diff --git a/src/bootstrap/builder.rs b/src/bootstrap/builder.rs
index 6fd363935079d..31158870f394e 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/builder.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/builder.rs
@@ -1074,11 +1074,11 @@ impl<'a> Builder<'a> {
         let mut hasher = sha2::Sha256::new();
         // FIXME: this is ok for rustfmt (4.1 MB large at time of writing), but it seems memory-intensive for rustc and larger components.
         // Consider using streaming IO instead?
-        let contents = if self.config.dry_run { vec![] } else { t!(fs::read(path)) };
+        let contents = if self.config.dry_run() { vec![] } else { t!(fs::read(path)) };
         hasher.update(&contents);
         let found = hex::encode(hasher.finalize().as_slice());
         let verified = found == expected;
-        if !verified && !self.config.dry_run {
+        if !verified && !self.config.dry_run() {
             println!(
                 "invalid checksum: \n\
                 found:    {found}\n\
@@ -1292,7 +1292,7 @@ impl<'a> Builder<'a> {
     /// Note that this returns `None` if LLVM is disabled, or if we're in a
     /// check build or dry-run, where there's no need to build all of LLVM.
     fn llvm_config(&self, target: TargetSelection) -> Option<PathBuf> {
-        if self.config.llvm_enabled() && self.kind != Kind::Check && !self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.llvm_enabled() && self.kind != Kind::Check && !self.config.dry_run() {
             let llvm_config = self.ensure(native::Llvm { target });
             if llvm_config.is_file() {
                 return Some(llvm_config);
@@ -1644,7 +1644,7 @@ impl<'a> Builder<'a> {
         //
         // Only clear out the directory if we're compiling std; otherwise, we
         // should let Cargo take care of things for us (via depdep info)
-        if !self.config.dry_run && mode == Mode::Std && cmd == "build" {
+        if !self.config.dry_run() && mode == Mode::Std && cmd == "build" {
             self.clear_if_dirty(&out_dir, &self.rustc(compiler));
         }
 
@@ -2142,7 +2142,7 @@ impl<'a> Builder<'a> {
             (out, dur - deps)
         };
 
-        if self.config.print_step_timings && !self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.print_step_timings && !self.config.dry_run() {
             let step_string = format!("{:?}", step);
             let brace_index = step_string.find("{").unwrap_or(0);
             let type_string = type_name::<S>();
@@ -2216,7 +2216,7 @@ impl<'a> Builder<'a> {
     }
 
     pub(crate) fn open_in_browser(&self, path: impl AsRef<Path>) {
-        if self.config.dry_run || !self.config.cmd.open() {
+        if self.config.dry_run() || !self.config.cmd.open() {
             return;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/builder/tests.rs b/src/bootstrap/builder/tests.rs
index 88bbcc93d072c..5f21d2b0067dc 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/builder/tests.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/builder/tests.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 use super::*;
-use crate::config::{Config, TargetSelection};
+use crate::config::{Config, DryRun, TargetSelection};
 use std::thread;
 
 fn configure(cmd: &str, host: &[&str], target: &[&str]) -> Config {
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ fn configure_with_args(cmd: &[String], host: &[&str], target: &[&str]) -> Config
     let mut config = Config::parse(cmd);
     // don't save toolstates
     config.save_toolstates = None;
-    config.dry_run = true;
+    config.dry_run = DryRun::SelfCheck;
 
     // Ignore most submodules, since we don't need them for a dry run.
     // But make sure to check out the `doc` and `rust-analyzer` submodules, since some steps need them
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/compile.rs b/src/bootstrap/compile.rs
index 18e780a108d5a..79e07be614c0b 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/compile.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/compile.rs
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ fn copy_sanitizers(
 ) -> Vec<PathBuf> {
     let runtimes: Vec<native::SanitizerRuntime> = builder.ensure(native::Sanitizers { target });
 
-    if builder.config.dry_run {
+    if builder.config.dry_run() {
         return Vec::new();
     }
 
@@ -986,7 +986,7 @@ impl Step for CodegenBackend {
             compiler.stage, backend, &compiler.host, target
         ));
         let files = run_cargo(builder, cargo, vec![], &tmp_stamp, vec![], false);
-        if builder.config.dry_run {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         let mut files = files.into_iter().filter(|f| {
@@ -1034,7 +1034,7 @@ fn copy_codegen_backends_to_sysroot(
     let dst = builder.sysroot_codegen_backends(target_compiler);
     t!(fs::create_dir_all(&dst), dst);
 
