builder/clap"]
 
 [lints]
 workspace = true
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/build.rs b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/build.rs
index 2a7f158..79355de 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/build.rs
+++ b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/build.rs
@@ -2,32 +2,35 @@
 #![allow(clippy::unwrap_used, reason = "this is basically a test")]
 //! `cargo gpu build`, analogous to `cargo build`
 
-use crate::install::Install;
-use crate::linkage::Linkage;
-use crate::lockfile::LockfileMismatchHandler;
 use anyhow::Context as _;
 use spirv_builder::{CompileResult, ModuleResult, SpirvBuilder};
 use std::io::Write as _;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 
+use crate::install::Install;
+use crate::linkage::Linkage;
+use crate::lockfile::LockfileMismatchHandler;
+
 /// Args for just a build
-#[derive(clap::Parser, Debug, Clone, serde::Deserialize, serde::Serialize)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, serde::Deserialize, serde::Serialize)]
+#[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", derive(clap::Parser))]
 pub struct BuildArgs {
     /// Path to the output directory for the compiled shaders.
-    #[clap(long, short, default_value = "./")]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(long, short, default_value = "./"))]
     pub output_dir: PathBuf,
 
     /// Watch the shader crate directory and automatically recompile on changes.
-    #[clap(long, short, action)]
+    #[cfg(feature = "watch")]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(long, short, action))]
     pub watch: bool,
 
     /// the flattened [`SpirvBuilder`]
-    #[clap(flatten)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(flatten))]
     #[serde(flatten)]
     pub spirv_builder: SpirvBuilder,
 
     ///Renames the manifest.json file to the given name
-    #[clap(long, short, default_value = "manifest.json")]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(long, short, default_value = "manifest.json"))]
     pub manifest_file: String,
 }
 
@@ -36,6 +39,7 @@ impl Default for BuildArgs {
     fn default() -> Self {
         Self {
             output_dir: PathBuf::from("./"),
+            #[cfg(feature = "watch")]
             watch: false,
             spirv_builder: SpirvBuilder::default(),
             manifest_file: String::from("manifest.json"),
@@ -44,14 +48,15 @@ impl Default for BuildArgs {
 }
 
 /// `cargo build` subcommands
-#[derive(Clone, clap::Parser, Debug, serde::Deserialize, serde::Serialize)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, serde::Deserialize, serde::Serialize)]
+#[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", derive(clap::Parser))]
 pub struct Build {
     /// CLI args for install the `rust-gpu` compiler and components
-    #[clap(flatten)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(flatten))]
     pub install: Install,
 
     /// CLI args for configuring the build of the shader
-    #[clap(flatten)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(flatten))]
     pub build: BuildArgs,
 }
 
@@ -89,30 +94,52 @@ impl Build {
             std::env::current_dir()?.display()
         );
 
-        if self.build.watch {
+        #[cfg(feature = "watch")]
+        let watching = self.build.watch;
+        #[cfg(not(feature = "watch"))]
+        let watching = false;
+        if watching {
+            return self.watch();
+        }
+
+        self.build()
+    }
+
+    /// Builds shader crate using [`SpirvBuilder`].
+    fn build(&self) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        crate::user_output!(
+            "Compiling shaders at {}...\n",
+            self.install.shader_crate.display()
+        );
+        let result = self.build.spirv_builder.build()?;
+        self.parse_compilation_result(&result)?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Watches shader crate for changes using [`SpirvBuilder`]
+    /// or returns an error depending on presence of `watch` feature.
+    fn watch(&self) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        #[cfg(feature = "watch")]
+        {
             let this = self.clone();
             self.build
                 .spirv_builder
                 .watch(move |result, accept| {
-                    let result1 = this.parse_compilation_result(&result);
+                    let parse_result = this.parse_compilation_result(&result);
                     if let Some(accept) = accept {
-                        accept.submit(result1);
+                        accept.submit(parse_result);
                     }
                 })?
-                .context("unreachable")??;
-            std::thread::park();
-        } else {
-            crate::user_output!(
-                "Compiling shaders at {}...\n",
-                self.install.shader_crate.display()
-            );
-            let result = self.build.spirv_builder.build()?;
-            self.parse_compilation_result(&result)?;
+                .context("should always return the first compile result")
+                .flatten()?;
+            anyhow::bail!("unexpected end of watch")
         }
-        Ok(())
+
+        #[cfg(not(feature = "watch"))]
+        anyhow::bail!("cannot watch for changes without the `watch` feature")
     }
 
-    /// Parses compilation result from `SpirvBuilder` and writes it out to a file
+    /// Parses compilation result from [`SpirvBuilder`] and writes it out to a file
     fn parse_compilation_result(&self, result: &CompileResult) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         let shaders = match &result.module {
             ModuleResult::MultiModule(modules) => {
@@ -175,6 +202,8 @@ impl Build {
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod test {
+    #![cfg(feature = "clap")]
+
     use clap::Parser as _;
 
     use crate::{Cli, Command};
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/config.rs b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/config.rs
index f1a67fa..0e08612 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/config.rs
+++ b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/config.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 //! Manage and merge the various sources of config: shader crate's `Cargo.toml`(s) and CLI args.
+
+#![cfg(feature = "clap")]
+
 use anyhow::Context as _;
 use clap::Parser as _;
 
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/dump_usage.rs b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/dump_usage.rs
index d539414..e17351b 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/dump_usage.rs
+++ b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/dump_usage.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 //! Convenience function for internal use. Dumps all the CLI usage instructions. Useful for
 //! updating the README.
 
