diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md
index 025dcdb0a7508..8ea0de0ecd5ef 100644
--- a/docs/README.md
+++ b/docs/README.md
@@ -37,6 +37,14 @@ Then build the docs from source:
 $ ./build_docs.sh
 ```
 
+The shell `./build_docs.sh` will integrate external connector docs, referencing `setup_docs.sh#integrate_connector_docs`.
+This process involves cloning the repo of some external connectors, which can be time-consuming and prone to network issues.
+So, if the connector docs have been synced before, and you wish to skip this step, you can do so by adding the following arg:
+
+```sh
+$ ./build_docs.sh --skip-integrate-connector-docs
+```
+
 The site can be viewed at http://localhost:1313/
 
 ## Include externally hosted documentation
diff --git a/docs/build_docs.sh b/docs/build_docs.sh
index 80f7d0e251580..a06c7dc302b1b 100755
--- a/docs/build_docs.sh
+++ b/docs/build_docs.sh
@@ -24,6 +24,19 @@ then
 	exit 1
 fi
 git submodule update --init --recursive
-./setup_docs.sh
+
+# whether to skip integrate connector docs. If contains arg '--skip-integrate-connector-docs' and
+# the connectors directory is not empty, the external connector docs will not be generated.
+connectors_dir="./themes/connectors"
+SKIP_INTEGRATE_CONNECTOR_DOCS=""
+for arg in "$@"; do
+  if [ -d "$connectors_dir" ] && [ "$arg" == "--skip-integrate-connector-docs" ]; then
+    SKIP_INTEGRATE_CONNECTOR_DOCS="--skip-integrate-connector-docs"
+    break
+  fi
+done
+
+./setup_docs.sh $SKIP_INTEGRATE_CONNECTOR_DOCS
+
 hugo mod get -u
 hugo -b "" serve 
diff --git a/docs/setup_docs.sh b/docs/setup_docs.sh
index bd186e1006b0b..dd6d9750f6064 100755
--- a/docs/setup_docs.sh
+++ b/docs/setup_docs.sh
@@ -36,24 +36,33 @@ function integrate_connector_docs {
 }
 
 
+SKIP_INTEGRATE_CONNECTOR_DOCS=false
+for arg in "$@"; do
+  if [ "$arg" == "--skip-integrate-connector-docs" ]; then
+    SKIP_INTEGRATE_CONNECTOR_DOCS=true
+    break
+  fi
+done
+
 # Integrate the connector documentation
+if [ "$SKIP_INTEGRATE_CONNECTOR_DOCS" = false ]; then
+  rm -rf themes/connectors/*
+  rm -rf tmp
+  mkdir tmp
+  cd tmp
+
+  integrate_connector_docs elasticsearch v3.0
+  integrate_connector_docs aws v4.2
+  integrate_connector_docs cassandra v3.1
+  integrate_connector_docs pulsar v4.0
+  integrate_connector_docs jdbc v3.1
+  integrate_connector_docs rabbitmq v3.0
+  integrate_connector_docs gcp-pubsub v3.0
+  integrate_connector_docs mongodb v1.1
+  integrate_connector_docs opensearch v1.1
+  integrate_connector_docs kafka v3.0
+  integrate_connector_docs hbase v3.0
 
-rm -rf themes/connectors/*
-rm -rf tmp
-mkdir tmp
-cd tmp
-
-integrate_connector_docs elasticsearch v3.0
-integrate_connector_docs aws v4.2
-integrate_connector_docs cassandra v3.1
-integrate_connector_docs pulsar v4.0
-integrate_connector_docs jdbc v3.1
-integrate_connector_docs rabbitmq v3.0
-integrate_connector_docs gcp-pubsub v3.0
-integrate_connector_docs mongodb v1.1
-integrate_connector_docs opensearch v1.1
-integrate_connector_docs kafka v3.0
-integrate_connector_docs hbase v3.0
-
-cd ..
-rm -rf tmp
+  cd ..
+  rm -rf tmp
+fi