diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/builder.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/builder.cc
index 7f8830f9..89aa7d15 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/builder.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/builder.cc
@@ -148,7 +148,8 @@ State::StepResult State::doBuildStep(nix::ref<Store> destStore,
             localStore->printStorePath(step->drvPath), repeats + 1, machine->sshName, buildId, (dependents.size() - 1));
     }
 
-    bool quit = buildId == buildOne && step->drvPath == *buildDrvPath;
+    if (!buildOneDone)
+        buildOneDone = buildId == buildOne && step->drvPath == *buildDrvPath;
 
     RemoteResult result;
     BuildOutput res;
@@ -265,7 +266,7 @@ State::StepResult State::doBuildStep(nix::ref<Store> destStore,
         if (retry) {
             auto mc = startDbUpdate();
             stepFinished = true;
-            if (quit) exit(1);
+            if (buildOneDone) exit(1);
             return sRetry;
         }
     }
@@ -376,7 +377,7 @@ State::StepResult State::doBuildStep(nix::ref<Store> destStore,
         }
 
     } else
-        failStep(*conn, step, buildId, result, machine, stepFinished, quit);
+        failStep(*conn, step, buildId, result, machine, stepFinished);
 
     // FIXME: keep stats about aborted steps?
     nrStepsDone++;
@@ -386,7 +387,7 @@ 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; FIXME: this won't run plugins
+    if (buildOneDone) exit(0); // testing hack; FIXME: this won't run plugins
 
     return sDone;
 }
@@ -398,8 +399,7 @@ void State::failStep(
     BuildID buildId,
     const RemoteResult & result,
     Machine::ptr machine,
-    bool & stepFinished,
-    bool & quit)
+    bool & stepFinished)
 {
     /* Register failure in the database for all Build objects that
        directly or indirectly depend on this step. */
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ void State::failStep(
             b->finishedInDB = true;
             builds_->erase(b->id);
             dependentIDs.push_back(b->id);
-            if (buildOne == b->id) quit = true;
+            if (!buildOneDone && buildOne == b->id) buildOneDone = true;
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/dispatcher.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/dispatcher.cc
index 6dc7f700..8c497a66 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/dispatcher.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/dispatcher.cc
@@ -374,7 +374,6 @@ void State::abortUnsupported()
             if (!build) build = *dependents.begin();
 
             bool stepFinished = false;
-            bool quit = false;
 
             failStep(
                 *conn, step, build->id,
@@ -385,9 +384,9 @@ void State::abortUnsupported()
                     .startTime = now2,
                     .stopTime = now2,
                 },
-                nullptr, stepFinished, quit);
+                nullptr, stepFinished);
 
-            if (quit) exit(1);
+            if (buildOneDone) exit(1);
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/queue-monitor.cc b/src/hydra-queue-runner/queue-monitor.cc
index 9c92f635..26d780b2 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/queue-monitor.cc
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/queue-monitor.cc
@@ -35,14 +35,17 @@ void State::queueMonitorLoop()
 
     unsigned int lastBuildId = 0;
 
-    while (true) {
+    bool quit = false;
+    while (!quit) {
         localStore->clearPathInfoCache();
 
         bool done = getQueuedBuilds(*conn, destStore, lastBuildId);
 
+        if (buildOne && buildOneDone) quit = true;
+
         /* Sleep until we get notification from the database about an
            event. */
-        if (done) {
+        if (done && !quit) {
             conn->await_notification();
             nrQueueWakeups++;
         } else
@@ -65,6 +68,8 @@ void State::queueMonitorLoop()
             processJobsetSharesChange(*conn);
         }
     }
+
+    exit(0);
 }
 
 
@@ -160,6 +165,7 @@ bool State::getQueuedBuilds(Connection & conn,
 
             /* Some step previously failed, so mark the build as
                failed right away. */
+            if (!buildOneDone && build->id == buildOne) buildOneDone = true;
             printMsg(lvlError, "marking build %d as cached failure due to ‘%s’",
                 build->id, localStore->printStorePath(ex.step->drvPath));
             if (!build->finishedInDB) {
@@ -231,6 +237,7 @@ bool State::getQueuedBuilds(Connection & conn,
             auto mc = startDbUpdate();
             pqxx::work txn(conn);
             time_t now = time(0);
+            if (!buildOneDone && build->id == buildOne) buildOneDone = true;
             printMsg(lvlInfo, "marking build %1% as succeeded (cached)", build->id);
             markSucceededBuild(txn, build, res, true, now, now);
             notifyBuildFinished(txn, build->id, {});
@@ -289,6 +296,8 @@ bool State::getQueuedBuilds(Connection & conn,
         for (auto & r : newRunnable)
             makeRunnable(r);
 
+        if (buildOne && newRunnable.size() == 0) buildOneDone = true;
+
         nrBuildsRead += nrAdded;
 
         /* Stop after a certain time to allow priority bumps to be
diff --git a/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh b/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
index 57fd5a77..5a5c5f94 100644
--- a/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
+++ b/src/hydra-queue-runner/state.hh
@@ -367,6 +367,7 @@ private:
 
     /* Specific build to do for --build-one (testing only). */
     BuildID buildOne;
+    bool buildOneDone = false;
 
     /* Statistics per machine type for the Hydra auto-scaler. */
     struct MachineType
@@ -485,8 +486,7 @@ private:
         BuildID buildId,
         const RemoteResult & result,
         Machine::ptr machine,
-        bool & stepFinished,
-        bool & quit);
+        bool & stepFinished);
 
     Jobset::ptr createJobset(pqxx::work & txn,
         const std::string & projectName, const std::string & jobsetName);