diff --git a/PKGBUILD b/PKGBUILD
index f2621a1..3e564b8 100644
--- a/PKGBUILD
+++ b/PKGBUILD
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ package()
     cd "$srcdir"/"$pkgname"
     install -Dm755 "$pkgname" "$pkgdir"/usr/bin/"$pkgname"
     install -Dm644 "$pkgname".service "$pkgdir"/usr/lib/systemd/user/"$pkgname".service
+    install -Dm644 "$pkgname"-quiet.service "$pkgdir"/usr/lib/systemd/user/"$pkgname"-quiet.service
     install -Dm644 "$pkgname".timer "$pkgdir"/usr/lib/systemd/user/"$pkgname".timer
     install -Dm644 "$pkgname".path "$pkgdir"/usr/lib/systemd/user/"$pkgname".path
     install -Dm755 "$pkgname"-refresh "$pkgdir"/usr/lib/"$pkgname"/refresh
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index accfdb0..1ecaa0e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -43,11 +43,11 @@ systemctl --user enable --now update-notify.timer
 
 The timer runs 5 minutes after boot, then every 6 hours.
 
-A pacman hook also runs update-notify after every pacman transaction, for each logged-in user whose timer is active, so the notification and the status bar file are current right after an upgrade.
+A pacman hook also runs `update-notify --quiet` after every pacman transaction, for each logged-in user whose timer is active, so the status bar file is current right after an upgrade.
 
 ### Refresh after building packages
 
-Building into a local repository (`aur build`, `aur sync`) doesn't run pacman, so the hook can't catch it. To run update-notify whenever a repository changes, add the repository files to watch to `update-notify.path`:
+Building into a local repository (`aur build`, `aur sync`) doesn't run pacman, so the hook can't catch it. To run `update-notify --quiet` whenever a repository changes, add the repository files to watch to `update-notify.path`:
 
 ```
 systemctl --user edit update-notify.path
@@ -68,11 +68,13 @@ systemctl --user enable --now update-notify.path
 ## Usage
 
 ```
-update-notify [threshold]
+update-notify [-q|--quiet] [threshold]
 ```
 
 `threshold` is the minimum number of updates (repo + AUR) before update counts are shown. It overrides the `THRESHOLD` setting below for that run's notification only; the pending file keeps the configured value.
 
+`--quiet` updates the pending file without notifying. Changes to a notification already shown are recorded, so the next timer run doesn't repeat them; a new notification is left for the timer. The pacman hook and `update-notify.path` use it (through `update-notify-quiet.service`), so building or upgrading many packages doesn't notify after each one.
+
 ## Configuration
 
 Settings are read from `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/update-notify/config` (default `~/.config/update-notify/config`), a bash file that is sourced by the script. All settings are optional:
diff --git a/update-notify b/update-notify
index e747326..51d9120 100755
--- a/update-notify
+++ b/update-notify
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@ if [[ -r $config_file ]]; then
     # shellcheck source=/dev/null
     source "$config_file"
 fi
+quiet=0  # refresh the pending file without notifying (path unit and pacman hook)
+if [[ ${1:-} == -q || ${1:-} == --quiet ]]; then
+    quiet=1
+    shift
+fi
 config_threshold=$THRESHOLD  # written to the pending file, so a one-off argument doesn't change status bars
 THRESHOLD=${1:-$THRESHOLD}
 
@@ -44,6 +49,12 @@ notify_once() {
     if [[ -f $file && $(<"$file") == "$body" ]]; then
         return 0
     fi
+    if (( quiet )); then
+        # Track changes to a shown notification, so the timer doesn't re-notify them;
+        # leave a new one for the timer to show
+        [[ -f $file ]] && printf '%s' "$body" > "$file"
+        return 0
+    fi
     notify-send "$title" "$body" && printf '%s' "$body" > "$file"
 }
 
diff --git a/update-notify-quiet.service b/update-notify-quiet.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6c8032
--- /dev/null
+++ b/update-notify-quiet.service
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Refresh the update-notify pending file without notifying
+
+[Service]
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/update-notify --quiet
+Type=oneshot
diff --git a/update-notify-refresh b/update-notify-refresh
index bc34b0a..f0cbf1d 100755
--- a/update-notify-refresh
+++ b/update-notify-refresh
@@ -6,5 +6,5 @@ while read -r unit _; do
     uid=${uid%.service}
     user=$(id -nu "$uid") || continue
     systemctl --user -M "$user@" is-active --quiet update-notify.timer || continue
-    systemctl --user -M "$user@" start --no-block update-notify.service
+    systemctl --user -M "$user@" start --no-block update-notify-quiet.service
 done
diff --git a/update-notify.path b/update-notify.path
index 3734883..76ea414 100644
--- a/update-notify.path
+++ b/update-notify.path
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Description=Run update-notify when a local repository changes
 # Add the repository files to watch with: systemctl --user edit update-notify.path
 # e.g. PathChanged=/home/aur-local/aur-local.db.tar.gz.sig
 [Path]
-Unit=update-notify.service
+Unit=update-notify-quiet.service
 
 [Install]
 WantedBy=default.target