diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/MainLoop.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/MainLoop.scala
index a2c4efd7d..99256ed79 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/MainLoop.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/MainLoop.scala
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import sbt.util.Logger
 
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
 import scala.util.control.NonFatal
+import sbt.internal.FastTrackCommands
 
 object MainLoop {
 
@@ -201,7 +202,14 @@ object MainLoop {
         StandardMain.exchange.setState(progressState)
         StandardMain.exchange.setExec(Some(exec))
         StandardMain.exchange.unprompt(ConsoleUnpromptEvent(exec.source))
-        val newState = Command.process(exec.commandLine, progressState)
+        /*
+         * FastTrackCommands.evaluate can be significantly faster than Command.process because
+         * it avoids an expensive parsing step for internal commands that are easy to parse.
+         * Dropping (FastTrackCommands.evaluate ... getOrElse) should be functionally identical
+         * but slower.
+         */
+        val newState = FastTrackCommands.evaluate(progressState, exec.commandLine) getOrElse
+          Command.process(exec.commandLine, progressState)
         // Flush the terminal output after command evaluation to ensure that all output
         // is displayed in the thin client before we report the command status.
         val terminal = channelName.flatMap(exchange.channelForName(_).map(_.terminal))
diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Continuous.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Continuous.scala
index 557fa3300..cd6682433 100644
--- a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Continuous.scala
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/Continuous.scala
@@ -1297,7 +1297,7 @@ private[sbt] object ContinuousCommands {
       case _ => state
     }
   }
-  private[this] val failWatchCommand = watchCommand(failWatch) { (channel, state) =>
+  private[sbt] val failWatchCommand = watchCommand(failWatch) { (channel, state) =>
     state.fail
   }
   /*
diff --git a/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/FastTrackCommands.scala b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/FastTrackCommands.scala
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8c53f81de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/main/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/FastTrackCommands.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+/*
+ * sbt
+ * Copyright 2011 - 2018, Lightbend, Inc.
+ * Copyright 2008 - 2010, Mark Harrah
+ * Licensed under Apache License 2.0 (see LICENSE)
+ */
+
+package sbt
+package internal
+
+import BasicCommandStrings._
+import BasicCommands._
+import BuiltinCommands.{ setTerminalCommand, shell, waitCmd }
+import ContinuousCommands._
+
+import sbt.internal.util.complete.Parser
+
+/** This is used to speed up command parsing. */
+private[sbt] object FastTrackCommands {
+  private def fromCommand(
+      cmd: String,
+      command: Command,
+      arguments: Boolean = true,
+  ): (State, String) => Option[State] =
+    (s, c) =>
+      Parser.parse(if (arguments) c else "", command.parser(s)) match {
+        case Right(newState) => Some(newState())
+        case l               => None
+      }
+  private val commands = Map[String, (State, String) => Option[State]](
+    FailureWall -> { case (s, c) => if (c == FailureWall) Some(s) else None },
+    StashOnFailure -> fromCommand(StashOnFailure, stashOnFailure, arguments = false),
+    PopOnFailure -> fromCommand(PopOnFailure, popOnFailure, arguments = false),
+    Shell -> fromCommand(Shell, shell),
+    SetTerminal -> fromCommand(SetTerminal, setTerminalCommand),
+    failWatch -> fromCommand(failWatch, failWatchCommand),
+    preWatch -> fromCommand(preWatch, preWatchCommand),
+    postWatch -> fromCommand(postWatch, postWatchCommand),
+    runWatch -> fromCommand(runWatch, runWatchCommand),
+    stopWatch -> fromCommand(stopWatch, stopWatchCommand),
+    waitWatch -> fromCommand(waitWatch, waitCmd),
+  )
+  private[sbt] def evaluate(state: State, cmd: String): Option[State] = {
+    cmd.trim.split(" ") match {
+      case Array(h, _*) =>
+        commands.get(h) match {
+          case Some(command) => command(state, cmd)
+          case _             => None
+        }
+      case _ => None
+    }
+  }
+}