diff --git a/CHANGES.rst b/CHANGES.rst
index ab93335db79..093f6650524 100644
--- a/CHANGES.rst
+++ b/CHANGES.rst
@@ -149,6 +149,12 @@ Bugs fixed
 * #12995: Significantly improve performance when building the search index
   for Chinese languages.
   Patch by Adam Turner.
+* #12767: :py:meth:`.Builder.write` is typed as ``final``, meaning that the
+  :event:`write-started` event may be relied upon by extensions.
+  A new :py:meth:`.Builder.write_documents` method has been added to
+  control how documents are written.
+  This is intended for builders that do not output a file for each document.
+  Patch by Adam Turner.
 
 
 Testing
diff --git a/doc/_static/diagrams/sphinx_build_flow.dot b/doc/_static/diagrams/sphinx_build_flow.dot
index 0e736f53733..59fbdd0d1e2 100644
--- a/doc/_static/diagrams/sphinx_build_flow.dot
+++ b/doc/_static/diagrams/sphinx_build_flow.dot
@@ -27,10 +27,6 @@ digraph build {
     "Builder.build_update":p1 -> "Builder.build";
 
     "Builder.build" -> "Builder.read";
-    "Builder.write" [
-        shape=record
-        label = "<p1> Builder.write | Builder._write_serial | Builder._write_parallel"
-    ];
     "Builder.build" -> "Builder.write";
     "Builder.build" -> "Builder.finish";
 
@@ -39,8 +35,13 @@ digraph build {
 
     "Builder.write":p1 -> "Builder.prepare_writing";
     "Builder.write":p1 -> "Builder.copy_assets";
-    "Builder.write":p1 -> "Builder.write_doc";
+    "Builder.write_documents" [
+        shape=record
+        label = "<p1> Builder.write_documents | Builder._write_serial | Builder._write_parallel"
+    ];
+    "Builder.write":p1 -> "Builder.write_documents";
 
+    "Builder.write_documents":p1 -> "Builder.write_doc";
     "Builder.write_doc" -> "Builder.get_relative_uri";
 
     "Builder.get_relative_uri" -> "Builder.get_target_uri";
diff --git a/doc/_static/diagrams/sphinx_core_events_flow.dot b/doc/_static/diagrams/sphinx_core_events_flow.dot
index 1499e6ba8fc..4ef46c1a67f 100644
--- a/doc/_static/diagrams/sphinx_core_events_flow.dot
+++ b/doc/_static/diagrams/sphinx_core_events_flow.dot
@@ -83,9 +83,9 @@ digraph events {
 
     // during write phase
     "write-started"[style=filled fillcolor="#D5FFFF" color=blue penwidth=2];
-    "Builder.build":write -> "write-started";
     "Builder.write" [label = "Builder.write()"]
     "Builder.build":write -> "Builder.write";
+    "Builder.write" -> "write-started";
     write_each_doc [shape="ellipse", label="for updated"];
     "Builder.write" -> write_each_doc;
     "ReferenceResolver" [
@@ -120,6 +120,6 @@ digraph events {
     {rank=same; "env-get-outdated" "env-before-read-docs" "env-get-updated"};
     {rank=same; "env-purge-doc" "source-read" "doctree-read", "merge_each_process"};
     {rank=same; "env-updated" "env-check-consistency"};
-    {rank=same; "env-merge-info" "write-started" "Builder.write"};
+    {rank=same; "env-merge-info" "Builder.write"};
     {rank=max; "build-finished"};
 }
diff --git a/doc/extdev/builderapi.rst b/doc/extdev/builderapi.rst
index b5520d332c1..ccc0da8c5bd 100644
--- a/doc/extdev/builderapi.rst
+++ b/doc/extdev/builderapi.rst
@@ -39,20 +39,23 @@ Builder API
    .. automethod:: read
    .. automethod:: read_doc
    .. automethod:: write_doctree
+   .. automethod:: write
 
-   .. rubric:: Overridable Methods
+   .. rubric:: Abstract Methods
 
    These must be implemented in builder sub-classes:
 
    .. automethod:: get_outdated_docs
-   .. automethod:: prepare_writing
    .. automethod:: write_doc
    .. automethod:: get_target_uri
 
+   .. rubric:: Overridable Methods
+
    These methods can be overridden in builder sub-classes:
 