-    if builder.config.dry_run {
+    if builder.config.dry_run() {
         return;
     }
 
@@ -1332,7 +1332,7 @@ impl Step for Assemble {
 
         if builder.config.rust_codegen_backends.contains(&INTERNER.intern_str("llvm")) {
             let llvm_config_bin = builder.ensure(native::Llvm { target: target_compiler.host });
-            if !builder.config.dry_run {
+            if !builder.config.dry_run() {
                 let llvm_bin_dir = output(Command::new(llvm_config_bin).arg("--bindir"));
                 let llvm_bin_dir = Path::new(llvm_bin_dir.trim());
 
@@ -1402,7 +1402,7 @@ pub fn run_cargo(
     additional_target_deps: Vec<(PathBuf, DependencyType)>,
     is_check: bool,
 ) -> Vec<PathBuf> {
-    if builder.config.dry_run {
+    if builder.config.dry_run() {
         return Vec::new();
     }
 
@@ -1542,7 +1542,7 @@ pub fn stream_cargo(
     cb: &mut dyn FnMut(CargoMessage<'_>),
 ) -> bool {
     let mut cargo = Command::from(cargo);
-    if builder.config.dry_run {
+    if builder.config.dry_run() {
         return true;
     }
     // Instruct Cargo to give us json messages on stdout, critically leaving
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/config.rs b/src/bootstrap/config.rs
index 2afce4fac42f8..e843bd411c172 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/config.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/config.rs
@@ -33,6 +33,17 @@ macro_rules! check_ci_llvm {
     };
 }
 
+#[derive(Clone, Default)]
+pub enum DryRun {
+    /// This isn't a dry run.
+    #[default]
+    Disabled,
+    /// This is a dry run enabled by bootstrap itself, so it can verify that no work is done.
+    SelfCheck,
+    /// This is a dry run enabled by the `--dry-run` flag.
+    UserSelected,
+}
+
 /// Global configuration for the entire build and/or bootstrap.
 ///
 /// This structure is derived from a combination of both `config.toml` and
@@ -84,7 +95,7 @@ pub struct Config {
     pub jobs: Option<u32>,
     pub cmd: Subcommand,
     pub incremental: bool,
-    pub dry_run: bool,
+    pub dry_run: DryRun,
     /// `None` if we shouldn't download CI compiler artifacts, or the commit to download if we should.
     #[cfg(not(test))]
     download_rustc_commit: Option<String>,
@@ -820,7 +831,7 @@ impl Config {
         config.jobs = flags.jobs.map(threads_from_config);
         config.cmd = flags.cmd;
         config.incremental = flags.incremental;
-        config.dry_run = flags.dry_run;
+        config.dry_run = if flags.dry_run { DryRun::UserSelected } else { DryRun::Disabled };
         config.keep_stage = flags.keep_stage;
         config.keep_stage_std = flags.keep_stage_std;
         config.color = flags.color;
@@ -965,7 +976,7 @@ impl Config {
             .unwrap_or_else(|| config.out.join(config.build.triple).join("stage0/bin/cargo"));
 
         // NOTE: it's important this comes *after* we set `initial_rustc` just above.
-        if config.dry_run {
+        if config.dry_run() {
             let dir = config.out.join("tmp-dry-run");
             t!(fs::create_dir_all(&dir));
             config.out = dir;
@@ -1372,6 +1383,13 @@ impl Config {
         config
     }
 
