diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 530a02d..28b9c0b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -52,32 +52,17 @@ test:
 
 # Generate expected test outputs from test inputs
 generate-test-outputs:
-	@rm -rf tests/outputs_basic
-	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/basic --out tests/outputs/basic
-
-	@rm -rf tests/outputs_with_imports
-	@uv run efemel process "*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/with_imports --out tests/outputs/with_imports --env prod
-
-	@rm -rf tests/outputs_basic_flattened
-	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/basic --out tests/outputs/flattened --flatten
-
-	@rm -rf tests/outputs_basic_with_hooks
-	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/basic --out tests/outputs/with_hooks --hooks tests/hooks/before_after/output_filename.py
-
-	@rm -rf tests/outputs/with_hooks_dir
-	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/basic --out tests/outputs/with_hooks_dir --hooks tests/hooks/multiple
-
-	@rm -rf tests/outputs/process_data_pick
-	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/process_data --out tests/outputs/process_data_pick --pick user_data
-
-	@rm -rf tests/outputs/process_data_unwrap
-	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/process_data --out tests/outputs/process_data_unwrap --unwrap user_data
-
-	@rm -rf tests/outputs/with_params
-	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/with_params --out tests/outputs/with_params --param app_name=myapp --param version=2.0.0 --param debug_mode=true --param port=8080 --param 'database_config={"host":"prod-db","port":5432}' --param memory_mb=512
-
-	@rm -rf tests/outputs/with_params_file
-	@uv run efemel process "config.py" --cwd tests/inputs/with_params_file --out tests/outputs/with_params_file --params-file tests/params/params.py
+	mkdir -p tests/outputs/dry_run
+	touch tests/outputs/dry_run/.gitkeep
+	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/basic --out tests/outputs/basic --clean
+	@uv run efemel process "*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/with_imports --out tests/outputs/with_imports --env prod --clean
+	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/basic --out tests/outputs/flattened --flatten --clean
+	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/basic --out tests/outputs/with_hooks --hooks tests/hooks/before_after/output_filename.py --clean
+	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/basic --out tests/outputs/with_hooks_dir --hooks tests/hooks/multiple --clean
+	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/process_data --out tests/outputs/process_data_pick --pick user_data --clean
+	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/process_data --out tests/outputs/process_data_unwrap --unwrap user_data --clean
+	@uv run efemel process "**/*.py" --cwd tests/inputs/with_params --out tests/outputs/with_params --param app_name=myapp --param version=2.0.0 --param debug_mode=true --param port=8080 --param 'database_config={"host":"prod-db","port":5432}' --param memory_mb=512 --clean
+	@uv run efemel process "config.py" --cwd tests/inputs/with_params_file --out tests/outputs/with_params_file --params-file tests/params/params.py --clean
 
 
 # Clean build artifacts and cache files
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e9fac95..31717c0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -349,6 +349,8 @@ efemel process config.py --out output/ --params-file params.py
 | `--workers` | `-w` | `int` | No | `CPU_COUNT` | Number of parallel workers |
 | `--hooks` | `-h` | `str` | No | `None` | Path to hooks file or directory |
 | `--flatten` | `-f` | `flag` | No | `False` | Flatten directory structure |
+| `--clean` | - | `flag` | No | `False` | Clean (delete) the output directory before processing |
+| `--dry-run` | - | `flag` | No | `False` | Show what would be processed without writing files |
 | `--pick` | `-p` | `str` | No | `None` | Pick specific keys from the extracted data (can be used multiple times) |
 | `--unwrap` | `-u` | `str` | No | `None` | Extract specific values from the processed data, merging them (can be used multiple times) |
 | `--param` | `-P` | `str` | No | `None` | Pass custom parameters to processed scripts in key=value format (can be used multiple times) |
diff --git a/efemel/cli.py b/efemel/cli.py
index afdfa3f..385bcbe 100644
--- a/efemel/cli.py
+++ b/efemel/cli.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import os
+import shutil
 from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completed
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -11,6 +12,7 @@
 from efemel.readers.local import LocalReader
 from efemel.transformers.json import JSONTransformer
 from efemel.writers.local import LocalWriter
+from efemel.writers.sink import SinkWriter
 
 DEFAULT_WORKERS = os.cpu_count() or 1
 
@@ -73,12 +75,27 @@ def info():
   type=click.Path(exists=True, readable=True, resolve_path=True),
   help="Path to a Python file that will be processed to extract parameters for other files",
 )
-def process(file_pattern, out, flatten, cwd, env, workers, hooks, pick, unwrap, param, params_file):
+@click.option(
+  "--clean",
+  is_flag=True,
+  default=False,
+  help="Clean (delete) the output directory before processing",
+)
+@click.option(
+  "--dry-run",
+  is_flag=True,
+  default=False,
+  help="Show what would be processed without writing files",
+)
+def process(file_pattern, out, flatten, cwd, env, workers, hooks, pick, unwrap, param, params_file, clean, dry_run):
   """Process Python files and extract serializable variables to JSON.
 
