diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f55e437..7717825 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 This project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/).
 
+## Version 0.2.3 - 2024-06-17
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Only startup plugin if invoked for runtime (e.g., via cli `cds serve`)
+
 ## Version 0.2.2 - 2024-06-03
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/cds-plugin.js b/cds-plugin.js
index 50d9615..c8462f5 100644
--- a/cds-plugin.js
+++ b/cds-plugin.js
@@ -1 +1,12 @@
-if (!process.env.NO_TELEMETRY || process.env.NO_TELEMETRY === 'false') require('./lib')()
+let _startup = true
+
+const cds = require('@sap/cds')
+if (!(cds.cli?.command in { '': 1, serve: 1, run: 1 })) _startup = false
+
+// cds add XXX currently also has cli.command === ''
+const i = process.argv.indexOf('add')
+if (i > 1 && process.argv[i - 1].match(/cds(\.js)?$/)) _startup = false
+
+if (!!process.env.NO_TELEMETRY && process.env.NO_TELEMETRY !== 'false') _startup = false
+
+if (_startup) require('./lib')()
diff --git a/lib/index.js b/lib/index.js
index a23076e..53c99d3 100644
--- a/lib/index.js
+++ b/lib/index.js
@@ -7,11 +7,6 @@ const metrics = require('./metrics')
 const { getDiagLogLevel, getResource } = require('./utils')
 
 module.exports = function () {
-  // REVISIT: better
-  // no need to fire up plugin during build (avoid credentials validation)
-  const i = process.argv.indexOf('build')
-  if (i > 1 && process.argv[i - 1].match(/cds(\.js)?$/)) return
-
   // set logger and propagate log level
   diag.setLogger(cds.log('telemetry'), process.env.OTEL_LOG_LEVEL || getDiagLogLevel())
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 74e4600..f4e1135 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@cap-js/telemetry",
-  "version": "0.2.2",
+  "version": "0.2.3",
   "description": "CDS plugin providing observability features, incl. automatic OpenTelemetry instrumentation.",
   "repository": "cap-js/telemetry",
   "author": "SAP SE (https://www.sap.com)",
diff --git a/test/bookshop/package.json b/test/bookshop/package.json
index 03159fb..28f1748 100644
--- a/test/bookshop/package.json
+++ b/test/bookshop/package.json
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 {
+  "name": "bookshop",
   "dependencies": {
     "@cap-js/telemetry": "*",
     "@cap-js/sqlite": "*",
diff --git a/test/startup.test.js b/test/startup.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f92868
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/startup.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+const childProcess = require('child_process')
+
+const startup = cmd => {
+  return new Promise(resolve => {
+    const p = childProcess.exec(cmd, {
+      env: Object.assign({}, process.env, { CDS_REQUIRES_TELEMETRY_KIND: 'to-cloud-logging' }),
+      cwd: __dirname + '/bookshop'
+    })
+    p.on('exit', () => {
+      resolve(!p.exitCode ? false : true)
+    })
+    p.stdout.on('data', data => {
+      if (data.match(/server listening on/)) p.kill()
+    })
+  })
+}
+
+describe('plugin started', () => {
+  afterAll(() => {
+    require('fs').unlinkSync(__dirname + '/bookshop/mta.yaml')
+    require('fs').rmdirSync(__dirname + '/bookshop/gen', { recursive: true })
+  })
+
+  test('not for NO_TELEMETRY=true', async () => {
+    const started = await startup('NO_TELEMETRY=true cds serve')
+    expect(started).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  test('for NO_TELEMETRY=false', async () => {
+    const started = await startup('NO_TELEMETRY=false cds serve')
+    expect(started).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  test('for cds serve', async () => {
+    const started = await startup('cds serve')
+    expect(started).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  test('for cds run', async () => {
+    const started = await startup('cds run')
+    expect(started).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  test('not for cds build', async () => {
+    const started = await startup('cds build --production')
+    expect(started).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  test('not for cds add', async () => {
+    const started = await startup('cds add mta')
+    expect(started).toBe(false)
+  })
+})