diff --git a/SConstruct b/SConstruct
index 0ae8f1a3872..5c070729d3e 100644
--- a/SConstruct
+++ b/SConstruct
@@ -233,6 +233,8 @@ opts.Add(BoolVariable("dev_mode", "Alias for dev options: verbose=yes warnings=e
 opts.Add(BoolVariable("tests", "Build the unit tests", False))
 opts.Add(BoolVariable("fast_unsafe", "Enable unsafe options for faster rebuilds", False))
 opts.Add(BoolVariable("ninja", "Use the ninja backend for faster rebuilds", False))
+opts.Add(BoolVariable("ninja_auto_run", "Run ninja automatically after generating the ninja file", True))
+opts.Add("ninja_file", "Path to the generated ninja file", "build.ninja")
 opts.Add(BoolVariable("compiledb", "Generate compilation DB (`compile_commands.json`) for external tools", False))
 opts.Add(BoolVariable("verbose", "Enable verbose output for the compilation", False))
 opts.Add(BoolVariable("progress", "Show a progress indicator during compilation", True))
@@ -1026,13 +1028,10 @@ if env["ninja"]:
         Exit(255)
 
     SetOption("experimental", "ninja")
+    env["NINJA_FILE_NAME"] = env["ninja_file"]
+    env["NINJA_DISABLE_AUTO_RUN"] = not env["ninja_auto_run"]
     env.Tool("ninja")
 
-    # By setting this we allow the user to run ninja by themselves with all
-    # the flags they need, as apparently automatically running from scons
-    # is way slower.
-    SetOption("disable_execute_ninja", True)
-
 # Threads
 if env["threads"]:
     env.Append(CPPDEFINES=["THREADS_ENABLED"])