diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index ba9fa29..55e2611 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
-project(fun VERSION 0.17.4 LANGUAGES C)
+project(fun VERSION 0.17.6 LANGUAGES C)
 
 set(CMAKE_C_STANDARD 11)
 set(CMAKE_C_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
@@ -86,12 +86,16 @@ if(Threads_FOUND)
   target_link_libraries(fun_core PUBLIC Threads::Threads)
 endif()
 
-# Playground / interpreter (future /usr/bin/fun)
+# Interpreter /usr/bin/fun
+option(FUN_WITH_REPL "Enable interactive REPL in the fun CLI" OFF)
 add_executable(fun
         src/fun.c
 )
 # Provide version string to the CLI
 target_compile_definitions(fun PRIVATE FUN_VERSION=\"${PROJECT_VERSION}\")
+if(FUN_WITH_REPL)
+  target_compile_definitions(fun PRIVATE FUN_WITH_REPL=0)
+endif()
 target_link_libraries(fun PRIVATE fun_core)
 
 # Internal test programs
@@ -113,12 +117,14 @@ add_custom_target(build
 # Convenience targets: repl, run, threads-demo, ops, examples
 set(FUN_RUN_SCRIPT "" CACHE STRING "Script to run with the 'run' target, e.g. -DFUN_RUN_SCRIPT=examples/strings_test.fun")
 
-add_custom_target(repl
-  COMMAND $<TARGET_FILE:fun>
-  DEPENDS fun
-  USES_TERMINAL
-  COMMENT "Run Fun REPL"
-)
+if(FUN_WITH_REPL)
+  add_custom_target(repl
+    COMMAND $<TARGET_FILE:fun>
+    DEPENDS fun
+    USES_TERMINAL
+    COMMENT "Run Fun REPL"
+  )
+endif()
 
 add_custom_target(run
   COMMAND $<TARGET_FILE:fun> ${FUN_RUN_SCRIPT}
diff --git a/src/fun.c b/src/fun.c
index fd23001..6437595 100644
--- a/src/fun.c
+++ b/src/fun.c
@@ -710,11 +710,19 @@ static int buffer_looks_incomplete(const char *buf) {
 static void print_usage(const char *prog) {
     printf("Fun %s\n", FUN_VERSION);
     printf("Usage:\n");
+#ifdef FUN_WITH_REPL
     printf("  %s [script.fun]\n", prog ? prog : "fun");
     printf("  %s --help | -h\n", prog ? prog : "fun");
     printf("  %s --version | -V\n", prog ? prog : "fun");
     printf("\n");
     printf("When no script is provided, a REPL starts. Submit an empty line to execute the buffer.\n");
+#else
+    printf("  %s <script.fun>\n", prog ? prog : "fun");
+    printf("  %s --help | -h\n", prog ? prog : "fun");
+    printf("  %s --version | -V\n", prog ? prog : "fun");
+    printf("\n");
+    printf("REPL is disabled in this build. Please provide a script file to run.\n");
+#endif
 }
 
 static void show_repl_help(void) {
@@ -836,6 +844,15 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
         }
     }
 
+#ifndef FUN_WITH_REPL
+    // When REPL is disabled, require a script file argument (allow --help/--version above).
+    if (argc <= 1) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Error: REPL is disabled. Please provide a script to run.\n");
+        print_usage(argv[0]);
+        return 2;
+    }
+#endif
+
     // If a script path is provided, parse and run it
     if (argc > 1) {
         const char *path = argv[1];