diff --git a/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml b/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml
index 11b979c..05453ba 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/continuous-integration.yml
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ env:
   COMPOSER_FLAGS: --ansi --no-interaction --no-progress
   COMPOSER_INSTALL_FLAGS: --prefer-dist
   COMPOSER_UPDATE_FLAGS: ''
+  GS_CI: 0
 
 jobs:
   validation:
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8ac75c8..b624d90 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ composer config extra.gilbertsoft/typo3-core-patches.ignore-branch true
 When running `composer update` or `composer install`, the plugin detects changes
 that already exist in the version being installed and suggests removing them. If
 you run Composer with the `--no-interaction` option, the patches are always
-removed.
+preserved. This can be changed by the config `force-tidy-patches` see bellow.
 
 Errors may occur if you use the source-dist of packages, which can be solved by
 adding the `config.discard-changes` configuration option to your `composer.json`,
@@ -144,6 +144,28 @@ see <https://getcomposer.org/doc/06-config.md#discard-changes>. Run e.g.
 `composer config discard-changes true` to add the configuration to your
 `composer.json`.
 
+If a CI environment is detected, the detection of merged changes is skipped by
+default. To change this behavior and enable the detection again, run:
+
+```bash
+composer config extra.gilbertsoft/typo3-core-patches.force-tidy-patches true
+```
+
+To disable the detection of merged changes completely, run:
+
+```bash
+composer config extra.gilbertsoft/typo3-core-patches.disable-tidy-patches true
+```
+
+## CI detection
+
+The plugin tries to detect CI environments and changes its default behavior
+while running in a CI pipeline. It's possible to override the detection by
+setting an environment variable:
+
+- Set `GS_CI=1` to force CI mode
+- Set `GS_CI=0` to disable CI mode
+
 ## Feedback / Bug reports / Contribution
 
 Bug reports, feature requests and pull requests are welcome in the [GitHub
diff --git a/src/Config.php b/src/Config.php
index ddc2468..13933c6 100644
--- a/src/Config.php
+++ b/src/Config.php
@@ -75,6 +75,16 @@ final class Config implements PersistenceInterface
      */
     private const PLUGIN_IGNORE_BRANCH = 'ignore-branch';
 
+    /**
+     * @var string
+     */
+    private const PLUGIN_DISABLE_TIDY_PATCHES = 'disable-tidy-patches';
+
+    /**
+     * @var string
+     */
+    private const PLUGIN_FORCE_TIDY_PATCHES = 'force-tidy-patches';
+
     private JsonFile $jsonFile;
 
     private ConfigSourceInterface $configSource;
@@ -91,6 +101,10 @@ final class Config implements PersistenceInterface
 
     private bool $ignoreBranch = \false;
 
+    private bool $disableTidyPatches = \false;
+
+    private bool $forceTidyPatches = \false;
+
     public function __construct(
         ?JsonFile $jsonFile = null,
         ?ConfigSourceInterface $configSource = null
@@ -152,6 +166,30 @@ public function getPatches(): Patches
         return $this->patches;
     }
 
+    public function getDisableTidyPatches(): bool
+    {
+        return $this->disableTidyPatches;
+    }
+
+    public function setDisableTidyPatches(bool $disableTidyPatches): self
+    {
+        $this->disableTidyPatches = $disableTidyPatches;
+
+        return $this;
+    }
+
+    public function getForceTidyPatches(): bool
+    {
+        return $this->forceTidyPatches;
+    }
+
+    public function setForceTidyPatches(bool $forceTidyPatches): self
+    {
+        $this->forceTidyPatches = $forceTidyPatches;
+
+        return $this;
+    }
+
     private function isEmpty(): bool
     {
         if (!$this->changes->isEmpty()) {
@@ -166,7 +204,15 @@ private function isEmpty(): bool
             return false;
         }
 
-        return !$this->ignoreBranch;
+        if ($this->ignoreBranch) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        if ($this->disableTidyPatches) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        return !$this->forceTidyPatches;
     }
 
     public function load(): self
@@ -259,6 +305,14 @@ public function jsonSerialize(): array
             $config[self::PLUGIN_IGNORE_BRANCH] = $this->ignoreBranch;
         }
 
