--- a/build/autoconf/compiler-opts.m4
+++ b/build/autoconf/compiler-opts.m4
@@ -1,25 +1,16 @@
 dnl This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
 dnl License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
 dnl file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.
 
 dnl Add compiler specific options
 
 AC_DEFUN([MOZ_DEFAULT_COMPILER],
 [
-dnl set DEVELOPER_OPTIONS early; MOZ_DEFAULT_COMPILER is usually the first non-setup directive
-  if test -z "$MOZILLA_OFFICIAL"; then
-    DEVELOPER_OPTIONS=1
-  fi
-  MOZ_ARG_ENABLE_BOOL(release,
-  [  --enable-release        Build with more conservative, release engineering-oriented options.
-                          This may slow down builds.],
-      DEVELOPER_OPTIONS=,
-      DEVELOPER_OPTIONS=1)
 
 dnl Default to MSVC for win32 and gcc-4.2 for darwin
 dnl ==============================================================
 if test -z "$CROSS_COMPILE"; then
 case "$target" in
 *-mingw*)
     if test -z "$CPP"; then CPP="$CC -E -nologo"; fi
     if test -z "$CXXCPP"; then CXXCPP="$CXX -TP -E -nologo"; ac_cv_prog_CXXCPP="$CXXCPP"; fi

--- a/build/moz.configure/old.configure
+++ b/build/moz.configure/old.configure
@@ -208,17 +208,16 @@ def old_configure_options(*options):
     '--enable-pie',
     '--enable-png-arm-neon-support',
     '--enable-posix-nspr-emulation',
     '--enable-pref-extensions',
     '--enable-pulseaudio',
     '--enable-raw',
     '--enable-readline',
     '--enable-reflow-perf',
-    '--enable-release',
     '--enable-safe-browsing',
     '--enable-sandbox',
     '--enable-signmar',
     '--enable-simulator',
     '--enable-small-chunk-size',
     '--enable-startup-notification',
     '--enable-startupcache',
     '--enable-stdcxx-compat',

--- a/build/moz.configure/toolchain.configure
+++ b/build/moz.configure/toolchain.configure
@@ -997,16 +997,48 @@ set_config('VISIBILITY_FLAGS', visibilit
 # We only want to include windows.configure when we are compiling on
 # Windows, for Windows.
 @depends(target, host)
 def is_windows(target, host):
     return host.kernel == 'WINNT' and target.kernel == 'WINNT'
 
 include('windows.configure', when=is_windows)
 
+js_option('--enable-release', default=False,
+          help='Build with more conservative, release engineering-oriented options. This may slow down builds.')
+
+@depends('--enable-release', 'MOZILLA_OFFICIAL')
+def enable_release(target, mozilla_official_flag):
+    # We have either --enable-release or MOZILLA_OFFICIAL
+    # means that we are in release mode (and not dev mode)
+    return bool(target) or bool(mozilla_official_flag)
+
+@depends('MOZILLA_OFFICIAL')
+def enable_official(mozilla_official_flag):
+    # if we have the variable MOZILLA_OFFICIAL, MOZ_INCLUDE_SOURCE_INFO_FLAG
+    # should be 1 too
+    return bool(mozilla_official_flag) or None
+
+set_config('MOZILLA_OFFICIAL', enable_official)
+# Until we move all the MOZILLA_OFFICIAL consumers out of old-configure.
+add_old_configure_assignment('MOZILLA_OFFICIAL',
+                             enable_official)
+
+@depends(enable_release)
+def dev_options(enable_release):
+    # If official release, disable the developer mode
+    return not bool(enable_release)
+
+set_config('DEVELOPER_OPTIONS', dev_options)
+# Until we move all the DEVELOPER_OPTIONS consumers out of old-configure.
+add_old_configure_assignment('DEVELOPER_OPTIONS',
+                             dev_options)
+
+
+
 # Security Hardening
 # ==============================================================
 
 option('--enable-hardening', env='MOZ_SECURITY_HARDENING',
        help='Enables security hardening compiler options')
 
 @depends('--enable-hardening', c_compiler)
 def security_hardening_cflags(value, c_compiler):

--- a/moz.configure
+++ b/moz.configure
@@ -66,16 +66,19 @@ add_old_configure_assignment('COMPILE_EN
 js_option('--disable-tests',
           help='Do not build test libraries & programs')
 
 @depends('--disable-tests')
 def enable_tests(value):
     if value:
         return True
 
+js_option(env='MOZILLA_OFFICIAL',
+          help='Build an official release (will disable the DEVELOPER_OPTIONS).')
+
 set_config('ENABLE_TESTS', enable_tests)
 set_define('ENABLE_TESTS', enable_tests)
 
 @depends(enable_tests)
 def gtest_has_rtti(value):
     if value:
         return '0'
 

--- a/old-configure.in
+++ b/old-configure.in
@@ -5143,19 +5143,17 @@ AC_SUBST(FIREFOX_VERSION)
 AC_SUBST(MOZ_UA_OS_AGNOSTIC)
 if test -n "$MOZ_UA_OS_AGNOSTIC"; then
   AC_DEFINE(MOZ_UA_OS_AGNOSTIC)
 fi
 
 AC_SUBST(MOZ_PKG_SPECIAL)
 AC_SUBST(MOZ_SIMPLE_PACKAGE_NAME)
 
-AC_SUBST(MOZILLA_OFFICIAL)
 if test "$MOZILLA_OFFICIAL"; then
-    AC_DEFINE(MOZILLA_OFFICIAL)
     # Build revisions should always be present in official builds
     MOZ_INCLUDE_SOURCE_INFO=1
 fi
 
