diff --git a/build.zig b/build.zig
index bd7d16cf8b07..a6a04e220990 100644
--- a/build.zig
+++ b/build.zig
@@ -24,12 +24,14 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
 
     const optimize = b.standardOptimizeOption(.{});
 
+    const flat = b.option(bool, "flat", "Put files into the installation prefix in a manner suited for upstream distribution rather than a posix file system hierarchy standard") orelse false;
     const single_threaded = b.option(bool, "single-threaded", "Build artifacts that run in single threaded mode");
     const use_zig_libcxx = b.option(bool, "use-zig-libcxx", "If libc++ is needed, use zig's bundled version, don't try to integrate with the system") orelse false;
 
     const test_step = b.step("test", "Run all the tests");
     const skip_install_lib_files = b.option(bool, "no-lib", "skip copying of lib/ files and langref to installation prefix. Useful for development") orelse false;
     const skip_install_langref = b.option(bool, "no-langref", "skip copying of langref to the installation prefix") orelse skip_install_lib_files;
+    const skip_install_autodocs = b.option(bool, "no-autodocs", "skip copying of standard library autodocs to the installation prefix") orelse skip_install_lib_files;
     const no_bin = b.option(bool, "no-bin", "skip emitting compiler binary") orelse false;
 
     const docgen_exe = b.addExecutable(.{
@@ -52,8 +54,34 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
         b.getInstallStep().dependOn(&install_langref.step);
     }
 
-    const docs_step = b.step("docs", "Build documentation");
-    docs_step.dependOn(&docgen_cmd.step);
+    const autodoc_test = b.addTest(.{
+        .root_source_file = .{ .path = "lib/std/std.zig" },
+        .target = target,
+    });
+    autodoc_test.overrideZigLibDir("lib");
+    autodoc_test.emit_bin = .no_emit; // https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/16351
+    const install_std_docs = b.addInstallDirectory(.{
+        .source_dir = autodoc_test.getOutputDocs(),
+        .install_dir = .prefix,
+        .install_subdir = "doc/std",
+    });
+    if (!skip_install_autodocs) {
+        b.getInstallStep().dependOn(&install_std_docs.step);
+    }
+
+    if (flat) {
+        b.installFile("LICENSE", "LICENSE");
+    }
+
+    const langref_step = b.step("langref", "Build and install the language reference");
+    langref_step.dependOn(&install_langref.step);
+
+    const std_docs_step = b.step("std-docs", "Build and install the standard library documentation");
+    std_docs_step.dependOn(&install_std_docs.step);
+
+    const docs_step = b.step("docs", "Build and install documentation");
+    docs_step.dependOn(langref_step);
+    docs_step.dependOn(std_docs_step);
 
     const check_case_exe = b.addExecutable(.{
         .name = "check-case",
@@ -104,10 +132,10 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
     const config_h_path_option = b.option([]const u8, "config_h", "Path to the generated config.h");
 
     if (!skip_install_lib_files) {
-        b.installDirectory(InstallDirectoryOptions{
+        b.installDirectory(.{
             .source_dir = .{ .path = "lib" },
-            .install_dir = .lib,
-            .install_subdir = "zig",
+            .install_dir = if (flat) .prefix else .lib,
+            .install_subdir = if (flat) "lib" else "zig",
             .exclude_extensions = &[_][]const u8{
                 // exclude files from lib/std/compress/testdata
                 ".gz",
@@ -167,6 +195,9 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
     exe.pie = pie;
     exe.sanitize_thread = sanitize_thread;
     exe.entitlements = entitlements;
+    // TODO -femit-bin/-fno-emit-bin should be inferred by the build system
+    // based on whether or not the exe is run or installed.
+    // https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/16351
     if (no_bin) exe.emit_bin = .no_emit;
 
     exe.build_id = b.option(
@@ -175,7 +206,13 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
         "Request creation of '.note.gnu.build-id' section",
     );
 
-    b.installArtifact(exe);
+    if (!no_bin) {
+        const install_exe = b.addInstallArtifact(exe);
+        if (flat) {
+            install_exe.dest_dir = .prefix;
+        }
+        b.getInstallStep().dependOn(&install_exe.step);
+    }
 
     test_step.dependOn(&exe.step);
 
diff --git a/ci/aarch64-linux-debug.sh b/ci/aarch64-linux-debug.sh
index 30f99af0bf99..c5dbb6f29a06 100644
--- a/ci/aarch64-linux-debug.sh
+++ b/ci/aarch64-linux-debug.sh
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ cmake .. \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON \
   -GNinja
 
 # Now cmake will use zig as the C/C++ compiler. We reset the environment variables
@@ -49,16 +50,18 @@ unset CXX
 
 ninja install
 
+# TODO: move this to a build.zig step (check-fmt)
 echo "Looking for non-conforming code formatting..."
 stage3-debug/bin/zig fmt --check .. \
   --exclude ../test/cases/ \
   --exclude ../build-debug
 
 # simultaneously test building self-hosted without LLVM and with 32-bit arm
-stage3-debug/bin/zig build -Dtarget=arm-linux-musleabihf
+stage3-debug/bin/zig build \
+  -Dtarget=arm-linux-musleabihf \
+  -Dno-lib
 
 # TODO: add -fqemu back to this line
-
 stage3-debug/bin/zig build test docs \
   --maxrss 24696061952 \
   -fwasmtime \
@@ -68,10 +71,8 @@ stage3-debug/bin/zig build test docs \
   --zig-lib-dir "$(pwd)/../lib"
 