    .. automethod:: init
-   .. automethod:: write
+   .. automethod:: write_documents
+   .. automethod:: prepare_writing
    .. automethod:: copy_assets
    .. automethod:: get_relative_uri
    .. automethod:: finish
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/__init__.py b/sphinx/builders/__init__.py
index 4f1815b40da..68c62d9d125 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/__init__.py
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
 from sphinx import roles  # NoQA: F401  isort:skip
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from collections.abc import Iterable, Sequence
+    from collections.abc import Iterable, Sequence, Set
 
     from docutils.nodes import Node
 
@@ -664,6 +664,7 @@ def write_doctree(
         if _cache:
             self.env._write_doc_doctree_cache[docname] = doctree
 
+    @final
     def write(
         self,
         build_docnames: Iterable[str] | None,
@@ -685,11 +686,12 @@ def write(
         logger.debug(__('docnames to write: %s'), ', '.join(sorted(docnames)))
 
         # add all toctree-containing files that may have changed
-        for docname in list(docnames):
+        extra = {self.config.root_doc}
+        for docname in docnames:
             for tocdocname in self.env.files_to_rebuild.get(docname, set()):
                 if tocdocname in self.env.found_docs:
-                    docnames.add(tocdocname)
-        docnames.add(self.config.root_doc)
+                    extra.add(tocdocname)
+        docnames |= extra
 
         # sort to ensure deterministic toctree generation
         self.env.toctree_includes = dict(sorted(self.env.toctree_includes.items()))
@@ -700,12 +702,21 @@ def write(
         with progress_message(__('copying assets'), nonl=False):
             self.copy_assets()
 
+        self.write_documents(docnames)
+
+    def write_documents(self, docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
+        """Write all documents in *docnames*.
+
+        This method can be overridden if a builder does not create
+        output files for each document.
+        """
+        sorted_docnames = sorted(docnames)
         if self.parallel_ok:
             # number of subprocesses is parallel-1 because the main process
             # is busy loading doctrees and doing write_doc_serialized()
-            self._write_parallel(sorted(docnames), nproc=self.app.parallel - 1)
+            self._write_parallel(sorted_docnames, nproc=self.app.parallel - 1)
         else:
-            self._write_serial(sorted(docnames))
+            self._write_serial(sorted_docnames)
 
     def _write_serial(self, docnames: Sequence[str]) -> None:
         with (
@@ -769,9 +780,9 @@ def on_chunk_done(args: list[tuple[str, nodes.document]], result: None) -> None:
         tasks.join()
         logger.info('')
 
-    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: set[str]) -> None:
+    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         """A place where you can add logic before :meth:`write_doc` is run"""
-        raise NotImplementedError
+        pass
 
     def copy_assets(self) -> None:
         """Where assets (images, static files, etc) are copied before writing"""
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/changes.py b/sphinx/builders/changes.py
index ed53c74e201..cd40faf3ab7 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/changes.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/changes.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 import html
 from os import path
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 
 from sphinx import package_dir
 from sphinx.builders import Builder
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 from sphinx.util.osutil import ensuredir, os_path
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Set
+
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
     from sphinx.util.typing import ExtensionMetadata
 
@@ -46,7 +48,7 @@ def get_outdated_docs(self) -> str:
         'versionremoved': 'removed',
     }
 
-    def write(self, *ignored: Any) -> None:
+    def write_documents(self, _docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         version = self.config.version
         domain = self.env.domains.changeset_domain
         libchanges: dict[str, list[tuple[str, str, int]]] = {}
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/dummy.py b/sphinx/builders/dummy.py
index 05b7e568791..f8a4c298d30 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/dummy.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/dummy.py
@@ -29,9 +29,6 @@ def get_outdated_docs(self) -> set[str]:
     def get_target_uri(self, docname: str, typ: str | None = None) -> str:
         return ''
 
-    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: set[str]) -> None:
-        pass
-
     def write_doc(self, docname: str, doctree: nodes.document) -> None:
         pass
 
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/epub3.py b/sphinx/builders/epub3.py
index 1699ae2f67f..cbd50bd229e 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/epub3.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/epub3.py
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 from sphinx.util.osutil import make_filename
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Set
+
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
     from sphinx.util.typing import ExtensionMetadata
 
@@ -120,7 +122,7 @@ def content_metadata(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
         metadata['epub_version'] = self.config.epub_version
         return metadata
 