 # External builds (specifically Ubuntu) may drop the hg repo information, so we allow to
 # explicitly set the repository and changeset information in.
 AC_SUBST(MOZ_SOURCE_REPO)
 AC_SUBST(MOZ_SOURCE_CHANGESET)

--- a/python/mozbuild/mozbuild/test/configure/common.py
+++ b/python/mozbuild/mozbuild/test/configure/common.py
@@ -231,16 +231,31 @@ class BaseConfigureTest(unittest.TestCas
         os.chdir(self._cwd)
 
     def config_guess(self, stdin, args):
         return 0, self.HOST, ''
 
     def config_sub(self, stdin, args):
         return 0, args[0], ''
 
+    def get_value_for(self, args=[], environ={}, mozconfig=''):
+        sandbox = self.get_sandbox({}, {}, args, environ, mozconfig)
+
+        # Add a fake old-configure option
+        sandbox.option_impl('--with-foo', nargs='*',
+                            help='Help missing for old configure options')
+
+        # Remove all implied options, otherwise, getting
+        # all_configure_options below triggers them, and that triggers
+        # configure parts that aren't expected to run during this test.
+        del sandbox._implied_options[:]
+        result = sandbox._value_for(sandbox['all_configure_options'])
+        shell = mozpath.abspath('/bin/sh')
+        return result.replace('CONFIG_SHELL=%s ' % shell, '')
+
     def get_sandbox(self, paths, config, args=[], environ={}, mozconfig='',
                     out=None, logger=None):
         kwargs = {}
         if logger:
             kwargs['logger'] = logger
         else:
             if not out:
                 out = StringIO()

--- a/python/mozbuild/mozbuild/test/configure/test_moz_configure.py
+++ b/python/mozbuild/mozbuild/test/configure/test_moz_configure.py
@@ -4,68 +4,54 @@
 
 from __future__ import absolute_import, print_function, unicode_literals
 
 from mozunit import main
 from mozpack import path as mozpath
 
 from common import BaseConfigureTest
 
-
 class TestMozConfigure(BaseConfigureTest):
     def test_moz_configure_options(self):
-        def get_value_for(args=[], environ={}, mozconfig=''):
-            sandbox = self.get_sandbox({}, {}, args, environ, mozconfig)
-
-            # Add a fake old-configure option
-            sandbox.option_impl('--with-foo', nargs='*',
-                                help='Help missing for old configure options')
-
-            # Remove all implied options, otherwise, getting
-            # all_configure_options below triggers them, and that triggers
-            # configure parts that aren't expected to run during this test.
-            del sandbox._implied_options[:]
-            result = sandbox._value_for(sandbox['all_configure_options'])
-            shell = mozpath.abspath('/bin/sh')
-            return result.replace('CONFIG_SHELL=%s ' % shell, '')
 
         self.assertEquals('--enable-application=browser',
-                          get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser']))
+                          self.get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser']))
 
         self.assertEquals('--enable-application=browser '
                           'MOZ_VTUNE=1',
-                          get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser',
+                          self.get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser',
                                          'MOZ_VTUNE=1']))
 
-        value = get_value_for(
+        value = self.get_value_for(
             environ={'MOZ_VTUNE': '1'},
             mozconfig='ac_add_options --enable-project=js')
 
         self.assertEquals('--enable-project=js MOZ_VTUNE=1',
                           value)
 
         # --disable-js-shell is the default, so it's filtered out.
         self.assertEquals('--enable-application=browser',
-                          get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser',
+                          self.get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser',
                                          '--disable-js-shell']))
 
         # Normally, --without-foo would be filtered out because that's the
         # default, but since it is a (fake) old-configure option, it always
         # appears.
         self.assertEquals('--enable-application=browser --without-foo',
-                          get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser',
+                          self.get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser',
                                          '--without-foo']))
         self.assertEquals('--enable-application=browser --with-foo',
-                          get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser',
+                          self.get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser',
                                          '--with-foo']))
 
         self.assertEquals("--enable-application=browser '--with-foo=foo bar'",
-                          get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser',
+                          self.get_value_for(['--enable-application=browser',
                                          '--with-foo=foo bar']))
 
+
     def test_nsis_version(self):
         this = self
 
         class FakeNSIS(object):
             def __init__(self, version):
                 self.version = version
 
             def __call__(self, stdin, args):

--- a/python/mozbuild/mozbuild/test/configure/test_toolkit_moz_configure.py
+++ b/python/mozbuild/mozbuild/test/configure/test_toolkit_moz_configure.py
@@ -57,11 +57,30 @@ class TestToolkitMozConfigure(BaseConfig
         self.assertEqual(
             get_value('--enable-necko-protocols=all,-http,-about'),
             tuple(p for p in default_protocols if p not in ('http', 'about')))
 
         self.assertEqual(
             get_value('--enable-necko-protocols=default,-http,-about'),
             tuple(p for p in default_protocols if p not in ('http', 'about')))
 
+    def test_release_arg(self):
+
+        value = self.get_value_for(['--enable-release'],
+                              environ={'MOZILLA_OFFICIAL': '',
+                                       'DEVELOPER_OPTIONS': ''})
+        self.assertEquals('--enable-release',
+                          value)
+
+        value = self.get_value_for(
+            environ={'MOZILLA_OFFICIAL': '1',
+                     'DEVELOPER_OPTIONS': ''})
+        self.assertEquals('MOZILLA_OFFICIAL=1',
+                          value)
+
+        value = self.get_value_for(
+            environ={'MOZILLA_OFFICIAL': '1',
+                     'DEVELOPER_OPTIONS': '1'})
+        self.assertEquals('MOZILLA_OFFICIAL=1',
+                          value)
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     main()