 # Look for HTML errors.
-tidy --drop-empty-elements no -qe "stage3-debug/doc/langref.html"
-
-# Produce the experimental std lib documentation.
-stage3-debug/bin/zig test ../lib/std/std.zig -femit-docs -fno-emit-bin --zig-lib-dir ../lib
+# TODO: move this to a build.zig flag (-Denable-tidy)
+tidy --drop-empty-elements no -qe "zig-out/doc/langref.html"
 
 # Ensure that updating the wasm binary from this commit will result in a viable build.
 stage3-debug/bin/zig build update-zig1
@@ -91,6 +92,7 @@ cmake .. \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON \
   -GNinja
 
 unset CC
@@ -102,6 +104,7 @@ stage3/bin/zig test ../test/behavior.zig -I../test
 stage3/bin/zig build -p stage4 \
   -Dstatic-llvm \
   -Dtarget=native-native-musl \
+  -Dno-lib \
   --search-prefix "$PREFIX" \
   --zig-lib-dir "$(pwd)/../lib"
 stage4/bin/zig test ../test/behavior.zig -I../test
diff --git a/ci/aarch64-linux-release.sh b/ci/aarch64-linux-release.sh
index 0f5b23dea5bd..cdfc5eda452a 100644
--- a/ci/aarch64-linux-release.sh
+++ b/ci/aarch64-linux-release.sh
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ cmake .. \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON \
   -GNinja
 
 # Now cmake will use zig as the C/C++ compiler. We reset the environment variables
@@ -49,16 +50,18 @@ unset CXX
 
 ninja install
 
+# TODO: move this to a build.zig step (check-fmt)
 echo "Looking for non-conforming code formatting..."
 stage3-release/bin/zig fmt --check .. \
   --exclude ../test/cases/ \
   --exclude ../build-release
 
 # simultaneously test building self-hosted without LLVM and with 32-bit arm
-stage3-release/bin/zig build -Dtarget=arm-linux-musleabihf
+stage3-release/bin/zig build \
+  -Dtarget=arm-linux-musleabihf \
+  -Dno-lib
 
 # TODO: add -fqemu back to this line
-
 stage3-release/bin/zig build test docs \
   --maxrss 24696061952 \
   -fwasmtime \
@@ -68,10 +71,8 @@ stage3-release/bin/zig build test docs \
   --zig-lib-dir "$(pwd)/../lib"
 
 # Look for HTML errors.
-tidy --drop-empty-elements no -qe "stage3-release/doc/langref.html"
-
-# Produce the experimental std lib documentation.
-stage3-release/bin/zig test ../lib/std/std.zig -femit-docs -fno-emit-bin --zig-lib-dir ../lib
+# TODO: move this to a build.zig flag (-Denable-tidy)
+tidy --drop-empty-elements no -qe "zig-out/doc/langref.html"
 
 # Ensure that updating the wasm binary from this commit will result in a viable build.
 stage3-release/bin/zig build update-zig1
@@ -91,6 +92,7 @@ cmake .. \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON \
   -GNinja
 
 unset CC
@@ -102,6 +104,7 @@ stage3/bin/zig test ../test/behavior.zig -I../test
 stage3/bin/zig build -p stage4 \
   -Dstatic-llvm \
   -Dtarget=native-native-musl \
+  -Dno-lib \
   --search-prefix "$PREFIX" \
   --zig-lib-dir "$(pwd)/../lib"
 stage4/bin/zig test ../test/behavior.zig -I../test
diff --git a/ci/aarch64-macos-debug.sh b/ci/aarch64-macos-debug.sh
index d8fb39a6a0a0..ae79210153c0 100755
--- a/ci/aarch64-macos-debug.sh
+++ b/ci/aarch64-macos-debug.sh
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ PATH="$HOME/local/bin:$PATH" cmake .. \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON \
   -GNinja
 
 $HOME/local/bin/ninja install
@@ -49,6 +50,3 @@ stage3-debug/bin/zig build test docs \
   -Dstatic-llvm \
   -Dskip-non-native \
   --search-prefix "$PREFIX"
-
-# Produce the experimental std lib documentation.
-stage3-debug/bin/zig test ../lib/std/std.zig -femit-docs -fno-emit-bin --zig-lib-dir ../lib
diff --git a/ci/aarch64-macos-release.sh b/ci/aarch64-macos-release.sh
index c5ce361722aa..c3b5b9cc75d6 100755
--- a/ci/aarch64-macos-release.sh
+++ b/ci/aarch64-macos-release.sh
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ PATH="$HOME/local/bin:$PATH" cmake .. \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON \
   -GNinja
 
 $HOME/local/bin/ninja install
@@ -50,9 +51,6 @@ stage3-release/bin/zig build test docs \
   -Dskip-non-native \
   --search-prefix "$PREFIX"
 
