diff --git a/start-nvim.sh b/start-nvim.sh
index c174fa3..be143ac 100755
--- a/start-nvim.sh
+++ b/start-nvim.sh
@@ -14,6 +14,12 @@
 #   ./start-nvim.sh                       # open the scratch wiki's index
 #   ./start-nvim.sh path/to/note.wiki     # open a specific file
 #   NUWIKI_DEV_WIKI=/tmp/foo ./start-nvim.sh
+#   NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 ./start-nvim.sh   # reuse the cached binary
+#
+# The release binary is rebuilt on every launch so source changes
+# always reach the running LSP. `cargo build --release` is incremental,
+# so this is a fast no-op when nothing changed. Set
+# NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 to skip the build step entirely.
 #
 # Tested with Neovim 0.10+. State (cache/data/config) lives under
 # $XDG_CACHE_HOME/nuwiki-dev/ so your real Neovim install stays
@@ -34,14 +40,19 @@ log() { printf '\033[1;34m[nuwiki-dev]\033[0m %s\n' "$*"; }
 ensure_binary() {
   local bin="$REPO_ROOT/bin/nuwiki-ls"
   local built="$REPO_ROOT/target/release/nuwiki-ls"
-  if [[ -x "$bin" ]]; then
-    return
+  if [[ "${NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD:-0}" == "1" ]]; then
+    if [[ ! -x "$bin" ]]; then
+      log "NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 but $bin is missing — building anyway"
+    else
+      log "NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 — using existing $bin"
+      return
+    fi
   fi
   log "building nuwiki-ls (release)…"
   cargo build --release -p nuwiki-ls --manifest-path "$REPO_ROOT/Cargo.toml"
   mkdir -p "$REPO_ROOT/bin"
   ln -sf "$built" "$bin"
-  log "binary ready: $bin"
+  log "binary ready: $bin (built $(date -r "$built" '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'))"
 }
 
 seed_wiki() {
diff --git a/start-vim.sh b/start-vim.sh
index 815929d..dd59973 100755
--- a/start-vim.sh
+++ b/start-vim.sh
@@ -11,7 +11,13 @@
 #   ./start-vim.sh                        # open the scratch wiki's index
 #   ./start-vim.sh path/to/note.wiki      # open a specific file
 #   NUWIKI_DEV_WIKI=/tmp/foo ./start-vim.sh
-#   NUWIKI_DEV_NO_LSP=1 ./start-vim.sh    # skip vim-lsp setup
+#   NUWIKI_DEV_NO_LSP=1 ./start-vim.sh        # skip vim-lsp setup
+#   NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 ./start-vim.sh    # reuse the cached binary
+#
+# The release binary is rebuilt on every launch so source changes
+# always reach the running LSP. `cargo build --release` is incremental,
+# so this is a fast no-op when nothing changed. Set
+# NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 to skip the build step entirely.
 #
 # Tested with Vim 9.1+. State (viminfo/sessions) lives under
 # $XDG_CACHE_HOME/nuwiki-dev/ so your real Vim install stays untouched.
@@ -31,14 +37,19 @@ log() { printf '\033[1;34m[nuwiki-dev]\033[0m %s\n' "$*"; }
 ensure_binary() {
   local bin="$REPO_ROOT/bin/nuwiki-ls"
   local built="$REPO_ROOT/target/release/nuwiki-ls"
-  if [[ -x "$bin" ]]; then
-    return
+  if [[ "${NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD:-0}" == "1" ]]; then
+    if [[ ! -x "$bin" ]]; then
+      log "NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 but $bin is missing — building anyway"
+    else
+      log "NUWIKI_DEV_SKIP_BUILD=1 — using existing $bin"
+      return
+    fi
   fi
   log "building nuwiki-ls (release)…"
   cargo build --release -p nuwiki-ls --manifest-path "$REPO_ROOT/Cargo.toml"
   mkdir -p "$REPO_ROOT/bin"
   ln -sf "$built" "$bin"
-  log "binary ready: $bin"
+  log "binary ready: $bin (built $(date -r "$built" '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'))"
 }
 
 clone_if_missing() {