diff --git a/hb_internal/build/build_process.py b/hb_internal/build/build_process.py
index 20fc2cd5d29b6ca54827bc6db6b4d14f36ee1feb..f8c587ce528d3388a445c3d8f361616330911572 100755
--- a/hb_internal/build/build_process.py
+++ b/hb_internal/build/build_process.py
@@ -247,6 +247,7 @@ class Build():
         gn_cmd = [
             gn_path,
             'gen',
+            '--export-compile-commands',
             '--args={}'.format(" ".join(self._args_list)),
             self.config.out_path,
         ] + gn_args