-# Produce the experimental std lib documentation.
-stage3-release/bin/zig test ../lib/std/std.zig -femit-docs -fno-emit-bin --zig-lib-dir ../lib
-
 # Ensure that stage3 and stage4 are byte-for-byte identical.
 stage3-release/bin/zig build \
   --prefix stage4-release \
diff --git a/ci/aarch64-windows.ps1 b/ci/aarch64-windows.ps1
index 13bda8cc9a12..ac7391056f5d 100644
--- a/ci/aarch64-windows.ps1
+++ b/ci/aarch64-windows.ps1
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@ $Env:ZIG_LOCAL_CACHE_DIR="$(Get-Location)\zig-local-cache"
   -DZIG_AR_WORKAROUND=ON `
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" `
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" `
-  -DZIG_STATIC=ON
+  -DZIG_STATIC=ON `
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON
 CheckLastExitCode
 
 ninja install
@@ -69,11 +70,3 @@ Write-Output "Main test suite..."
   -Dskip-non-native `
   -Denable-symlinks-windows
 CheckLastExitCode
-
-Write-Output "Testing Autodocs..."
-& "stage3-release\bin\zig.exe" test "..\lib\std\std.zig" `
-  --zig-lib-dir "$ZIG_LIB_DIR" `
-  -femit-docs `
-  -fno-emit-bin
-CheckLastExitCode
-
diff --git a/ci/x86_64-linux-debug.sh b/ci/x86_64-linux-debug.sh
index b72e72ae2463..422cb675d188 100755
--- a/ci/x86_64-linux-debug.sh
+++ b/ci/x86_64-linux-debug.sh
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ cmake .. \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON \
   -GNinja
 
 # Now cmake will use zig as the C/C++ compiler. We reset the environment variables
@@ -49,13 +50,16 @@ unset CXX
 
 ninja install
 
+# TODO: move this to a build.zig step (check-fmt)
 echo "Looking for non-conforming code formatting..."
 stage3-debug/bin/zig fmt --check .. \
   --exclude ../test/cases/ \
   --exclude ../build-debug
 
 # simultaneously test building self-hosted without LLVM and with 32-bit arm
-stage3-debug/bin/zig build -Dtarget=arm-linux-musleabihf
+stage3-debug/bin/zig build \
+  -Dtarget=arm-linux-musleabihf \
+  -Dno-lib
 
 stage3-debug/bin/zig build test docs \
   --maxrss 21000000000 \
@@ -67,10 +71,8 @@ stage3-debug/bin/zig build test docs \
   --zig-lib-dir "$(pwd)/../lib"
 
 # Look for HTML errors.
-tidy --drop-empty-elements no -qe "stage3-debug/doc/langref.html"
-
-# Produce the experimental std lib documentation.
-stage3-debug/bin/zig test ../lib/std/std.zig -femit-docs -fno-emit-bin --zig-lib-dir ../lib
+# TODO: move this to a build.zig flag (-Denable-tidy)
+tidy --drop-empty-elements no -qe "zig-out/doc/langref.html"
 
 # Ensure that updating the wasm binary from this commit will result in a viable build.
 stage3-debug/bin/zig build update-zig1
@@ -90,6 +92,7 @@ cmake .. \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON \
   -GNinja
 
 unset CC
@@ -101,6 +104,7 @@ stage3/bin/zig test ../test/behavior.zig -I../test
 stage3/bin/zig build -p stage4 \
   -Dstatic-llvm \
   -Dtarget=native-native-musl \
+  -Dno-lib \
   --search-prefix "$PREFIX" \
   --zig-lib-dir "$(pwd)/../lib"
 stage4/bin/zig test ../test/behavior.zig -I../test
diff --git a/ci/x86_64-linux-release.sh b/ci/x86_64-linux-release.sh
index e35daa21247c..da2d795c7659 100755
--- a/ci/x86_64-linux-release.sh
+++ b/ci/x86_64-linux-release.sh
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ cmake .. \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON \
   -GNinja
 
 # Now cmake will use zig as the C/C++ compiler. We reset the environment variables
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ unset CXX
 
 ninja install
 
+# TODO: move this to a build.zig step (check-fmt)
 echo "Looking for non-conforming code formatting..."
 stage3-release/bin/zig fmt --check .. \
   --exclude ../test/cases/ \
@@ -56,7 +58,9 @@ stage3-release/bin/zig fmt --check .. \
   --exclude ../build-release
 
 # simultaneously test building self-hosted without LLVM and with 32-bit arm
-stage3-release/bin/zig build -Dtarget=arm-linux-musleabihf
+stage3-release/bin/zig build \
+  -Dtarget=arm-linux-musleabihf \
+  -Dno-lib
 
 stage3-release/bin/zig build test docs \
   --maxrss 21000000000 \
@@ -68,10 +72,8 @@ stage3-release/bin/zig build test docs \
   --zig-lib-dir "$(pwd)/../lib"
 
 # Look for HTML errors.
-tidy --drop-empty-elements no -qe "stage3-release/doc/langref.html"
-
-# Produce the experimental std lib documentation.
-stage3-release/bin/zig test ../lib/std/std.zig -femit-docs -fno-emit-bin --zig-lib-dir ../lib
+# TODO: move this to a build.zig flag (-Denable-tidy)
+tidy --drop-empty-elements no -qe "zig-out/doc/langref.html"
 
 # Ensure that stage3 and stage4 are byte-for-byte identical.
 stage3-release/bin/zig build \
@@ -107,6 +109,7 @@ cmake .. \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON \
   -GNinja
 
 unset CC
@@ -118,6 +121,7 @@ stage3/bin/zig test ../test/behavior.zig -I../test
 stage3/bin/zig build -p stage4 \
   -Dstatic-llvm \
   -Dtarget=native-native-musl \
+  -Dno-lib \
   --search-prefix "$PREFIX" \
   --zig-lib-dir "$(pwd)/../lib"
 stage4/bin/zig test ../test/behavior.zig -I../test
diff --git a/ci/x86_64-macos-release.sh b/ci/x86_64-macos-release.sh
index a5bf7031f9c2..0995971c0064 100755
--- a/ci/x86_64-macos-release.sh
+++ b/ci/x86_64-macos-release.sh
@@ -43,7 +43,8 @@ cmake .. \
   -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER="$ZIG;c++;-target;$TARGET;-mcpu=$MCPU" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" \
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" \
-  -DZIG_STATIC=ON
+  -DZIG_STATIC=ON \
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON
 
 make $JOBS install
 
@@ -54,9 +55,6 @@ stage3/bin/zig build test docs \
   -Dskip-non-native \
   --search-prefix "$PREFIX"
 
