diff --git a/src/libsync/capabilities.cpp b/src/libsync/capabilities.cpp
index 73b796fa2b212..83085765633ab 100644
--- a/src/libsync/capabilities.cpp
+++ b/src/libsync/capabilities.cpp
@@ -250,6 +250,11 @@ int Capabilities::maxConcurrentChunkUploads() const
 
 bool Capabilities::bulkUpload() const
 {
+    static const auto bulkUploadEnv = qgetenv("OWNCLOUD_BULK_UPLOAD");
+    if (bulkUploadEnv == "0")
+        return false;
+    if (bulkUploadEnv == "1")
+        return true;
     return _capabilities["dav"].toMap()["bulkupload"].toByteArray() >= "1.0";
 }