+    pub(crate) fn dry_run(&self) -> bool {
+        match self.dry_run {
+            DryRun::Disabled => false,
+            DryRun::SelfCheck | DryRun::UserSelected => true,
+        }
+    }
+
     /// A git invocation which runs inside the source directory.
     ///
     /// Use this rather than `Command::new("git")` in order to support out-of-tree builds.
@@ -1461,7 +1479,7 @@ impl Config {
     /// This is computed on demand since LLVM might have to first be downloaded from CI.
     pub(crate) fn llvm_link_shared(builder: &Builder<'_>) -> bool {
         let mut opt = builder.config.llvm_link_shared.get();
-        if opt.is_none() && builder.config.dry_run {
+        if opt.is_none() && builder.config.dry_run() {
             // just assume static for now - dynamic linking isn't supported on all platforms
             return false;
         }
@@ -1488,7 +1506,7 @@ impl Config {
     /// Return whether we will use a downloaded, pre-compiled version of rustc, or just build from source.
     pub(crate) fn download_rustc(builder: &Builder<'_>) -> bool {
         static DOWNLOAD_RUSTC: OnceCell<bool> = OnceCell::new();
-        if builder.config.dry_run && DOWNLOAD_RUSTC.get().is_none() {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() && DOWNLOAD_RUSTC.get().is_none() {
             // avoid trying to actually download the commit
             return false;
         }
@@ -1507,7 +1525,7 @@ impl Config {
             RustfmtState::SystemToolchain(p) | RustfmtState::Downloaded(p) => Some(p.clone()),
             RustfmtState::Unavailable => None,
             r @ RustfmtState::LazyEvaluated => {
-                if builder.config.dry_run {
+                if builder.config.dry_run() {
                     return Some(PathBuf::new());
                 }
                 let path = maybe_download_rustfmt(builder);
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/dist.rs b/src/bootstrap/dist.rs
index 110a3ee4918da..9fbe476534eb7 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/dist.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/dist.rs
@@ -945,7 +945,7 @@ impl Step for PlainSourceTarball {
                 .arg(builder.src.join("./src/bootstrap/Cargo.toml"))
                 .current_dir(&plain_dst_src);
 
-            let config = if !builder.config.dry_run {
+            let config = if !builder.config.dry_run() {
                 t!(String::from_utf8(t!(cmd.output()).stdout))
             } else {
                 String::new()
@@ -1386,7 +1386,7 @@ impl Step for Extended {
         let etc = builder.src.join("src/etc/installer");
 
         // Avoid producing tarballs during a dry run.
-        if builder.config.dry_run {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
 
@@ -1818,7 +1818,7 @@ impl Step for Extended {
             let _time = timeit(builder);
             builder.run(&mut cmd);
 
-            if !builder.config.dry_run {
+            if !builder.config.dry_run() {
                 t!(fs::rename(exe.join(&filename), distdir(builder).join(&filename)));
             }
         }
@@ -1882,12 +1882,12 @@ fn maybe_install_llvm(builder: &Builder<'_>, target: TargetSelection, dst_libdir
         if llvm_dylib_path.exists() {
             builder.install(&llvm_dylib_path, dst_libdir, 0o644);
         }
-        !builder.config.dry_run
+        !builder.config.dry_run()
     } else if let Ok(llvm_config) = crate::native::prebuilt_llvm_config(builder, target) {
         let mut cmd = Command::new(llvm_config);
         cmd.arg("--libfiles");
         builder.verbose(&format!("running {:?}", cmd));
-        let files = if builder.config.dry_run { "".into() } else { output(&mut cmd) };
+        let files = if builder.config.dry_run() { "".into() } else { output(&mut cmd) };
         let build_llvm_out = &builder.llvm_out(builder.config.build);
         let target_llvm_out = &builder.llvm_out(target);
         for file in files.trim_end().split(' ') {
@@ -1899,7 +1899,7 @@ fn maybe_install_llvm(builder: &Builder<'_>, target: TargetSelection, dst_libdir
             };
             builder.install(&file, dst_libdir, 0o644);
         }
-        !builder.config.dry_run
+        !builder.config.dry_run()
     } else {
         false
     }
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/doc.rs b/src/bootstrap/doc.rs
index 280e232ca2dd0..c7d21bf3cdb3f 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/doc.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/doc.rs
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ impl Step for RustbookSrc {
         let index = out.join("index.html");
         let rustbook = builder.tool_exe(Tool::Rustbook);
         let mut rustbook_cmd = builder.tool_cmd(Tool::Rustbook);
-        if builder.config.dry_run || up_to_date(&src, &index) && up_to_date(&rustbook, &index) {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() || up_to_date(&src, &index) && up_to_date(&rustbook, &index) {
             return;
         }
         builder.info(&format!("Rustbook ({}) - {}", target, name));
@@ -331,8 +331,8 @@ impl Step for Standalone {
                 && up_to_date(&footer, &html)
                 && up_to_date(&favicon, &html)
                 && up_to_date(&full_toc, &html)
-                && (builder.config.dry_run || up_to_date(&version_info, &html))
-                && (builder.config.dry_run || up_to_date(&rustdoc, &html))
+                && (builder.config.dry_run() || up_to_date(&version_info, &html))
+                && (builder.config.dry_run() || up_to_date(&rustdoc, &html))
             {
                 continue;
             }
@@ -402,7 +402,7 @@ impl Step for SharedAssets {
 