-# Produce the experimental std lib documentation.
-stage3/bin/zig test ../lib/std/std.zig -femit-docs -fno-emit-bin --zig-lib-dir ../lib
-
 # Ensure that stage3 and stage4 are byte-for-byte identical.
 stage3/bin/zig build \
   --prefix stage4 \
diff --git a/ci/x86_64-windows-debug.ps1 b/ci/x86_64-windows-debug.ps1
index 886cdc8ebcb8..cf303a17b3f7 100644
--- a/ci/x86_64-windows-debug.ps1
+++ b/ci/x86_64-windows-debug.ps1
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ Set-Location -Path 'build-debug'
   -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER="$($ZIG -Replace "\\", "/");c++;-target;$TARGET;-mcpu=$MCPU" `
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" `
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" `
-  -DZIG_STATIC=ON
+  -DZIG_STATIC=ON `
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON
 CheckLastExitCode
 
 ninja install
@@ -60,13 +61,6 @@ Write-Output "Main test suite..."
   -Denable-symlinks-windows
 CheckLastExitCode
 
-Write-Output "Testing Autodocs..."
-& "stage3-debug\bin\zig.exe" test "..\lib\std\std.zig" `
-  --zig-lib-dir "$ZIG_LIB_DIR" `
-  -femit-docs `
-  -fno-emit-bin
-CheckLastExitCode
-
 Write-Output "Build x86_64-windows-msvc behavior tests using the C backend..."
 & "stage3-debug\bin\zig.exe" test `
   ..\test\behavior.zig `
diff --git a/ci/x86_64-windows-release.ps1 b/ci/x86_64-windows-release.ps1
index 5e8cb1ae2681..da0353836a66 100644
--- a/ci/x86_64-windows-release.ps1
+++ b/ci/x86_64-windows-release.ps1
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ Set-Location -Path 'build-release'
   -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER="$($ZIG -Replace "\\", "/");c++;-target;$TARGET;-mcpu=$MCPU" `
   -DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="$TARGET" `
   -DZIG_TARGET_MCPU="$MCPU" `
-  -DZIG_STATIC=ON
+  -DZIG_STATIC=ON `
+  -DZIG_NO_LIB=ON
 CheckLastExitCode
 
 ninja install
@@ -60,13 +61,6 @@ Write-Output "Main test suite..."
   -Denable-symlinks-windows
 CheckLastExitCode
 
-Write-Output "Testing Autodocs..."
-& "stage3-release\bin\zig.exe" test "..\lib\std\std.zig" `
-  --zig-lib-dir "$ZIG_LIB_DIR" `
-  -femit-docs `
-  -fno-emit-bin
-CheckLastExitCode
-
 Write-Output "Build x86_64-windows-msvc behavior tests using the C backend..."
 & "stage3-release\bin\zig.exe" test `
   ..\test\behavior.zig `
diff --git a/lib/std/Build/Step/Compile.zig b/lib/std/Build/Step/Compile.zig
index 22e88a0d718f..7ff82e4b7b10 100644
--- a/lib/std/Build/Step/Compile.zig
+++ b/lib/std/Build/Step/Compile.zig
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@ verbose_cc: bool,
 emit_analysis: EmitOption = .default,
 emit_asm: EmitOption = .default,
 emit_bin: EmitOption = .default,
-emit_docs: EmitOption = .default,
 emit_implib: EmitOption = .default,
 emit_llvm_bc: EmitOption = .default,
 emit_llvm_ir: EmitOption = .default,
@@ -217,6 +216,7 @@ output_lib_path_source: GeneratedFile,
 output_h_path_source: GeneratedFile,
 output_pdb_path_source: GeneratedFile,
 output_dirname_source: GeneratedFile,
+generated_docs: ?*GeneratedFile,
 
 pub const CSourceFiles = struct {
     files: []const []const u8,
@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@ pub fn create(owner: *std.Build, options: Options) *Compile {
     }) catch @panic("OOM");
 
     const self = owner.allocator.create(Compile) catch @panic("OOM");
-    self.* = Compile{
+    self.* = .{
         .strip = null,
         .unwind_tables = null,
         .verbose_link = false,
@@ -486,6 +486,7 @@ pub fn create(owner: *std.Build, options: Options) *Compile {
         .output_h_path_source = GeneratedFile{ .step = &self.step },
         .output_pdb_path_source = GeneratedFile{ .step = &self.step },
         .output_dirname_source = GeneratedFile{ .step = &self.step },
+        .generated_docs = null,
 
         .target_info = target_info,
 
@@ -1004,6 +1005,15 @@ pub fn getOutputPdbSource(self: *Compile) FileSource {
     return .{ .generated = &self.output_pdb_path_source };
 }
 