-    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: set[str]) -> None:
+    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         super().prepare_writing(docnames)
 
         writing_mode = self.config.epub_writing_mode
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/gettext.py b/sphinx/builders/gettext.py
index 3281026b086..5274bc77191 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/gettext.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/gettext.py
@@ -158,9 +158,6 @@ def get_target_uri(self, docname: str, typ: str | None = None) -> str:
     def get_outdated_docs(self) -> set[str]:
         return self.env.found_docs
 
-    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: set[str]) -> None:
-        return
-
     def compile_catalogs(self, catalogs: set[CatalogInfo], message: str) -> None:
         return
 
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/html/__init__.py b/sphinx/builders/html/__init__.py
index 516a885c38c..a38d12b60a8 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/html/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/html/__init__.py
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@
 from sphinx.writers.html5 import HTML5Translator
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from collections.abc import Iterable, Iterator
+    from collections.abc import Iterator, Set
     from typing import TypeAlias
 
     from docutils.nodes import Node
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ def render_partial(self, node: Node | None) -> dict[str, str]:
         self._publisher.publish()
         return self._publisher.writer.parts
 
-    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: set[str]) -> None:
+    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         # create the search indexer
         self.indexer = None
         if self.search:
@@ -965,9 +965,9 @@ def post_process_images(self, doctree: Node) -> None:
                 node.replace_self(reference)
                 reference.append(node)
 
-    def load_indexer(self, docnames: Iterable[str]) -> None:
+    def load_indexer(self, docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         assert self.indexer is not None
-        keep = set(self.env.all_docs) - set(docnames)
+        keep = set(self.env.all_docs).difference(docnames)
         try:
             searchindexfn = path.join(self.outdir, self.searchindex_filename)
             if self.indexer_dumps_unicode:
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/latex/__init__.py b/sphinx/builders/latex/__init__.py
index b37dd7153a4..c51fa7607a2 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/latex/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/latex/__init__.py
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
 from docutils import nodes  # isort:skip
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from collections.abc import Iterable
+    from collections.abc import Iterable, Set
 
     from docutils.nodes import Node
 
@@ -291,13 +291,17 @@ def write_stylesheet(self) -> None:
             )
             f.write(highlighter.get_stylesheet())
 
+    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
+        self.init_document_data()
+        self.write_stylesheet()
+
     def copy_assets(self) -> None:
         self.copy_support_files()
 
         if self.config.latex_additional_files:
             self.copy_latex_additional_files()
 
-    def write(self, *ignored: Any) -> None:
+    def write_documents(self, _docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         docwriter = LaTeXWriter(self)
         with warnings.catch_warnings():
             warnings.filterwarnings('ignore', category=DeprecationWarning)
@@ -309,10 +313,6 @@ def write(self, *ignored: Any) -> None:
                 read_config_files=True,
             ).get_default_values()
 
-        self.init_document_data()
-        self.write_stylesheet()
-        self.copy_assets()
-
         for entry in self.document_data:
             docname, targetname, title, author, themename = entry[:5]
             theme = self.themes.get(themename)
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/manpage.py b/sphinx/builders/manpage.py
index 557bbddd5bf..2e24486d174 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/manpage.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/manpage.py
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 from sphinx.writers.manpage import ManualPageTranslator, ManualPageWriter
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Set
+
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
     from sphinx.config import Config
     from sphinx.util.typing import ExtensionMetadata
@@ -55,7 +57,7 @@ def get_target_uri(self, docname: str, typ: str | None = None) -> str:
         return ''
 
     @progress_message(__('writing'))
-    def write(self, *ignored: Any) -> None:
+    def write_documents(self, _docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         docwriter = ManualPageWriter(self)
         with warnings.catch_warnings():
             warnings.filterwarnings('ignore', category=DeprecationWarning)
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/singlehtml.py b/sphinx/builders/singlehtml.py
index 73c506faea1..6715142ba91 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/singlehtml.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/singlehtml.py
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 from sphinx.util.nodes import inline_all_toctrees
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Set
+
     from docutils.nodes import Node
 
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
@@ -160,11 +162,8 @@ def get_doc_context(self, docname: str, body: str, metatags: str) -> dict[str, A
             'display_toc': display_toc,
         }
 
