diff --git a/internal/lsp/cmd/rename.go b/internal/lsp/cmd/rename.go
index 98f7d69c1d..42eeeaa12c 100644
--- a/internal/lsp/cmd/rename.go
+++ b/internal/lsp/cmd/rename.go
@@ -23,8 +23,9 @@ import (
 
 // rename implements the rename verb for gopls.
 type rename struct {
-	Diff  bool `flag:"d" help:"display diffs instead of rewriting files"`
-	Write bool `flag:"w" help:"write result to (source) file instead of stdout"`
+	Diff     bool `flag:"d" help:"display diffs instead of rewriting files"`
+	Write    bool `flag:"w" help:"write result to (source) file instead of stdout"`
+	Preserve bool `flag:"preserve" help:"preserve original files"`
 
 	app *Application
 }
@@ -102,9 +103,10 @@ func (r *rename) Run(ctx context.Context, args ...string) error {
 		switch {
 		case r.Write:
 			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, filename)
-			err := os.Rename(filename, filename+".orig")
-			if err != nil {
-				return errors.Errorf("%v: %v", edits, err)
+			if r.Preserve {
+				if err := os.Rename(filename, filename+".orig"); err != nil {
+					return errors.Errorf("%v: %v", edits, err)
+				}
 			}
 			ioutil.WriteFile(filename, []byte(newContent), 0644)
 		case r.Diff: