diff --git a/src/core/runners/__tests__/index.test.ts b/src/core/runners/__tests__/index.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e07911f48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/runners/__tests__/index.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { createExtensionRunner } from '..';
+import { fakeInternalConfig } from '../../../testing/fake-objects';
+import { mock } from 'vitest-mock-extended';
+import { createSafariRunner } from '../safari';
+import { ExtensionRunner } from '../extension-runner';
+import { createWslRunner } from '../wsl';
+import { createManualRunner } from '../manual';
+import { isWsl } from '../../utils/wsl';
+import { createWebExtRunner } from '../web-ext';
+
+vi.mock('../../utils/wsl');
+const isWslMock = vi.mocked(isWsl);
+
+vi.mock('../safari');
+const createSafariRunnerMock = vi.mocked(createSafariRunner);
+
+vi.mock('../wsl');
+const createWslRunnerMock = vi.mocked(createWslRunner);
+
+vi.mock('../manual');
+const createManualRunnerMock = vi.mocked(createManualRunner);
+
+vi.mock('../web-ext');
+const createWebExtRunnerMock = vi.mocked(createWebExtRunner);
+
+describe('createExtensionRunner', () => {
+  it('should return a Safari runner when browser is "safari"', async () => {
+    const config = fakeInternalConfig({
+      browser: 'safari',
+    });
+    const safariRunner = mock<ExtensionRunner>();
+    createSafariRunnerMock.mockReturnValue(safariRunner);
+
+    await expect(createExtensionRunner(config)).resolves.toBe(safariRunner);
+  });
+
+  it('should return a WSL runner when `is-wsl` is true', async () => {
+    isWslMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(true);
+    const config = fakeInternalConfig({
+      browser: 'chrome',
+    });
+    const wslRunner = mock<ExtensionRunner>();
+    createWslRunnerMock.mockReturnValue(wslRunner);
+
+    await expect(createExtensionRunner(config)).resolves.toBe(wslRunner);
+  });
+
+  it('should return a manual runner when `runner.disabled` is true', async () => {
+    isWslMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(false);
+    const config = fakeInternalConfig({
+      browser: 'chrome',
+      runnerConfig: {
+        config: {
+          disabled: true,
+        },
+      },
+    });
+    const manualRunner = mock<ExtensionRunner>();
+    createManualRunnerMock.mockReturnValue(manualRunner);
+
+    await expect(createExtensionRunner(config)).resolves.toBe(manualRunner);
+  });
+
+  it('should return a web-ext runner otherwise', async () => {
+    const config = fakeInternalConfig({
+      browser: 'chrome',
+      runnerConfig: {
+        config: {
+          disabled: undefined,
+        },
+      },
+    });
+    const manualRunner = mock<ExtensionRunner>();
+    createWebExtRunnerMock.mockReturnValue(manualRunner);
+
+    await expect(createExtensionRunner(config)).resolves.toBe(manualRunner);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/core/runners/index.ts b/src/core/runners/index.ts
index ce1043ed3..93fe8dbe9 100644
--- a/src/core/runners/index.ts
+++ b/src/core/runners/index.ts
@@ -3,14 +3,16 @@ import { ExtensionRunner } from './extension-runner';
 import { createWslRunner } from './wsl';
 import { createWebExtRunner } from './web-ext';
 import { createSafariRunner } from './safari';
+import { createManualRunner } from './manual';
+import { isWsl } from '../utils/wsl';
 
 export async function createExtensionRunner(
   config: InternalConfig,
 ): Promise<ExtensionRunner> {
   if (config.browser === 'safari') return createSafariRunner();
 
