diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopExit.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopExit.scala
index a2f6612dac..d75d20129b 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopExit.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopExit.scala
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ object BloopExit extends ScalaCommand[BloopExitOptions] {
     import opts.*
     compilationServer.bloopRifleConfig(
       global.logging.logger,
-      coursier.coursierCache(global.logging.logger.coursierLogger("Downloading Bloop")),
+      coursier.coursierCache(global.logging.logger, cacheLoggerPrefix = "Downloading Bloop"),
       global.logging.verbosity,
       "java", // shouldn't be used…
       Directories.directories
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopOutput.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopOutput.scala
index b53f155fb1..5bcce2aaf9 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopOutput.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopOutput.scala
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ object BloopOutput extends ScalaCommand[BloopOutputOptions] {
   override def runCommand(options: BloopOutputOptions, args: RemainingArgs, logger: Logger): Unit = {
     val bloopRifleConfig = options.compilationServer.bloopRifleConfig(
       logger,
-      CoursierOptions().coursierCache(logger.coursierLogger("Downloading Bloop")), // unused here
+      CoursierOptions().coursierCache(logger, cacheLoggerPrefix = "Downloading Bloop"), // unused here
       options.global.logging.verbosity,
       "unused-java", // unused here
       Directories.directories
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopStart.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopStart.scala
index c68a51411f..2aeb03b57b 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopStart.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/bloop/BloopStart.scala
@@ -23,14 +23,12 @@ object BloopStart extends ScalaCommand[BloopStartOptions] {
     import opts.*
     val buildOptions = BuildOptions(
       javaOptions = JvmUtils.javaOptions(jvm).orExit(global.logging.logger),
-      internal = InternalOptions(
-        cache = Some(coursier.coursierCache(global.logging.logger.coursierLogger("")))
-      )
+      internal = InternalOptions(cache = Some(coursier.coursierCache(global.logging.logger)))
     )
 
     compilationServer.bloopRifleConfig(
       global.logging.logger,
-      coursier.coursierCache(global.logging.logger.coursierLogger("Downloading Bloop")),
+      coursier.coursierCache(global.logging.logger, cacheLoggerPrefix = "Downloading Bloop"),
       global.logging.verbosity,
       buildOptions.javaHome().value.javaCommand,
       Directories.directories
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/config/Config.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/config/Config.scala
index f6b3f0dad2..055f40bd96 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/config/Config.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/config/Config.scala
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ object Config extends ScalaCommand[ConfigOptions] {
               )
               sys.exit(1)
             }
-            val coursierCache = options.coursier.coursierCache(logger.coursierLogger(""))
+            val coursierCache = options.coursier.coursierCache(logger)
             val secKeyEntry   = Keys.pgpSecretKey
             val pubKeyEntry   = Keys.pgpPublicKey
 
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/default/Default.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/default/Default.scala
index 4f42a7ca3c..ffa90d094c 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/default/Default.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/default/Default.scala
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ class Default(actualHelp: => RuntimeCommandsHelp)
       Version.runCommand(
         options = VersionOptions(
           global = options.shared.global,
-          offline = options.shared.coursier.getOffline().getOrElse(false)
+          offline = options.shared.coursier.getOffline(logger).getOrElse(false)
         ),
         args = args,
         logger = logger
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/github/SecretCreate.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/github/SecretCreate.scala
index 7a308ad51a..c673a45224 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/github/SecretCreate.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/github/SecretCreate.scala
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ object SecretCreate extends ScalaCommand[SecretCreateOptions] {
         ).orExit(logger)
     }
 
-    val cache        = options.coursier.coursierCache(logger.coursierLogger(""))
+    val cache        = options.coursier.coursierCache(logger)
     val archiveCache = ArchiveCache().withCache(cache)
 
