diff --git a/headless/index.js b/headless/index.js
index b4a717e47..a4b04b664 100644
--- a/headless/index.js
+++ b/headless/index.js
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ yargs
     startFlipper,
   )
   .version(global.__VERSION__)
-  .help().argv;
+  .help();
 
 function startFlipper({
   dev,
diff --git a/src/utils/argvUtils.js b/src/utils/argvUtils.js
index fab9de54f..42bf7fcd4 100644
--- a/src/utils/argvUtils.js
+++ b/src/utils/argvUtils.js
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ import electron from 'electron';
 import isProduction from './isProduction';
 
 export const isAutoUpdaterEnabled = () =>
-  // $FlowFixMe: argv is not included in the type defs.
-  !electron.remote.process.argv.includes('--no-updater') &&
+  // TODO(T39788540): Centralise config access and avoid parsing multiple times.
+  // $FlowFixMe: env is not in the type defs.
+  JSON.parse(electron.remote?.process.env.CONFIG || process.env.CONFIG || '{}')
+    .updaterEnabled &&
   isProduction() &&
-  process.platform === 'darwin';
+  process.platform === 'darwin';
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/static/index.js b/static/index.js
index 0385cfd34..ea4b3f9c6 100644
--- a/static/index.js
+++ b/static/index.js
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ const compilePlugins = require('./compilePlugins.js');
 const os = require('os');
 const setup = require('./setup');
 const expandTilde = require('expand-tilde');
+const yargs = require('yargs');
 
 // disable electron security warnings: https://github.com/electron/electron/blob/master/docs/tutorial/security.md#security-native-capabilities-and-your-responsibility
 process.env.ELECTRON_DISABLE_SECURITY_WARNINGS = true;
@@ -36,7 +37,17 @@ if (process.platform === 'darwin') {
   }
 }
 
-let {config, configPath, flipperDir} = setup();
+const argv = yargs
+  .usage('$0 [args]')
+  .option('updater', {
+    default: true,
+    describe: 'Toggle the built-in update mechanism.',
+    type: 'boolean',
+  })
+  .version(global.__VERSION__)
+  .help().argv;
+
+let {config, configPath, flipperDir} = setup(argv);
 
 const pluginPaths = config.pluginPaths
   .concat(
diff --git a/static/setup.js b/static/setup.js
index 27fdf322d..7bc8459ec 100644
--- a/static/setup.js
+++ b/static/setup.js
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ const path = require('path');
 const os = require('os');
 const fs = require('fs');
 
-module.exports = function() {
+module.exports = function(argv) {
   if (!process.env.ANDROID_HOME) {
     process.env.ANDROID_HOME = '/opt/android_sdk';
   }
@@ -27,7 +27,11 @@ module.exports = function() {
   }
 
   const configPath = path.join(flipperDir, 'config.json');
-  let config = {pluginPaths: [], disabledPlugins: [], lastWindowPosition: {}};
+  let config = {
+    pluginPaths: [],
+    disabledPlugins: [],
+    lastWindowPosition: {},
+  };
 
   try {
     config = {
@@ -39,5 +43,11 @@ module.exports = function() {
     fs.writeFileSync(configPath, JSON.stringify(config));
   }
 
+  // Non-persistent CLI arguments.
+  config = {
+    ...config,
+    updaterEnabled: argv.updater,
+  };
+
   return {config, configPath, flipperDir};
 };