+#![cfg(feature = "clap")]
+
 use crate::{user_output, Cli};
 
 /// main dump usage function
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/install.rs b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/install.rs
index aa3dfa1..fcfa1e8 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/install.rs
+++ b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/install.rs
@@ -61,11 +61,15 @@ impl InstalledBackend {
     clippy::struct_excessive_bools,
     reason = "cmdline args have many bools"
 )]
-#[derive(clap::Parser, Debug, Clone, serde::Deserialize, serde::Serialize)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, serde::Deserialize, serde::Serialize)]
+#[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", derive(clap::Parser))]
 #[non_exhaustive]
 pub struct Install {
     /// Directory containing the shader crate to compile.
-    #[clap(long, alias("package"), short_alias('p'), default_value = "./")]
+    #[cfg_attr(
+        feature = "clap",
+        clap(long, alias("package"), short_alias('p'), default_value = "./")
+    )]
     #[serde(alias = "package")]
     pub shader_crate: PathBuf,
 
@@ -75,7 +79,7 @@ pub struct Install {
     )]
     /// Source of `spirv-builder` dependency
     /// Eg: "https://github.com/Rust-GPU/rust-gpu"
-    #[clap(long)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(long))]
     pub spirv_builder_source: Option<String>,
 
     /// Version of `spirv-builder` dependency.
@@ -83,22 +87,22 @@ pub struct Install {
     ///   version such as "0.9.0".
     /// * If `--spirv-builder-source` is set, then this is assumed to be a Git "commitsh", such
     ///   as a Git commit hash or a Git tag, therefore anything that `git checkout` can resolve.
-    #[clap(long, verbatim_doc_comment)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(long, verbatim_doc_comment))]
     pub spirv_builder_version: Option<String>,
 
     /// Force `rustc_codegen_spirv` to be rebuilt.
-    #[clap(long)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(long))]
     pub rebuild_codegen: bool,
 
     /// Assume "yes" to "Install Rust toolchain: [y/n]" prompt.
     ///
     /// Defaults to `false` in cli, `true` in [`Default`]
-    #[clap(long, action)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(long, action))]
     pub auto_install_rust_toolchain: bool,
 
     /// Clear target dir of `rustc_codegen_spirv` build after a successful build, saves about
     /// 200MiB of disk space.
-    #[clap(long = "no-clear-target", default_value = "true", action = clap::ArgAction::SetFalse)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(long = "no-clear-target", default_value = "true", action = clap::ArgAction::SetFalse))]
     pub clear_target: bool,
 
     /// There is a tricky situation where a shader crate that depends on workspace config can have
@@ -122,7 +126,7 @@ pub struct Install {
     /// way source URLs are encoded. See these PRs for more details:
     ///   * <https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/pull/12280>
     ///   * <https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/pull/14595>
-    #[clap(long, action, verbatim_doc_comment)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(long, action, verbatim_doc_comment))]
     pub force_overwrite_lockfiles_v4_to_v3: bool,
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/lib.rs b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/lib.rs
index 1be7abb..18589c6 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/lib.rs
@@ -52,10 +52,12 @@
 
 use anyhow::Context as _;
 
-use crate::dump_usage::dump_full_usage_for_readme;
 use build::Build;
 use show::Show;
 
+#[cfg(feature = "clap")]
+use crate::dump_usage::dump_full_usage_for_readme;
+
 mod build;
 mod config;
 mod dump_usage;
@@ -97,7 +99,7 @@ macro_rules! user_output {
 }
 
 /// All of the available subcommands for `cargo gpu`
-#[derive(clap::Subcommand)]
+#[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", derive(clap::Subcommand))]
 #[non_exhaustive]
 pub enum Command {
     /// Install rust-gpu compiler artifacts.
@@ -112,6 +114,7 @@ pub enum Command {
     /// A hidden command that can be used to recursively print out all the subcommand help messages:
     ///   `cargo gpu dump-usage`
     /// Useful for updating the README.
+    #[cfg(feature = "clap")]
     #[clap(hide(true))]
     DumpUsage,
 }
@@ -122,6 +125,7 @@ impl Command {
     /// # Errors
     /// Any errors during execution, usually printed to the user
     #[inline]
+    #[cfg(feature = "clap")]
     pub fn run(&self, env_args: Vec<String>) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         match &self {
             Self::Install(install) => {
@@ -140,15 +144,18 @@ impl Command {
                     config::Config::clap_command_with_cargo_config(shader_crate_path, env_args)?;
                 log::debug!("building with final merged arguments: {command:#?}");
 