-    def write(self, *ignored: Any) -> None:
-        docnames = self.env.all_docs
-
-        with progress_message(__('preparing documents')):
-            self.prepare_writing(docnames)  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+    def write_documents(self, _docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
+        self.prepare_writing(self.env.all_docs.keys())
 
         with progress_message(__('assembling single document'), nonl=False):
             doctree = self.assemble_doctree()
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/texinfo.py b/sphinx/builders/texinfo.py
index c085d8fde52..2d428bb736b 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/texinfo.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/texinfo.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 from sphinx.writers.texinfo import TexinfoTranslator, TexinfoWriter
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from collections.abc import Iterable
+    from collections.abc import Iterable, Set
 
     from docutils.nodes import Node
 
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ def get_relative_uri(self, from_: str, to: str, typ: str | None = None) -> str:
         # ignore source path
         return self.get_target_uri(to, typ)
 
-    def init_document_data(self) -> None:
+    def prepare_writing(self, _docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         preliminary_document_data = [list(x) for x in self.config.texinfo_documents]
         if not preliminary_document_data:
             logger.warning(
@@ -98,9 +98,7 @@ def init_document_data(self) -> None:
             docname = docname.removesuffix(SEP + 'index')
             self.titles.append((docname, entry[2]))
 
-    def write(self, *ignored: Any) -> None:
-        self.init_document_data()
-        self.copy_assets()
+    def write_documents(self, _docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         for entry in self.document_data:
             docname, targetname, title, author = entry[:4]
             targetname += '.texi'
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/text.py b/sphinx/builders/text.py
index c3fe666c4fa..243e790124f 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/text.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/text.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 from sphinx.writers.text import TextTranslator, TextWriter
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from collections.abc import Iterator
+    from collections.abc import Iterator, Set
 
     from docutils import nodes
 
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ def get_outdated_docs(self) -> Iterator[str]:
     def get_target_uri(self, docname: str, typ: str | None = None) -> str:
         return ''
 
-    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: set[str]) -> None:
+    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         self.writer = TextWriter(self)
 
     def write_doc(self, docname: str, doctree: nodes.document) -> None:
diff --git a/sphinx/builders/xml.py b/sphinx/builders/xml.py
index d675fc4accf..dbb78772a00 100644
--- a/sphinx/builders/xml.py
+++ b/sphinx/builders/xml.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 from sphinx.writers.xml import PseudoXMLWriter, XMLWriter
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from collections.abc import Iterator
+    from collections.abc import Iterator, Set
 
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
     from sphinx.util.typing import ExtensionMetadata
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ def get_outdated_docs(self) -> Iterator[str]:
     def get_target_uri(self, docname: str, typ: str | None = None) -> str:
         return docname
 
-    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: set[str]) -> None:
+    def prepare_writing(self, docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         self.writer = self._writer_class(self)
 
     def write_doc(self, docname: str, doctree: nodes.document) -> None:
diff --git a/sphinx/ext/coverage.py b/sphinx/ext/coverage.py
index b287f6c8a85..c9b997642d3 100644
--- a/sphinx/ext/coverage.py
+++ b/sphinx/ext/coverage.py
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ def init(self) -> None:
     def get_outdated_docs(self) -> str:
         return 'coverage overview'
 
-    def write(self, *ignored: Any) -> None:
+    def write_documents(self, _docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         self.py_undoc: dict[str, dict[str, Any]] = {}
         self.py_undocumented: dict[str, Set[str]] = {}
         self.py_documented: dict[str, Set[str]] = {}
diff --git a/sphinx/ext/doctest.py b/sphinx/ext/doctest.py
index ba451208a5e..633d438979c 100644
--- a/sphinx/ext/doctest.py
+++ b/sphinx/ext/doctest.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 from sphinx.util.osutil import relpath
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from collections.abc import Callable, Iterable, Sequence
+    from collections.abc import Callable, Set
 
     from docutils.nodes import Element, Node, TextElement
 
@@ -355,13 +355,9 @@ def s(v: int) -> str:
         if self.total_failures or self.setup_failures or self.cleanup_failures:
             self.app.statuscode = 1
 
-    def write(self, build_docnames: Iterable[str] | None, updated_docnames: Sequence[str],
-              method: str = 'update') -> None:
-        if build_docnames is None:
-            build_docnames = sorted(self.env.all_docs)
-
+    def write_documents(self, docnames: Set[str]) -> None:
         logger.info(bold('running tests...'))
-        for docname in build_docnames:
+        for docname in sorted(docnames):
             # no need to resolve the doctree
             doctree = self.env.get_doctree(docname)
             self.test_doc(docname, doctree)