diff --git a/src/jcloud_docsgen/cli/cli.py b/src/jcloud_docsgen/cli/cli.py
index 7c7f43e..14c7e10 100644
--- a/src/jcloud_docsgen/cli/cli.py
+++ b/src/jcloud_docsgen/cli/cli.py
@@ -82,6 +82,15 @@ def create_argument_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
         default='docs/reference',
         help='the output directory the documentation will be written to',
     )
+    common_parser.add_argument(
+        '-f',
+        '--force',
+        action='store_true',
+        help=(
+            'generate documentation even if the output directory is not '
+            'empty. Warning: data can be lost when setting this flag.'
+        ),
+    )
 
     argument_parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
 
@@ -151,6 +160,7 @@ def main(argv=None) -> int:
                 exclude_sections=args.sections_exclude,
                 allow_html=args.allow_html,
                 allow_tables=args.allow_tables,
+                force=args.force,
             )
     except FileNotFoundError as exc:
         return error(f'{exc.filename}: no such file or directory')
diff --git a/src/jcloud_docsgen/cli/languages/python.py b/src/jcloud_docsgen/cli/languages/python.py
index ae74fe9..c012e40 100644
--- a/src/jcloud_docsgen/cli/languages/python.py
+++ b/src/jcloud_docsgen/cli/languages/python.py
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ def _generate(
     ),
     allow_html: bool = False,
     allow_tables: bool = False,
+    force: bool = False,
 ) -> None:
     """
     Generates the documentation for a Python project.
@@ -94,6 +95,9 @@ def _generate(
     :type allow_html: bool
     :param allow_tables: Indicates whether Markdown tables are allowed.
                          Warning: Markdown tables are not CommonMark.
+    :param force: Indicates whether the output directory shall be
+                  overwritten if it is not empty.
+    :type force: bool
     """
 
     docs_generator = PythonDocumentationGenerator(
@@ -103,7 +107,7 @@ def _generate(
         allow_html=allow_html,
         allow_tables=allow_tables,
     )
-    docs_generator.generate_documentation()
+    docs_generator.generate_documentation(force)
 
 
 def generate(
@@ -114,6 +118,7 @@ def generate(
     exclude_sections: list[str] = [],
     allow_html: bool = False,
     allow_tables: bool = False,
+    force: bool = False,
 ) -> None:
     """
     Generates the documentation for a Python project.
@@ -133,6 +138,9 @@ def generate(
     :type allow_html: bool
     :param allow_tables: Indicates whether Markdown tables are allowed.
                          Warning: Markdown tables are not CommonMark.
+    :param force: Indicates whether the output directory shall be
+                  overwritten if it is not empty.
+    :type force: bool
     """
 
     sections = parse_sections_list(include_sections, exclude_sections)
@@ -143,4 +151,5 @@ def generate(
         include_sections=sections,
         allow_html=allow_html,
         allow_tables=allow_tables,
+        force=force,
     )