diff --git a/compositor/main.c b/compositor/main.c
index 1a8bf115..65da9dbc 100644
--- a/compositor/main.c
+++ b/compositor/main.c
@@ -676,7 +676,8 @@ usage(int error_code)
 		"  --tty=TTY\t\tThe tty to use\n"
 		"  --drm-device=CARD\tThe DRM device to use, e.g. \"card0\".\n"
 		"  --use-pixman\t\tUse the pixman (CPU) renderer\n"
-		"  --current-mode\tPrefer current KMS mode over EDID preferred mode\n\n");
+		"  --current-mode\tPrefer current KMS mode over EDID preferred mode\n"
+		"  --continue-without-input\tAllow the compositor to start without input devices\n\n");
 #endif
 
 #if defined(BUILD_FBDEV_COMPOSITOR)
@@ -2523,6 +2524,7 @@ load_drm_backend(struct weston_compositor *c,
 		{ WESTON_OPTION_STRING, "drm-device", 0, &config.specific_device },
 		{ WESTON_OPTION_BOOLEAN, "current-mode", 0, &wet->drm_use_current_mode },
 		{ WESTON_OPTION_BOOLEAN, "use-pixman", 0, &config.use_pixman },
+		{ WESTON_OPTION_BOOLEAN, "continue-without-input", 0, &config.continue_without_input },
 	};
 
 	parse_options(options, ARRAY_LENGTH(options), argc, argv);
diff --git a/include/libweston/backend-drm.h b/include/libweston/backend-drm.h
index f6647e28..350eeb0d 100644
--- a/include/libweston/backend-drm.h
+++ b/include/libweston/backend-drm.h
@@ -223,6 +223,9 @@ struct weston_drm_backend_config {
 
 	/** Use shadow buffer if using Pixman-renderer. */
 	bool use_pixman_shadow;
+
+	/** Allow compositor to start without input devices. */
+	bool continue_without_input;
 };
 
 #ifdef  __cplusplus
diff --git a/libweston/backend-drm/drm.c b/libweston/backend-drm/drm.c
index 2aea82f5..ca0f3a86 100644
--- a/libweston/backend-drm/drm.c
+++ b/libweston/backend-drm/drm.c
@@ -2831,6 +2831,7 @@ drm_backend_create(struct weston_compositor *compositor,
 						   NULL, NULL, NULL);
 
 	compositor->backend = &b->base;
+	compositor->require_input = !config->continue_without_input;
 
 	if (parse_gbm_format(config->gbm_format, DRM_FORMAT_XRGB8888, &b->gbm_format) < 0)
 		goto err_compositor;
diff --git a/man/weston-drm.man b/man/weston-drm.man
index 28cdf3d1..01a336e1 100644
--- a/man/weston-drm.man
+++ b/man/weston-drm.man
@@ -205,6 +205,9 @@ instead of the seat defined in the environment variable
 Launch Weston on tty
 .I x
 instead of using the current tty.
+.TP
+.B \-\-continue\-without\-input
+Allow Weston to start without input devices. Used for testing purposes.
 .
 .\" ***************************************************************
 .SH ENVIRONMENT