diff --git a/doc/ghost.txt b/doc/ghost.txt
index 6c344e8..08fa425 100644
--- a/doc/ghost.txt
+++ b/doc/ghost.txt
@@ -150,6 +150,18 @@ Syntax Highlighting
     autocmd BufNewFile,BufRead *stackoverflow.com* set filetype=markdown
     augroup END
 
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+                                                                *g:ghost_enable_sync*
+Enable real-time syncing of the browser's textarea.
+
+  By default, anything you type in vim appears immediately in the browser's textarea.
+  If disabled, manual syncing of the textarea is done with the :GhostSync command.
+  Syncing may be disabled / enabled on the fly using the :GhostToggleSync command.
+>
+    let g:ghost_enable_sync = 1
+<
+Default: 1
+
 ================================================================================
 Contributing                                                 *GhostContributing*
 
diff --git a/plugin/vim_compat.vim b/plugin/vim_compat.vim
index 00f1471..bc9a5ae 100644
--- a/plugin/vim_compat.vim
+++ b/plugin/vim_compat.vim
@@ -10,3 +10,5 @@ endfunc
 
 com! -nargs=0 GhostStart call s:ghost.call('server_start')
 com! -nargs=0 GhostStop call s:ghost.call('server_stop')
+com! -nargs=0 GhostToggleSync call s:ghost.call('ghost_toggle_sync')
+com! -nargs=0 GhostSync call s:ghost.call('ghost_sync')
diff --git a/pythonx/ghost_wrapper.py b/pythonx/ghost_wrapper.py
index b847b58..ee62df6 100644
--- a/pythonx/ghost_wrapper.py
+++ b/pythonx/ghost_wrapper.py
@@ -9,5 +9,11 @@ def server_start(*args):
 def server_stop(*args):
     return _obj.server_stop(args, '')
 
+def ghost_toggle_sync(*args):
+    return _obj.ghost_toggle_sync(args, '')
+
+def ghost_sync(*args):
+    return _obj.ghost_sync(args, '')
+
 def ghost_notify(*args):
     return _obj.ghost_notify(args)
diff --git a/rplugin/python3/ghost.py b/rplugin/python3/ghost.py
index 1b70cbb..89aa056 100644
--- a/rplugin/python3/ghost.py
+++ b/rplugin/python3/ghost.py
@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@ def __init__(self, vim):
         self.winapp = None
         self.darwin_app = None
         self.linux_window_id = None
+        self.syncghost = True
         self.cmd = 'ed'
 
     def echo(self, message, *args):
@@ -151,6 +152,9 @@ def start_http_server():
         else:
             self.nvim.vars["ghost_port"] = self.port
 
+        if "ghost_enable_sync" in self.nvim.vars:
+            self.syncghost = self.nvim.vars["ghost_enable_sync"] != 0
+
         if "ghost_cmd" in self.nvim.vars:
             self.cmd = self.nvim.vars["ghost_cmd"]
         else:
@@ -192,6 +196,23 @@ def server_stop(self, args, range):
         self.echo("Ghost server stopped")
         self.server_started = False
 
+    @neovim.command('GhostToggleSync', range='', nargs='0', sync=True)
+    def ghost_toggle_sync(self, args, range):
+        self.syncghost = not self.syncghost
+        self.echo("Ghost sync: {}".format("ON" if self.syncghost else "OFF"))
+        if self.syncghost:
+            self.ghost_sync(args, range)
+
+    @neovim.command('GhostSync', range='', nargs='0', sync=True)
+    def ghost_sync(self, args, range):
+        bufnr = self.nvim.current.buffer.number
+        wsclient, req = buffer_handler_map[bufnr]
+        logger.info("sending message to client ")
+        text = "\n".join(self.nvim.buffers[bufnr][:])
+        req["text"] = text
+        # self.nvim.command("echo '%s'" % text)
+        wsclient.sendMessage(json.dumps(req))
+
     @neovim.function("GhostNotify")
     def ghost_notify(self, args):
         logger.info(args)
@@ -200,7 +221,7 @@ def ghost_notify(self, args):
             return
         wsclient, req = buffer_handler_map[bufnr]
         logger.debug('event recd: %s, buffer: %d', event, bufnr)
-        if event == "text_changed":
+        if event == "text_changed" and self.syncghost:
             logger.info("sending message to client ")
             text = "\n".join(self.nvim.buffers[bufnr][:])
             req["text"] = text