diff --git a/man/systemd-sysupdate.xml b/man/systemd-sysupdate.xml
index 8c1228c7d9..f77bd3d0d9 100644
--- a/man/systemd-sysupdate.xml
+++ b/man/systemd-sysupdate.xml
@@ -295,6 +295,16 @@
         <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v251"/></listitem>
       </varlistentry>
 
+      <varlistentry>
+        <term><option>--offline</option></term>
+
+        <listitem><para>Prevents fetching metadata from the network (i.e. <filename>SHA256SUMS</filename>).
+        This is most useful when used in combination with the <command>list</command> command, to query
+        locally installed versions.</para>
+
+        <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v257"/></listitem>
+      </varlistentry>
+
       <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="no-pager" />
       <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="no-legend" />
       <xi:include href="standard-options.xml" xpointer="json" />
diff --git a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c
index de90506c50..462ae5ee01 100644
--- a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c
+++ b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ static bool arg_reboot = false;
 static char *arg_component = NULL;
 static int arg_verify = -1;
 static ImagePolicy *arg_image_policy = NULL;
+static bool arg_offline = false;
 
 STATIC_DESTRUCTOR_REGISTER(arg_definitions, freep);
 STATIC_DESTRUCTOR_REGISTER(arg_root, freep);
@@ -356,11 +357,13 @@ static int context_discover_update_sets(Context *c) {
         if (r < 0)
                 return r;
 
-        log_info("Determining available update sets%s", special_glyph(SPECIAL_GLYPH_ELLIPSIS));
+        if (!arg_offline) {
+                log_info("Determining available update sets%s", special_glyph(SPECIAL_GLYPH_ELLIPSIS));
 
-        r = context_discover_update_sets_by_flag(c, UPDATE_AVAILABLE);
-        if (r < 0)
-                return r;
+                r = context_discover_update_sets_by_flag(c, UPDATE_AVAILABLE);
+                if (r < 0)
+                        return r;
+        }
 
         typesafe_qsort(c->update_sets, c->n_update_sets, update_set_cmp);
         return 0;
@@ -727,15 +730,17 @@ static int context_make_online(Context **ret, const char *node) {
         assert(ret);
 
         /* Like context_make_offline(), but also communicates with the update source looking for new
-         * versions. */
+         * versions (as long as --offline is not specified on the command line). */
 
         r = context_make_offline(&context, node);
         if (r < 0)
                 return r;
 
-        r = context_load_available_instances(context);
-        if (r < 0)
-                return r;
+        if (!arg_offline) {
+                r = context_load_available_instances(context);
+                if (r < 0)
+                        return r;
+        }
 
         r = context_discover_update_sets(context);
         if (r < 0)
@@ -1248,6 +1253,7 @@ static int verb_help(int argc, char **argv, void *userdata) {
                "     --sync=BOOL          Controls whether to sync data to disk\n"
                "     --verify=BOOL        Force signature verification on or off\n"
                "     --reboot             Reboot after updating to newer version\n"
+               "     --offline            Do not fetch metadata from the network\n"
                "     --no-pager           Do not pipe output into a pager\n"
                "     --no-legend          Do not show the headers and footers\n"
                "     --json=pretty|short|off\n"
@@ -1277,6 +1283,7 @@ static int parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                 ARG_IMAGE_POLICY,
                 ARG_REBOOT,
                 ARG_VERIFY,
+                ARG_OFFLINE,
         };
 
         static const struct option options[] = {
@@ -1294,6 +1301,7 @@ static int parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                 { "reboot",            no_argument,       NULL, ARG_REBOOT            },
                 { "component",         required_argument, NULL, 'C'                   },
                 { "verify",            required_argument, NULL, ARG_VERIFY            },
+                { "offline",           no_argument,       NULL, ARG_OFFLINE           },
                 {}
         };
 
@@ -1397,6 +1405,10 @@ static int parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                         break;
                 }
 
+                case ARG_OFFLINE:
+                        arg_offline = true;
+                        break;
+
                 case '?':
                         return -EINVAL;