diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 763accc2d32d83..c532bdfab0dbc7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 .DS_Store
 node_modules
 dist
+dist-ssr
 TODOs.md
 *.log
 test/temp
diff --git a/src/node/build/buildPluginHtml.ts b/src/node/build/buildPluginHtml.ts
index 08a251837083dc..aa44636f45c9aa 100644
--- a/src/node/build/buildPluginHtml.ts
+++ b/src/node/build/buildPluginHtml.ts
@@ -73,9 +73,8 @@ export const createBuildHtmlPlugin = async (
   }
 
   const renderIndex = (
-    root: string,
-    cssFileName: string,
-    bundleOutput: RollupOutput['output']
+    bundleOutput: RollupOutput['output'],
+    cssFileName: string
   ) => {
     // inject css link
     processedHtml = injectCSS(processedHtml, cssFileName)
diff --git a/src/node/build/index.ts b/src/node/build/index.ts
index 56b9fde7b862fe..fac9c9706354e5 100644
--- a/src/node/build/index.ts
+++ b/src/node/build/index.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ export interface BuildOptions {
     factory?: string
     fragment?: string
   }
+  /**
+   * Build for server-side rendering
+   */
+  ssr?: boolean
 
   // The following are API only and not documented in the CLI. -----------------
 
@@ -127,6 +131,11 @@ const writeColors = {
  * Returns a Promise containing the build result.
  */
 export async function build(options: BuildOptions = {}): Promise<BuildResult> {
+  if (options.ssr) {
+    delete options.ssr
+    return ssrBuild(options)
+  }
+
   process.env.NODE_ENV = 'production'
   const start = Date.now()
 
@@ -149,7 +158,7 @@ export async function build(options: BuildOptions = {}): Promise<BuildResult> {
     sourcemap = false
   } = options
 
-  const indexPath = emitIndex ? path.resolve(root, 'index.html') : null
+  const indexPath = path.resolve(root, 'index.html')
   const publicBasePath = base.replace(/([^/])$/, '$1/') // ensure ending slash
   const resolvedAssetsPath = path.join(outDir, assetsDir)
   const cssFileName = 'style.css'
@@ -244,7 +253,7 @@ export async function build(options: BuildOptions = {}): Promise<BuildResult> {
     ...rollupOutputOptions
   })
 
-  const indexHtml = renderIndex(root, cssFileName, output)
+  const indexHtml = emitIndex ? renderIndex(output, cssFileName) : ''
 
   if (write) {
     const cwd = process.cwd()
@@ -307,9 +316,11 @@ export async function build(options: BuildOptions = {}): Promise<BuildResult> {
     }
 
     // copy over /public if it exists
-    const publicDir = path.resolve(root, 'public')
-    if (await fs.pathExists(publicDir)) {
-      await fs.copy(publicDir, path.resolve(outDir, 'public'))
+    if (emitAssets) {
+      const publicDir = path.resolve(root, 'public')
+      if (await fs.pathExists(publicDir)) {
+        await fs.copy(publicDir, path.resolve(outDir, 'public'))
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -344,6 +355,8 @@ export async function ssrBuild(
   } = options
 
   return build({
+    outDir: path.resolve(options.root || process.cwd(), 'dist-ssr'),
+    assetsDir: '.',
     ...options,
     rollupPluginVueOptions: {
       ...rollupPluginVueOptions,
diff --git a/src/node/cli.ts b/src/node/cli.ts
index e586097bd4ba45..5f2c8a29243942 100644
--- a/src/node/cli.ts
+++ b/src/node/cli.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ Options:
   --sourcemap                [boolean] output source maps for build (default: false)
   --minify                   [boolean | 'terser' | 'esbuild'] disable minification, or specify
                                        minifier to use. (default: 'terser')
+  --ssr                      [boolean] build for server-side rendering
   --jsx-factory              [string]  (default: React.createElement)
   --jsx-fragment             [string]  (default: React.Fragment)
 `)