diff --git a/meta/classes/manpages.bbclass b/meta/classes/manpages.bbclass
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d16237b898
--- /dev/null
+++ b/meta/classes/manpages.bbclass
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Inherit this class to enable or disable building and installation of manpages
+# depending on whether 'api-documentation' is in DISTRO_FEATURES. Such building
+# tends to pull in the entire XML stack and other tools, so it's not enabled
+# by default.
+PACKAGECONFIG_append_class-target = " ${@bb.utils.contains('DISTRO_FEATURES', 'api-documentation', 'manpages', '', d)}"