         let version_input = builder.src.join("src").join("doc").join("version_info.html.template");
         let version_info = out.join("version_info.html");
-        if !builder.config.dry_run && !up_to_date(&version_input, &version_info) {
+        if !builder.config.dry_run() && !up_to_date(&version_input, &version_info) {
             let info = t!(fs::read_to_string(&version_input))
                 .replace("VERSION", &builder.rust_release())
                 .replace("SHORT_HASH", builder.rust_info.sha_short().unwrap_or(""))
@@ -900,7 +900,7 @@ impl Step for UnstableBookGen {
 }
 
 fn symlink_dir_force(config: &Config, src: &Path, dst: &Path) -> io::Result<()> {
-    if config.dry_run {
+    if config.dry_run() {
         return Ok(());
     }
     if let Ok(m) = fs::symlink_metadata(dst) {
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/format.rs b/src/bootstrap/format.rs
index 37322670e6564..5e7264fe765a9 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/format.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/format.rs
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ struct RustfmtConfig {
 }
 
 pub fn format(build: &Builder<'_>, check: bool, paths: &[PathBuf]) {
-    if build.config.dry_run {
+    if build.config.dry_run() {
         return;
     }
     let mut builder = ignore::types::TypesBuilder::new();
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/lib.rs b/src/bootstrap/lib.rs
index f5def8ba8341f..bbb5a18ba07ba 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/lib.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/lib.rs
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::process::Command;
 use std::str;
 
-use config::Target;
+use config::{DryRun, Target};
 use filetime::FileTime;
 use once_cell::sync::OnceCell;
 
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@ impl Build {
         // we always try to use git for LLVM builds
         let in_tree_llvm_info = channel::GitInfo::new(false, &src.join("src/llvm-project"));
 
-        let initial_target_libdir_str = if config.dry_run {
+        let initial_target_libdir_str = if config.dry_run() {
             "/dummy/lib/path/to/lib/".to_string()
         } else {
             output(
@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ impl Build {
         let initial_target_dir = Path::new(&initial_target_libdir_str).parent().unwrap();
         let initial_lld = initial_target_dir.join("bin").join("rust-lld");
 
-        let initial_sysroot = if config.dry_run {
+        let initial_sysroot = if config.dry_run() {
             "/dummy".to_string()
         } else {
             output(Command::new(&config.initial_rustc).arg("--print").arg("sysroot"))
@@ -689,13 +689,13 @@ impl Build {
             }
         }
 
-        if !self.config.dry_run {
+        if !self.config.dry_run() {
             {
-                self.config.dry_run = true;
+                self.config.dry_run = DryRun::SelfCheck;
                 let builder = builder::Builder::new(&self);
                 builder.execute_cli();
             }
-            self.config.dry_run = false;
+            self.config.dry_run = DryRun::Disabled;
             let builder = builder::Builder::new(&self);
             builder.execute_cli();
         } else {
@@ -947,7 +947,7 @@ impl Build {
 
     /// Runs a command, printing out nice contextual information if it fails.
     fn run(&self, cmd: &mut Command) {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         self.verbose(&format!("running: {:?}", cmd));
@@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ impl Build {
 
     /// Runs a command, printing out nice contextual information if it fails.
     fn run_quiet(&self, cmd: &mut Command) {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         self.verbose(&format!("running: {:?}", cmd));
@@ -967,7 +967,7 @@ impl Build {
     /// Exits if the command failed to execute at all, otherwise returns its
     /// `status.success()`.
     fn try_run(&self, cmd: &mut Command) -> bool {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return true;
         }
         self.verbose(&format!("running: {:?}", cmd));
@@ -978,7 +978,7 @@ impl Build {
     /// Exits if the command failed to execute at all, otherwise returns its
     /// `status.success()`.
     fn try_run_quiet(&self, cmd: &mut Command) -> bool {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return true;
         }
         self.verbose(&format!("running: {:?}", cmd));
@@ -989,7 +989,7 @@ impl Build {
     /// Returns false if do not execute at all, otherwise returns its
     /// `status.success()`.
     fn check_run(&self, cmd: &mut Command) -> bool {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return true;
         }
         self.verbose(&format!("running: {:?}", cmd));
@@ -1019,10 +1019,12 @@ impl Build {
     }
 
     fn info(&self, msg: &str) {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
-            return;
+        match self.config.dry_run {
+            DryRun::SelfCheck => return,
+            DryRun::Disabled | DryRun::UserSelected => {
+                println!("{}", msg);
+            }
         }
-        println!("{}", msg);
     }
 
