diff --git a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/main.go b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/main.go
index dde8a9a589..c50b6a054d 100644
--- a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/main.go
+++ b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/main.go
@@ -184,6 +184,8 @@ func Main(archInit func(*Arch)) {
 	objabi.Flagcount("W", "debug parse tree after type checking", &Debug['W'])
 	flag.StringVar(&asmhdr, "asmhdr", "", "write assembly header to `file`")
 	flag.StringVar(&buildid, "buildid", "", "record `id` as the build id in the export metadata")
+	var dashc int
+	flag.IntVar(&dashc, "c", 0, "makes -c work")
 	flag.BoolVar(&pure_go, "complete", false, "compiling complete package (no C or assembly)")
 	flag.StringVar(&debugstr, "d", "", "print debug information about items in `list`; try -d help")
 	flag.BoolVar(&flagDWARF, "dwarf", true, "generate DWARF symbols")