diff --git a/lib/config/custom-build-vm.nix b/lib/config/custom-build-vm.nix
index e75180f..4ca0d9a 100644
--- a/lib/config/custom-build-vm.nix
+++ b/lib/config/custom-build-vm.nix
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@
         type = lib.types.bool;
         default = false;
       };
+
+      qemu.runInBackground = lib.mkOption {
+        type = lib.types.bool;
+        default = false;
+      };
     };
   };
 
@@ -46,11 +51,22 @@
                   vm
                 else
                   let
-                    prefix = lib.concatStringsSep " " (lib.optional config.virtualisation.runAsRoot "sudo");
+                    prefix =
+                      lib.concatStringsSep " " (
+                        lib.optionals config.virtualisation.runAsRoot (
+                          ["sudo"] ++
+                          lib.optional config.virtualisation.qemu.runInBackground "-b"));
+
+                    suffix =
+                      lib.concatStringsSep " " (
+                        lib.optional
+                          (!config.virtualisation.runAsRoot && config.virtualisation.qemu.runInBackground)
+                          "&");
+
                     wrapped = pkgs.writeShellApplication {
                       name = "run-${config.system.name}-vm";
                       text = ''
-                        ${prefix} ${vm}/bin/run-${config.system.name}-vm
+                        ${prefix} ${vm}/bin/run-${config.system.name}-vm ${suffix}
                       '';
                     };
                   in