diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/builder.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/builder.cc
index 667a5192..ef690645 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/builder.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/builder.cc
@@ -146,6 +146,13 @@ State::StepResult State::doBuildStep(nix::ref<Store> destStore,
             auto orphanedSteps_(orphanedSteps.lock());
             orphanedSteps_->emplace(buildId, stepNr);
         }
+
+        if (stepNr) {
+            /* Asynchronously run plugins. FIXME: if we're killed,
+               plugin actions might not be run. Need to ensure
+               at-least-once semantics. */
+            enqueueNotificationItem({NotificationItem::Type::StepFinished, buildId, {}, stepNr, result.logFile});
+        }
     });
 
     time_t stepStartTime = result.startTime = time(0);
@@ -205,16 +212,6 @@ State::StepResult State::doBuildStep(nix::ref<Store> destStore,
         }
     }
 
-    /* Asynchronously compress the log. */
-    if (result.logFile != "") {
-        {
-            auto logCompressorQueue_(logCompressorQueue.lock());
-            assert(stepNr);
-            logCompressorQueue_->push({buildId, stepNr, result.logFile});
-        }
-        logCompressorWakeup.notify_one();
-    }
-
     /* The step had a hopefully temporary failure (e.g. network
        issue). Retry a number of times. */
     if (result.canRetry) {
@@ -446,7 +443,7 @@ State::StepResult State::doBuildStep(nix::ref<Store> destStore,
     machine->state->totalStepTime += stepStopTime - stepStartTime;
     machine->state->totalStepBuildTime += result.stopTime - result.startTime;
 
-    if (quit) exit(0); // testing hack
+    if (quit) exit(0); // testing hack; FIXME: this won't run plugins
 
     return sDone;
 }
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
index f66b0f9d..402960b3 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/hydra-queue-runner.cc
@@ -460,63 +460,6 @@ bool State::checkCachedFailure(Step::ptr step, Connection & conn)
 }
 
 
-void State::logCompressor()
-{
-    while (true) {
-        try {
-
-            CompressionItem item;
-            {
-                auto logCompressorQueue_(logCompressorQueue.lock());
-                while (logCompressorQueue_->empty())
-                    logCompressorQueue_.wait(logCompressorWakeup);
-                item = logCompressorQueue_->front();
-                logCompressorQueue_->pop();
-            }
-
-            if (!pathExists(item.logPath)) continue;
-
-            printMsg(lvlChatty, format("compressing log file ‘%1%’") % item.logPath);
-
-            Path dstPath = item.logPath + ".bz2";
-            Path tmpPath = dstPath + ".tmp";
-
-            AutoCloseFD fd = open(tmpPath.c_str(), O_CREAT | O_TRUNC | O_WRONLY, 0644);
-
-            // FIXME: use libbz2
-
-            Pid pid = startProcess([&]() {
-                if (dup2(fd.get(), STDOUT_FILENO) == -1)
-                    throw SysError("cannot dup output pipe to stdout");
-                execlp("bzip2", "bzip2", "-c", item.logPath.c_str(), nullptr);
-                throw SysError("cannot start bzip2");
-            });
-
-            int res = pid.wait();
-
-            if (res != 0)
-                throw Error(format("bzip2 returned exit code %1% while compressing ‘%2%’")
-                    % res % item.logPath);
-
-            if (rename(tmpPath.c_str(), dstPath.c_str()) != 0)
-                throw SysError(format("renaming ‘%1%’") % tmpPath);
-
-            if (unlink(item.logPath.c_str()) != 0)
-                throw SysError(format("unlinking ‘%1%’") % item.logPath);
-
-            /* Run plugins. We do this after log compression to ensure
-               that the log file doesn't change while the plugins may
-               be accessing it. */
-            enqueueNotificationItem({NotificationItem::Type::StepFinished, item.id, {}, item.stepNr, dstPath});
-
-        } catch (std::exception & e) {
-            printMsg(lvlError, format("log compressor: %1%") % e.what());
-            sleep(5);
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-
 void State::notificationSender()
 {
     while (true) {
@@ -860,10 +803,6 @@ void State::run(BuildID buildOne)
 
     std::thread(&State::dispatcher, this).detach();
 
-    /* Run a log compressor thread. If needed, we could start more
-       than one. */
-    std::thread(&State::logCompressor, this).detach();
-
     /* Idem for notification sending. */
     std::thread(&State::notificationSender, this).detach();
 
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh b/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
index d4cbbb5c..285dac99 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
@@ -321,16 +321,6 @@ private:
     counter bytesReceived{0};
     counter nrActiveDbUpdates{0};
 
-    /* Log compressor work queue. */
-    struct CompressionItem
-    {
-        BuildID id;
-        unsigned int stepNr;
-        nix::Path logPath;
-    };
-    nix::Sync<std::queue<CompressionItem>> logCompressorQueue;
-    std::condition_variable logCompressorWakeup;
-
     /* Notification sender work queue. FIXME: if hydra-queue-runner is
        killed before it has finished sending notifications about a
        build, then the notifications may be lost. It would be better
@@ -508,9 +498,6 @@ private:
 
     bool checkCachedFailure(Step::ptr step, Connection & conn);
 
-    /* Thread that asynchronously bzips logs of finished steps. */
-    void logCompressor();
-
     /* Thread that asynchronously invokes hydra-notify to send build
        notifications. */
     void notificationSender();
diff --git a/src/lib/Hydra/Plugin/CompressLog.pm b/src/lib/Hydra/Plugin/CompressLog.pm
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bf8d4327
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/Hydra/Plugin/CompressLog.pm
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+package Hydra::Plugin::CompressLog;
+
+use strict;
+use utf8;
+use parent 'Hydra::Plugin';
+use Hydra::Helper::CatalystUtils;
+
+sub stepFinished {
+    my ($self, $step, $logPath) = @_;
+
+    my $doCompress = $self->{config}->{'compress_build_logs'} // "1";
+
+    if ($doCompress eq "1" && -e $logPath) {
+        print STDERR "compressing ‘$logPath’...\n";
+        system("bzip2", "--force", $logPath);
+    }
+}
+
+1;