diff --git a/ci/release/template/man/d2.1 b/ci/release/template/man/d2.1
index 81bc4e895..ff8263105 100644
--- a/ci/release/template/man/d2.1
+++ b/ci/release/template/man/d2.1
@@ -109,6 +109,9 @@ An appendix for tooltips and links is added to PNG exports since they are not in
 .Ns .
 .It Fl d , -debug
 Print debug logs.
+.It Fl -img-cache Ar true
+In watch mode, images used in icons are cached for subsequent compilations. This should be disabled if images might change
+.Ns .
 .It Fl h , -help
 Print usage information and exit.
 .It Fl v , -version
diff --git a/d2cli/main.go b/d2cli/main.go
index 0db873bc6..9b5f1cc8a 100644
--- a/d2cli/main.go
+++ b/d2cli/main.go
@@ -67,6 +67,10 @@ func Run(ctx context.Context, ms *xmain.State) (err error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	imgCacheFlag, err := ms.Opts.Bool("IMG_CACHE", "img-cache", "", true, "in watch mode, images used in icons are cached for subsequent compilations. This should be disabled if images might change.")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 	layoutFlag := ms.Opts.String("D2_LAYOUT", "layout", "l", "dagre", `the layout engine used`)
 	themeFlag, err := ms.Opts.Int64("D2_THEME", "theme", "t", 0, "the diagram theme ID")
 	if err != nil {
@@ -150,6 +154,9 @@ func Run(ctx context.Context, ms *xmain.State) (err error) {
 	if *debugFlag {
 		ms.Env.Setenv("DEBUG", "1")
 	}
+	if *imgCacheFlag {
+		ms.Env.Setenv("IMG_CACHE", "1")
+	}
 	if *browserFlag != "" {
 		ms.Env.Setenv("BROWSER", *browserFlag)
 	}
diff --git a/lib/imgbundler/imgbundler.go b/lib/imgbundler/imgbundler.go
index d7df77851..526f3bf8d 100644
--- a/lib/imgbundler/imgbundler.go
+++ b/lib/imgbundler/imgbundler.go
@@ -151,8 +151,10 @@ func runWorkers(ctx context.Context, ms *xmain.State, svg []byte, imgs [][][]byt
 }
 
 func worker(ctx context.Context, ms *xmain.State, href []byte, isRemote bool) ([]byte, error) {
-	if hit, ok := imgCache.Load(string(href)); ok {
-		return hit.([]byte), nil
+	if ms.Env.Getenv("IMG_CACHE") == "1" {
+		if hit, ok := imgCache.Load(string(href)); ok {
+			return hit.([]byte), nil
+		}
 	}
 	var buf []byte
 	var mimeType string
@@ -175,7 +177,9 @@ func worker(ctx context.Context, ms *xmain.State, href []byte, isRemote bool) ([
 	b64 := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(buf)
 
 	out := []byte(fmt.Sprintf(`<image href="data:%s;base64,%s"`, mimeType, b64))
-	imgCache.Store(string(href), out)
+	if ms.Env.Getenv("IMG_CACHE") == "1" {
+		imgCache.Store(string(href), out)
+	}
 	return out, nil
 }