diff --git a/features.yaml b/features.yaml
index d14c6f43..658d974f 100644
--- a/features.yaml
+++ b/features.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ config:
     juno: [default, ceilometer, glance, horizon, nova, swift, cinder, keystone, heat, trove, sahara]
     icehouse: [default, ceilometer, glance, horizon, nova, swift, cinder, keystone, heat, trove]
     havana: [default, ceilometer, glance, horizon, nova, swift, cinder, keystone, heat]
+    # This can be used by functional jobs that only want their dependencies installed
+    # and don't need to incur the overhead of installing all services in the process.
+    no_services: [default]
   neutron:
     features: [neutron]
   # different backends
diff --git a/test-matrix.py b/test-matrix.py
index f47ee865..523a53e3 100755
--- a/test-matrix.py
+++ b/test-matrix.py
@@ -95,7 +95,10 @@ def calc_services(branch, features):
 def calc_features(branch, configs=[]):
     LOG.debug("Branch: %s" % branch)
     LOG.debug("Configs: %s" % configs)
-    features = set(GRID['config']['default'][branch])
+    if os.environ.get('DEVSTACK_GATE_NO_SERVICES') not in FALSE_VALUES:
+        features = set(GRID['config']['default']['no_services'])
+    else:
+        features = set(GRID['config']['default'][branch])
     # do all the adds first
     for config in configs:
         if config in GRID['config']: