diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 231e5546e..9c121943b 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -877,6 +877,8 @@ def safe_makedirs(path: str) -> None:
 
 def build_kitty_tool(args: Options, launcher_dir: str = '.') -> None:
     cmd = ['go', 'build']
+    if args.verbose:
+        cmd.append('-v')
     if not args.debug:
         cmd += ['-ldflags', '-s -w']
     cmd += ['-o', os.path.join(launcher_dir, 'kitty-tool'), os.path.abspath('tools/cmd')]