diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Defaults.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Defaults.scala
index 4b6e11db9..68882c9dc 100755
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Defaults.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Defaults.scala
@@ -154,15 +154,11 @@ object Defaults extends BuildCommon {
       inputFileStamper :== sbt.nio.FileStamper.Hash,
       outputFileStamper :== sbt.nio.FileStamper.LastModified,
       onChangedBuildSource :== sbt.nio.Keys.WarnOnSourceChanges,
-      watchTriggeredMessage :== sbt.nio.Watch.defaultOnTriggerMessage,
-      watchForceTriggerOnAnyChange :== false,
-      watchPersistFileStamps :== true,
-      watchTriggers :== Nil,
       clean := { () },
       unmanagedFileStampCache :=
         state.value.get(persistentFileStampCache).getOrElse(new sbt.nio.FileStamp.Cache),
       managedFileStampCache := new sbt.nio.FileStamp.Cache,
-    ) ++ globalIvyCore ++ globalJvmCore
+    ) ++ globalIvyCore ++ globalJvmCore ++ Watch.defaults
   ) ++ globalSbtCore
 
   private[sbt] lazy val globalJvmCore: Seq[Setting[_]] =
@@ -344,17 +340,6 @@ object Defaults extends BuildCommon {
         sys.env.contains("CI") || System.getProperty("sbt.ci", "false") == "true",
       // watch related settings
       pollInterval :== Watch.defaultPollInterval,
-      watchAntiEntropy :== Watch.defaultAntiEntropy,
-      watchAntiEntropyRetentionPeriod :== Watch.defaultAntiEntropyRetentionPeriod,
-      watchLogLevel :== Level.Info,
-      watchOnEnter :== Watch.defaultOnEnter,
-      watchOnFileInputEvent :== Watch.trigger,
-      watchDeletionQuarantinePeriod :== Watch.defaultDeletionQuarantinePeriod,
-      watchService :== Watched.newWatchService,
-      watchStartMessage :== Watch.defaultStartWatch,
-      watchTasks := Continuous.continuousTask.evaluated,
-      aggregate in watchTasks :== false,
-      watchTriggeredMessage :== Watch.defaultOnTriggerMessage,
     )
   )
 
diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala
index 0057dd087..de3266bee 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/Keys.scala
@@ -125,7 +125,6 @@ object Keys {
   val managedSources = taskKey[Seq[File]]("Sources generated by the build.").withRank(BTask)
   val sources = taskKey[Seq[File]]("All sources, both managed and unmanaged.").withRank(BTask)
   val sourcesInBase = settingKey[Boolean]("If true, sources from the project's base directory are included as main sources.")
-  val watchTriggers = settingKey[Seq[Glob]]("Describes files that should trigger a new continuous build.")
 
   // Filters
   val includeFilter = settingKey[FileFilter]("Filter for including sources and resources files from default directories.").withRank(CSetting)
diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/ScriptedPlugin.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/ScriptedPlugin.scala
index 2bc1b13fe..113fdd114 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/ScriptedPlugin.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/ScriptedPlugin.scala
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import java.lang.reflect.Method
 
 import sbt.Def._
 import sbt.Keys._
+import sbt.nio.Keys._
 import sbt.Project._
 import sbt.internal.inc.ModuleUtilities
 import sbt.internal.inc.classpath.ClasspathUtilities
diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/nio/Keys.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/nio/Keys.scala
index 9d2702a96..7632e04cc 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/nio/Keys.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/nio/Keys.scala
@@ -108,6 +108,8 @@ object Keys {
     "watch",
     "Watch a task (or multiple tasks) and rebuild when its file inputs change or user input is received. The semantics are more or less the same as the `~` command except that it cannot transform the state on exit. This means that it cannot be used to reload the build."
   ).withRank(DSetting)
+  val watchTriggers =
+    settingKey[Seq[Glob]]("Describes files that should trigger a new continuous build.")
   val watchTriggeredMessage = settingKey[(Int, Path, Seq[String]) => Option[String]](
     "The message to show before triggered execution executes an action after sources change. The parameters are the path that triggered the build and the current watch iteration count."
   ).withRank(DSetting)
diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/nio/Watch.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/nio/Watch.scala
index 5eb4cf344..745af45a1 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/nio/Watch.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/nio/Watch.scala
@@ -15,10 +15,12 @@ import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
 
 import sbt.BasicCommandStrings.ContinuousExecutePrefix
 import sbt._
+import sbt.internal.Continuous
 import sbt.internal.LabeledFunctions._
 import sbt.internal.nio.FileEvent
 import sbt.internal.util.complete.Parser
 import sbt.internal.util.complete.Parser._
+import sbt.nio.Keys._
 import sbt.nio.file.FileAttributes
 import sbt.util.{ Level, Logger }
 
@@ -476,4 +478,20 @@ object Watch {
    */
   final val clearOnTrigger: Int => Option[String] =
     ((_: Int) => Some(Watched.clearScreen)).label("Watched.clearOnTrigger")
+  private[sbt] def defaults: Seq[Def.Setting[_]] = Seq(
+    sbt.Keys.watchAntiEntropy :== Watch.defaultAntiEntropy,
+    watchAntiEntropyRetentionPeriod :== Watch.defaultAntiEntropyRetentionPeriod,
+    watchLogLevel :== Level.Info,
+    watchOnEnter :== Watch.defaultOnEnter,
+    watchOnFileInputEvent :== Watch.trigger,
+    watchDeletionQuarantinePeriod :== Watch.defaultDeletionQuarantinePeriod,
+    sbt.Keys.watchService :== Watched.newWatchService,
+    watchStartMessage :== Watch.defaultStartWatch,
+    watchTasks := Continuous.continuousTask.evaluated,
+    sbt.Keys.aggregate in watchTasks :== false,
+    watchTriggeredMessage :== Watch.defaultOnTriggerMessage,
+    watchForceTriggerOnAnyChange :== false,
+    watchPersistFileStamps :== true,
+    watchTriggers :== Nil,
+  )
 }