diff --git a/server/shadow/CMakeLists.txt b/server/shadow/CMakeLists.txt
index 1d7818f09..d90f83807 100644
--- a/server/shadow/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/server/shadow/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -124,17 +124,10 @@ set_property(TARGET ${MODULE_NAME} PROPERTY FOLDER "Server/shadow")
 
 # command-line executable
 
-set(MODULE_NAME "freerdp-shadow-cli")
-
-set(SRCS shadow.c)
-
-addtargetwithresourcefile(${MODULE_NAME} TRUE "${FREERDP_VERSION}" SRCS)
-
-list(APPEND LIBS freerdp-shadow-subsystem freerdp-shadow freerdp winpr)
-
-target_link_libraries(${MODULE_NAME} PRIVATE ${LIBS})
-
-install(TARGETS ${MODULE_NAME} DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR} COMPONENT server)
+option(WITH_SERVER_SHADOW_CLI "Build shadow server cli tool" ON)
+if(WITH_SERVER_SHADOW_CLI)
+  add_subdirectory(cli)
+endif()
 
 set_property(TARGET ${MODULE_NAME} PROPERTY FOLDER "Server/shadow")
 
@@ -144,8 +137,6 @@ cleaning_configure_file(
   ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/freerdp-shadow${FREERDP_VERSION_MAJOR}.pc @ONLY
 )
 
-generate_and_install_freerdp_man_from_template(${MODULE_NAME} "1" "${FREERDP_API_VERSION}")
-
 install(FILES ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/freerdp-shadow${FREERDP_VERSION_MAJOR}.pc
         DESTINATION ${PKG_CONFIG_PC_INSTALL_DIR}
 )
diff --git a/server/shadow/cli/CMakeLists.txt b/server/shadow/cli/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..22fce0f6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/shadow/cli/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# FreeRDP: A Remote Desktop Protocol Implementation
+# FreeRDP Shadow Server cmake build script
+#
+# Copyright 2025 Armin Novak <anoavk@thincast.com>
+# Copyright Thincast Technologies GmbH
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#	 http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+set(MODULE_NAME "freerdp-shadow-cli")
+
+set(SRCS shadow.c)
+
+addtargetwithresourcefile(${MODULE_NAME} TRUE "${FREERDP_VERSION}" SRCS)
+
+list(APPEND LIBS freerdp-shadow-subsystem freerdp-shadow freerdp winpr)
+
+target_link_libraries(${MODULE_NAME} PRIVATE ${LIBS})
+
+install(TARGETS ${MODULE_NAME} DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR} COMPONENT server)
+generate_and_install_freerdp_man_from_template(${MODULE_NAME} "1" "${FREERDP_API_VERSION}")
diff --git a/server/shadow/freerdp-shadow-cli.1.in b/server/shadow/cli/freerdp-shadow-cli.1.in
similarity index 100%
rename from server/shadow/freerdp-shadow-cli.1.in
rename to server/shadow/cli/freerdp-shadow-cli.1.in
diff --git a/server/shadow/shadow.c b/server/shadow/cli/shadow.c
similarity index 100%
rename from server/shadow/shadow.c
rename to server/shadow/cli/shadow.c