     /// Returns the number of parallel jobs that have been configured for this
@@ -1400,7 +1402,7 @@ impl Build {
     }
 
     fn read_stamp_file(&self, stamp: &Path) -> Vec<(PathBuf, DependencyType)> {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return Vec::new();
         }
 
@@ -1440,7 +1442,7 @@ impl Build {
     }
 
     fn copy_internal(&self, src: &Path, dst: &Path, dereference_symlinks: bool) {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         self.verbose_than(1, &format!("Copy {:?} to {:?}", src, dst));
@@ -1477,7 +1479,7 @@ impl Build {
     /// Copies the `src` directory recursively to `dst`. Both are assumed to exist
     /// when this function is called.
     pub fn cp_r(&self, src: &Path, dst: &Path) {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         for f in self.read_dir(src) {
@@ -1530,7 +1532,7 @@ impl Build {
     }
 
     fn install(&self, src: &Path, dstdir: &Path, perms: u32) {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         let dst = dstdir.join(src.file_name().unwrap());
@@ -1544,28 +1546,28 @@ impl Build {
     }
 
     fn create(&self, path: &Path, s: &str) {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         t!(fs::write(path, s));
     }
 
     fn read(&self, path: &Path) -> String {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return String::new();
         }
         t!(fs::read_to_string(path))
     }
 
     fn create_dir(&self, dir: &Path) {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         t!(fs::create_dir_all(dir))
     }
 
     fn remove_dir(&self, dir: &Path) {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         t!(fs::remove_dir_all(dir))
@@ -1574,7 +1576,7 @@ impl Build {
     fn read_dir(&self, dir: &Path) -> impl Iterator<Item = fs::DirEntry> {
         let iter = match fs::read_dir(dir) {
             Ok(v) => v,
-            Err(_) if self.config.dry_run => return vec![].into_iter(),
+            Err(_) if self.config.dry_run() => return vec![].into_iter(),
             Err(err) => panic!("could not read dir {:?}: {:?}", dir, err),
         };
         iter.map(|e| t!(e)).collect::<Vec<_>>().into_iter()
@@ -1585,11 +1587,11 @@ impl Build {
         use std::os::unix::fs::symlink as symlink_file;
         #[cfg(windows)]
         use std::os::windows::fs::symlink_file;
-        if !self.config.dry_run { symlink_file(src.as_ref(), link.as_ref()) } else { Ok(()) }
+        if !self.config.dry_run() { symlink_file(src.as_ref(), link.as_ref()) } else { Ok(()) }
     }
 
     fn remove(&self, f: &Path) {
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         fs::remove_file(f).unwrap_or_else(|_| panic!("failed to remove {:?}", f));
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/native.rs b/src/bootstrap/native.rs
index 94a61b727a32b..2407291ceea30 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/native.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/native.rs
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ pub(crate) fn maybe_download_ci_llvm(builder: &Builder<'_>) {
     let llvm_stamp = llvm_root.join(".llvm-stamp");
     let llvm_sha = detect_llvm_sha(&config, builder.rust_info.is_managed_git_subrepository());
     let key = format!("{}{}", llvm_sha, config.llvm_assertions);
-    if program_out_of_date(&llvm_stamp, &key) && !config.dry_run {
+    if program_out_of_date(&llvm_stamp, &key) && !config.dry_run() {
         download_ci_llvm(builder, &llvm_sha);
         for entry in t!(fs::read_dir(llvm_root.join("bin"))) {
             builder.fix_bin_or_dylib(&t!(entry).path());
@@ -505,7 +505,7 @@ impl Step for Llvm {
         // https://llvm.org/docs/HowToCrossCompileLLVM.html
         if target != builder.config.build {
             let llvm_config = builder.ensure(Llvm { target: builder.config.build });
-            if !builder.config.dry_run {
+            if !builder.config.dry_run() {
                 let llvm_bindir = output(Command::new(&llvm_config).arg("--bindir"));
                 let host_bin = Path::new(llvm_bindir.trim());
                 cfg.define(
@@ -519,7 +519,7 @@ impl Step for Llvm {
             if builder.config.llvm_clang {
                 let build_bin = builder.llvm_out(builder.config.build).join("build").join("bin");
                 let clang_tblgen = build_bin.join("clang-tblgen").with_extension(EXE_EXTENSION);
-                if !builder.config.dry_run && !clang_tblgen.exists() {
+                if !builder.config.dry_run() && !clang_tblgen.exists() {
                     panic!("unable to find {}", clang_tblgen.display());
                 }
                 cfg.define("CLANG_TABLEGEN", clang_tblgen);
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ impl Step for Llvm {
         //        tools. Figure out how to filter them down and only build the right
         //        tools and libs on all platforms.
 
