diff --git a/dist/main/tsconfig/tsconfig.js b/dist/main/tsconfig/tsconfig.js
index 3ff8163e2..a2203030d 100644
--- a/dist/main/tsconfig/tsconfig.js
+++ b/dist/main/tsconfig/tsconfig.js
@@ -174,7 +174,8 @@ function getDefaultInMemoryProject(srcFile) {
         formatCodeOptions: formatting.defaultFormatCodeOptions(),
         compileOnSave: true,
         buildOnSave: false,
-        scripts: {}
+        scripts: {},
+        rewriteTsconfig: true
     };
     return {
         projectFileDirectory: dir,
@@ -210,7 +211,7 @@ function getProjectSync(pathOrSrcFile) {
     }
     if (projectSpec.filesGlob) {
         var prettyJSONProjectSpec = prettyJSON(projectSpec, detectIndent(projectFileTextContent).indent);
-        if (prettyJSONProjectSpec !== projectFileTextContent) {
+        if (prettyJSONProjectSpec !== projectFileTextContent && projectSpec.rewriteTsconfig) {
             fs.writeFileSync(projectFile, prettyJSONProjectSpec);
         }
     }
@@ -240,7 +241,8 @@ function getProjectSync(pathOrSrcFile) {
         typings: [],
         externalTranspiler: projectSpec.externalTranspiler == undefined ? undefined : projectSpec.externalTranspiler,
         scripts: projectSpec.scripts || {},
-        buildOnSave: !!projectSpec.buildOnSave
+        buildOnSave: !!projectSpec.buildOnSave,
+        rewriteTsconfig: true
     };
     var validationResult = validator.validate(projectSpec.compilerOptions);
     if (validationResult.errorMessage) {
diff --git a/docs/faq.md b/docs/faq.md
index a6a2e8c13..d61081a57 100644
--- a/docs/faq.md
+++ b/docs/faq.md
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@
 ## I keep getting changes to tsconfig.json
 This is probably because of us keeping `files` updated with the `filesGlob` option. The reason why we do this is because the official `tsconfig.json` spec does not support `filesGlob`. Therefore we keep `files` in sync with the `filesGlob` so that your team mates can use whatever editor they prefer (sublime text, visual studio etc.).
 
+You can now disable this behavior by setting the `rewriteTsconfig` flag to `false` in your project's `tsconfig.json`.
+
+[Further Details](https://github.com/TypeStrong/atom-typescript/blob/master/docs/tsconfig.md#rewriteTsconfig)
+
 ## For really large projects atom-typescript gets slow
 If you have `tsconfig.json` in a folder that contains `node_modules`, atom-typescript might become slow (due to extensive file listing). Two possible fixes:
 * Move `tsconfig.json` into a sub folder e.g. `src`
diff --git a/docs/tsconfig.md b/docs/tsconfig.md
index a13f5845c..a2cbe70c2 100644
--- a/docs/tsconfig.md
+++ b/docs/tsconfig.md
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ i.e. an empty JSON file at the *root* of your project :heart: This will be suffi
 * [`compileOnSave`](https://github.com/TypeStrong/atom-typescript/blob/master/docs/tsconfig.md#compileonsave) : Should AtomTS compile on save
 * [`buildOnSave`](https://github.com/TypeStrong/atom-typescript/blob/master/docs/tsconfig.md#buildonsave) : Should AtomTS build on save
 * [`scripts`](https://github.com/TypeStrong/atom-typescript/blob/master/docs/tsconfig.md#scripts) : Sometimes its useful to have post build scripts
+* [`rewriteTsconfig`](https://github.com/TypeStrong/atom-typescript/blob/master/docs/tsconfig.md#rewriteTsconfig) : Many
+projects don't want Atom to constantly rewrite their `tsconfig.json`.
 
 
 ## Examples
@@ -115,5 +117,10 @@ Build means *compile all files*. Useful if for some reason you are using `--out`
 }
 ```
 
+### rewriteTsconfig
+Atom-Typescript constantly resolves the `filesGlob` listed in your `tsconfig.json` to ensure that the glob is in sync
+with your project. If your project doesn't require this (you are managing your `filesGlob` some other way), set this
+to `false` (this defaults to `true`).
+
 ## Additional Notes
 FWIW [a json schema is also available](http://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig)
diff --git a/lib/main/tsconfig/tsconfig.ts b/lib/main/tsconfig/tsconfig.ts
index e7b93d560..21d29f57a 100644
--- a/lib/main/tsconfig/tsconfig.ts
+++ b/lib/main/tsconfig/tsconfig.ts
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ interface TypeScriptProjectRawSpecification {
     buildOnSave?: boolean;
     externalTranspiler?: string | { name: string; options?: any };
     scripts?: { postbuild?: string };
+    rewriteTsconfig?: boolean;                          // optional: rewrite tsconfig to prettified version. Used by Atom.
 }
 
 /**
@@ -146,6 +147,7 @@ export interface TypeScriptProjectSpecification {
     package?: UsefulFromPackageJson;
     externalTranspiler?: string | { name: string; options?: any };
     scripts: { postbuild?: string };
+    rewriteTsconfig: boolean;
 }
 
 ///////// FOR USE WITH THE API /////////////
@@ -337,7 +339,8 @@ export function getDefaultInMemoryProject(srcFile: string): TypeScriptProjectFil
         formatCodeOptions: formatting.defaultFormatCodeOptions(),
         compileOnSave: true,
         buildOnSave: false,
-        scripts: {}
+        scripts: {},
+        rewriteTsconfig: true
     };
 
     return {
@@ -388,7 +391,7 @@ export function getProjectSync(pathOrSrcFile: string): TypeScriptProjectFileDeta
     if (projectSpec.filesGlob) { // for filesGlob we keep the files in sync
         var prettyJSONProjectSpec = prettyJSON(projectSpec, detectIndent(projectFileTextContent).indent);
 
-        if (prettyJSONProjectSpec !== projectFileTextContent) {
+        if (prettyJSONProjectSpec !== projectFileTextContent && projectSpec.rewriteTsconfig) {
             fs.writeFileSync(projectFile, prettyJSONProjectSpec);
         }
     }
@@ -421,7 +424,8 @@ export function getProjectSync(pathOrSrcFile: string): TypeScriptProjectFileDeta
         typings: [],
         externalTranspiler: projectSpec.externalTranspiler == undefined ? undefined : projectSpec.externalTranspiler,
         scripts: projectSpec.scripts || {},
-        buildOnSave: !!projectSpec.buildOnSave
+        buildOnSave: !!projectSpec.buildOnSave,
+        rewriteTsconfig: true
     };
 
     // Validate the raw compiler options before converting them to TS compiler options