diff --git a/src/bin/publish.rs b/src/bin/publish.rs
index 97aa2e13764..f5a9d827767 100644
--- a/src/bin/publish.rs
+++ b/src/bin/publish.rs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ pub struct Options {
     flag_no_verify: bool,
     flag_allow_dirty: bool,
     flag_jobs: Option<u32>,
+    flag_dry_run: bool,
 }
 
 pub const USAGE: &'static str = "
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ Options:
     --allow-dirty            Allow publishing with a dirty source directory
     --manifest-path PATH     Path to the manifest of the package to publish
     -j N, --jobs N           Number of parallel jobs, defaults to # of CPUs
+    --dry-run                Perform all checks without uploading
     -v, --verbose ...        Use verbose output
     -q, --quiet              No output printed to stdout
     --color WHEN             Coloring: auto, always, never
@@ -47,6 +49,7 @@ pub fn execute(options: Options, config: &Config) -> CliResult<Option<()>> {
         flag_no_verify: no_verify,
         flag_allow_dirty: allow_dirty,
         flag_jobs: jobs,
+        flag_dry_run: dry_run,
         ..
     } = options;
 
@@ -59,6 +62,7 @@ pub fn execute(options: Options, config: &Config) -> CliResult<Option<()>> {
         verify: !no_verify,
         allow_dirty: allow_dirty,
         jobs: jobs,
+        dry_run: dry_run,
     }));
     Ok(None)
 }
diff --git a/src/cargo/ops/registry.rs b/src/cargo/ops/registry.rs
index cda3d9abec9..ac831b3576a 100644
--- a/src/cargo/ops/registry.rs
+++ b/src/cargo/ops/registry.rs
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ pub struct PublishOpts<'cfg> {
     pub verify: bool,
     pub allow_dirty: bool,
     pub jobs: Option<u32>,
+    pub dry_run: bool,
 }
 
 pub fn publish(ws: &Workspace, opts: &PublishOpts) -> CargoResult<()> {
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ pub fn publish(ws: &Workspace, opts: &PublishOpts) -> CargoResult<()> {
 
     // Upload said tarball to the specified destination
     try!(opts.config.shell().status("Uploading", pkg.package_id().to_string()));
-    try!(transmit(&pkg, tarball.file(), &mut registry));
+    try!(transmit(opts.config, &pkg, tarball.file(), &mut registry, opts.dry_run));
 
     Ok(())
 }
@@ -87,8 +88,11 @@ fn verify_dependencies(pkg: &Package, registry_src: &SourceId)
     Ok(())
 }
 
-fn transmit(pkg: &Package, tarball: &File, registry: &mut Registry)
-            -> CargoResult<()> {
+fn transmit(config: &Config,
+            pkg: &Package,
+            tarball: &File,
+            registry: &mut Registry,
+            dry_run: bool) -> CargoResult<()> {
     let deps = pkg.dependencies().iter().map(|dep| {
         NewCrateDependency {
             optional: dep.is_optional(),
@@ -121,6 +125,13 @@ fn transmit(pkg: &Package, tarball: &File, registry: &mut Registry)
         }
         None => {}
     }
+
+    // Do not upload if performing a dry run
+    if dry_run {
+        try!(config.shell().warn("aborting upload due to dry run"));
+        return Ok(());
+    }
+
     registry.publish(&NewCrate {
         name: pkg.name().to_string(),
         vers: pkg.version().to_string(),
diff --git a/tests/publish.rs b/tests/publish.rs
index b823672f933..63642a7bd48 100644
--- a/tests/publish.rs
+++ b/tests/publish.rs
@@ -327,3 +327,35 @@ fn new_crate_rejected() {
     assert_that(p.cargo("publish"),
                 execs().with_status(101));
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn dry_run() {
+    setup();
+
+    let p = project("foo")
+        .file("Cargo.toml", r#"
+            [project]
+            name = "foo"
+            version = "0.0.1"
+            authors = []
+            license = "MIT"
+            description = "foo"
+        "#)
+        .file("src/main.rs", "fn main() {}");
+
+    assert_that(p.cargo_process("publish").arg("--dry-run"),
+                execs().with_status(0).with_stderr(&format!("\
+[UPDATING] registry `{reg}`
+[WARNING] manifest has no documentation, [..]
+[PACKAGING] foo v0.0.1 ({dir})
+[VERIFYING] foo v0.0.1 ({dir})
+[COMPILING] foo v0.0.1 [..]
+[UPLOADING] foo v0.0.1 ({dir})
+[WARNING] aborting upload due to dry run
+",
+        dir = p.url(),
+        reg = registry())));
+
+    // Ensure the API request wasn't actually made
+    assert!(!upload_path().join("api/v1/crates/new").exists());
+}