-        if builder.config.dry_run {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() {
             return build_llvm_config;
         }
 
@@ -611,7 +611,7 @@ fn check_llvm_version(builder: &Builder<'_>, llvm_config: &Path) {
         return;
     }
 
-    if builder.config.dry_run {
+    if builder.config.dry_run() {
         return;
     }
 
@@ -872,7 +872,7 @@ impl Step for Lld {
 
     /// Compile LLD for `target`.
     fn run(self, builder: &Builder<'_>) -> PathBuf {
-        if builder.config.dry_run {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() {
             return PathBuf::from("lld-out-dir-test-gen");
         }
         let target = self.target;
@@ -990,7 +990,7 @@ impl Step for TestHelpers {
     /// Compiles the `rust_test_helpers.c` library which we used in various
     /// `run-pass` tests for ABI testing.
     fn run(self, builder: &Builder<'_>) {
-        if builder.config.dry_run {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         // The x86_64-fortanix-unknown-sgx target doesn't have a working C
@@ -1066,7 +1066,7 @@ impl Step for Sanitizers {
         }
 
         let llvm_config = builder.ensure(Llvm { target: builder.config.build });
-        if builder.config.dry_run {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() {
             return runtimes;
         }
 
@@ -1240,7 +1240,7 @@ impl Step for CrtBeginEnd {
     fn run(self, builder: &Builder<'_>) -> Self::Output {
         let out_dir = builder.native_dir(self.target).join("crt");
 
-        if builder.config.dry_run {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() {
             return out_dir;
         }
 
@@ -1304,7 +1304,7 @@ impl Step for Libunwind {
 
     /// Build linunwind.a
     fn run(self, builder: &Builder<'_>) -> Self::Output {
-        if builder.config.dry_run {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() {
             return PathBuf::new();
         }
 
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/sanity.rs b/src/bootstrap/sanity.rs
index bdfd5fe5c421c..35c66cfd95f2f 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/sanity.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/sanity.rs
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ than building it.
             continue;
         }
 
-        if !build.config.dry_run {
+        if !build.config.dry_run() {
             cmd_finder.must_have(build.cc(*target));
             if let Some(ar) = build.ar(*target) {
                 cmd_finder.must_have(ar);
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ than building it.
     }
 
     for host in &build.hosts {
-        if !build.config.dry_run {
+        if !build.config.dry_run() {
             cmd_finder.must_have(build.cxx(*host).unwrap());
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/tarball.rs b/src/bootstrap/tarball.rs
index d999b6c150333..82b063583c9f9 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/tarball.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/tarball.rs
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ impl<'a> Tarball<'a> {
         // Ensure there are no symbolic links in the tarball. In particular,
         // rustup-toolchain-install-master and most versions of Windows can't handle symbolic links.
         let decompressed_output = self.temp_dir.join(&package_name);
-        if !self.builder.config.dry_run && !self.permit_symlinks {
+        if !self.builder.config.dry_run() && !self.permit_symlinks {
             for entry in walkdir::WalkDir::new(&decompressed_output) {
                 let entry = t!(entry);
                 if entry.path_is_symlink() {
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/test.rs b/src/bootstrap/test.rs
index 2b2257b72ae79..fd362b8367cc0 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/test.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/test.rs
@@ -508,7 +508,7 @@ impl Miri {
         cargo.arg("--print-sysroot");
 
