diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 093da96d0..10cfe1a03 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -174,6 +174,10 @@ aws lambda invoke /dev/null \
   --function-name myServiceName-dev-invokedHandler
 ```
 
+## The `process.env.IS_OFFLINE` variable
+
+Will be `"true"` in your handlers and thourough the plugin.
+
 ## Token authorizers
 
 As defined in the [Serverless Documentation](https://serverless.com/framework/docs/providers/aws/events/apigateway/#setting-api-keys-for-your-rest-api) you can use API Keys as a simple authentication method.
diff --git a/examples/events/http/handler.js b/examples/events/http/handler.js
index 32b6c1ee3..1e0a5ef07 100644
--- a/examples/events/http/handler.js
+++ b/examples/events/http/handler.js
@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 'use strict'
 
-const { stringify } = JSON
-
 exports.hello = async function hello() {
   return {
-    body: stringify({ foo: 'bar' }),
+    body: JSON.stringify({ foo: 'bar', IS_OFFLINE: process.env.IS_OFFLINE }),
     statusCode: 200,
   }
 }
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index c08dc4705..347f82e1e 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "dedicatedTo": "Blue, a great migrating bird.",
   "name": "serverless-offline",
-  "version": "6.2.0",
+  "version": "6.3.0",
   "description": "Emulate AWS λ and API Gateway locally when developing your Serverless project",
   "license": "MIT",
   "main": "dist/main.js",
diff --git a/src/ServerlessOffline.js b/src/ServerlessOffline.js
index 5f7ad09b4..9c9611414 100644
--- a/src/ServerlessOffline.js
+++ b/src/ServerlessOffline.js
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@ export default class ServerlessOffline {
 
   // Entry point for the plugin (sls offline) when running 'sls offline start'
   async start() {
+    // Put here so available everywhere, not just in handlers
+    process.env.IS_OFFLINE = true
+
     // check if update is available
     updateNotifier({ pkg }).notify()
 
diff --git a/src/lambda/handler-runner/in-process-runner/InProcessRunner.js b/src/lambda/handler-runner/in-process-runner/InProcessRunner.js
index cb2d57cd8..6ec07b76e 100644
--- a/src/lambda/handler-runner/in-process-runner/InProcessRunner.js
+++ b/src/lambda/handler-runner/in-process-runner/InProcessRunner.js
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 import { performance } from 'perf_hooks'
 
-const { assign } = Object
-
 export default class InProcessRunner {
   #env = null
   #functionKey = null
@@ -35,7 +33,7 @@ export default class InProcessRunner {
     // NOTE: Don't use Object spread (...) here!
     // otherwise the values of the attached props are not coerced to a string
     // e.g. process.env.foo = 1 should be coerced to '1' (string)
-    assign(process.env, this.#env)
+    Object.assign(process.env, this.#env)
 
     // lazy load handler with first usage