   FILE_PATTERN: Glob pattern to match Python files (e.g., "**/*.py")
   """
 
+  if dry_run:
+    click.echo("Dry run mode enabled. No files will be written.")
+
   # Parse custom parameters
   custom_params = {}
 
@@ -124,7 +141,7 @@ def process(file_pattern, out, flatten, cwd, env, workers, hooks, pick, unwrap,
 
   reader = LocalReader(cwd)
   transformer = JSONTransformer()
-  writer = LocalWriter(out, reader.original_cwd)
+  writer = LocalWriter(out, reader.original_cwd) if not dry_run else SinkWriter(out, reader.original_cwd)
 
   if flatten:
     # Add the flatten_output_path hook to the hooks manager
@@ -160,6 +177,17 @@ def process(file_pattern, out, flatten, cwd, env, workers, hooks, pick, unwrap,
     click.echo("No files found matching the pattern.")
     return
 
+  # Clean output directory if requested
+  output_path = Path(out)
+  if clean and not dry_run:
+    if output_path.exists():
+      click.echo(f"Cleaning output directory: {output_path}")
+      shutil.rmtree(output_path)
+      click.echo("Output directory cleaned successfully.")
+
+  # Ensure the output directory exists for writing
+  output_path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+
   def process_single_file(file_path: Path, cwd: Path):  # Added type hint for clarity
     """Process a single file and return results."""
     try:
diff --git a/efemel/writers/__init__.py b/efemel/writers/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7304d69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/efemel/writers/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+from .local import LocalWriter
+from .sink import SinkWriter
+
+__all__ = ["LocalWriter", "SinkWriter"]
diff --git a/efemel/writers/sink.py b/efemel/writers/sink.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6ec3bfa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/efemel/writers/sink.py
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+class SinkWriter:
+  def __init__(self, output_dir: str, cwd: Path | None = None):
+    """
+    Initialize the SinkWriter.
+    This class mimics LocalWriter but doesn't actually write files - used for dry runs.
+    """
+    self.output_dir = Path(output_dir)
+
+    # If output path is relative, make it relative to original working directory
+    if not self.output_dir.is_absolute():
+      self.output_dir = cwd / self.output_dir
+
+  def write(self, data: str, file_path: Path) -> Path:
+    """
+    Simulate writing data to a file without actually writing it.
+    Returns the path where the file would have been written.
+
+    :param data: The data that would be written (ignored).
+    :param file_path: The path to the file where the data would be written.
+    :return: The path where the file would have been written.
+    """
+    output_file = self.output_dir / file_path.with_suffix(".json")
+    return output_file
diff --git a/tests/outputs/dry_run/.gitkeep b/tests/outputs/dry_run/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b13789
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/outputs/dry_run/.gitkeep
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index 64ca0bc..f4e348e 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -89,6 +89,12 @@ def get_test_scenarios():
       ],
       "assets": ["params/params.py"],
     },
+    {
+      "name": "dry run",
+      "inputs_dir": test_dir / "inputs/basic",
+      "outputs_dir": test_dir / "outputs/dry_run",
+      "process_args": ["--dry-run"],
+    },
   ]
 
 
diff --git a/wiki/Home.md b/wiki/Home.md
index 54f357a..67e3636 100644
--- a/wiki/Home.md
+++ b/wiki/Home.md
@@ -349,6 +349,8 @@ efemel process config.py --out output/ --params-file params.py
 | `--workers` | `-w` | `int` | No | `CPU_COUNT` | Number of parallel workers |
 | `--hooks` | `-h` | `str` | No | `None` | Path to hooks file or directory |
 | `--flatten` | `-f` | `flag` | No | `False` | Flatten directory structure |
+| `--clean` | - | `flag` | No | `False` | Clean (delete) the output directory before processing |
+| `--dry-run` | - | `flag` | No | `False` | Show what would be processed without writing files |
 | `--pick` | `-p` | `str` | No | `None` | Pick specific keys from the extracted data (can be used multiple times) |
 | `--unwrap` | `-u` | `str` | No | `None` | Extract specific values from the processed data, merging them (can be used multiple times) |
 | `--param` | `-P` | `str` | No | `None` | Pass custom parameters to processed scripts in key=value format (can be used multiple times) |