diff --git a/src/libostree/ostree-repo-checkout.c b/src/libostree/ostree-repo-checkout.c
index 7bf83289..417e11f6 100644
--- a/src/libostree/ostree-repo-checkout.c
+++ b/src/libostree/ostree-repo-checkout.c
@@ -661,10 +661,13 @@ checkout_tree_at (OstreeRepo                        *self,
    * this should be configurable for the case where we're constructing
    * buildroots.
    */
-  if (fsync (destination_dfd) == -1)
+  if (!self->disable_fsync)
     {
-      ot_util_set_error_from_errno (error, errno);
-      goto out;
+    if (fsync (destination_dfd) == -1)
+      {
+        ot_util_set_error_from_errno (error, errno);
+        goto out;
+      }
     }
 
   ret = TRUE;