diff --git a/npm/webpack-dev-server/src/makeDefaultWebpackConfig.ts b/npm/webpack-dev-server/src/makeDefaultWebpackConfig.ts
index 2ae88af47f6b..f40ca731bc0a 100644
--- a/npm/webpack-dev-server/src/makeDefaultWebpackConfig.ts
+++ b/npm/webpack-dev-server/src/makeDefaultWebpackConfig.ts
@@ -99,11 +99,13 @@ export function makeCypressWebpackConfig (
     devtool: 'inline-source-map',
   } as any
 
-  // if experimentalJustInTimeCompile is configured, we need to watch for file changes as the spec entries are going to be updated per test
-  if (isRunMode && !experimentalJustInTimeCompile) {
+  if (isRunMode) {
+    // if experimentalJustInTimeCompile is configured, we need to watch for file changes as the spec entries are going to be updated per test
+    const ignored = experimentalJustInTimeCompile ? /node_modules/ : '**/*'
+
     // Disable file watching when executing tests in `run` mode
     finalConfig.watchOptions = {
-      ignored: '**/*',
+      ignored,
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/npm/webpack-dev-server/test/makeWebpackConfig.spec.ts b/npm/webpack-dev-server/test/makeWebpackConfig.spec.ts
index ac9dc29cfdd2..31d18a8713e0 100644
--- a/npm/webpack-dev-server/test/makeWebpackConfig.spec.ts
+++ b/npm/webpack-dev-server/test/makeWebpackConfig.spec.ts
@@ -495,7 +495,7 @@ describe('makeWebpackConfig', () => {
               }),
             })
 
-            expect(actual.watchOptions?.ignored).to.be.undefined
+            expect(actual.watchOptions?.ignored).to.deep.equal(/node_modules/)
           })
         })
       })