diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index caddd6b..f8ddc02 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -60,6 +60,12 @@ Check out [crontab.dev](https://crontab.dev/) for a nice explanation of the sche
 
 Default: `0 */6 * * *` (every 6 hours)
 
+### `BACKUP_NO_CRON`
+
+If provided, runs the backup only once without a cron schedule. This is useful for one-off backups of testing if the configuration works.
+
+Default: `false`
+
 ### `BACKUP_MAX`
 
 How many backups to keep. If more backups are stored in the backup folder, the oldest one will be removed until there
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 3953963..e63ad19 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -3,39 +3,49 @@ package main
 import (
 	"github.com/robfig/cron/v3"
 	"log"
+	"os"
 )
 
-func main() {
+func runBackup() {
 	c, err := getClient()
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("Could not create client: %s", err)
 	}
 
+	updateFullBackupPath()
+
+	containers, err := getContainers(c)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Could not get containers: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	storeContainers(c, containers)
+
+	err = cleanupOldBackups()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Could not clean old backups: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	dumpAllDatabases(c)
+
+	err = callWebhook()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Could not call completion webhook: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	log.Println("Done.")
+}
+
+func main() {
+	noCron, has := os.LookupEnv("BACKUP_NO_CRON")
+	if has && (noCron == "true" || noCron == "1") {
+		log.Println("BACKUP_NO_CRON set, running backup once, then exiting")
+		runBackup()
+		return
+	}
+
 	cr := cron.New()
-	_, err = cr.AddFunc(config.Schedule, func() {
-		updateFullBackupPath()
-
-		containers, err := getContainers(c)
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Fatalf("Could not get containers: %s", err)
-		}
-
-		storeContainers(c, containers)
-
-		err = cleanupOldBackups()
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Fatalf("Could not clean old backups: %s", err)
-		}
-
-		dumpAllDatabases(c)
-
-		err = callWebhook()
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Fatalf("Could not call completion webhook: %s", err)
-		}
-
-		log.Println("Done.")
-	})
+	_, err := cr.AddFunc(config.Schedule, runBackup)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("Could not create cron job: %s\n", err)
 	}