-  const { default: isWsl } = await import('is-wsl'); // ESM only, requires dynamic import
-  if (isWsl) return createWslRunner();
+  if (await isWsl()) return createWslRunner();
+  if (config.runnerConfig.config?.disabled) return createManualRunner();
 
   return createWebExtRunner();
 }
diff --git a/src/core/runners/manual.ts b/src/core/runners/manual.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5b2dfb842
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/runners/manual.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import { ExtensionRunner } from './extension-runner';
+import { relative } from 'node:path';
+
+/**
+ * The manual runner tells the user to load the unpacked extension manually.
+ */
+export function createManualRunner(): ExtensionRunner {
+  return {
+    async openBrowser(config) {
+      config.logger.info(
+        `Load "${relative(
+          process.cwd(),
+          config.outDir,
+        )}" as an unpacked extension manually`,
+      );
+    },
+    async closeBrowser() {
+      // noop
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/core/types/external.ts b/src/core/types/external.ts
index aed2b312e..5fc94200c 100644
--- a/src/core/types/external.ts
+++ b/src/core/types/external.ts
@@ -177,6 +177,8 @@ export interface InlineConfig {
     /**
      * Explicitly include bundle analysis when running `wxt build`. This can be overridden by the
      * command line `--analysis` option.
+     *
+     * @default false
      */
     enabled?: boolean;
     /**
@@ -184,6 +186,8 @@ export interface InlineConfig {
      * bundle will be visualized. See
      * [`rollup-plugin-visualizer`](https://github.com/btd/rollup-plugin-visualizer#how-to-use-generated-files)
      * for more details.
+     *
+     * @default "treemap"
      */
     template?: PluginVisualizerOptions['template'];
   };
@@ -474,6 +478,12 @@ export interface ConfigEnv {
  * Configure how the browser starts up.
  */
 export interface ExtensionRunnerConfig {
+  /**
+   * Whether or not to open the browser with the extension installed in dev mode.
+   *
+   * @default false
+   */
+  disabled?: boolean;
   /**
    * @see https://extensionworkshop.com/documentation/develop/web-ext-command-reference/#browser-console
    */
diff --git a/src/core/utils/getInternalConfig.ts b/src/core/utils/getInternalConfig.ts
index b809790d9..26128a147 100644
--- a/src/core/utils/getInternalConfig.ts
+++ b/src/core/utils/getInternalConfig.ts
@@ -75,7 +75,8 @@ export async function getInternalConfig(
     cwd: root,
     globalRc: true,
     rcFile: '.webextrc',
-    overrides: mergedConfig.runner,
+    overrides: inlineConfig.runner,
+    defaults: userConfig.runner,
   });
 
   const finalConfig: InternalConfig = {
diff --git a/src/core/utils/wsl.ts b/src/core/utils/wsl.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8b2ce400e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/utils/wsl.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+/**
+ * Returns true when running on WSL or WSL2.
+ */
+export async function isWsl(): Promise<boolean> {
+  const { default: isWsl } = await import('is-wsl'); // ESM only, requires dynamic import
+  return isWsl;
+}
diff --git a/templates/react/_gitignore b/templates/react/_gitignore
index 7903f56e2..442e12e80 100644
--- a/templates/react/_gitignore
+++ b/templates/react/_gitignore
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ node_modules
 .output
 stats.html
 .wxt
+web-ext.config.ts
 
 # Editor directories and files
 .vscode/*
diff --git a/templates/solid/_gitignore b/templates/solid/_gitignore
index 7903f56e2..442e12e80 100644
--- a/templates/solid/_gitignore
+++ b/templates/solid/_gitignore
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ node_modules
 .output
 stats.html
 .wxt
+web-ext.config.ts
 
 # Editor directories and files
 .vscode/*
diff --git a/templates/svelte/_gitignore b/templates/svelte/_gitignore
index 7903f56e2..442e12e80 100644
--- a/templates/svelte/_gitignore
+++ b/templates/svelte/_gitignore
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ node_modules
 .output
 stats.html
 .wxt
+web-ext.config.ts
 
 # Editor directories and files
 .vscode/*
diff --git a/templates/vanilla/_gitignore b/templates/vanilla/_gitignore
index 7903f56e2..442e12e80 100644
--- a/templates/vanilla/_gitignore
+++ b/templates/vanilla/_gitignore
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ node_modules
 .output
 stats.html
 .wxt
+web-ext.config.ts
 
 # Editor directories and files
 .vscode/*
diff --git a/templates/vue/_gitignore b/templates/vue/_gitignore
index 7903f56e2..442e12e80 100644
--- a/templates/vue/_gitignore
+++ b/templates/vue/_gitignore
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ node_modules
 .output
 stats.html
 .wxt
+web-ext.config.ts
 
 # Editor directories and files
 .vscode/*