     LibSodiumJni.init(cache, archiveCache, logger)
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/new/New.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/new/New.scala
index 8f09cd5d39..38839d7ee2 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/new/New.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/new/New.scala
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ object New extends ScalaCommand[NewOptions] {
       Seq.empty,
       Some(scalaParameters),
       logger,
-      CoursierOptions().coursierCache(logger.coursierLogger("")),
+      CoursierOptions().coursierCache(logger),
       None
     ) match {
       case Right(value) => value
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/pgp/PgpExternalCommand.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/pgp/PgpExternalCommand.scala
index 90b5e5bc6c..d9f0dc9674 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/pgp/PgpExternalCommand.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/pgp/PgpExternalCommand.scala
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ abstract class PgpExternalCommand extends ExternalCommand {
 
     val logger = options.global.logging.logger
 
-    val cache = options.coursier.coursierCache(logger.coursierLogger(""))
+    val cache = options.coursier.coursierCache(logger)
     val retCode = tryRun(
       cache,
       remainingArgs,
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/pgp/PgpPush.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/pgp/PgpPush.scala
index 252fcb132e..6223eeb896 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/pgp/PgpPush.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/pgp/PgpPush.scala
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ object PgpPush extends ScalaCommand[PgpPushOptions] {
       sys.exit(1)
     }
 
-    lazy val coursierCache = options.coursier.coursierCache(logger.coursierLogger(""))
+    lazy val coursierCache = options.coursier.coursierCache(logger)
 
     for (key <- all) {
       val path = os.Path(key, os.pwd)
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/publish/PublishSetup.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/publish/PublishSetup.scala
index a01a47196b..de80c9d2c9 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/publish/PublishSetup.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/publish/PublishSetup.scala
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ object PublishSetup extends ScalaCommand[PublishSetupOptions] {
   ): Unit = {
     Publish.maybePrintLicensesAndExit(options.publishParams)
 
-    val coursierCache = options.coursier.coursierCache(logger.coursierLogger(""))
+    val coursierCache = options.coursier.coursierCache(logger)
     val directories   = Directories.directories
 
     lazy val configDb = ConfigDbUtils.configDb.orExit(logger)
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/shared/CoursierOptions.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/shared/CoursierOptions.scala
index 18c17ca1b5..9b91dd5709 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/shared/CoursierOptions.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/shared/CoursierOptions.scala
@@ -4,9 +4,13 @@ import caseapp.*
 import com.github.plokhotnyuk.jsoniter_scala.core.*
 import com.github.plokhotnyuk.jsoniter_scala.macros.*
 import coursier.cache.{CacheLogger, CachePolicy, FileCache}
+import coursier.util.Task
 
+import scala.build.Logger
 import scala.build.internals.EnvVar
 import scala.cli.commands.tags
+import scala.cli.config.Keys
+import scala.cli.util.ConfigDbUtils
 import scala.concurrent.duration.Duration
 
 // format: off
@@ -39,8 +43,8 @@ final case class CoursierOptions(
   private def validateChecksums =
     coursierValidateChecksums.getOrElse(true)
 
-  def coursierCache(logger: CacheLogger) = {
-    var baseCache = FileCache().withLogger(logger)
+  def coursierCache(logger: Logger, cacheLogger: CacheLogger): FileCache[Task] = {
+    var baseCache = FileCache().withLogger(cacheLogger)
     if (!validateChecksums)
       baseCache = baseCache.withChecksums(Nil)
     val ttlOpt = ttl.map(_.trim).filter(_.nonEmpty).map(Duration(_))
@@ -48,15 +52,19 @@ final case class CoursierOptions(
       baseCache = baseCache.withTtl(ttl0)
     for (loc <- cache.filter(_.trim.nonEmpty))
       baseCache = baseCache.withLocation(loc)
-    for (isOffline <- getOffline() if isOffline)
+    for (isOffline <- getOffline(logger) if isOffline)
       baseCache = baseCache.withCachePolicies(Seq(CachePolicy.LocalOnly))
 
