diff --git a/x-pack/test/tsconfig.json b/x-pack/test/tsconfig.json
index 0424891064cd..be7d9221e7ab 100644
--- a/x-pack/test/tsconfig.json
+++ b/x-pack/test/tsconfig.json
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@
     "emitDeclarationOnly": true,
     "declaration": true,
     "declarationMap": true,
-    "types": ["node"]
+    "types": ["node"],
+    // overhead is too significant
+    "incremental": false,
   },
   "include": [
     "**/*",