diff --git a/doc/05-repositories.md b/doc/05-repositories.md
index 7ab8b9da76d5..5f9142a6c71f 100644
--- a/doc/05-repositories.md
+++ b/doc/05-repositories.md
@@ -755,6 +755,31 @@ variables are parsed in both Windows and Linux/Mac notations. For example
 > **Note:** Repository paths can also contain wildcards like `*` and `?`.
 > For details, see the [PHP glob function](https://php.net/glob).
 
+You can configure the way the package's dist reference (which appears in
+the composer.lock file) is built.
+
+There are the following options:
+- `null` - reference will be always null. This can help reduce lock file conflicts
+  in the lock file but reduces clarity as to when the last update happened and whether
+  the package is in the latest state.
+- `config` - reference is built based on a hash of the package's composer.json and repo config
+- `auto` (used by default) - reference is built basing on the hash like with `config`, but if
+  the package folder contains a git repository, the HEAD commit's hash is used as reference instead.
+
+```json
+{
+    "repositories": [
+        {
+            "type": "path",
+            "url": "../../packages/my-package",
+            "options": {
+                "reference": "config"
+            }
+        }
+    ]
+}
+```
+
 ## Disabling Packagist.org
 
 You can disable the default Packagist.org repository by adding this to your
diff --git a/src/Composer/Repository/PathRepository.php b/src/Composer/Repository/PathRepository.php
index bd32d3612d6c..7134499298d7 100644
--- a/src/Composer/Repository/PathRepository.php
+++ b/src/Composer/Repository/PathRepository.php
@@ -56,6 +56,13 @@
  *             "symlink": false
  *         }
  *     },
+ *     {
+ *         "type": "path",
+ *         "url": "../../relative/path/to/package/",
+ *         "options": {
+ *             "reference": "none"
+ *         }
+ *     },
  * ]
  * @endcode
  *
@@ -81,7 +88,7 @@ class PathRepository extends ArrayRepository implements ConfigurableRepositoryIn
 
     /**
      * @var mixed[]
-     * @phpstan-var array{url: string, options?: array{symlink?: bool, relative?: bool, versions?: array<string, string>}}
+     * @phpstan-var array{url: string, options?: array{symlink?: bool, reference?: string, relative?: bool, versions?: array<string, string>}}
      */
     private $repoConfig;
 
@@ -91,14 +98,14 @@ class PathRepository extends ArrayRepository implements ConfigurableRepositoryIn
     private $process;
 
     /**
-     * @var array{symlink?: bool, relative?: bool, versions?: array<string, string>}
+     * @var array{symlink?: bool, reference?: string, relative?: bool, versions?: array<string, string>}
      */
     private $options;
 
     /**
      * Initializes path repository.
      *
-     * @param array{url?: string, options?: array{symlink?: bool, relative?: bool, versions?: array<string, string>}} $repoConfig
+     * @param array{url?: string, options?: array{symlink?: bool, reference?: string, relative?: bool, versions?: array<string, string>}} $repoConfig
      * @param IOInterface $io
      * @param Config      $config
      */
@@ -171,12 +178,16 @@ protected function initialize()
             $package['dist'] = array(
                 'type' => 'path',
                 'url' => $url,
-                'reference' => sha1($json . serialize($this->options)),
             );
+            $reference = $this->options['reference'] ?? 'auto';
+            if ('none' === $reference) {
+                $package['dist']['reference'] = null;
+            } elseif ('config' === $reference || 'auto' === $reference) {
+                $package['dist']['reference'] = sha1($json . serialize($this->options));
+            }
 
             // copy symlink/relative options to transport options
             $package['transport-options'] = array_intersect_key($this->options, array('symlink' => true, 'relative' => true));
-
             // use the version provided as option if available
             if (isset($package['name'], $this->options['versions'][$package['name']])) {
                 $package['version'] = $this->options['versions'][$package['name']];
@@ -194,7 +205,7 @@ protected function initialize()
             }
 
             $output = '';
-            if (is_dir($path . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . '.git') && 0 === $this->process->execute('git log -n1 --pretty=%H'.GitUtil::getNoShowSignatureFlag($this->process), $output, $path)) {
+            if ('auto' === $reference && is_dir($path . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . '.git') && 0 === $this->process->execute('git log -n1 --pretty=%H'.GitUtil::getNoShowSignatureFlag($this->process), $output, $path)) {
                 $package['dist']['reference'] = trim($output);
             }
 
diff --git a/tests/Composer/Test/Repository/PathRepositoryTest.php b/tests/Composer/Test/Repository/PathRepositoryTest.php
index cb1aa0e3f205..bff6fd6b24cc 100644
--- a/tests/Composer/Test/Repository/PathRepositoryTest.php
+++ b/tests/Composer/Test/Repository/PathRepositoryTest.php
@@ -154,4 +154,50 @@ public function testUrlRemainsRelative()
         $relativeUrl = str_replace(DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, '/', $relativeUrl);
         $this->assertSame($relativeUrl, $package->getDistUrl());
     }
+
+    public function testReferenceNone()
+    {
+        $ioInterface = $this->getMockBuilder('Composer\IO\IOInterface')
+            ->getMock();
+
+        $config = new \Composer\Config();
+
+        $options = array(
+            'reference' => 'none',
+        );
+        $repositoryUrl = implode(DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, array(__DIR__, 'Fixtures', 'path', '*'));
+        $repository = new PathRepository(array('url' => $repositoryUrl, 'options' => $options), $ioInterface, $config);
+        $packages = $repository->getPackages();
+
+        $this->assertGreaterThanOrEqual(2, $repository->count());
+
+        foreach ($packages as $package) {
+            $this->assertEquals($package->getDistReference(), null);
+        }
+    }
+
+    public function testReferenceConfig()
+    {
+        $ioInterface = $this->getMockBuilder('Composer\IO\IOInterface')
+            ->getMock();
+
+        $config = new \Composer\Config();
+
+        $options = array(
+            'reference' => 'config',
+            'relative' => true,
+        );
+        $repositoryUrl = implode(DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, array(__DIR__, 'Fixtures', 'path', '*'));
+        $repository = new PathRepository(array('url' => $repositoryUrl, 'options' => $options), $ioInterface, $config);
+        $packages = $repository->getPackages();
+
+        $this->assertGreaterThanOrEqual(2, $repository->count());
+
+        foreach ($packages as $package) {
+            $this->assertEquals(
+                $package->getDistReference(),
+                sha1(file_get_contents($package->getDistUrl() . '/composer.json') . serialize($options))
+            );
+        }
+    }
 }