diff --git a/sway/commands/bar.c b/sway/commands/bar.c
index f760888e4..03f4c5574 100644
--- a/sway/commands/bar.c
+++ b/sway/commands/bar.c
@@ -46,14 +46,14 @@ struct cmd_results *cmd_bar(int argc, char **argv) {
 		return error;
 	}
 
-	if (!config->reading) {
-		if (!find_handler(argv[0], bar_config_handlers,
-					sizeof(bar_config_handlers))) {
-			return cmd_results_new(CMD_FAILURE, "bar",
-					"Can only be used in config file.");
+	if (find_handler(argv[0], bar_config_handlers,
+				sizeof(bar_config_handlers))) {
+		if (config->reading) {
+			return config_subcommand(argv, argc, bar_config_handlers,
+					sizeof(bar_config_handlers));
 		}
-		return config_subcommand(argv, argc, bar_config_handlers,
-				sizeof(bar_config_handlers));
+		return cmd_results_new(CMD_FAILURE, "bar",
+				"Can only be used in config file.");
 	}
 
 	if (argc > 1) {
diff --git a/sway/commands/bar/status_command.c b/sway/commands/bar/status_command.c
index 6f6f81a32..5ea225256 100644
--- a/sway/commands/bar/status_command.c
+++ b/sway/commands/bar/status_command.c
@@ -13,8 +13,18 @@ struct cmd_results *bar_cmd_status_command(int argc, char **argv) {
 				"status_command", "No bar defined.");
 	}
 	free(config->current_bar->status_command);
-	config->current_bar->status_command = join_args(argv, argc);
-	wlr_log(WLR_DEBUG, "Feeding bar with status command: %s",
-			config->current_bar->status_command);
+	config->current_bar->status_command = NULL;
+
+	char *new_command = join_args(argv, argc);
+	if (strcmp(new_command, "-") != 0) {
+		config->current_bar->status_command = new_command;
+		wlr_log(WLR_DEBUG, "Feeding bar with status command: %s",
+				config->current_bar->status_command);
+	}
+
+	if (config->active && !config->validating) {
+		load_swaybars();
+	}
+
 	return cmd_results_new(CMD_SUCCESS, NULL, NULL);
 }
diff --git a/sway/sway-bar.5.scd b/sway/sway-bar.5.scd
index 00b9386e4..8c7be8e77 100644
--- a/sway/sway-bar.5.scd
+++ b/sway/sway-bar.5.scd
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ Sway allows configuring swaybar in the sway configuration file.
 
 	https://i3wm.org/docs/i3bar-protocol.html
 
+	If running this command via IPC, you can disable a running status command by
+	setting the command to a single dash: _swaybar bar bar-0 status\_command -_
+
 *pango\_markup* enabled|disabled
 	Enables or disables pango markup for status lines. This has no effect on
 	status lines using the i3bar JSON protocol.