+        if ($this->disableTidyPatches) {
+            $config[self::PLUGIN_DISABLE_TIDY_PATCHES] = $this->disableTidyPatches;
+        }
+
+        if ($this->forceTidyPatches) {
+            $config[self::PLUGIN_FORCE_TIDY_PATCHES] = $this->forceTidyPatches;
+        }
+
         return $config;
     }
 
@@ -318,6 +372,18 @@ public function jsonUnserialize(array $json): self
 
         $this->ignoreBranch = $ignoreBranch;
 
+        if (!is_bool($disableTidyPatches = $packageConfig[self::PLUGIN_DISABLE_TIDY_PATCHES] ?? null)) {
+            $disableTidyPatches = false;
+        }
+
+        $this->disableTidyPatches = $disableTidyPatches;
+
+        if (!is_bool($forceTidyPatches = $packageConfig[self::PLUGIN_FORCE_TIDY_PATCHES] ?? null)) {
+            $forceTidyPatches = false;
+        }
+
+        $this->forceTidyPatches = $forceTidyPatches;
+
         return $this;
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Plugin.php b/src/Plugin.php
index 85fefcf..e68a138 100644
--- a/src/Plugin.php
+++ b/src/Plugin.php
@@ -18,20 +18,25 @@
 use Composer\DependencyResolver\Operation\UpdateOperation;
 use Composer\DependencyResolver\Transaction;
 use Composer\EventDispatcher\EventSubscriberInterface;
+use Composer\Factory;
 use Composer\Installer\InstallerEvent;
 use Composer\Installer\InstallerEvents;
 use Composer\IO\IOInterface;
+use Composer\Json\JsonFile;
 use Composer\Plugin\Capability\CommandProvider as ComposerCommandProvider;
 use Composer\Plugin\Capable;
 use Composer\Plugin\PluginInterface;
 use Composer\Script\Event;
 use Composer\Script\ScriptEvents;
 use GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\ComposerUtils;
+use GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\Utils;
 
 final class Plugin implements PluginInterface, Capable, EventSubscriberInterface
 {
     private ComposerUtils $composerUtils;
 
+    private Config $config;
+
     /**
      * @var array<int, string>
      */
@@ -43,6 +48,10 @@ final class Plugin implements PluginInterface, Capable, EventSubscriberInterface
     public function activate(Composer $composer, IOInterface $io): void
     {
         $this->composerUtils = new ComposerUtils($composer, $io);
+        $this->config = new Config(
+            new JsonFile(Factory::getComposerFile(), Factory::createHttpDownloader($io, $composer->getConfig()), $io),
+            $composer->getConfig()->getConfigSource()
+        );
 
         $composer->getConfig()->getConfigSource()->addConfigSetting('allow-plugins.cweagans/composer-patches', true);
     }
@@ -100,6 +109,16 @@ public function checkForObsoletePatches(InstallerEvent $installerEvent): void
             return;
         }
 
+        $this->config->load();
+
+        if (Utils::isCI() && !$this->config->getForceTidyPatches()) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if ($this->config->getDisableTidyPatches()) {
+            return;
+        }
+
         $installerEvent->getIO()->write('<info>Checking for obsolete patches, this may take a while...</info>');
 
         foreach ($installerEvent->getTransaction()->getOperations() as $operation) {
diff --git a/src/Utility/ComposerUtils.php b/src/Utility/ComposerUtils.php
index 6093b92..4c8af82 100644
--- a/src/Utility/ComposerUtils.php
+++ b/src/Utility/ComposerUtils.php
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ private function askRemoval(int $changeId): bool
                 ' Should the patch for this change be removed?</info> [<comment>Y,n</comment>] ',
                 $changeId
             ),
-            true
+            $this->config->load()->getForceTidyPatches()
         );
     }
 
