diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 7df733d2c..a19ee32ad 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -41,6 +41,14 @@ ARG SETTINGS=./settings.json.docker
 #   ETHERPAD_PLUGINS="ep_codepad ep_author_neat"
 ARG ETHERPAD_PLUGINS=
 
+# local plugins to install while building the container. By default no plugins are
+# installed.
+# If given a value, it has to be a space-separated, quoted list of plugin names.
+#
+# EXAMPLE:
+#   ETHERPAD_LOCAL_PLUGINS="../ep_my_plugin ../ep_another_plugin"
+ARG ETHERPAD_LOCAL_PLUGINS=
+
 # Control whether abiword will be installed, enabling exports to DOC/PDF/ODT formats.
 # By default, it is not installed.
 # If given any value, abiword will be installed.
@@ -110,7 +118,10 @@ COPY --chown=etherpad:etherpad ./src/package.json .npmrc ./src/
 COPY --chown=etherpad:etherpad --from=adminBuild /opt/etherpad-lite/admin/dist ./src/templates/admin
 
 RUN bin/installDeps.sh && \
-    { [ -z "${ETHERPAD_PLUGINS}" ] || pnpm run install-plugins ${ETHERPAD_PLUGINS}; }
+    if [ ! -z "${ETHERPAD_PLUGINS}" ] || [ ! -z "${ETHERPAD_LOCAL_PLUGINS}" ]; then \
+        pnpm run install-plugins ${ETHERPAD_PLUGINS} ${ETHERPAD_LOCAL_PLUGINS:+--path ${ETHERPAD_LOCAL_PLUGINS}}; \
+    fi
+
 
 FROM build as production
 
@@ -121,7 +132,9 @@ COPY --chown=etherpad:etherpad ./src ./src
 COPY --chown=etherpad:etherpad --from=adminBuild /opt/etherpad-lite/admin/dist ./src/templates/admin
 
 RUN bin/installDeps.sh && rm -rf ~/.npm && \
-    { [ -z "${ETHERPAD_PLUGINS}" ] || pnpm run install-plugins ${ETHERPAD_PLUGINS}; }
+    if [ ! -z "${ETHERPAD_PLUGINS}" ] || [ ! -z "${ETHERPAD_LOCAL_PLUGINS}" ]; then \
+        pnpm run install-plugins ${ETHERPAD_PLUGINS} ${ETHERPAD_LOCAL_PLUGINS:+--path ${ETHERPAD_LOCAL_PLUGINS}}; \
+    fi
 
 
 # Copy the configuration file.
diff --git a/bin/installPlugins.ts b/bin/installPlugins.ts
index 8a6a71345..2d4f63355 100644
--- a/bin/installPlugins.ts
+++ b/bin/installPlugins.ts
@@ -10,18 +10,19 @@ if (process.argv.length === 2) {
   process.exit(1);
 }
 
-let plugins = process.argv.slice(2)
-let installFromPath = false;
+let args = process.argv.slice(2)
 
-const thirdOptPlug = plugins[0]
+let registryPlugins: string[] = [];
+let localPlugins: string[] = [];
 
-console.log("Third option: ", thirdOptPlug)
-if (thirdOptPlug && thirdOptPlug.includes('path')) {
-  installFromPath = true
-  plugins.splice(plugins.indexOf('--path'), 1);
+if (args.indexOf('--path') !== -1) {
+  const indexToSplit = args.indexOf('--path');
+  registryPlugins = args.slice(0, indexToSplit);
+  localPlugins = args.slice(indexToSplit + 1);
+} else {
+  registryPlugins = args;
 }
 
-
 const persistInstalledPlugins = async () => {
   const plugins:PackageData[] = []
     const installedPlugins = {plugins: plugins};
@@ -36,15 +37,15 @@ const persistInstalledPlugins = async () => {
 };
 
 async function run() {
-  for (const plugin of plugins) {
-    if(installFromPath) {
-      console.log(`Installing plugin from path: ${plugin}`);
-        await linkInstaller.installFromPath(plugin);
-        continue;
-    }
+  for (const plugin of registryPlugins) {
     console.log(`Installing plugin from registry: ${plugin}`)
     await linkInstaller.installPlugin(plugin);
   }
+
+  for (const plugin of localPlugins) {
+    console.log(`Installing plugin from path: ${plugin}`);
+    await linkInstaller.installFromPath(plugin);
+  }
 }
 
 (async () => {