diff --git a/src/app/main.cpp b/src/app/main.cpp
index afaaa23eedf8..8a0656a9b9b9 100644
--- a/src/app/main.cpp
+++ b/src/app/main.cpp
@@ -142,6 +142,7 @@ void usage( const QString &appName )
     << QStringLiteral( "\t[-n, --nologo]\thide splash screen\n" )
     << QStringLiteral( "\t[-V, --noversioncheck]\tdon't check for new version of QGIS at startup\n" )
     << QStringLiteral( "\t[-P, --noplugins]\tdon't restore plugins on startup\n" )
+    << QStringLiteral( "\t[--nopython]\tdisable Python support\n" )
     << QStringLiteral( "\t[-B, --skipbadlayers]\tdon't prompt for missing layers\n" )
     << QStringLiteral( "\t[-C, --nocustomization]\tdon't apply GUI customization\n" )
     << QStringLiteral( "\t[-z, --customizationfile path]\tuse the given ini file as GUI customization\n" )
@@ -570,7 +571,6 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
 
   bool myHideSplash = false;
   bool settingsMigrationForce = false;
-  bool mySkipVersionCheck = false;
   bool hideBrowser = false;
 #if defined( ANDROID )
   QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Android: Splash hidden" ), 2 );
@@ -578,8 +578,6 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
 #endif
 
   bool myRestoreDefaultWindowState = false;
-  bool myRestorePlugins = true;
-  bool mySkipBadLayers = false;
   bool myCustomization = true;
 
   QString dxfOutputFile;
@@ -628,6 +626,7 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
 #endif
 
   QStringList args;
+  QgisApp::AppOptions qgisAppOptions = QgisApp::RestorePlugins | QgisApp::EnablePython;
 
   {
     QCoreApplication coreApp( argc, argv );
@@ -663,16 +662,20 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
         }
         else if ( arg == QLatin1String( "--noversioncheck" ) || arg == QLatin1String( "-V" ) )
         {
-          mySkipVersionCheck = true;
+          qgisAppOptions |= QgisApp::SkipVersionCheck;
         }
         else if ( arg == QLatin1String( "--noplugins" ) || arg == QLatin1String( "-P" ) )
         {
-          myRestorePlugins = false;
+          qgisAppOptions &= ~QgisApp::RestorePlugins;
+        }
+        else if ( arg == QLatin1String( "--nopython" ) )
+        {
+          qgisAppOptions &= ~QgisApp::EnablePython;
         }
         else if ( arg == QLatin1String( "--skipbadlayers" ) || arg == QLatin1String( "-B" ) )
         {
           QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Skipping bad layers" ), 2 );
-          mySkipBadLayers = true;
+          qgisAppOptions |= QgisApp::SkipBadLayers;
         }
         else if ( arg == QLatin1String( "--nocustomization" ) || arg == QLatin1String( "-C" ) )
         {
@@ -1540,7 +1543,7 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
   // this should be done in QgsApplication::init() but it doesn't know the settings dir.
   QgsApplication::setMaxThreads( settings.value( QStringLiteral( "qgis/max_threads" ), -1 ).toInt() );
 
-  QgisApp *qgis = new QgisApp( mypSplash, myRestorePlugins, mySkipBadLayers, mySkipVersionCheck, rootProfileFolder, profileName ); // "QgisApp" used to find canonical instance
+  QgisApp *qgis = new QgisApp( mypSplash, qgisAppOptions, rootProfileFolder, profileName ); // "QgisApp" used to find canonical instance
   qgis->setObjectName( QStringLiteral( "QgisApp" ) );
 
   QgsApplication::connect(
diff --git a/src/app/qgisapp.cpp b/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
index e1cb02dcce70..75dab49083b4 100644
--- a/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
@@ -971,7 +971,7 @@ static bool cmpByText_( QAction *a, QAction *b )
 QgisApp *QgisApp::sInstance = nullptr;
 
 // constructor starts here
-QgisApp::QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, bool restorePlugins, bool skipBadLayers, bool skipVersionCheck, const QString &rootProfileLocation, const QString &activeProfile, QWidget *parent, Qt::WindowFlags fl )
+QgisApp::QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, AppOptions options, const QString &rootProfileLocation, const QString &activeProfile, QWidget *parent, Qt::WindowFlags fl )
   : QMainWindow( parent, fl )
   , mSplash( splash )
 {
@@ -1108,7 +1108,7 @@ QgisApp::QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, bool restorePlugins, bool skipBadLayers
   endProfile();
 
   startProfile( tr( "Welcome page" ) );
-  mWelcomePage = new QgsWelcomePage( skipVersionCheck );
+  mWelcomePage = new QgsWelcomePage( options.testFlag( SkipVersionCheck ) );
   connect( mWelcomePage, &QgsWelcomePage::projectRemoved, this, [this]( int row ) {
     mRecentProjects.removeAt( row );
     saveRecentProjects();
@@ -1318,7 +1318,7 @@ QgisApp::QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, bool restorePlugins, bool skipBadLayers
 
