diff --git a/src/init.c b/src/init.c
index 9ee349a8dc5bc..83120da8e693f 100644
--- a/src/init.c
+++ b/src/init.c
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ jl_compileropts_t jl_compileropts = { NULL, // build_path
                                       0,    // code_coverage
                                       0,    // malloc_log
                                       JL_COMPILEROPT_CHECK_BOUNDS_DEFAULT,
+                                      JL_COMPILEROPT_DUMPBITCODE_OFF,
                                       0     // int32_literals
 };
 
@@ -1011,6 +1012,16 @@ DLLEXPORT int julia_trampoline(int argc, char **argv, int (*pmain)(int ac,char *
         if (asprintf(&build_ji, "%s.ji",build_path) > 0) {
             jl_save_system_image(build_ji);
             free(build_ji);
+            if (jl_compileropts.dumpbitcode == JL_COMPILEROPT_DUMPBITCODE_ON)
+            {
+                char *build_bc;
+                if (asprintf(&build_bc, "%s.bc",build_path) > 0) {
+                    jl_dump_bitcode(build_bc);
+                    free(build_bc);
+                } else {
+                    ios_printf(ios_stderr,"\nWARNING: failed to create string for .bc build path\n");
+                }
+            }
             char *build_o;
             if (asprintf(&build_o, "%s.o",build_path) > 0) {
                 jl_dump_objfile(build_o,0);
diff --git a/src/julia.h b/src/julia.h
index 739a91783a740..16635d85b2872 100644
--- a/src/julia.h
+++ b/src/julia.h
@@ -1326,6 +1326,7 @@ typedef struct {
     int8_t code_coverage;
     int8_t malloc_log;
     int8_t check_bounds;
+    int8_t dumpbitcode;
     int int_literals;
 } jl_compileropts_t;
 
@@ -1340,6 +1341,9 @@ extern DLLEXPORT jl_compileropts_t jl_compileropts;
 #define JL_COMPILEROPT_CHECK_BOUNDS_ON 1
 #define JL_COMPILEROPT_CHECK_BOUNDS_OFF 2
 
+#define JL_COMPILEROPT_DUMPBITCODE_ON 1
+#define JL_COMPILEROPT_DUMPBITCODE_OFF 2
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/ui/repl.c b/ui/repl.c
index 6e37a089bd0d7..b01a46d91e0ab 100644
--- a/ui/repl.c
+++ b/ui/repl.c
@@ -80,7 +80,8 @@ static const char *opts =
     " --track-allocation={none|user|all}\n"
     "                          Count bytes allocated by each source line\n"
     " --check-bounds={yes|no}  Emit bounds checks always or never (ignoring declarations)\n"
-    " --int-literals={32|64}   Select integer literal size independent of platform\n";
+    " --int-literals={32|64}   Select integer literal size independent of platform\n"
+    " --dump-bitcode={yes|no}  Dump bitcode for the system image (used with --build)\n";
 
 void parse_opts(int *argcp, char ***argvp)
 {
@@ -96,6 +97,7 @@ void parse_opts(int *argcp, char ***argvp)
         { "track-allocation",required_argument, 0, 'm' },
         { "check-bounds",  required_argument, 0, 300 },
         { "int-literals",  required_argument, 0, 301 },
+        { "dump-bitcode",  required_argument, 0, 302 },
         { 0, 0, 0, 0 }
     };
     int c;
@@ -166,6 +168,12 @@ void parse_opts(int *argcp, char ***argvp)
                 exit(1);
             }
             break;
+        case 302:
+            if (!strcmp(optarg,"yes"))
+                jl_compileropts.dumpbitcode = JL_COMPILEROPT_DUMPBITCODE_ON;
+            else if (!strcmp(optarg,"no"))
+                jl_compileropts.dumpbitcode = JL_COMPILEROPT_DUMPBITCODE_OFF;
+            break;
         default:
             ios_printf(ios_stderr, "julia: unhandled option -- %c\n",  c);
             ios_printf(ios_stderr, "This is a bug, please report it.\n");