```
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jruby/RubyInstanceConfig.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jruby/RubyInstanceConfig.java
index 6bea5a63db..6b0a8f8a03 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/jruby/RubyInstanceConfig.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jruby/RubyInstanceConfig.java
@@ -1641,7 +1641,8 @@ public class RubyInstanceConfig {
         JIT, FORCE, OFF;
 
         public boolean shouldPrecompileCLI() {
-            return this == JIT || this == FORCE;
+            // when exploring compilation we never want to pre-compile the entry file
+            return false;
         }
 
         public boolean shouldJIT() {

```