diff --git a/packages/docusaurus-types/src/index.d.ts b/packages/docusaurus-types/src/index.d.ts
index 61b34feef3..a8fffdc4f8 100644
--- a/packages/docusaurus-types/src/index.d.ts
+++ b/packages/docusaurus-types/src/index.d.ts
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ export interface BuildCLIOptions {
   bundleAnalyzer: boolean;
   outDir: string;
   minify: boolean;
+  skipBuild: boolean;
 }
 
 export interface LoadContext {
diff --git a/packages/docusaurus/bin/docusaurus.js b/packages/docusaurus/bin/docusaurus.js
index 22bac22067..97068cfd00 100755
--- a/packages/docusaurus/bin/docusaurus.js
+++ b/packages/docusaurus/bin/docusaurus.js
@@ -71,8 +71,12 @@ cli
     '--out-dir <dir>',
     'The full path for the new output directory, relative to the current workspace (default: build).',
   )
-  .action((siteDir = '.', {outDir}) => {
-    wrapCommand(deploy)(path.resolve(siteDir), {outDir});
+  .option(
+    '--skip-build',
+    'Skip building website before deploy it (default: false)',
+  )
+  .action((siteDir = '.', {outDir, skipBuild}) => {
+    wrapCommand(deploy)(path.resolve(siteDir), {outDir, skipBuild});
   });
 
 cli
diff --git a/packages/docusaurus/src/commands/deploy.ts b/packages/docusaurus/src/commands/deploy.ts
index 87db8f33ac..4d0c8af01e 100644
--- a/packages/docusaurus/src/commands/deploy.ts
+++ b/packages/docusaurus/src/commands/deploy.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import fs from 'fs-extra';
 import path from 'path';
 import shell from 'shelljs';
 import {CONFIG_FILE_NAME, GENERATED_FILES_DIR_NAME} from '../constants';
+import {loadContext} from '../server';
 import {loadConfig} from '../server/config';
 import {build} from './build';
 import {BuildCLIOptions} from '@docusaurus/types';
@@ -17,6 +18,9 @@ export async function deploy(
   siteDir: string,
   cliOptions: Partial<BuildCLIOptions> = {},
 ): Promise<void> {
+  const {outDir} = loadContext(siteDir, cliOptions.outDir);
+  const tempDir = path.join(siteDir, GENERATED_FILES_DIR_NAME);
+
   console.log('Deploy command invoked ...');
   if (!shell.which('git')) {
     throw new Error('Git not installed or on the PATH!');
@@ -94,95 +98,103 @@ export async function deploy(
   // out to deployment branch.
   const currentCommit = shell.exec('git rev-parse HEAD').stdout.trim();
 
-  // Clear Docusaurus 2 cache dir for deploy consistency.
-  const tempDir = path.join(siteDir, '.docusaurus');
-  fs.removeSync(tempDir);
+  const runDeploy = (outDir) => {
+    if (shell.cd(tempDir).code !== 0) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Temp dir ${GENERATED_FILES_DIR_NAME} does not exists. Run build website first.`,
+      );
+    }
 
-  // Build static html files, then push to deploymentBranch branch of specified repo.
-  build(siteDir, cliOptions, false)
-    .then((outDir) => {
-      shell.cd(tempDir);
+    if (
+      shell.exec(`git clone ${remoteBranch} ${projectName}-${deploymentBranch}`)
+        .code !== 0
+    ) {
+      throw new Error('Error: git clone failed');
+    }
 
-      if (
-        shell.exec(
-          `git clone ${remoteBranch} ${projectName}-${deploymentBranch}`,
-        ).code !== 0
-      ) {
-        throw new Error('Error: git clone failed');
-      }
+    shell.cd(`${projectName}-${deploymentBranch}`);
 
-      shell.cd(`${projectName}-${deploymentBranch}`);
-
-      // If the default branch is the one we're deploying to, then we'll fail
-      // to create it. This is the case of a cross-repo publish, where we clone
-      // a github.io repo with a default master branch.
-      const defaultBranch = shell
-        .exec('git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD')
-        .stdout.trim();
-      if (defaultBranch !== deploymentBranch) {
-        if (shell.exec(`git checkout origin/${deploymentBranch}`).code !== 0) {
-          if (
-            shell.exec(`git checkout --orphan ${deploymentBranch}`).code !== 0
-          ) {
-            throw new Error(`Error: Git checkout ${deploymentBranch} failed`);
-          }
-        } else if (
-          shell.exec(`git checkout -b ${deploymentBranch}`).code +
-            shell.exec(
-              `git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/${deploymentBranch}`,
-            ).code !==
-          0
+    // If the default branch is the one we're deploying to, then we'll fail
+    // to create it. This is the case of a cross-repo publish, where we clone
+    // a github.io repo with a default master branch.
+    const defaultBranch = shell
+      .exec('git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD')
+      .stdout.trim();
+    if (defaultBranch !== deploymentBranch) {
+      if (shell.exec(`git checkout origin/${deploymentBranch}`).code !== 0) {
+        if (
+          shell.exec(`git checkout --orphan ${deploymentBranch}`).code !== 0
         ) {
           throw new Error(`Error: Git checkout ${deploymentBranch} failed`);
         }
+      } else if (
+        shell.exec(`git checkout -b ${deploymentBranch}`).code +
+          shell.exec(`git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/${deploymentBranch}`)
+            .code !==
+        0
+      ) {
+        throw new Error(`Error: Git checkout ${deploymentBranch} failed`);
+      }
+    }
+
+    shell.exec('git rm -rf .');
+
+    shell.cd('../..');
+
+    const fromPath = outDir;
+    const toPath = path.join(
+      GENERATED_FILES_DIR_NAME,
+      `${projectName}-${deploymentBranch}`,
+    );
+
+    fs.copy(fromPath, toPath, (error) => {
+      if (error) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `Error: Copying build assets failed with error '${error}'`,
+        );
       }
 
