diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 830f6131abd0de..6ffdf837ef21c3 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ default = [
   "hdr",
   "mp3",
   "x11",
+  "filesystem_watcher"
 ]
 
 # Force dynamic linking, which improves iterative compile times
@@ -68,6 +69,9 @@ mp3 = ["bevy_internal/mp3"]
 vorbis = ["bevy_internal/vorbis"]
 wav = ["bevy_internal/wav"]
 
+# Enable watching file system for asset hot reload
+filesystem_watcher = ["bevy_internal/filesystem_watcher"]
+
 # WASM support for audio (Currently only works with flac, wav and vorbis. Not with mp3)
 wasm_audio = ["bevy_internal/wasm_audio"]
 
diff --git a/crates/bevy_asset/src/io/file_asset_io.rs b/crates/bevy_asset/src/io/file_asset_io.rs
index ee23a6c730c437..efebb81e49ff38 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_asset/src/io/file_asset_io.rs
+++ b/crates/bevy_asset/src/io/file_asset_io.rs
@@ -1,15 +1,23 @@
-use crate::{filesystem_watcher::FilesystemWatcher, AssetIo, AssetIoError, AssetServer};
+#[cfg(feature = "filesystem_watcher")]
+use crate::{filesystem_watcher::FilesystemWatcher, AssetServer};
+use crate::{AssetIo, AssetIoError};
 use anyhow::Result;
+#[cfg(feature = "filesystem_watcher")]
 use bevy_ecs::system::Res;
-use bevy_utils::{BoxedFuture, HashSet};
+use bevy_utils::BoxedFuture;
+#[cfg(feature = "filesystem_watcher")]
+use bevy_utils::HashSet;
+#[cfg(feature = "filesystem_watcher")]
 use crossbeam_channel::TryRecvError;
 use fs::File;
-use io::Read;
+#[cfg(feature = "filesystem_watcher")]
 use parking_lot::RwLock;
+#[cfg(feature = "filesystem_watcher")]
+use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::{
-    env, fs, io,
+    env, fs,
+    io::Read,
     path::{Path, PathBuf},
-    sync::Arc,
 };
 
 pub struct FileAssetIo {
@@ -21,6 +29,7 @@ pub struct FileAssetIo {
 impl FileAssetIo {
     pub fn new<P: AsRef<Path>>(path: P) -> Self {
         FileAssetIo {
+            #[cfg(feature = "filesystem_watcher")]
             filesystem_watcher: Default::default(),
             root_path: Self::get_root_path().join(path.as_ref()),
         }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_audio/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_audio/Cargo.toml
index 2e780270dbca0b..71c30db26f0fc1 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_audio/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_audio/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ keywords = ["bevy"]
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
-bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0", default-features = false }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_reflect = { path = "../bevy_reflect", version = "0.5.0", features = ["bevy"] }
 bevy_utils = { path = "../bevy_utils", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_core/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_core/Cargo.toml
index 6579d619610ef3..c94dd5ffc8320d 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_core/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_core/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ keywords = ["bevy"]
 
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
-bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0", features = ["bevy_reflect"] }
 bevy_derive = { path = "../bevy_derive", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.5.0", features = ["bevy_reflect"] }
 bevy_math = { path = "../bevy_math", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_gltf/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_gltf/Cargo.toml
index 850c031633adaf..5aabd5b3ac7e33 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_gltf/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_gltf/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ keywords = ["bevy"]
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
-bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0", default-features = false }
 bevy_core = { path = "../bevy_core", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_pbr = { path = "../bevy_pbr", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_internal/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_internal/Cargo.toml
index 3ae9121fb7715a..5deceb022120d2 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_internal/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_internal/Cargo.toml
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ wav = ["bevy_audio/wav"]
 # WASM support for audio
 wasm_audio = ["bevy_audio/wasm_audio"]
 
+# Enable watching file system for asset hot reload
+filesystem_watcher = ["bevy_asset/filesystem_watcher"]
+
 serialize = ["bevy_input/serialize"]
 
 # Display server protocol support (X11 is enabled by default)
@@ -47,7 +50,7 @@ bevy_ci_testing = ["bevy_app/bevy_ci_testing"]
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
-bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0", default-features = false }
 bevy_core = { path = "../bevy_core", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_derive = { path = "../bevy_derive", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_diagnostic = { path = "../bevy_diagnostic", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_pbr/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_pbr/Cargo.toml
index b978fcf2fa4b61..a5d804bf7c2ba4 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_pbr/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_pbr/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ keywords = ["bevy"]
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
-bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0", default-features = false }
 bevy_core = { path = "../bevy_core", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_math = { path = "../bevy_math", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_render/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_render/Cargo.toml
index 6dbad550a95fbc..67674585c30795 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_render/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_render/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ keywords = ["bevy"]
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
-bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0", default-features = false }
 bevy_core = { path = "../bevy_core", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_derive = { path = "../bevy_derive", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_scene/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_scene/Cargo.toml
index 8b39b191a86e02..a2b5e9352f87a9 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_scene/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_scene/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ keywords = ["bevy"]
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
-bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0", default-features = false }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_reflect = { path = "../bevy_reflect", version = "0.5.0", features = ["bevy"] }
 bevy_transform = { path = "../bevy_transform", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_sprite/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_sprite/Cargo.toml
index 4b1097c8ee1534..c3c92f6706dac9 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_sprite/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_sprite/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ keywords = ["bevy"]
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
-bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0", default-features = false }
 bevy_core = { path = "../bevy_core", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_log = { path = "../bevy_log", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_text/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_text/Cargo.toml
index 613e50f93be408..6647e45f68426d 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_text/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_text/Cargo.toml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ subpixel_glyph_atlas = []
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
-bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0", default-features = false }
 bevy_core = { path = "../bevy_core", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_math = { path = "../bevy_math", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_ui/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_ui/Cargo.toml
index ab2f886e814e9e..204ea1d1b0d04c 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_ui/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_ui/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ keywords = ["bevy"]
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
-bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0", default-features = false }
 bevy_core = { path = "../bevy_core", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_input = { path = "../bevy_input", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_wgpu/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_wgpu/Cargo.toml
index ad9dc720190cfe..2c9fbd3de44b4b 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_wgpu/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_wgpu/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ trace = ["wgpu/trace"]
 [dependencies]
 # bevy
 bevy_app = { path = "../bevy_app", version = "0.5.0" }
-bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0" }
+bevy_asset = { path = "../bevy_asset", version = "0.5.0", default-features = false }
 bevy_core = { path = "../bevy_core", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_diagnostic = { path = "../bevy_diagnostic", version = "0.5.0" }
 bevy_ecs = { path = "../bevy_ecs", version = "0.5.0" }
diff --git a/docs/cargo_features.md b/docs/cargo_features.md
index 839515e17da376..0a681f7b4f67db 100644
--- a/docs/cargo_features.md
+++ b/docs/cargo_features.md
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 |hdr|[HDR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range) support.|
 |mp3|MP3 audio format support.|
 |x11|Make GUI applications use X11 protocol. You could enable wayland feature to override this.|
+|filesystem_watcher|Enable watching the file system for asset hot reload|
 
 ## Optional Features