+pub fn getOutputDocs(self: *Compile) FileSource {
+    assert(self.generated_docs == null); // This function may only be called once.
+    const arena = self.step.owner.allocator;
+    const generated_file = arena.create(GeneratedFile) catch @panic("OOM");
+    generated_file.* = .{ .step = &self.step };
+    self.generated_docs = generated_file;
+    return .{ .generated = generated_file };
+}
+
 pub fn addAssemblyFile(self: *Compile, path: []const u8) void {
     const b = self.step.owner;
     self.link_objects.append(.{
@@ -1509,7 +1519,7 @@ fn make(step: *Step, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
     if (self.emit_analysis.getArg(b, "emit-analysis")) |arg| try zig_args.append(arg);
     if (self.emit_asm.getArg(b, "emit-asm")) |arg| try zig_args.append(arg);
     if (self.emit_bin.getArg(b, "emit-bin")) |arg| try zig_args.append(arg);
-    if (self.emit_docs.getArg(b, "emit-docs")) |arg| try zig_args.append(arg);
+    if (self.generated_docs != null) try zig_args.append("-femit-docs");
     if (self.emit_implib.getArg(b, "emit-implib")) |arg| try zig_args.append(arg);
     if (self.emit_llvm_bc.getArg(b, "emit-llvm-bc")) |arg| try zig_args.append(arg);
     if (self.emit_llvm_ir.getArg(b, "emit-llvm-ir")) |arg| try zig_args.append(arg);
@@ -2022,6 +2032,10 @@ fn make(step: *Step, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
                 &.{ output_dir, self.out_pdb_filename },
             );
         }
+
+        if (self.generated_docs) |generated_docs| {
+            generated_docs.path = b.pathJoin(&.{ output_dir, "docs" });
+        }
     }
 
     if (self.kind == .lib and self.linkage != null and self.linkage.? == .dynamic and
diff --git a/src/Autodoc.zig b/src/Autodoc.zig
index ae4c859934d2..f465158bc9cc 100644
--- a/src/Autodoc.zig
+++ b/src/Autodoc.zig
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ const log = std.log.scoped(.autodoc);
 const renderer = @import("autodoc/render_source.zig");
 
 comp_module: *CompilationModule,
-doc_location: Compilation.EmitLoc,
 arena: std.mem.Allocator,
 
 // The goal of autodoc is to fill up these arrays
@@ -74,28 +73,23 @@ const Section = struct {
     };
 };
 
-var arena_allocator: std.heap.ArenaAllocator = undefined;
-pub fn init(m: *CompilationModule, doc_location: Compilation.EmitLoc) Autodoc {
-    arena_allocator = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(m.gpa);
-    return .{
-        .comp_module = m,
-        .doc_location = doc_location,
+pub fn generate(cm: *CompilationModule, output_dir: std.fs.Dir) !void {
+    var arena_allocator = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(cm.gpa);
+    defer arena_allocator.deinit();
+    var autodoc: Autodoc = .{
+        .comp_module = cm,
         .arena = arena_allocator.allocator(),
     };
-}
+    try autodoc.generateZirData(output_dir);
 
-pub fn deinit(_: *Autodoc) void {
-    arena_allocator.deinit();
+    const lib_dir = cm.comp.zig_lib_directory.handle;
+    try lib_dir.copyFile("docs/main.js", output_dir, "main.js", .{});
+    try lib_dir.copyFile("docs/ziglexer.js", output_dir, "ziglexer.js", .{});
+    try lib_dir.copyFile("docs/commonmark.js", output_dir, "commonmark.js", .{});
+    try lib_dir.copyFile("docs/index.html", output_dir, "index.html", .{});
 }
 
-/// The entry point of the Autodoc generation process.
-pub fn generateZirData(self: *Autodoc) !void {
-    if (self.doc_location.directory) |dir| {
-        if (dir.path) |path| {
-            log.debug("path: {s}", .{path});
-        }
-    }
-
+fn generateZirData(self: *Autodoc, output_dir: std.fs.Dir) !void {
     const root_src_dir = self.comp_module.main_pkg.root_src_directory;
     const root_src_path = self.comp_module.main_pkg.root_src_path;
     const joined_src_path = try root_src_dir.join(self.arena, &.{root_src_path});
@@ -362,19 +356,6 @@ pub fn generateZirData(self: *Autodoc) !void {
         .guide_sections = self.guide_sections,
     };
 
-    const base_dir = self.doc_location.directory orelse
-        self.comp_module.zig_cache_artifact_directory;
-
-    base_dir.handle.makeDir(self.doc_location.basename) catch |e| switch (e) {
-        error.PathAlreadyExists => {},
-        else => |err| return err,
-    };
-
-    const output_dir = if (self.doc_location.directory) |d|
-        try d.handle.openDir(self.doc_location.basename, .{})
-    else
-        try self.comp_module.zig_cache_artifact_directory.handle.openDir(self.doc_location.basename, .{});
-
     {
         const data_js_f = try output_dir.createFile("data.js", .{});
         defer data_js_f.close();
@@ -386,7 +367,7 @@ pub fn generateZirData(self: *Autodoc) !void {
             \\ var zigAnalysis=
         , .{});
         try std.json.stringifyArbitraryDepth(
-            arena_allocator.allocator(),
+            self.arena,
             data,
             .{
                 .whitespace = .minified,
@@ -439,14 +420,6 @@ pub fn generateZirData(self: *Autodoc) !void {
             try buffer.flush();
         }
     }
-
-    // copy main.js, index.html
-    var docs_dir = try self.comp_module.comp.zig_lib_directory.handle.openDir("docs", .{});
-    defer docs_dir.close();
-    try docs_dir.copyFile("main.js", output_dir, "main.js", .{});
-    try docs_dir.copyFile("ziglexer.js", output_dir, "ziglexer.js", .{});
-    try docs_dir.copyFile("commonmark.js", output_dir, "commonmark.js", .{});
-    try docs_dir.copyFile("index.html", output_dir, "index.html", .{});
 }
 
