diff --git a/src/cli.zig b/src/cli.zig
index 078db88bc4..a156089f4d 100644
--- a/src/cli.zig
+++ b/src/cli.zig
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ pub const Command = struct {
 
             production: bool = false,
 
-            env_behavior: api.DotEnvBehavior = .load_all_without_inlining,
+            env_behavior: api.DotEnvBehavior = .disable,
             env_prefix: []const u8 = "",
             elide_lines: ?usize = null,
             // Compile options
@@ -433,6 +433,13 @@ pub const Command = struct {
                 .allocator = allocator,
             };
             global_cli_ctx = &context_data;
+            
+            // Set appropriate default env_behavior based on command
+            // Build command uses .disable as default (env vars handled via define mechanism)
+            // Run/Test/other commands use .load_all_without_inlining as default
+            if (comptime command != .BuildCommand) {
+                global_cli_ctx.bundler_options.env_behavior = .load_all_without_inlining;
+            }
 
             if (comptime Command.Tag.uses_global_options.get(command)) {
                 global_cli_ctx.args = try Arguments.parse(allocator, global_cli_ctx, command);