diff --git a/env-bootstrap/src/ringlog.rs b/env-bootstrap/src/ringlog.rs
index e12f46865..083d26d52 100644
--- a/env-bootstrap/src/ringlog.rs
+++ b/env-bootstrap/src/ringlog.rs
@@ -260,13 +260,18 @@ fn prune_old_logs() {
 }
 
 fn setup_pretty() -> (LevelFilter, Logger) {
-    prune_old_logs();
-
     let base_name = std::env::current_exe()
         .ok()
         .and_then(|p| p.file_name().map(|s| s.to_string_lossy().to_string()))
         .unwrap_or_else(|| "wezterm".to_string());
 
+    if base_name.contains("gui") {
+        // Only tidy up logs when the gui process is starting.
+        // rationale: `wezterm cli` commands should have as low startup
+        // overhead as possible
+        prune_old_logs();
+    }
+
     let log_file_name = config::RUNTIME_DIR.join(format!("{}-log-{}.txt", base_name, unsafe {
         libc::getpid()
     }));