diff --git a/assets/settings/default.json b/assets/settings/default.json
index a222a16cb290eae905a69b492e9de8d3a1493592..d321c176a59d492b6d1b3b7a22dca0d31e5c6298 100644
--- a/assets/settings/default.json
+++ b/assets/settings/default.json
@@ -1350,6 +1350,8 @@
   //      "load_direnv": "direct"
   // 2. Load direnv configuration through the shell hook, works for POSIX shells and fish.
   //      "load_direnv": "shell_hook"
+  // 3. Don't load direnv configuration at all.
+  //      "load_direnv": "disabled"
   "load_direnv": "direct",
   "edit_predictions": {
     // A list of globs representing files that edit predictions should be disabled for.
diff --git a/crates/project/src/environment.rs b/crates/project/src/environment.rs
index 32ed2f87668979802a44dcc233a1e87dc3c2e958..c4e807621ee27374b970b956551575ca4ae94f8b 100644
--- a/crates/project/src/environment.rs
+++ b/crates/project/src/environment.rs
@@ -314,6 +314,10 @@ async fn load_directory_shell_environment(
     load_direnv: DirenvSettings,
     tx: mpsc::UnboundedSender<String>,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<HashMap<String, String>> {
+    if let DirenvSettings::Disabled = load_direnv {
+        return Ok(HashMap::default());
+    }
+
     let meta = smol::fs::metadata(&abs_path).await.with_context(|| {
         tx.unbounded_send(format!("Failed to open {}", abs_path.display()))
             .ok();
@@ -355,6 +359,7 @@ async fn load_directory_shell_environment(
     // even if direnv direct mode is enabled.
     let direnv_environment = match load_direnv {
         DirenvSettings::ShellHook => None,
+        DirenvSettings::Disabled => bail!("direnv integration is disabled"),
         // Note: direnv is not available on Windows, so we skip direnv processing
         // and just return the shell environment
         DirenvSettings::Direct if cfg!(target_os = "windows") => None,
diff --git a/crates/settings/src/settings_content/project.rs b/crates/settings/src/settings_content/project.rs
index 0076721228b3b8c6b8d5e6bfd85fc1d25f00c5e3..25a36580b007a8d41c9a90523298ca9f2b52b8d2 100644
--- a/crates/settings/src/settings_content/project.rs
+++ b/crates/settings/src/settings_content/project.rs
@@ -507,6 +507,8 @@ pub enum DirenvSettings {
     /// Load direnv configuration directly using `direnv export json`
     #[default]
     Direct,
+    /// Do not load direnv configuration
+    Disabled,
 }
 
 #[derive(
diff --git a/docs/src/configuring-zed.md b/docs/src/configuring-zed.md
index 2d866677650a0da141f27b3c78f7ad96f9581967..3b90120407fe56643e4b3f279d88443b9740e154 100644
--- a/docs/src/configuring-zed.md
+++ b/docs/src/configuring-zed.md
@@ -584,10 +584,11 @@ Note: Dirty files (files with unsaved changes) will not be automatically closed
 
 **Options**
 
-There are two options to choose from:
+There are three options to choose from:
 
 1. `shell_hook`: Use the shell hook to load direnv. This relies on direnv to activate upon entering the directory. Supports POSIX shells and fish.
 2. `direct`: Use `direnv export json` to load direnv. This will load direnv directly without relying on the shell hook and might cause some inconsistencies. This allows direnv to work with any shell.
+3. `disabled`: No shell environment will be loaded automatically; direnv must be invoked manually (e.g. with `direnv exec`) to be used.
 
 ## Double Click In Multibuffer