 /// Represents a chain of scopes, used to resolve decl references to the
diff --git a/src/Compilation.zig b/src/Compilation.zig
index f6abfae00f75..65522d0fcc79 100644
--- a/src/Compilation.zig
+++ b/src/Compilation.zig
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@ self_exe_path: ?[]const u8,
 whole_bin_sub_path: ?[]u8,
 /// Same as `whole_bin_sub_path` but for implibs.
 whole_implib_sub_path: ?[]u8,
+whole_docs_sub_path: ?[]u8,
 zig_lib_directory: Directory,
 local_cache_directory: Directory,
 global_cache_directory: Directory,
@@ -179,7 +180,6 @@ emit_asm: ?EmitLoc,
 emit_llvm_ir: ?EmitLoc,
 emit_llvm_bc: ?EmitLoc,
 emit_analysis: ?EmitLoc,
-emit_docs: ?EmitLoc,
 
 work_queue_wait_group: WaitGroup = .{},
 astgen_wait_group: WaitGroup = .{},
@@ -1119,6 +1119,7 @@ pub fn create(gpa: Allocator, options: InitOptions) !*Compilation {
         cache.hash.addOptional(options.dwarf_format);
         cache_helpers.addOptionalEmitLoc(&cache.hash, options.emit_bin);
         cache_helpers.addOptionalEmitLoc(&cache.hash, options.emit_implib);
+        cache_helpers.addOptionalEmitLoc(&cache.hash, options.emit_docs);
         cache.hash.addBytes(options.root_name);
         if (options.target.os.tag == .wasi) cache.hash.add(wasi_exec_model);
         // TODO audit this and make sure everything is in it
@@ -1171,8 +1172,8 @@ pub fn create(gpa: Allocator, options: InitOptions) !*Compilation {
             // For whole cache mode, it is still used for builtin.zig so that the file
             // path to builtin.zig can remain consistent during a debugging session at
             // runtime. However, we don't know where to put outputs from the linker
-            // or stage1 backend object files until the final cache hash, which is available
-            // after the compilation is complete.
+            // until the final cache hash, which is available after the
+            // compilation is complete.
             //
             // Therefore, in whole cache mode, we additionally create a temporary cache
             // directory for these two kinds of build artifacts, and then rename it
@@ -1346,6 +1347,8 @@ pub fn create(gpa: Allocator, options: InitOptions) !*Compilation {
                 };
             }
 
+            // In case of whole cache mode, `whole_bin_sub_path` is used to distinguish
+            // between -femit-bin and -fno-emit-bin.
             switch (cache_mode) {
                 .whole => break :blk null,
                 .incremental => {},
@@ -1408,6 +1411,34 @@ pub fn create(gpa: Allocator, options: InitOptions) !*Compilation {
             };
         };
 
+        const docs_emit: ?link.Emit = blk: {
+            const emit_docs = options.emit_docs orelse break :blk null;
+
+            if (emit_docs.directory) |directory| {
+                break :blk .{
+                    .directory = directory,
+                    .sub_path = emit_docs.basename,
+                };
+            }
+
+            // This is here for the same reason as in `bin_file_emit` above.
+            switch (cache_mode) {
+                .whole => break :blk null,
+                .incremental => {},
+            }
+
+            // Use the same directory as the bin, if possible.
+            if (bin_file_emit) |x| break :blk .{
+                .directory = x.directory,
+                .sub_path = emit_docs.basename,
+            };
+
+            break :blk .{
+                .directory = module.?.zig_cache_artifact_directory,
+                .sub_path = emit_docs.basename,
+            };
+        };
+
         // This is so that when doing `CacheMode.whole`, the mechanism in update()
         // can use it for communicating the result directory via `bin_file.emit`.
         // This is used to distinguish between -fno-emit-bin and -femit-bin
@@ -1417,6 +1448,7 @@ pub fn create(gpa: Allocator, options: InitOptions) !*Compilation {
         const whole_bin_sub_path: ?[]u8 = try prepareWholeEmitSubPath(arena, options.emit_bin);
         // Same thing but for implibs.
         const whole_implib_sub_path: ?[]u8 = try prepareWholeEmitSubPath(arena, options.emit_implib);
+        const whole_docs_sub_path: ?[]u8 = try prepareWholeEmitSubPath(arena, options.emit_docs);
 
         var system_libs: std.StringArrayHashMapUnmanaged(SystemLib) = .{};
         errdefer system_libs.deinit(gpa);
@@ -1428,6 +1460,7 @@ pub fn create(gpa: Allocator, options: InitOptions) !*Compilation {
         const bin_file = try link.File.openPath(gpa, .{
             .emit = bin_file_emit,
             .implib_emit = implib_emit,
+            .docs_emit = docs_emit,
             .root_name = root_name,
             .module = module,
             .target = options.target,
@@ -1552,11 +1585,11 @@ pub fn create(gpa: Allocator, options: InitOptions) !*Compilation {
             .bin_file = bin_file,
             .whole_bin_sub_path = whole_bin_sub_path,
             .whole_implib_sub_path = whole_implib_sub_path,
+            .whole_docs_sub_path = whole_docs_sub_path,
             .emit_asm = options.emit_asm,
             .emit_llvm_ir = options.emit_llvm_ir,
             .emit_llvm_bc = options.emit_llvm_bc,
             .emit_analysis = options.emit_analysis,
-            .emit_docs = options.emit_docs,
             .work_queue = std.fifo.LinearFifo(Job, .Dynamic).init(gpa),
             .anon_work_queue = std.fifo.LinearFifo(Job, .Dynamic).init(gpa),
             .c_object_work_queue = std.fifo.LinearFifo(*CObject, .Dynamic).init(gpa),
@@ -1940,7 +1973,7 @@ pub fn update(comp: *Compilation, main_progress_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void
             };
         };
 
-        // This updates the output directory for stage1 backend and linker outputs.
+        // This updates the output directory for linker outputs.
         if (comp.bin_file.options.module) |module| {
             module.zig_cache_artifact_directory = tmp_artifact_directory.?;
         }
@@ -1960,6 +1993,12 @@ pub fn update(comp: *Compilation, main_progress_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void
                 .sub_path = std.fs.path.basename(sub_path),
             };
         }
+        if (comp.whole_docs_sub_path) |sub_path| {
+            options.docs_emit = .{
+                .directory = tmp_artifact_directory.?,
+                .sub_path = std.fs.path.basename(sub_path),
+            };
+        }
         var old_bin_file = comp.bin_file;
         comp.bin_file = try link.File.openPath(comp.gpa, options);
         old_bin_file.destroy();
@@ -2064,16 +2103,6 @@ pub fn update(comp: *Compilation, main_progress_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void
         return;
     }
 
-    if (!build_options.only_c and !build_options.only_core_functionality) {
-        if (comp.emit_docs) |doc_location| {
-            if (comp.bin_file.options.module) |module| {
-                var autodoc = Autodoc.init(module, doc_location);
-                defer autodoc.deinit();
-                try autodoc.generateZirData();
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
     // Flush takes care of -femit-bin, but we still have -femit-llvm-ir, -femit-llvm-bc, and
     // -femit-asm to handle, in the case of C objects.
     comp.emitOthers();
@@ -2122,12 +2151,21 @@ pub fn update(comp: *Compilation, main_progress_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void
             };
 
             try comp.flush(main_progress_node);
+            if (comp.totalErrorCount() != 0) return;
+
+            // TODO: do this in a separate job during performAllTheWork(). The
+            // file copies at the end of generate() can also be extracted to
+            // separate jobs
+            if (!build_options.only_c and !build_options.only_core_functionality) {
+                if (comp.bin_file.options.docs_emit) |emit| {
+                    var dir = try emit.directory.handle.makeOpenPath(emit.sub_path, .{});
+                    defer dir.close();
+                    try Autodoc.generate(module, dir);
+                }
+            }
         } else {
             try comp.flush(main_progress_node);
-        }
-
-        if (comp.totalErrorCount() != 0) {
-            return;
+            if (comp.totalErrorCount() != 0) return;
         }
 
         // Failure here only means an unnecessary cache miss.
@@ -2190,6 +2228,15 @@ fn wholeCacheModeSetBinFilePath(comp: *Compilation, digest: *const [Cache.hex_di
             .sub_path = sub_path,
         };
     }
+
+    if (comp.whole_docs_sub_path) |sub_path| {
+        @memcpy(sub_path[digest_start..][0..digest.len], digest);
+
+        comp.bin_file.options.docs_emit = .{
+            .directory = comp.local_cache_directory,
+            .sub_path = sub_path,
+        };
+    }
 }
 
 fn prepareWholeEmitSubPath(arena: Allocator, opt_emit: ?EmitLoc) error{OutOfMemory}!?[]u8 {
@@ -2265,7 +2312,6 @@ fn addNonIncrementalStuffToCacheManifest(comp: *Compilation, man: *Cache.Manifes
     cache_helpers.addOptionalEmitLoc(&man.hash, comp.emit_llvm_ir);
     cache_helpers.addOptionalEmitLoc(&man.hash, comp.emit_llvm_bc);
     cache_helpers.addOptionalEmitLoc(&man.hash, comp.emit_analysis);
-    cache_helpers.addOptionalEmitLoc(&man.hash, comp.emit_docs);
 
     man.hash.addListOfBytes(comp.clang_argv);
 
diff --git a/src/link.zig b/src/link.zig
index 262718e5af1a..00d03f1aca3c 100644
--- a/src/link.zig
+++ b/src/link.zig
@@ -71,8 +71,10 @@ pub const Emit = struct {
 pub const Options = struct {
     /// This is `null` when `-fno-emit-bin` is used.
     emit: ?Emit,
-    /// This is `null` not building a Windows DLL, or when `-fno-emit-implib` is used.
+    /// This is `null` when not building a Windows DLL, or when `-fno-emit-implib` is used.
     implib_emit: ?Emit,
+    /// This is non-null when `-femit-docs` is provided.
+    docs_emit: ?Emit,
     target: std.Target,
     output_mode: std.builtin.OutputMode,
     link_mode: std.builtin.LinkMode,
diff --git a/src/main.zig b/src/main.zig
index 134b566bdc0a..9a517b916635 100644
--- a/src/main.zig
+++ b/src/main.zig
@@ -622,7 +622,7 @@ const Emit = union(enum) {
         }
     };
 
-    fn resolve(emit: Emit, default_basename: []const u8) !Resolved {
+    fn resolve(emit: Emit, default_basename: []const u8, output_to_cache: bool) !Resolved {
         var resolved: Resolved = .{ .data = null, .dir = null };
         errdefer resolved.deinit();
 
