diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b88b7c8cc..b376baad8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 * Added support for ecs style validation for dataset fields. [#520](https://github.com/elastic/package-registry/pull/520)
 * Use BasePackage for search output data. [#529](https://github.com/elastic/package-registry/pull/529)
 * Add support for owner field in package manifest. [#536](https://github.com/elastic/package-registry/pull/536)
+* Introduce development mode. [#543](https://github.com/elastic/package-registry/pull/543)
 
 ### Deprecated
 
diff --git a/devmode/devmode.go b/devmode/devmode.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ed1aea2aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/devmode/devmode.go
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+// Copyright Elasticsearch B.V. and/or licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one
+// or more contributor license agreements. Licensed under the Elastic License;
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License.
+
+package devmode
+
+import "log"
+
+var enabled bool
+
+func Enable() {
+	log.Println("Enable development mode")
+
+	enabled = true
+}
+
+func Enabled() bool {
+	return enabled
+}
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index e695059a6..f0a8edbd6 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 
 	ucfgYAML "github.com/elastic/go-ucfg/yaml"
 
+	"github.com/elastic/package-registry/devmode"
 	"github.com/elastic/package-registry/util"
 )
 
@@ -42,6 +43,7 @@ var (
 		CacheTimeSearch:     10 * time.Minute,
 		CacheTimeCategories: 10 * time.Minute,
 		CacheTimeCatchAll:   10 * time.Minute,
+		DevMode:             false,
 	}
 )
 
@@ -57,6 +59,8 @@ type Config struct {
 	CacheTimeSearch     time.Duration `config:"cache_time.search"`
 	CacheTimeCategories time.Duration `config:"cache_time.categories"`
 	CacheTimeCatchAll   time.Duration `config:"cache_time.catch_all"`
+
+	DevMode bool `config:"dev_mode"`
 }
 
 func main() {
@@ -68,6 +72,11 @@ func main() {
 	packagesBasePaths := getPackagesBasePaths(config)
 	ensurePackagesAvailable(packagesBasePaths)
 
+	// If config.DevMode is set, the service will not cache package content.
+	if config.DevMode {
+		devmode.Enable()
+	}
+
 	// If -dry-run=true is set, service stops here after validation
 	if dryRun {
 		return
diff --git a/util/packages.go b/util/packages.go
index 34b13d78a..f0c33e664 100644
--- a/util/packages.go
+++ b/util/packages.go
@@ -10,17 +10,19 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 
+	"github.com/elastic/package-registry/devmode"
+
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 )
 
 var packageList []Package
 
 // GetPackages returns a slice with all existing packages.
-// The list is stored in memory and on the second request directly
-// served from memory. This assumes chnages to packages only happen on restart.
+// The list is stored in memory and on the second request directly served from memory.
+// This assumes changes to packages only happen on restart (unless development mode is enabled).
 // Caching the packages request many file reads every time this method is called.
 func GetPackages(packagesBasePaths []string) ([]Package, error) {
-	if packageList != nil {
+	if !devmode.Enabled() && packageList != nil {
 		return packageList, nil
 	}