diff --git a/apis/c/operator/build.rs b/apis/c/operator/build.rs
index d159adb1..a9b4adfd 100644
--- a/apis/c/operator/build.rs
+++ b/apis/c/operator/build.rs
@@ -3,4 +3,9 @@ use std::path::Path;
 fn main() {
     dora_operator_api_types::generate_headers(Path::new("operator_types.h"))
         .expect("failed to create operator_api.h");
+
+    // don't rebuild on changes (otherwise we rebuild on every run as we're
+    // writing the `operator_types.h` file; cargo will still rerun this script
+    // when the `dora_operator_api_types` crate changes)
+    println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=");
 }