diff --git a/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md b/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 00b1fea4cf..3a7b380ba0 100644
--- a/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -116,7 +116,8 @@ The valid options are:
 * `-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE`: Release, Debug, MinSizeRel, RelWithDebInfo
 * `-DPYBIND11_FINDPYTHON=ON`: Use CMake 3.12+'s FindPython instead of the
   classic, deprecated, custom FindPythonLibs
-* `-DPYBIND11_NOPYTHON=ON`: Disable all Python searching (disables tests)
+* `-DPYBIND11_NOPYTHON=ON`: Disable all Python searching (disables tests and the static library target)
+* `-DPYBIND11_BUILD_STATIC_LIB=OFF`: Don't build a static library target.
 * `-DBUILD_TESTING=ON`: Enable the tests
 * `-DDOWNLOAD_CATCH=ON`: Download catch to build the C++ tests
 * `-DDOWNLOAD_EIGEN=ON`: Download Eigen for the NumPy tests
diff --git a/.github/workflows/format.yml b/.github/workflows/format.yml
index 31d893c479..d8d9766ef9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/format.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/format.yml
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install requirements
       run: apt-get update && apt-get install -y python3-dev python3-pytest
 
+    # The static library mode is disabled so Clang-Tidy doesn't complain about
+    # non-inline definitions in header files ('*-inl.h').
     - name: Configure
       run: >
         cmake -S . -B build
@@ -50,6 +52,7 @@ jobs:
         -DDOWNLOAD_EIGEN=ON
         -DDOWNLOAD_CATCH=ON
         -DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=17
+        -DPYBIND11_BUILD_STATIC_LIB=OFF
 
     - name: Build
       run: cmake --build build -j 2 -- --keep-going
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index ee0975bc1f..f1638e82fb 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -91,6 +91,8 @@ endif()
 option(PYBIND11_INSTALL "Install pybind11 header files?" ${PYBIND11_MASTER_PROJECT})
 option(PYBIND11_TEST "Build pybind11 test suite?" ${PYBIND11_MASTER_PROJECT})
 option(PYBIND11_NOPYTHON "Disable search for Python" OFF)
+option(PYBIND11_BUILD_STATIC_LIB
+       "Create a static library target for pybind11 that is not header-only (default)" ON)
 set(PYBIND11_INTERNALS_VERSION
     ""
     CACHE STRING "Override the ABI version, may be used to enable the unstable ABI.")
@@ -107,6 +109,7 @@ cmake_dependent_option(PYBIND11_FINDPYTHON "Force new FindPython" OFF
 set(PYBIND11_HEADERS
     include/pybind11/detail/class.h
     include/pybind11/detail/common.h
+    include/pybind11/detail/common-inl.h
     include/pybind11/detail/descr.h
     include/pybind11/detail/init.h
     include/pybind11/detail/internals.h
@@ -133,6 +136,25 @@ set(PYBIND11_HEADERS
     include/pybind11/stl_bind.h
     include/pybind11/stl/filesystem.h)
 
+file(GLOB_RECURSE PYBIND11_SOURCES ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/*.cc)
+# `embed.cc` is the TU to support embedding a python interpreter. But PyPy does not
+# support embedding, so remove it from sources.
+if("${PYTHON_MODULE_EXTENSION}" MATCHES "pypy" OR "${Python_INTERPRETER_ID}" STREQUAL "PyPy")
+  # Pypy does not support embedding.
+  list(REMOVE_ITEM PYBIND11_SOURCES ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/embed.cc)
+endif()
+
+# If we're not configured to be header-only, we need to build a shared library
+# and define the pybind11::lib target.
+if(PYBIND11_BUILD_STATIC_LIB)
+  add_library(pybind11_static STATIC ${PYBIND11_SOURCES} ${PYBIND11_HEADERS})
+  set_property(TARGET pybind11_static PROPERTY POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON)
+  target_compile_definitions(pybind11_static PUBLIC -DPYBIND11_AS_STATIC_LIBRARY=1)
+  add_library(pybind11::static ALIAS pybind11_static)
+  target_link_libraries(pybind11_static PRIVATE pybind11::pybind11)
+  target_link_libraries(pybind11_static PUBLIC pybind11::headers)
+endif()
+
 # Compare with grep and warn if mismatched
 if(PYBIND11_MASTER_PROJECT AND NOT CMAKE_VERSION VERSION_LESS 3.12)
   file(
@@ -304,6 +326,10 @@ else()
   endif()
 endif()
 
+if(_pybind11_nopython AND PYBIND11_BUILD_STATIC_LIB)
+  message(FATAL_ERROR "Cannot build static library in NOPYTHON mode")
+endif()
+
 # Better symmetry with find_package(pybind11 CONFIG) mode.
 if(NOT PYBIND11_MASTER_PROJECT)
   set(pybind11_FOUND
diff --git a/docs/Doxyfile b/docs/Doxyfile
index 09138db364..f348dc5201 100644
--- a/docs/Doxyfile
+++ b/docs/Doxyfile
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ XML_PROGRAMLISTING     = YES
 MACRO_EXPANSION        = YES
 EXPAND_ONLY_PREDEF     = YES
 EXPAND_AS_DEFINED      = PYBIND11_RUNTIME_EXCEPTION
+EXCLUDE_PATTERNS       = *-inl.h
 
 ALIASES                = "rst=\verbatim embed:rst"
 ALIASES               += "endrst=\endverbatim"
diff --git a/docs/compiling.rst b/docs/compiling.rst
index 2b543be0be..aa431a904e 100644
--- a/docs/compiling.rst
+++ b/docs/compiling.rst
@@ -482,6 +482,10 @@ available in all modes. The targets provided are:
    ``pybind11::opt_size``
      ``/Os`` for MSVC, ``-Os`` for other compilers. Does nothing for debug builds.
 
+   ``pybind11::static``
+     Statically link against libpybind11, and configure the pybind11 headers to not provide definitions that they would provide in the default header-only mode.
+     Currently this configuration is only available in subdirectory mode.
+
 Two helper functions are also provided:
 
     ``pybind11_strip(target)``
diff --git a/include/pybind11/detail/common-inl.h b/include/pybind11/detail/common-inl.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..551080fbb5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/pybind11/detail/common-inl.h
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/*
+    pybind11/detail/common-inl.h -- Basic macros definitions
+
+    Copyright (c) 2016-2022 Wenzel Jakob <wenzel.jakob@epfl.ch>
+
+    All rights reserved. Use of this source code is governed by a
+    BSD-style license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+*/
+#include "pybind11/detail/common.h"
+
+PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_BEGIN(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
+
+PYBIND11_NOINLINE_ATTR PYBIND11_INLINE void pybind11_fail(const char *reason) {
+    assert(!PyErr_Occurred());
+    throw std::runtime_error(reason);
+}
+PYBIND11_NOINLINE_ATTR PYBIND11_INLINE void pybind11_fail(const std::string &reason) {
+    assert(!PyErr_Occurred());
+    throw std::runtime_error(reason);
+}
+
+PYBIND11_INLINE error_scope::error_scope() { PyErr_Fetch(&type, &value, &trace); }
+PYBIND11_INLINE error_scope::~error_scope() { PyErr_Restore(type, value, trace); };
+
+PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
diff --git a/include/pybind11/detail/common.h b/include/pybind11/detail/common.h
index 9e6947daa3..329e1b1812 100644
--- a/include/pybind11/detail/common.h
+++ b/include/pybind11/detail/common.h
@@ -117,17 +117,29 @@
 #    define PYBIND11_NOINLINE_DISABLED
 #endif
 
-// The PYBIND11_NOINLINE macro is for function DEFINITIONS.
-// In contrast, FORWARD DECLARATIONS should never use this macro:
-// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9317473/forward-declaration-of-inline-functions
+// PYBIND11_INLINE should be used for function definitions in '-inl' files, so they
+// can be made non-inline when compiles as a static library.
+#if defined(PYBIND11_AS_STATIC_LIBRARY)
+#    define PYBIND11_INLINE
+#else
+#    define PYBIND11_INLINE inline
+#endif
+
 #if defined(PYBIND11_NOINLINE_DISABLED) // Option for maximum portability and experimentation.
-#    define PYBIND11_NOINLINE inline
+#    define PYBIND11_NOINLINE_ATTR
 #elif defined(_MSC_VER)
-#    define PYBIND11_NOINLINE __declspec(noinline) inline
+#    define PYBIND11_NOINLINE_ATTR __declspec(noinline)
 #else
-#    define PYBIND11_NOINLINE __attribute__((noinline)) inline
+#    define PYBIND11_NOINLINE_ATTR __attribute__((noinline))
 #endif
 
+// The PYBIND11_NOINLINE macro is for function DEFINITIONS.
+// In contrast, FORWARD DECLARATIONS should never use this macro:
+// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9317473/forward-declaration-of-inline-functions
+// This macro shouldn't be used in '-inl' files. Instead, use `PYBIND11_NOINLINE_ATTR
+// PYBIND11_INLINE`.
+#define PYBIND11_NOINLINE PYBIND11_NOINLINE_ATTR inline
+
 #if defined(__MINGW32__)
 // For unknown reasons all PYBIND11_DEPRECATED member trigger a warning when declared
 // whether it is used or not
@@ -936,14 +948,8 @@ PYBIND11_RUNTIME_EXCEPTION(cast_error, PyExc_RuntimeError) /// Thrown when pybin
                                                            /// casting error
 PYBIND11_RUNTIME_EXCEPTION(reference_cast_error, PyExc_RuntimeError) /// Used internally
 
-[[noreturn]] PYBIND11_NOINLINE void pybind11_fail(const char *reason) {
-    assert(!PyErr_Occurred());
-    throw std::runtime_error(reason);
-}
-[[noreturn]] PYBIND11_NOINLINE void pybind11_fail(const std::string &reason) {
-    assert(!PyErr_Occurred());
-    throw std::runtime_error(reason);
-}
+[[noreturn]] void pybind11_fail(const char *reason);
+[[noreturn]] void pybind11_fail(const std::string &reason);
 
 template <typename T, typename SFINAE = void>
 struct format_descriptor {};
@@ -992,10 +998,10 @@ constexpr const char
 /// RAII wrapper that temporarily clears any Python error state
 struct error_scope {
     PyObject *type, *value, *trace;
-    error_scope() { PyErr_Fetch(&type, &value, &trace); }
+    error_scope();
     error_scope(const error_scope &) = delete;
     error_scope &operator=(const error_scope &) = delete;
-    ~error_scope() { PyErr_Restore(type, value, trace); }
+    ~error_scope();
 };
 
 /// Dummy destructor wrapper that can be used to expose classes with a private destructor
@@ -1185,3 +1191,7 @@ constexpr inline bool silence_msvc_c4127(bool cond) { return cond; }
 
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(detail)
 PYBIND11_NAMESPACE_END(PYBIND11_NAMESPACE)
+
+#ifndef PYBIND11_AS_STATIC_LIBRARY
+#    include "common-inl.h"
+#endif
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 3ba1b4b22f..88f50e42b3 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,10 +4,11 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [tool.check-manifest]
 ignore = [
-    "tests/**",
     "docs/**",
-    "tools/**",
     "include/**",
+    "src/**",
+    "tests/**",
+    "tools/**",
     ".*",
     "pybind11/include/**",
     "pybind11/share/**",
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 68573519c1..3159c5c39a 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@ def remove_output(*sources: str) -> Iterator[None]:
             "-DBUILD_TESTING=OFF",
             "-DPYBIND11_NOPYTHON=ON",
             "-Dprefix_for_pc_file=${pcfiledir}/../../",
+            "-DPYBIND11_BUILD_STATIC_LIB=OFF",
         ]
         if "CMAKE_ARGS" in os.environ:
             fcommand = [
diff --git a/src/detail/common.cc b/src/detail/common.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..feb4297ffa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/detail/common.cc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+#include "pybind11/detail/common-inl.h"
diff --git a/tests/extra_python_package/test_files.py b/tests/extra_python_package/test_files.py
index 8e1ddd8508..83f24f1b23 100644
--- a/tests/extra_python_package/test_files.py
+++ b/tests/extra_python_package/test_files.py
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
 detail_headers = {
     "include/pybind11/detail/class.h",
     "include/pybind11/detail/common.h",
+    "include/pybind11/detail/common-inl.h",
     "include/pybind11/detail/descr.h",
     "include/pybind11/detail/init.h",
     "include/pybind11/detail/internals.h",
diff --git a/tests/test_cmake_build/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/test_cmake_build/CMakeLists.txt
index 8bfaa386ae..164cefaecf 100644
--- a/tests/test_cmake_build/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/test_cmake_build/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@ function(pybind11_add_build_test name)
     "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${name}"
     "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/${name}"
     --build-config
-    Release
+    "$<$<CONFIG:DEBUG>:Debug>"
+    "$<$<CONFIG:RELEASE>:Release>"
     --build-noclean
     --build-generator
     ${CMAKE_GENERATOR}
@@ -59,6 +60,9 @@ possibly_uninitialized(PYTHON_MODULE_EXTENSION Python_INTERPRETER_ID)
 
 pybind11_add_build_test(subdirectory_function)
 pybind11_add_build_test(subdirectory_target)
+if(PYBIND11_BUILD_STATIC_LIB)
+  pybind11_add_build_test(subdirectory_static)
+endif()
 if("${PYTHON_MODULE_EXTENSION}" MATCHES "pypy" OR "${Python_INTERPRETER_ID}" STREQUAL "PyPy")
   message(STATUS "Skipping embed test on PyPy")
 else()
diff --git a/tests/test_cmake_build/subdirectory_static/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/test_cmake_build/subdirectory_static/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6082a6c4ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_cmake_build/subdirectory_static/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.4)
+
+# The `cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.4...3.18)` syntax does not work with
+# some versions of VS that have a patched CMake 3.11. This forces us to emulate
+# the behavior using the following workaround:
+if(${CMAKE_VERSION} VERSION_LESS 3.18)
+  cmake_policy(VERSION ${CMAKE_MAJOR_VERSION}.${CMAKE_MINOR_VERSION})
+else()
+  cmake_policy(VERSION 3.18)
+endif()
+
+project(test_subdirectory_static CXX)
+
+add_subdirectory("${pybind11_SOURCE_DIR}" pybind11)
+
+add_library(test_subdirectory_static MODULE ../main.cpp)
+set_target_properties(test_subdirectory_static PROPERTIES OUTPUT_NAME test_cmake_build)
+
+target_link_libraries(test_subdirectory_static PRIVATE pybind11::module pybind11::static)
+
+# Make sure result is, for example, test_installed_static.so, not libtest_installed_static.dylib
+pybind11_extension(test_subdirectory_static)
+
+if(DEFINED Python_EXECUTABLE)
+  set(_Python_EXECUTABLE "${Python_EXECUTABLE}")
+elseif(DEFINED PYTHON_EXECUTABLE)
+  set(_Python_EXECUTABLE "${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE}")
+else()
+  message(FATAL_ERROR "No Python executable defined (should not be possible at this stage)")
+endif()
+
+add_custom_target(
+  check_subdirectory_static
+  ${CMAKE_COMMAND}
+  -E
+  env
+  PYTHONPATH=$<TARGET_FILE_DIR:test_subdirectory_static>
+  ${_Python_EXECUTABLE}
+  ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/../test.py
+  ${PROJECT_NAME}
+  DEPENDS test_subdirectory_static)
diff --git a/tools/pybind11Common.cmake b/tools/pybind11Common.cmake
index e1fb601acc..3ab831e4e6 100644
--- a/tools/pybind11Common.cmake
+++ b/tools/pybind11Common.cmake
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ Adds the following targets::
     pybind11::thin_lto - Link time optimizations (manual selection)
     pybind11::python_link_helper - Adds link to Python libraries
     pybind11::windows_extras - MSVC bigobj and mp for building multithreaded
-    pybind11::opt_size - avoid optimizations that increase code size
+    pybind11::opt_size - Avoid optimizations that increase code size
+    pybind11::static - Use pybind11 as a static library.
 
 Adds the following functions::