diff --git a/agents.md b/agents.md
index ae28e341..c8483551 100644
--- a/agents.md
+++ b/agents.md
@@ -136,6 +136,7 @@ Key methods:
 - Use build tags for optional compilation
 - Add comprehensive tests
 - Handle errors gracefully
+- Add the no build directive, like the xml encoder and decoder, that enables a minimal yq builds. e.g.  `//go:build !yq_<format>`. Be sure to also updqate the build_small-yq.sh and build-tinygo-yq.sh to not include the new format.
 
 ❌ **DON'T:**
 - Modify `candidate_node.go` to add format-specific logic
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/decoder_hcl.go b/pkg/yqlib/decoder_hcl.go
index 3576e491..116d27b6 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/decoder_hcl.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/decoder_hcl.go
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+//go:build !yq_nohcl
+
 package yqlib
 
 import (
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/encoder_hcl.go b/pkg/yqlib/encoder_hcl.go
index 1d621f34..870cefa2 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/encoder_hcl.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/encoder_hcl.go
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+//go:build !yq_nohcl
+
 package yqlib
 
 import (
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/no_hcl.go b/pkg/yqlib/no_hcl.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a9ef3f9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/no_hcl.go
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+//go:build yq_nohcl
+
+package yqlib
+
+func NewHclDecoder() Decoder {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func NewHclEncoder() Encoder {
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/project-words.txt b/project-words.txt
index 97bb6a49..577ab603 100644
--- a/project-words.txt
+++ b/project-words.txt
@@ -268,6 +268,7 @@ tinygo
 nonexistent
 hclsyntax
 hclwrite
+nohcl
 zclconf
 cty
 go-cty
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/build-small-yq.sh b/scripts/build-small-yq.sh
index d6845e93..c21a2111 100755
--- a/scripts/build-small-yq.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-small-yq.sh
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-go build -tags "yq_nolua yq_noini yq_notoml yq_noxml yq_nojson" -ldflags "-s -w" .
\ No newline at end of file
+go build -tags "yq_nolua yq_noini yq_notoml yq_noxml yq_nojson yq_nohcl" -ldflags "-s -w" .
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/build-tinygo-yq.sh b/scripts/build-tinygo-yq.sh
index 043a362d..620cba8a 100755
--- a/scripts/build-tinygo-yq.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-tinygo-yq.sh
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
 # Currently, the `yq_nojson` feature must be enabled when using TinyGo.
-tinygo build -no-debug -tags "yq_nolua yq_noini yq_notoml yq_noxml yq_nojson yq_nocsv yq_nobase64 yq_nouri yq_noprops yq_nosh yq_noshell" .
\ No newline at end of file
+tinygo build -no-debug -tags "yq_nolua yq_noini yq_notoml yq_noxml yq_nojson yq_nocsv yq_nobase64 yq_nouri yq_noprops yq_nosh yq_noshell yq_nohcl" .
\ No newline at end of file