+                // When watching, do one normal run to setup the `manifest.json` file.
+                #[cfg(feature = "watch")]
                 if command.build.watch {
-                    //  When watching, do one normal run to setup the `manifest.json` file.
                     command.build.watch = false;
                     command.run()?;
                     command.build.watch = true;
                 }
+
                 command.run()?;
             }
             Self::Show(show) => show.run()?,
+            #[cfg(feature = "clap")]
             Self::DumpUsage => dump_full_usage_for_readme()?,
         }
 
@@ -157,12 +164,15 @@ impl Command {
 }
 
 /// the Cli struct representing the main cli
-#[derive(clap::Parser)]
-#[clap(author, version, about, subcommand_required = true)]
+#[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", derive(clap::Parser))]
+#[cfg_attr(
+    feature = "clap",
+    clap(author, version, about, subcommand_required = true)
+)]
 #[non_exhaustive]
 pub struct Cli {
     /// The command to run.
-    #[clap(subcommand)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(subcommand))]
     pub command: Command,
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/metadata.rs b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/metadata.rs
index 0b330fb..f296595 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/metadata.rs
+++ b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/metadata.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 //! Get config from the shader crate's `Cargo.toml` `[*.metadata.rust-gpu.*]`
 
+#![cfg(feature = "clap")]
+
 use cargo_metadata::MetadataCommand;
 use serde_json::Value;
 
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/show.rs b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/show.rs
index b7eb19b..7630701 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/show.rs
+++ b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/show.rs
@@ -8,15 +8,18 @@ use std::fs;
 use std::path::Path;
 
 /// Show the computed source of the spirv-std dependency.
-#[derive(Clone, Debug, clap::Parser)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+#[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", derive(clap::Parser))]
 pub struct SpirvSourceDep {
     /// The location of the shader-crate to inspect to determine its spirv-std dependency.
-    #[clap(long, default_value = "./")]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(long, default_value = "./"))]
     pub shader_crate: std::path::PathBuf,
 }
 
 /// Different tidbits of information that can be queried at the command line.
-#[derive(Clone, Debug, clap::Subcommand)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+#[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", derive(clap::Subcommand))]
+#[cfg_attr(not(feature = "clap"), allow(dead_code))]
 pub enum Info {
     /// Displays the location of the cache directory
     CacheDirectory,
@@ -32,10 +35,10 @@ pub enum Info {
 }
 
 /// `cargo gpu show`
-#[derive(clap::Parser)]
+#[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", derive(clap::Parser))]
 pub struct Show {
     /// Display information about rust-gpu
-    #[clap(subcommand)]
+    #[cfg_attr(feature = "clap", clap(subcommand))]
     command: Info,
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/test.rs b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/test.rs
index c9ee93a..05e90eb 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-gpu/src/test.rs
+++ b/crates/cargo-gpu/src/test.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 use crate::cache_dir;
 use std::io::Write as _;
 
+#[cfg_attr(not(feature = "clap"), allow(dead_code))]
 fn copy_dir_all(
     src: impl AsRef<std::path::Path>,
     dst: impl AsRef<std::path::Path>,
@@ -26,12 +27,14 @@ pub fn shader_crate_template_path() -> std::path::PathBuf {
     project_base.join("../shader-crate-template")
 }
 
+#[cfg_attr(not(feature = "clap"), allow(dead_code))]
 pub fn shader_crate_test_path() -> std::path::PathBuf {
     let shader_crate_path = crate::cache_dir().unwrap().join("shader_crate");
     copy_dir_all(shader_crate_template_path(), shader_crate_path.clone()).unwrap();
     shader_crate_path
 }
 
+#[cfg_attr(not(feature = "clap"), allow(dead_code))]
 pub fn overwrite_shader_cargo_toml(shader_crate_path: &std::path::Path) -> std::fs::File {
     let cargo_toml = shader_crate_path.join("Cargo.toml");
     let mut file = std::fs::OpenOptions::new()
@@ -44,6 +47,7 @@ pub fn overwrite_shader_cargo_toml(shader_crate_path: &std::path::Path) -> std::
     file
 }
 
+#[cfg_attr(not(feature = "clap"), allow(dead_code))]
 pub fn tests_teardown() {
     let cache_dir = cache_dir().unwrap();
     if !cache_dir.exists() {
diff --git a/crates/xtask/src/main.rs b/crates/xtask/src/main.rs
index 8eec0be..bd4eb46 100644
--- a/crates/xtask/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/xtask/src/main.rs
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ fn main() {
             rust_gpu_version: maybe_rust_gpu_version,
         } => {
             log::info!("installing cargo gpu");
-            cmd(["cargo", "install", "--path", "crates/cargo-gpu"]).unwrap();
+            cmd(["cargo", "install", "--path", "crates/cargo-gpu-cli"]).unwrap();
 
             log::info!("setup project");
             let dir = tempfile::TempDir::with_prefix("test-shader-output").unwrap();