diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index bd72edc..2288ea6 100755
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -2,12 +2,25 @@
 
 set -eu
 
+UPDATE=true
+if [ $# -eq 1 ] && [ "$1" = "-n" ]; then
+    UPDATE=false
+    shift
+fi
+
+if [ $# -gt 0 ]; then
+    echo "Usage: $(basename "$0") [-n]" 1>&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 # run sudo to cache creds
 sudo /bin/true
 
 # update modules and check depencies
 git pull
-git submodule update --init --recursive
+if "$UPDATE" || [ ! -f roles/.git ]; then
+    git submodule update --init --recursive
+fi
 if ! rpm -q ansible > /dev/null; then
     sudo dnf -y install ansible
 fi