diff --git a/Documentation/git.txt b/Documentation/git.txt
index 9b82564d1a..1c420da208 100644
--- a/Documentation/git.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git.txt
@@ -544,6 +544,10 @@ other
 	a pager.  See also the `core.pager` option in
 	linkgit:git-config[1].
 
+`GIT_PROGRESS_DELAY`::
+	A number controlling how many seconds to delay before showing
+	optional progress indicators. Defaults to 2.
+
 `GIT_EDITOR`::
 	This environment variable overrides `$EDITOR` and `$VISUAL`.
 	It is used by several Git commands when, on interactive mode,
diff --git a/progress.c b/progress.c
index 0063559aab..19805ac646 100644
--- a/progress.c
+++ b/progress.c
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #include "strbuf.h"
 #include "trace.h"
 #include "utf8.h"
+#include "config.h"
 
 #define TP_IDX_MAX      8
 
@@ -267,9 +268,19 @@ static struct progress *start_progress_delay(const char *title, uint64_t total,
 	return progress;
 }
 
+static int get_default_delay(void)
+{
+	static int delay_in_secs = -1;
+
+	if (delay_in_secs < 0)
+		delay_in_secs = git_env_ulong("GIT_PROGRESS_DELAY", 2);
+
+	return delay_in_secs;
+}
+
 struct progress *start_delayed_progress(const char *title, uint64_t total)
 {
-	return start_progress_delay(title, total, 2, 0);
+	return start_progress_delay(title, total, get_default_delay(), 0);
 }
 
 struct progress *start_progress(const char *title, uint64_t total)
@@ -294,7 +305,7 @@ struct progress *start_sparse_progress(const char *title, uint64_t total)
 struct progress *start_delayed_sparse_progress(const char *title,
 					       uint64_t total)
 {
-	return start_progress_delay(title, total, 2, 1);
+	return start_progress_delay(title, total, get_default_delay(), 1);
 }
 
 static void finish_if_sparse(struct progress *progress)
diff --git a/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh b/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh
index d42b3efe39..0824857e1f 100755
--- a/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh
+++ b/t/t5318-commit-graph.sh
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ test_expect_success 'commit-graph write progress off for redirected stderr' '
 
 test_expect_success 'commit-graph write force progress on for stderr' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/full" &&
-	git commit-graph write --progress 2>err &&
+	GIT_PROGRESS_DELAY=0 git commit-graph write --progress 2>err &&
 	test_file_not_empty err
 '
 
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ test_expect_success 'commit-graph verify progress off for redirected stderr' '
 
 test_expect_success 'commit-graph verify force progress on for stderr' '
 	cd "$TRASH_DIRECTORY/full" &&
-	git commit-graph verify --progress 2>err &&
+	GIT_PROGRESS_DELAY=0 git commit-graph verify --progress 2>err &&
 	test_file_not_empty err
 '
 
diff --git a/t/t6500-gc.sh b/t/t6500-gc.sh
index c0f04dc6b0..7f79eedd1c 100755
--- a/t/t6500-gc.sh
+++ b/t/t6500-gc.sh
@@ -103,9 +103,8 @@ test_expect_success 'auto gc with too many loose objects does not attempt to cre
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'gc --no-quiet' '
-	git -c gc.writeCommitGraph=true gc --no-quiet >stdout 2>stderr &&
+	GIT_PROGRESS_DELAY=0 git -c gc.writeCommitGraph=true gc --no-quiet >stdout 2>stderr &&
 	test_must_be_empty stdout &&
-	test_line_count = 1 stderr &&
 	test_i18ngrep "Computing commit graph generation numbers" stderr
 '