--- a/src/idevicerestore.c
+++ b/src/idevicerestore.c
@@ -1136,7 +1136,8 @@ int idevicerestore_start(struct idevicerestore_client_t* client)
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (needs_os_extraction && !(client->flags & FLAG_SHSHONLY)) {
+	if (needs_os_extraction && !(client->flags & FLAG_SHSHONLY) &&
+	    !(client->flags & FLAG_NO_RESTORE)) {
 		char* tmpf = NULL;
 		struct stat st;
 		if (client->cache_dir) {