diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index 3e3cca9..7f6e1ac 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -8,8 +8,18 @@ export interface SolidTranslatePluginConfig {
   targetLocales: string[];
   /** Directory containing locale JSON files, relative to project root (default: "./src/locales") */
   localesDir?: string;
-  /** AI model to use for translations (any Vercel AI SDK LanguageModelV1) */
-  model: LanguageModelV1;
+  /**
+   * AI model to use for translations (any Vercel AI SDK LanguageModelV1).
+   * Required unless `translate` is `false`.
+   */
+  model?: LanguageModelV1;
+  /**
+   * When `false`, the plugin only serves the virtual translation modules
+   * from the committed locale JSON files — no extraction, no AI calls, no
+   * file writes. Use this to keep app builds hermetic and run extraction/
+   * translation exclusively through the CLI (e.g. in CI). Default: `true`.
+   */
+  translate?: boolean;
   /** Custom system prompt for the AI translator */
   systemPrompt?: string;
   /** Max keys per API call (default: 50) */
diff --git a/src/vite.ts b/src/vite.ts
index fbffb49..a830894 100644
--- a/src/vite.ts
+++ b/src/vite.ts
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ export function solidTranslate(config: SolidTranslatePluginConfig): Plugin {
     model,
     systemPrompt,
     batchSize = 50,
+    translate = true,
     autoExtract = false,
     include = ["src/**/*.tsx", "src/**/*.ts", "src/**/*.jsx"],
   } = config;
@@ -64,6 +65,18 @@ export function solidTranslate(config: SolidTranslatePluginConfig): Plugin {
     },
 
     async buildStart() {
+      // Serve-only mode: virtual modules read the committed locale files;
+      // extraction and translation are handled elsewhere (CLI/CI).
+      if (!translate) {
+        return;
+      }
+
+      if (!model) {
+        throw new Error(
+          "[solid-translate] `model` is required unless `translate: false` is set",
+        );
+      }
+
       // Ensure locales directory exists
       if (!existsSync(resolvedLocalesDir)) {
         mkdirSync(resolvedLocalesDir, { recursive: true });
diff --git a/tests/vite-virtual.test.ts b/tests/vite-virtual.test.ts
index d2395fe..fd3bbd1 100644
--- a/tests/vite-virtual.test.ts
+++ b/tests/vite-virtual.test.ts
@@ -89,3 +89,46 @@ describe("virtual modules", () => {
     ).toBeUndefined();
   });
 });
+
+describe("serve-only mode (translate: false)", () => {
+  test("buildStart is a no-op: no model needed, no files written", async () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "st-vite-serve-"));
+    dirs.push(root);
+    const localesDir = join(root, "locales");
+    mkdirSync(localesDir, { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(join(localesDir, "en.json"), JSON.stringify({ Hello: "Hello" }));
+
+    const plugin: any = solidTranslate({
+      sourceLocale: "en",
+      targetLocales: ["es"],
+      localesDir: "./locales",
+      translate: false,
+    });
+    plugin.configResolved({ root });
+    // Must not throw despite a stale/absent lock and no model
+    await plugin.buildStart();
+    // Virtual modules still serve the committed files
+    const resolved = plugin.resolveId("virtual:solid-translate");
+    expect(plugin.load(resolved)).toContain("Hola" === "Hola" ? "Hello" : "");
+    // No lock or target files were created
+    const { existsSync } = await import("node:fs");
+    expect(existsSync(join(localesDir, ".solid-translate.lock"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(existsSync(join(localesDir, "es.json"))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test("translating mode without model throws a clear error", async () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "st-vite-nomodel-"));
+    dirs.push(root);
+    const localesDir = join(root, "locales");
+    mkdirSync(localesDir, { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(join(localesDir, "en.json"), JSON.stringify({ Hello: "Hello" }));
+
+    const plugin: any = solidTranslate({
+      sourceLocale: "en",
+      targetLocales: ["es"],
+      localesDir: "./locales",
+    });
+    plugin.configResolved({ root });
+    await expect(plugin.buildStart()).rejects.toThrow(/model.*required/);
+  });
+});