diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/index.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/index.ts
index 485e6be506a5..1e6bd5f97690 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/index.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/plugins/index.ts
@@ -172,6 +172,15 @@ export async function VitestPlugin(options: UserConfig = {}, ctx = new Vitest('t
 
         for (const name in envs)
           process.env[name] ??= envs[name]
+
+        // don't watch files in run mode
+        if (!options.watch) {
+          viteConfig.server.watch = {
+            persistent: false,
+            depth: 0,
+            ignored: ['**/*'],
+          }
+        }
       },
       async configureServer(server) {
         try {