diff --git a/include/slibtool/slibtool.h b/include/slibtool/slibtool.h
index a2529f7..cd61300 100644
--- a/include/slibtool/slibtool.h
+++ b/include/slibtool/slibtool.h
@@ -61,6 +61,10 @@ extern "C" {
 #define SLBT_DRIVER_DISABLE_STATIC	0x02000000
 #define SLBT_DRIVER_DISABLE_SHARED	0x04000000
 
+#define SLBT_DRIVER_ANNOTATE_ALWAYS	0x10000000
+#define SLBT_DRIVER_ANNOTATE_NEVER	0x20000000
+#define SLBT_DRIVER_ANNOTATE_FULL	0x40000000
+
 /* execution modes */
 enum slbt_mode {
 	SLBT_MODE_UNKNOWN,
diff --git a/src/driver/slbt_driver_ctx.c b/src/driver/slbt_driver_ctx.c
index f65460a..f3c13ca 100644
--- a/src/driver/slbt_driver_ctx.c
+++ b/src/driver/slbt_driver_ctx.c
@@ -695,6 +695,9 @@ int slbt_get_driver_ctx(
 	/* shared and static objects: enable by default, disable by ~switch */
 	cctx.drvflags = flags | SLBT_DRIVER_SHARED | SLBT_DRIVER_STATIC;
 
+	/* full annotation when annotation is on; */
+	cctx.drvflags |= SLBT_DRIVER_ANNOTATE_FULL;
+
 	/* get options, count units */
 	for (entry=meta->entries; entry->fopt || entry->arg; entry++) {
 		if (entry->fopt) {
@@ -775,6 +778,24 @@ int slbt_get_driver_ctx(
 						cctx.warnings = SLBT_WARNING_LEVEL_NONE;
 					break;
 
+				case TAG_ANNOTATE:
+					if (!strcmp("always",entry->arg)) {
+						cctx.drvflags |= SLBT_DRIVER_ANNOTATE_ALWAYS;
+						cctx.drvflags &= ~(uint64_t)SLBT_DRIVER_ANNOTATE_NEVER;
+
+					} else if (!strcmp("never",entry->arg)) {
+						cctx.drvflags |= SLBT_DRIVER_ANNOTATE_NEVER;
+						cctx.drvflags &= ~(uint64_t)SLBT_DRIVER_ANNOTATE_ALWAYS;
+
+					} else if (!strcmp("minimal",entry->arg)) {
+						cctx.drvflags &= ~(uint64_t)SLBT_DRIVER_ANNOTATE_FULL;
+
+					} else if (!strcmp("full",entry->arg)) {
+						cctx.drvflags |= SLBT_DRIVER_ANNOTATE_FULL;
+					}
+
+					break;
+
 				case TAG_DEPS:
 					cctx.drvflags |= SLBT_DRIVER_DEPS;
 					break;
diff --git a/src/internal/slibtool_driver_impl.h b/src/internal/slibtool_driver_impl.h
index 8ffb611..1bd7ce7 100644
--- a/src/internal/slibtool_driver_impl.h
+++ b/src/internal/slibtool_driver_impl.h
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ enum app_tags {
 	TAG_FEATURES,
 	TAG_MODE,
 	TAG_WARNINGS,
+	TAG_ANNOTATE,
 	TAG_DEPS,
 	TAG_SILENT,
 	TAG_TAG,
diff --git a/src/skin/slbt_skin_default.c b/src/skin/slbt_skin_default.c
index a223ae8..e0c4886 100644
--- a/src/skin/slbt_skin_default.c
+++ b/src/skin/slbt_skin_default.c
@@ -38,6 +38,13 @@ const struct argv_option slbt_default_options[] = {
 	{"preserve-dup-deps",	0,TAG_DEPS,ARGV_OPTARG_NONE,0,0,0,
 				"leave the dependency list alone"},
 
+	{"annotate",		0,TAG_ANNOTATE,ARGV_OPTARG_REQUIRED,0,
+				"always|never|minimal|full",0,
+				"modify default annotation options; "
+				"the defautls are full annotation when "
+				"stdout is a tty, and no annotation "
+				"at all otherwise"},
+
 	{"quiet",		0,TAG_SILENT,ARGV_OPTARG_NONE,0,0,0,
 				"do not say anything"},