         // FIXME: Is there a way in which we can re-use the usual `run` helpers?
-        if builder.config.dry_run {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() {
             String::new()
         } else {
             builder.verbose(&format!("running: {:?}", cargo));
@@ -1537,7 +1537,7 @@ note: if you're sure you want to do this, please open an issue as to why. In the
         let mut copts_passed = false;
         if builder.config.llvm_enabled() {
             let llvm_config = builder.ensure(native::Llvm { target: builder.config.build });
-            if !builder.config.dry_run {
+            if !builder.config.dry_run() {
                 let llvm_version = output(Command::new(&llvm_config).arg("--version"));
                 let llvm_components = output(Command::new(&llvm_config).arg("--components"));
                 // Remove trailing newline from llvm-config output.
@@ -1555,14 +1555,14 @@ note: if you're sure you want to do this, please open an issue as to why. In the
             // requirement, but the `-L` library path is not propagated across
             // separate compilations. We can add LLVM's library path to the
             // platform-specific environment variable as a workaround.
-            if !builder.config.dry_run && suite.ends_with("fulldeps") {
+            if !builder.config.dry_run() && suite.ends_with("fulldeps") {
                 let llvm_libdir = output(Command::new(&llvm_config).arg("--libdir"));
                 add_link_lib_path(vec![llvm_libdir.trim().into()], &mut cmd);
             }
 
             // Only pass correct values for these flags for the `run-make` suite as it
             // requires that a C++ compiler was configured which isn't always the case.
-            if !builder.config.dry_run && matches!(suite, "run-make" | "run-make-fulldeps") {
+            if !builder.config.dry_run() && matches!(suite, "run-make" | "run-make-fulldeps") {
                 // The llvm/bin directory contains many useful cross-platform
                 // tools. Pass the path to run-make tests so they can use them.
                 let llvm_bin_path = llvm_config
@@ -1590,7 +1590,7 @@ note: if you're sure you want to do this, please open an issue as to why. In the
 
         // Only pass correct values for these flags for the `run-make` suite as it
         // requires that a C++ compiler was configured which isn't always the case.
-        if !builder.config.dry_run && matches!(suite, "run-make" | "run-make-fulldeps") {
+        if !builder.config.dry_run() && matches!(suite, "run-make" | "run-make-fulldeps") {
             cmd.arg("--cc")
                 .arg(builder.cc(target))
                 .arg("--cxx")
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/tool.rs b/src/bootstrap/tool.rs
index d395220694705..ba329ea6c7592 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/tool.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/tool.rs
@@ -522,7 +522,7 @@ impl Step for Rustdoc {
         builder.ensure(compile::Rustc::new(build_compiler, target_compiler.host));
         // NOTE: this implies that `download-rustc` is pretty useless when compiling with the stage0
         // compiler, since you do just as much work.
-        if !builder.config.dry_run && builder.download_rustc() && build_compiler.stage == 0 {
+        if !builder.config.dry_run() && builder.download_rustc() && build_compiler.stage == 0 {
             println!(
                 "warning: `download-rustc` does nothing when building stage1 tools; consider using `--stage 2` instead"
             );
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/toolstate.rs b/src/bootstrap/toolstate.rs
index 1a17744322753..1969e0b6f8722 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/toolstate.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/toolstate.rs
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ impl Step for ToolStateCheck {
     ///   stable tool. That is, the status is not allowed to get worse
     ///   (test-pass to test-fail or build-fail).
     fn run(self, builder: &Builder<'_>) {
-        if builder.config.dry_run {
+        if builder.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
 
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ impl Builder<'_> {
         // If we're in a dry run setting we don't want to save toolstates as
         // that means if we e.g. panic down the line it'll look like we tested
         // everything (but we actually haven't).
-        if self.config.dry_run {
+        if self.config.dry_run() {
             return;
         }
         // Toolstate isn't tracked for clippy or rustfmt, but since most tools do, we avoid checking
diff --git a/src/bootstrap/util.rs b/src/bootstrap/util.rs
index 20c3801f0a502..8a2f46abbd23c 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/util.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/util.rs
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ pub struct TimeIt(bool, Instant);
 
 /// Returns an RAII structure that prints out how long it took to drop.
 pub fn timeit(builder: &Builder<'_>) -> TimeIt {
-    TimeIt(builder.config.dry_run, Instant::now())
+    TimeIt(builder.config.dry_run(), Instant::now())
 }
 
 impl Drop for TimeIt {
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ pub(crate) fn program_out_of_date(stamp: &Path, key: &str) -> bool {
 /// Symlinks two directories, using junctions on Windows and normal symlinks on
 /// Unix.
 pub fn symlink_dir(config: &Config, src: &Path, dest: &Path) -> io::Result<()> {
-    if config.dry_run {
+    if config.dry_run() {
         return Ok(());
     }
     let _ = fs::remove_dir(dest);