diff --git a/adapters/standalone.cpp b/adapters/standalone.cpp
index 0c9ae76c..37f21682 100644
--- a/adapters/standalone.cpp
+++ b/adapters/standalone.cpp
@@ -74,8 +74,11 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 	// Parse command line arguments
 	int c;
 	opterr = 0;
-	while ((c = getopt(argc, argv, "dht:s:u:p:")) != -1) {
+	while ((c = getopt(argc, argv, "adht:s:u:p:")) != -1) {
 		switch (c) {
+			case 'a': {
+				settings::safeMode = true;
+			} break;
 			case 'd': {
 				settings::devMode = true;
 			} break;
diff --git a/include/settings.hpp b/include/settings.hpp
index fde47990..deb4dd7a 100644
--- a/include/settings.hpp
+++ b/include/settings.hpp
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ extern bool isPlugin;
 
 // Persistent state, serialized to settings.json.
 
+/** Launches Rack without loading plugins or the autosave patch. Always set to false when settings are saved. */
+extern bool safeMode;
 /** vcvrack.com user token */
 extern std::string token;
 /** Whether the window is maximized */
diff --git a/src/patch.cpp b/src/patch.cpp
index 6a8b288a..851c53da 100644
--- a/src/patch.cpp
+++ b/src/patch.cpp
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@ void Manager::launch(std::string pathArg) {
 		return;
 	}
 
+	// Don't load autosave or template if safe mode is enabled
+	if (settings::safeMode)
+		return;
+
 	// Try loading the autosave patch
 	if (hasAutosave()) {
 		try {
diff --git a/src/plugin.cpp b/src/plugin.cpp
index 17c86a5d..6bd99a15 100644
--- a/src/plugin.cpp
+++ b/src/plugin.cpp
@@ -256,6 +256,10 @@ void init() {
 	// Get user plugins directory
 	system::createDirectory(pluginsPath);
 
+	// Don't load plugins if safe mode is enabled
+	if (settings::safeMode)
+		return;
+
 	// Extract packages and load plugins
 	extractPackages(pluginsPath);
 	loadPlugins(pluginsPath);
diff --git a/src/settings.cpp b/src/settings.cpp
index be4ed43e..59d91ec2 100644
--- a/src/settings.cpp
+++ b/src/settings.cpp
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ bool devMode = false;
 bool headless = false;
 bool isPlugin = false;
 
+bool safeMode = false;
 std::string token;
 bool windowMaximized = false;
 math::Vec windowSize = math::Vec(1024, 720);
@@ -107,6 +108,9 @@ void destroy() {
 json_t* toJson() {
 	json_t* rootJ = json_object();
 
+	// Always disable safe mode when settings are saved.
+	json_object_set_new(rootJ, "safeMode", json_boolean(false));
+
 	json_object_set_new(rootJ, "token", json_string(token.c_str()));
 
 	json_object_set_new(rootJ, "windowMaximized", json_boolean(windowMaximized));
@@ -241,6 +245,13 @@ json_t* toJson() {
 }
 
 void fromJson(json_t* rootJ) {
+	json_t* safeModeJ = json_object_get(rootJ, "safeMode");
+	if (safeModeJ) {
+		// If safe mode is enabled (e.g. by command line flag), don't disable it when loading.
+		if (json_boolean_value(safeModeJ))
+			safeMode = true;
+	}
+
 	json_t* tokenJ = json_object_get(rootJ, "token");
 	if (tokenJ)
 		token = json_string_value(tokenJ);