diff --git a/flow/scripts/variables.yaml b/flow/scripts/variables.yaml
index 2df911f89e..0155fc53f0 100644
--- a/flow/scripts/variables.yaml
+++ b/flow/scripts/variables.yaml
@@ -845,3 +845,8 @@ RTLMP_ARGS:
     Overrides all other RTL macro placer arguments.
   stages:
     - floorplan
+GDS_ALLOW_EMPTY:
+  description: >
+    Regular expression of module names of macros that have no .gds file
+  stages:
+    - final