-      shell.exec('git rm -rf .');
+      shell.cd(toPath);
+      shell.exec('git add --all');
 
-      shell.cd('../..');
-
-      const fromPath = outDir;
-      const toPath = path.join(
-        GENERATED_FILES_DIR_NAME,
-        `${projectName}-${deploymentBranch}`,
-      );
-
-      fs.copy(fromPath, toPath, (error) => {
-        if (error) {
-          throw new Error(
-            `Error: Copying build assets failed with error '${error}'`,
-          );
+      const commitMessage =
+        process.env.CUSTOM_COMMIT_MESSAGE ||
+        `Deploy website - based on ${currentCommit}`;
+      const commitResults = shell.exec(`git commit -m "${commitMessage}"`);
+      if (
+        shell.exec(`git push --force origin ${deploymentBranch}`).code !== 0
+      ) {
+        throw new Error('Error: Git push failed');
+      } else if (commitResults.code === 0) {
+        // The commit might return a non-zero value when site is up to date.
+        let websiteURL = '';
+        if (githubHost === 'github.com') {
+          websiteURL = projectName.includes('.github.io')
+            ? `https://${organizationName}.github.io/`
+            : `https://${organizationName}.github.io/${projectName}/`;
+        } else {
+          // GitHub enterprise hosting.
+          websiteURL = `https://${githubHost}/pages/${organizationName}/${projectName}/`;
         }
-
-        shell.cd(toPath);
-        shell.exec('git add --all');
-
-        const commitMessage =
-          process.env.CUSTOM_COMMIT_MESSAGE ||
-          `Deploy website - based on ${currentCommit}`;
-        const commitResults = shell.exec(`git commit -m "${commitMessage}"`);
-        if (
-          shell.exec(`git push --force origin ${deploymentBranch}`).code !== 0
-        ) {
-          throw new Error('Error: Git push failed');
-        } else if (commitResults.code === 0) {
-          // The commit might return a non-zero value when site is up to date.
-          let websiteURL = '';
-          if (githubHost === 'github.com') {
-            websiteURL = projectName.includes('.github.io')
-              ? `https://${organizationName}.github.io/`
-              : `https://${organizationName}.github.io/${projectName}/`;
-          } else {
-            // GitHub enterprise hosting.
-            websiteURL = `https://${githubHost}/pages/${organizationName}/${projectName}/`;
-          }
-          shell.echo(`Website is live at ${websiteURL}`);
-          shell.exit(0);
-        }
-      });
-    })
-    .catch((buildError) => {
-      console.error(buildError);
-      process.exit(1);
+        shell.echo(`Website is live at ${websiteURL}`);
+        shell.exit(0);
+      }
     });
+  };
+
+  if (!cliOptions.skipBuild) {
+    // Clear Docusaurus 2 cache dir for deploy consistency.
+    fs.removeSync(tempDir);
+
+    // Build static html files, then push to deploymentBranch branch of specified repo.
+    build(siteDir, cliOptions, false)
+      .then(runDeploy)
+      .catch((buildError) => {
+        console.error(buildError);
+        process.exit(1);
+      });
+  } else {
+    // Push current build to deploymentBranch branch of specified repo.
+    runDeploy(outDir);
+  }
 }
diff --git a/website/docs/cli.md b/website/docs/cli.md
index de0b9df084..ec40208547 100644
--- a/website/docs/cli.md
+++ b/website/docs/cli.md
@@ -110,3 +110,4 @@ Deploys your site with [GitHub Pages](https://pages.github.com/). Check out the
 | Name | Default | Description |
 | --- | --- | --- |
 | `--out-dir` | `build` | The full path for the new output directory, relative to the current workspace. |
+| `--skip-build` | `false` | Deploy website without building it. This may be useful when using custom deploy script. |