diff --git a/.changes/fix-no-sign-option.md b/.changes/fix-no-sign-option.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..71352c5ee8f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/fix-no-sign-option.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+tauri-cli: patch:bug
+---
+
+Fixed an issue that caused the cli to error out with missing private key, in case the option `--no-sign` was requested and the `tauri.config` has signing key set and the plugin `tauri-plugin-updater` is used.
+
diff --git a/crates/tauri-cli/src/bundle.rs b/crates/tauri-cli/src/bundle.rs
index e48aee197d9c..890386cd71fc 100644
--- a/crates/tauri-cli/src/bundle.rs
+++ b/crates/tauri-cli/src/bundle.rs
@@ -249,6 +249,11 @@ fn sign_updaters(
     return Ok(());
   }
 
+  if settings.no_sign() {
+    log::warn!("Updater signing is skipped due to --no-sign flag.");
+    return Ok(());
+  }
+
   // get the public key
   let pubkey = &update_settings.pubkey;
   // check if pubkey points to a file...