   // initialize the plugin manager
   startProfile( tr( "Plugin manager" ) );
-  mPluginManager = new QgsPluginManager( this, restorePlugins );
+  mPluginManager = new QgsPluginManager( this, options.testFlag( RestorePlugins ) );
   endProfile();
 
   addDockWidget( Qt::LeftDockWidgetArea, mUndoDock );
@@ -1626,21 +1626,24 @@ QgisApp::QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, bool restorePlugins, bool skipBadLayers
   QgsApplication::dataItemProviderRegistry()->addProvider( new QgsHtmlDataItemProvider() );
 
   // set handler for missing layers (will be owned by QgsProject)
-  if ( !skipBadLayers )
+  if ( !options.testFlag( SkipBadLayers ) )
   {
     QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Creating bad layers handler" ), 2 );
     mAppBadLayersHandler = new QgsHandleBadLayersHandler();
     QgsProject::instance()->setBadLayerHandler( mAppBadLayersHandler );
   }
 
-  mSplash->showMessage( tr( "Starting Python" ), Qt::AlignHCenter | Qt::AlignBottom, splashTextColor );
-  qApp->processEvents();
-  loadPythonSupport();
+  if ( options.testFlag( EnablePython ) )
+  {
+    mSplash->showMessage( tr( "Starting Python" ), Qt::AlignHCenter | Qt::AlignBottom, splashTextColor );
+    qApp->processEvents();
+    loadPythonSupport();
 
 #ifdef WITH_BINDINGS
-  QgsApplication::dataItemProviderRegistry()->addProvider( new QgsPyDataItemProvider() );
-  registerCustomDropHandler( new QgsPyDropHandler() );
+    QgsApplication::dataItemProviderRegistry()->addProvider( new QgsPyDataItemProvider() );
+    registerCustomDropHandler( new QgsPyDropHandler() );
 #endif
+  }
 
   QgsApplication::dataItemProviderRegistry()->addProvider( new QgsProjectDataItemProvider() );
   QgsApplication::dataItemProviderRegistry()->addProvider( new QgsStacDataItemProvider() );
@@ -1666,7 +1669,7 @@ QgisApp::QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, bool restorePlugins, bool skipBadLayers
   qApp->processEvents();
   QgsPluginRegistry::instance()->setQgisInterface( mQgisInterface );
 
-  if ( restorePlugins )
+  if ( options.testFlag( RestorePlugins ) )
   {
     // Restoring of plugins can be disabled with --noplugins command line option
     // because some plugins may cause QGIS to crash during startup
diff --git a/src/app/qgisapp.h b/src/app/qgisapp.h
index 39dc52ce8942..62884811417b 100644
--- a/src/app/qgisapp.h
+++ b/src/app/qgisapp.h
@@ -211,8 +211,26 @@ class APP_EXPORT QgisApp : public QMainWindow, private Ui::MainWindow
 {
     Q_OBJECT
   public:
+    /**
+     * Options to configure the QGIS application behavior at startup.
+     *
+     * This enumeration defines flags that control various aspects of QGIS
+     * initialization.
+     *
+         * \since QGIS 3.44
+     */
+    enum AppOption
+    {
+      NoOption = 0x00,         //! No Option
+      RestorePlugins = 0x01,   //! Automatically restore and load previously enabled plugins.
+      SkipBadLayers = 0x02,    //! Skip loading layers that are detected as problematic.
+      SkipVersionCheck = 0x04, //! Bypass the version compatibility check during startup.
+      EnablePython = 0x08      //! Enable the Python interface for scripting and plugins.
+    };
+    Q_DECLARE_FLAGS( AppOptions, AppOption )
+
     //! Constructor
-    QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, bool restorePlugins = true, bool skipBadLayers = false, bool skipVersionCheck = false, const QString &rootProfileLocation = QString(), const QString &activeProfile = QString(), QWidget *parent = nullptr, Qt::WindowFlags fl = Qt::Window );
+    QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, AppOptions options = AppOptions( RestorePlugins | EnablePython ), const QString &rootProfileLocation = QString(), const QString &activeProfile = QString(), QWidget *parent = nullptr, Qt::WindowFlags fl = Qt::Window );
     //! Constructor for unit tests
     QgisApp();
 
@@ -2782,6 +2800,8 @@ class APP_EXPORT QgisApp : public QMainWindow, private Ui::MainWindow
     friend class QgsAppScreenShots;
 };
 
+Q_DECLARE_OPERATORS_FOR_FLAGS( QgisApp::AppOptions )
+
 #ifdef ANDROID
 #define QGIS_ICON_SIZE 32
 #else