diff --git a/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/boot/SetupContextListener.java b/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/boot/SetupContextListener.java
index 427e9f5dd7..d4f352e393 100644
--- a/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/boot/SetupContextListener.java
+++ b/scm-webapp/src/main/java/sonia/scm/boot/SetupContextListener.java
@@ -27,7 +27,10 @@ public class SetupContextListener implements ServletContextListener {
 
   @Override
   public void contextInitialized(ServletContextEvent sce) {
-    administrationContext.runAsAdmin(SetupAction.class);
+    String skipAdminCreation = System.getProperty("skipAdminCreation");
+    if (skipAdminCreation == null || "false".equalsIgnoreCase(skipAdminCreation)) {
+      administrationContext.runAsAdmin(SetupAction.class);
+    }
   }
 
   @Override