diff --git a/tools/ci/backend b/tools/ci/backend
index 1c698fcdd7..1ea7251972 100755
--- a/tools/ci/backend
+++ b/tools/ci/backend
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ echo "Test suite is running under $(python --version)."
 set -e
 set -x
 
-./tools/lint --backend --no-gitlint --no-mypy  # gitlint disabled because flaky
+./tools/lint --backend --skip=gitlint,mypy  # gitlint disabled because flaky
 ./tools/test-tools
 # We need to pass a parallel level to test-backend because CircleCI's
 # docker setup means the auto-detection logic sees the ~36 processes
diff --git a/tools/ci/frontend b/tools/ci/frontend
index e78e4c5da8..22e0866f39 100755
--- a/tools/ci/frontend
+++ b/tools/ci/frontend
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ source tools/ci/activate-venv
 set -e
 set -x
 
-./tools/lint --frontend --no-gitlint  # gitlint disabled because flaky
+./tools/lint --frontend --skip=gitlint  # gitlint disabled because flaky
 
 # Run the node tests first, since they're fast and deterministic
 ./tools/test-js-with-node --coverage
diff --git a/tools/lint b/tools/lint
index 60412404de..bd58150e4a 100755
--- a/tools/lint
+++ b/tools/lint
@@ -25,12 +25,6 @@ def run():
     parser.add_argument('--full',
                         action='store_true',
                         help='Check some things we typically ignore')
-    parser.add_argument('--no-gitlint',
-                        action='store_true',
-                        help='Disable gitlint')
-    parser.add_argument('--no-mypy',
-                        action='store_true',
-                        help='Disable mypy')
     limited_tests_group = parser.add_mutually_exclusive_group()
     limited_tests_group.add_argument('--frontend',
                                      action='store_true',
@@ -96,14 +90,14 @@ def run():
     linter_config.external_linter('templates', ['tools/check-templates'], ['handlebars', 'html'])
     linter_config.external_linter('swagger', ['node', 'tools/check-swagger'], ['yaml'])
     linter_config.external_linter('shellcheck', ['shellcheck', '-x'], ['sh'])
-    if not args.no_mypy:
+    if 'mypy' not in args.skip:
         command = ['tools/run-mypy']
         if args.force:
             command.append('--force')
         linter_config.external_linter('mypy', command, ['py'], pass_targets=False)
 
     # Disabled check for imperative mood until it is stabilized
-    if not args.no_gitlint:
+    if 'gitlint' not in args.skip:
         linter_config.external_linter('commit_messages', ['tools/commit-message-lint'])
 
     @linter_config.lint
diff --git a/tools/pre-commit b/tools/pre-commit
index a2f25d927c..24eab091ec 100755
--- a/tools/pre-commit
+++ b/tools/pre-commit
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@ if [ ${#changed_files} -eq 0 ]; then
 fi
 
 if [ -z "$VIRTUAL_ENV" ] && command -v vagrant > /dev/null && [ -e .vagrant ]; then
-    vcmd="/srv/zulip/tools/lint --no-gitlint --force $(printf '%q ' "${changed_files[@]}") || true"
+    vcmd="/srv/zulip/tools/lint --skip=gitlint --force $(printf '%q ' "${changed_files[@]}") || true"
     echo "Running lint using vagrant..."
     vagrant ssh -c "$vcmd"
 else
-    ./tools/lint --no-gitlint --force "${changed_files[@]}" || true
+    ./tools/lint --skip=gitlint --force "${changed_files[@]}" || true
 fi
 exit 0
diff --git a/tools/zulint/command.py b/tools/zulint/command.py
index c88d3c2f8f..833edba15b 100644
--- a/tools/zulint/command.py
+++ b/tools/zulint/command.py
@@ -26,6 +26,14 @@ def add_default_linter_arguments(parser):
     parser.add_argument('targets',
                         nargs='*',
                         help='Specify directories to check')
+    parser.add_argument('--skip',
+                        default=[],
+                        type=split_arg_into_list,
+                        help='Specify linters to skip, eg: --skip=mypy,gitlint')
+
+def split_arg_into_list(arg):
+    # type: (str) -> List[str]
+    return [linter for linter in arg.split(',')]
 
 def run_parallel(lint_functions):
     # type: (Dict[str, Callable[[], int]]) -> bool