diff --git a/src/Utility/Utils.php b/src/Utility/Utils.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c736b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Utility/Utils.php
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of TYPO3 Core Patches.
+ *
+ * (c) Gilbertsoft LLC (gilbertsoft.org)
+ *
+ * For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
+ * file that was distributed with this source code.
+ */
+
+namespace GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility;
+
+final class Utils
+{
+    /**
+     * Detects if running in CI.
+     *
+     * based on https://github.com/watson/ci-info/blob/HEAD/index.js
+     */
+    public static function isCI(): bool
+    {
+        return (
+            // GitHub Actions, Travis CI, CircleCI, Cirrus CI, GitLab CI, AppVeyor, CodeShip, dsari
+            \getenv('CI') !== false ||
+            // Jenkins, TeamCity
+            \getenv('BUILD_NUMBER') !== false ||
+            // TaskCluster, dsari
+            \getenv('RUN_ID') !== false ||
+            // For testing
+            \getenv('GS_CI') === '1'
+        ) && \getenv('GS_CI') !== '0';
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Command/ApplyCommandTest.php b/tests/Unit/Command/ApplyCommandTest.php
index 34a9b58..688de95 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/Command/ApplyCommandTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/Command/ApplyCommandTest.php
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Plugin
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\ComposerUtils
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\PatchUtils
+ * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\Utils
  */
 final class ApplyCommandTest extends CommandTestCase
 {
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Command/RemoveCommandTest.php b/tests/Unit/Command/RemoveCommandTest.php
index ac4b7d6..8664057 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/Command/RemoveCommandTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/Command/RemoveCommandTest.php
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Gerrit\RestApi
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\ComposerUtils
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\PatchUtils
+ * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\Utils
  */
 final class RemoveCommandTest extends CommandTestCase
 {
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Command/UpdateCommandTest.php b/tests/Unit/Command/UpdateCommandTest.php
index e0ead1c..4954f3b 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/Command/UpdateCommandTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/Command/UpdateCommandTest.php
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Gerrit\RestApi
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\ComposerUtils
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\PatchUtils
+ * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\Utils
  */
 final class UpdateCommandTest extends CommandTestCase
 {
diff --git a/tests/Unit/ConfigTest.php b/tests/Unit/ConfigTest.php
index 277eb76..e78910c 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/ConfigTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/ConfigTest.php
@@ -44,7 +44,9 @@ public function testLoadWorksProperly(
         int $expectedAppliedChangesCount,
         int $expectedPreferredInstallChangedCount,
         string $expectedPatchDirectory,
-        bool $expectedIgnoreBranch
+        bool $expectedIgnoreBranch,
+        bool $expectedDisableTidyPatches,
+        bool $expectedForceTidyPatches
     ): void {
         $jsonFileProphecy = $this->prophesize(JsonFile::class);
         $jsonFileProphecy->read()->willReturn($configuration);
@@ -60,6 +62,8 @@ public function testLoadWorksProperly(
         self::assertCount($expectedPreferredInstallChangedCount, $config->getPreferredInstallChanged());
         self::assertSame($expectedPatchDirectory, $config->getPatchDirectory());
         self::assertSame($expectedIgnoreBranch, $config->getIgnoreBranch());
+        self::assertSame($expectedDisableTidyPatches, $config->getDisableTidyPatches());
+        self::assertSame($expectedForceTidyPatches, $config->getForceTidyPatches());
     }
 
