diff --git a/default.nix b/default.nix
index 981c1b5..a9e9c90 100644
--- a/default.nix
+++ b/default.nix
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
   pkgs ? import <nixpkgs>,
   shell ? pkgs.mkShell,
   modules ? [ ],
+  auto ? true,
   ...
 }:
 # shell creation args
@@ -28,14 +29,11 @@ let
         # ides
         ./ides.nix
         # service config and build params
-        (
-          _:
-          {
-            inherit services;
-            _buildIdes.shellFn = shell;
-            _buildIdes.shellArgs = shellArgs;
-          }
-        )
+        (_: {
+          inherit services auto;
+          _buildIdes.shellFn = shell;
+          _buildIdes.shellArgs = shellArgs;
+        })
       ]
       ++ baseModules
       ++ modules
diff --git a/ides.nix b/ides.nix
index 7475963..f782615 100644
--- a/ides.nix
+++ b/ides.nix
@@ -330,10 +330,20 @@
                 restart
               ];
               shellHook =
+                let
+                  autoRun =
+                    if config.auto then
+                      ''
+                        ides run
+                      ''
+                    else
+                      "";
+                in
                 (shellArgs.shellHook or "")
                 + ''
-                  ides
-                '';
+                  ides help
+                ''
+                + autoRun;
             };
         in
         config._buildIdes.shellFn final;