@@ -630,7 +630,10 @@ const Emit = union(enum) {
             .no => {},
             .yes_default_path => {
                 resolved.data = Compilation.EmitLoc{
-                    .directory = .{ .path = null, .handle = fs.cwd() },
+                    .directory = if (output_to_cache) null else .{
+                        .path = null,
+                        .handle = fs.cwd(),
+                    },
                     .basename = default_basename,
                 };
             },
@@ -2750,7 +2753,7 @@ fn buildOutputType(
     };
 
     const default_h_basename = try std.fmt.allocPrint(arena, "{s}.h", .{root_name});
-    var emit_h_resolved = emit_h.resolve(default_h_basename) catch |err| {
+    var emit_h_resolved = emit_h.resolve(default_h_basename, output_to_cache) catch |err| {
         switch (emit_h) {
             .yes => |p| {
                 fatal("unable to open directory from argument '-femit-h', '{s}': {s}", .{
@@ -2768,7 +2771,7 @@ fn buildOutputType(
     defer emit_h_resolved.deinit();
 
     const default_asm_basename = try std.fmt.allocPrint(arena, "{s}.s", .{root_name});
-    var emit_asm_resolved = emit_asm.resolve(default_asm_basename) catch |err| {
+    var emit_asm_resolved = emit_asm.resolve(default_asm_basename, output_to_cache) catch |err| {
         switch (emit_asm) {
             .yes => |p| {
                 fatal("unable to open directory from argument '-femit-asm', '{s}': {s}", .{
@@ -2786,7 +2789,7 @@ fn buildOutputType(
     defer emit_asm_resolved.deinit();
 
     const default_llvm_ir_basename = try std.fmt.allocPrint(arena, "{s}.ll", .{root_name});
-    var emit_llvm_ir_resolved = emit_llvm_ir.resolve(default_llvm_ir_basename) catch |err| {
+    var emit_llvm_ir_resolved = emit_llvm_ir.resolve(default_llvm_ir_basename, output_to_cache) catch |err| {
         switch (emit_llvm_ir) {
             .yes => |p| {
                 fatal("unable to open directory from argument '-femit-llvm-ir', '{s}': {s}", .{
@@ -2804,7 +2807,7 @@ fn buildOutputType(
     defer emit_llvm_ir_resolved.deinit();
 
     const default_llvm_bc_basename = try std.fmt.allocPrint(arena, "{s}.bc", .{root_name});
-    var emit_llvm_bc_resolved = emit_llvm_bc.resolve(default_llvm_bc_basename) catch |err| {
+    var emit_llvm_bc_resolved = emit_llvm_bc.resolve(default_llvm_bc_basename, output_to_cache) catch |err| {
         switch (emit_llvm_bc) {
             .yes => |p| {
                 fatal("unable to open directory from argument '-femit-llvm-bc', '{s}': {s}", .{
@@ -2822,7 +2825,7 @@ fn buildOutputType(
     defer emit_llvm_bc_resolved.deinit();
 
     const default_analysis_basename = try std.fmt.allocPrint(arena, "{s}-analysis.json", .{root_name});
-    var emit_analysis_resolved = emit_analysis.resolve(default_analysis_basename) catch |err| {
+    var emit_analysis_resolved = emit_analysis.resolve(default_analysis_basename, output_to_cache) catch |err| {
         switch (emit_analysis) {
             .yes => |p| {
                 fatal("unable to open directory from argument '-femit-analysis',  '{s}': {s}", .{
@@ -2839,7 +2842,7 @@ fn buildOutputType(
     };
     defer emit_analysis_resolved.deinit();
 
-    var emit_docs_resolved = emit_docs.resolve("docs") catch |err| {
+    var emit_docs_resolved = emit_docs.resolve("docs", output_to_cache) catch |err| {
         switch (emit_docs) {
             .yes => |p| {
                 fatal("unable to open directory from argument '-femit-docs', '{s}': {s}", .{
@@ -2873,7 +2876,7 @@ fn buildOutputType(
     const default_implib_basename = try std.fmt.allocPrint(arena, "{s}.lib", .{root_name});
     var emit_implib_resolved = switch (emit_implib) {
         .no => Emit.Resolved{ .data = null, .dir = null },
-        .yes => |p| emit_implib.resolve(default_implib_basename) catch |err| {
+        .yes => |p| emit_implib.resolve(default_implib_basename, output_to_cache) catch |err| {
             fatal("unable to open directory from argument '-femit-implib', '{s}': {s}", .{
                 p, @errorName(err),
             });
@@ -3566,7 +3569,21 @@ fn serveUpdateResults(s: *Server, comp: *Compilation) !void {
     defer error_bundle.deinit(gpa);
     if (error_bundle.errorMessageCount() > 0) {
         try s.serveErrorBundle(error_bundle);
-    } else if (comp.bin_file.options.emit) |emit| {
+        return;
+    }
+    // This logic is a bit counter-intuitive because the protocol implies that
+    // each emitted artifact could possibly be in a different location, when in
+    // reality, there is only one artifact output directory, and the build
+    // system depends on that fact. So, until the protocol is changed to
+    // reflect this, this logic only needs to ensure that emit_bin_path is
+    // emitted for at least one thing, if there are any artifacts.
+    if (comp.bin_file.options.emit) |emit| {
+        const full_path = try emit.directory.join(gpa, &.{emit.sub_path});
+        defer gpa.free(full_path);
+        try s.serveEmitBinPath(full_path, .{
+            .flags = .{ .cache_hit = comp.last_update_was_cache_hit },
+        });
+    } else if (comp.bin_file.options.docs_emit) |emit| {
         const full_path = try emit.directory.join(gpa, &.{emit.sub_path});
         defer gpa.free(full_path);
         try s.serveEmitBinPath(full_path, .{