diff --git a/build-conventions/build.gradle b/build-conventions/build.gradle
index 0065492a735b..cd9a548a9901 100644
--- a/build-conventions/build.gradle
+++ b/build-conventions/build.gradle
@@ -92,3 +92,7 @@ project.getPlugins().withType(JavaBasePlugin.class) {
         }
     }
 }
+
+tasks.withType(JavaCompile).configureEach {
+  options.incremental = System.getenv("JENKINS_URL") == null && System.getenv("BUILDKITE_BUILD_URL") == null && System.getProperty("isCI") == null
+}
diff --git a/build-tools-internal/build.gradle b/build-tools-internal/build.gradle
index 738b3f62803a..d0c52945801d 100644
--- a/build-tools-internal/build.gradle
+++ b/build-tools-internal/build.gradle
@@ -229,6 +229,7 @@ sourceSets {
 
 tasks.withType(JavaCompile).configureEach {
   options.encoding = 'UTF-8'
+  options.incremental = System.getenv("JENKINS_URL") == null && System.getenv("BUILDKITE_BUILD_URL") == null && System.getProperty("isCI") == null
 }
 
 tasks.named('licenseHeaders').configure {
diff --git a/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/ElasticsearchJavaBasePlugin.java b/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/ElasticsearchJavaBasePlugin.java
index 4f9a7284c83e..4a695e93ebdf 100644
--- a/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/ElasticsearchJavaBasePlugin.java
+++ b/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/ElasticsearchJavaBasePlugin.java
@@ -132,6 +132,7 @@ public class ElasticsearchJavaBasePlugin implements Plugin<Project> {
             compileTask.getConventionMapping().map("sourceCompatibility", () -> java.getSourceCompatibility().toString());
             compileTask.getConventionMapping().map("targetCompatibility", () -> java.getTargetCompatibility().toString());
             compileOptions.getRelease().set(releaseVersionProviderFromCompileTask(project, compileTask));
+            compileOptions.setIncremental(BuildParams.isCi() == false);
         });
         // also apply release flag to groovy, which is used in build-tools
         project.getTasks().withType(GroovyCompile.class).configureEach(compileTask -> {
diff --git a/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/info/GlobalBuildInfoPlugin.java b/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/info/GlobalBuildInfoPlugin.java
index 115c4b069414..5e62790a9d78 100644
--- a/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/info/GlobalBuildInfoPlugin.java
+++ b/build-tools-internal/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/gradle/internal/info/GlobalBuildInfoPlugin.java
@@ -124,7 +124,9 @@ public class GlobalBuildInfoPlugin implements Plugin<Project> {
             params.setGitOrigin(gitInfo.getOrigin());
             params.setBuildDate(ZonedDateTime.now(ZoneOffset.UTC));
             params.setTestSeed(getTestSeed());
-            params.setIsCi(System.getenv("JENKINS_URL") != null || System.getenv("BUILDKITE_BUILD_URL") != null);
+            params.setIsCi(
+                System.getenv("JENKINS_URL") != null || System.getenv("BUILDKITE_BUILD_URL") != null || System.getProperty("isCI") != null
+            );
             params.setDefaultParallel(ParallelDetector.findDefaultParallel(project));
             params.setInFipsJvm(Util.getBooleanProperty("tests.fips.enabled", false));
             params.setIsSnapshotBuild(Util.getBooleanProperty("build.snapshot", true));
diff --git a/build-tools/build.gradle b/build-tools/build.gradle
index 3fe2639bfe2a..eb5573ac03e0 100644
--- a/build-tools/build.gradle
+++ b/build-tools/build.gradle
@@ -158,6 +158,10 @@ dependencies {
 
 }
 
+tasks.withType(JavaCompile).configureEach {
+  options.incremental = System.getenv("JENKINS_URL") == null && System.getenv("BUILDKITE_BUILD_URL") == null && System.getProperty("isCI") == null
+}
+
 tasks.named('test').configure {
     useJUnitPlatform()
 }