diff --git a/src/libmain/shared.cc b/src/libmain/shared.cc
index 6393d80bb..aef5d88bf 100644
--- a/src/libmain/shared.cc
+++ b/src/libmain/shared.cc
@@ -188,9 +188,6 @@ struct LegacyArgs : public MixCommonArgs
         mkFlag(0, "readonly-mode", "do not write to the Nix store",
             &settings.readOnlyMode);
 
-        mkFlag(0, "no-build-hook", "disable use of the build hook mechanism",
-            &(bool&) settings.useBuildHook, false);
-
         mkFlag(0, "show-trace", "show Nix expression stack trace in evaluation errors",
             &settings.showTrace);
 
diff --git a/src/libstore/build.cc b/src/libstore/build.cc
index 057ad2bdf..fc800f430 100644
--- a/src/libstore/build.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/build.cc
@@ -274,6 +274,10 @@ public:
     uint64_t expectedNarSize = 0;
     uint64_t doneNarSize = 0;
 
+    /* Whether to ask the build hook if it can build a derivation. If
+       it answers with "decline-permanently", we don't try again. */
+    bool tryBuildHook = true;
+
     Worker(LocalStore & store);
     ~Worker();
 
@@ -1622,7 +1626,7 @@ void DerivationGoal::buildDone()
 
 HookReply DerivationGoal::tryBuildHook()
 {
-    if (!settings.useBuildHook || !useDerivation) return rpDecline;
+    if (!worker.tryBuildHook || !useDerivation) return rpDecline;
 
     if (!worker.hook)
         worker.hook = std::make_unique<HookInstance>();
@@ -1662,7 +1666,7 @@ HookReply DerivationGoal::tryBuildHook()
         if (reply == "decline")
             return rpDecline;
         else if (reply == "decline-permanently") {
-            settings.useBuildHook = false;
+            worker.tryBuildHook = false;
             worker.hook = 0;
             return rpDecline;
         }
diff --git a/src/libstore/globals.hh b/src/libstore/globals.hh
index 4980615dc..880527322 100644
--- a/src/libstore/globals.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/globals.hh
@@ -132,9 +132,6 @@ public:
         "The maximum duration in seconds that a builder can run. "
         "0 means infinity.", {"build-timeout"}};
 
-    Setting<bool> useBuildHook{this, true, "remote-builds",
-        "Whether to use build hooks (for distributed builds)."};
-
     PathSetting buildHook{this, true, nixLibexecDir + "/nix/build-remote", "build-hook",
         "The path of the helper program that executes builds to remote machines."};
 
diff --git a/src/libstore/remote-store.cc b/src/libstore/remote-store.cc
index b9076c047..77b41b6bf 100644
--- a/src/libstore/remote-store.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/remote-store.cc
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ void RemoteStore::setOptions(Connection & conn)
        << verbosity
        << settings.maxBuildJobs
        << settings.maxSilentTime
-       << settings.useBuildHook
+       << true
        << (settings.verboseBuild ? lvlError : lvlVomit)
        << 0 // obsolete log type
        << 0 /* obsolete print build trace */
diff --git a/src/nix-daemon/nix-daemon.cc b/src/nix-daemon/nix-daemon.cc
index dbf301a91..5629cc64b 100644
--- a/src/nix-daemon/nix-daemon.cc
+++ b/src/nix-daemon/nix-daemon.cc
@@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ static void performOp(TunnelLogger * logger, ref<LocalStore> store,
         verbosity = (Verbosity) readInt(from);
         settings.maxBuildJobs.assign(readInt(from));
         settings.maxSilentTime = readInt(from);
-        settings.useBuildHook = readInt(from) != 0;
+        readInt(from); // obsolete useBuildHook
         settings.verboseBuild = lvlError == (Verbosity) readInt(from);
         readInt(from); // obsolete logType
         readInt(from); // obsolete printBuildTrace