     /**
@@ -70,7 +74,9 @@ public function testLoadWorksProperly(
      *   expectedAppliedChangesCount: int,
      *   expectedPreferredInstallChangedCount: int,
      *   expectedPatchDirectory: string,
-     *   expectedIgnoreBranch: bool
+     *   expectedIgnoreBranch: bool,
+     *   expectedDisableTidyPatches: bool,
+     *   expectedForceTidyPatches: bool
      * }>
      */
     public function configurationLoadProvider(): Iterator
@@ -115,6 +121,8 @@ public function configurationLoadProvider(): Iterator
                         'preferred-install-changed' => ['package1', 'package2'],
                         'patch-directory' => 'patch-dir',
                         'ignore-branch' => true,
+                        'disable-tidy-patches' => true,
+                        'force-tidy-patches' => true,
                     ],
                 ],
             ],
@@ -124,6 +132,8 @@ public function configurationLoadProvider(): Iterator
             'expectedPreferredInstallChangedCount' => 2,
             'expectedPatchDirectory' => 'patch-dir',
             'expectedIgnoreBranch' => true,
+            'expectedDisableTidyPatches' => true,
+            'expectedForceTidyPatches' => true,
         ];
         yield 'empty configuration' => [
             'configuration' => null,
@@ -133,6 +143,8 @@ public function configurationLoadProvider(): Iterator
             'expectedPreferredInstallChangedCount' => 0,
             'expectedPatchDirectory' => 'patches',
             'expectedIgnoreBranch' => false,
+            'expectedDisableTidyPatches' => false,
+            'expectedForceTidyPatches' => false,
         ];
         yield 'empty extra' => [
             'configuration' => ['extra' => []],
@@ -142,6 +154,8 @@ public function configurationLoadProvider(): Iterator
             'expectedPreferredInstallChangedCount' => 0,
             'expectedPatchDirectory' => 'patches',
             'expectedIgnoreBranch' => false,
+            'expectedDisableTidyPatches' => false,
+            'expectedForceTidyPatches' => false,
         ];
     }
 
@@ -402,6 +416,8 @@ public function configurationSaveProvider(): Iterator
                         ],
                         'patch-directory' => 'patch-dir',
                         'ignore-branch' => true,
+                        'disable-tidy-patches' => true,
+                        'force-tidy-patches' => true,
                     ],
                 ],
             ],
@@ -447,6 +463,8 @@ public function configurationSaveProvider(): Iterator
                         ],
                         'patch-directory' => 'patch-dir',
                         'ignore-branch' => true,
+                        'disable-tidy-patches' => true,
+                        'force-tidy-patches' => true,
                     ],
                 ],
             ],
@@ -497,5 +515,13 @@ public function testGettersAndSetters(): void
         self::assertTrue($config->getIgnoreBranch());
 
         self::assertSame($config->getPatches(), $config->getPatches());
+
+        self::assertFalse($config->getDisableTidyPatches());
+        self::assertSame($config, $config->setDisableTidyPatches(true));
+        self::assertTrue($config->getDisableTidyPatches());
+
+        self::assertFalse($config->getForceTidyPatches());
+        self::assertSame($config, $config->setForceTidyPatches(true));
+        self::assertTrue($config->getForceTidyPatches());
     }
 }
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Utility/ComposerUtilsTest.php b/tests/Unit/Utility/ComposerUtilsTest.php
index 435182f..e98ec14 100644
--- a/tests/Unit/Utility/ComposerUtilsTest.php
+++ b/tests/Unit/Utility/ComposerUtilsTest.php
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Gerrit\Entity\IncludedInInfo
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Gerrit\RestApi
  * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\PatchUtils
+ * @uses \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\Utils
  */
 final class ComposerUtilsTest extends TestCase
 {
diff --git a/tests/Unit/Utility/UtilsTest.php b/tests/Unit/Utility/UtilsTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a3178ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Unit/Utility/UtilsTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+/*
+ * This file is part of TYPO3 Core Patches.
+ *
+ * (c) Gilbertsoft LLC (gilbertsoft.org)
+ *
+ * For the full copyright and license information, please view the LICENSE
+ * file that was distributed with this source code.
+ */
+
+namespace GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Tests\Unit\Utility;
+
+use GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Tests\Unit\TestCase;
+use GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\Utils;
+
+/**
+ * @covers \GsTYPO3\CorePatches\Utility\Utils
+ */
+final class UtilsTest extends TestCase
+{
+    /**
+     * @small
+     */
+    public function testIsCI(): void
+    {
+        self::assertFalse(Utils::isCI());
+        \putenv('GS_CI=1');
+        self::assertTrue(Utils::isCI());
+    }
+}