diff --git a/api/app/settings/common.py b/api/app/settings/common.py
index ee6f0399d5b6..865d66b3aef6 100644
--- a/api/app/settings/common.py
+++ b/api/app/settings/common.py
@@ -876,7 +876,10 @@
 
 DISABLE_WEBHOOKS = env.bool("DISABLE_WEBHOOKS", False)
 
-SERVE_FE_ASSETS = os.path.exists(BASE_DIR + "/app/templates/webpack/index.html")
+DISABLE_FLAGSMITH_UI = env.bool("DISABLE_FLAGSMITH_UI", default=False)
+SERVE_FE_ASSETS = not DISABLE_FLAGSMITH_UI and os.path.exists(
+    BASE_DIR + "/app/templates/webpack/index.html"
+)
 
 # Used to configure the number of application proxies that the API runs behind
 NUM_PROXIES = env.int("NUM_PROXIES", 1)
diff --git a/docs/docs/deployment/hosting/locally-api.md b/docs/docs/deployment/hosting/locally-api.md
index b2b90322ab8e..9915f9a23ae6 100644
--- a/docs/docs/deployment/hosting/locally-api.md
+++ b/docs/docs/deployment/hosting/locally-api.md
@@ -243,6 +243,8 @@ the below variables will be ignored.
 - `FLAGSMITH_DOMAIN`: A custom domain for URLs pointing to your Flagsmith instance in email notifications. Note: if set,
   the domain provided during [initial configuration](#environments-with-no-direct-console-access-eg-heroku-ecs) will be
   ignored.
+- `DISABLE_FLAGSMITH_UI`: Disable the Flagsmith UI which can be rendered by the API containers in a single container
+  environment. Use `True` to disable, defaults to `False`.
 
 #### Security Environment Variables