     baseCache
   }
 
-  def getOffline(): Option[Boolean] = offline
+  def coursierCache(logger: Logger, cacheLoggerPrefix: String = ""): FileCache[Task] =
+    coursierCache(logger, logger.coursierLogger(cacheLoggerPrefix))
+
+  def getOffline(logger: Logger): Option[Boolean] = offline
     .orElse(EnvVar.Coursier.coursierMode.valueOpt.map(_ == "offline"))
     .orElse(Option(System.getProperty("coursier.mode")).map(_ == "offline"))
+    .orElse(ConfigDbUtils.getConfigDbOpt(logger).flatMap(_.get(Keys.offline).toOption.flatten))
 }
 
 object CoursierOptions {
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/shared/SharedOptions.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/shared/SharedOptions.scala
index 4d1d039099..c620186b78 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/shared/SharedOptions.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/commands/shared/SharedOptions.scala
@@ -431,7 +431,7 @@ final case class SharedOptions(
           strictBloopJsonCheck = strictBloopJsonCheck,
           interactive = Some(() => interactive),
           exclude = exclude.map(Positioned.commandLine),
-          offline = coursier.getOffline()
+          offline = coursier.getOffline(logger)
         ),
         notForBloopOptions = bo.PostBuildOptions(
           scalaJsLinkerOptions = linkerOptions(js),
@@ -603,11 +603,11 @@ final case class SharedOptions(
         options => bloopRifleConfig(Some(options)),
         threads.bloop,
         strictBloopJsonCheckOrDefault,
-        coursier.getOffline().getOrElse(false)
+        coursier.getOffline(logger).getOrElse(false)
       )
     else SimpleScalaCompilerMaker("java", Nil)
 
-  lazy val coursierCache = coursier.coursierCache(logging.logger.coursierLogger(""))
+  lazy val coursierCache: FileCache[Task] = coursier.coursierCache(logging.logger)
 
   def inputs(
     args: Seq[String],
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/launcher/LauncherCli.scala b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/launcher/LauncherCli.scala
index f45d855c3c..ed69bcb520 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/launcher/LauncherCli.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/main/scala/scala/cli/launcher/LauncherCli.scala
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ object LauncherCli {
   def runAndExit(version: String, options: LauncherOptions, remainingArgs: Seq[String]): Nothing = {
 
     val logger          = LoggingOptions().logger
-    val cache           = CoursierOptions().coursierCache(logger.coursierLogger(""))
+    val cache           = CoursierOptions().coursierCache(logger)
     val scalaVersion    = options.cliScalaVersion.getOrElse(scalaCliScalaVersion(version))
     val scalaParameters = ScalaParameters(scalaVersion)
     val snapshotsRepo   = Seq(Repositories.central, Repositories.sonatype("snapshots"))
diff --git a/modules/cli/src/test/scala/cli/tests/LauncherCliTest.scala b/modules/cli/src/test/scala/cli/tests/LauncherCliTest.scala
index fa9c92a040..723f629594 100644
--- a/modules/cli/src/test/scala/cli/tests/LauncherCliTest.scala
+++ b/modules/cli/src/test/scala/cli/tests/LauncherCliTest.scala
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ class LauncherCliTest extends munit.FunSuite {
 
   test("resolve nightly version".flaky) {
     val logger          = TestLogger()
-    val cache           = CoursierOptions().coursierCache(logger.coursierLogger(""))
+    val cache           = CoursierOptions().coursierCache(logger)
     val scalaParameters = ScalaParameters(Constants.defaultScalaVersion)
 
     val nightlyCliVersion = LauncherCli.resolveNightlyScalaCliVersion(cache, scalaParameters)
diff --git a/modules/config/src/main/scala/scala/cli/config/Keys.scala b/modules/config/src/main/scala/scala/cli/config/Keys.scala
index 4b625d71f6..5ea268dcd3 100644
--- a/modules/config/src/main/scala/scala/cli/config/Keys.scala
+++ b/modules/config/src/main/scala/scala/cli/config/Keys.scala
@@ -70,6 +70,13 @@ object Keys {
     description = "Globally enables power mode (the '--power' launcher flag)."
   )
 
+  val offline = new Key.BooleanEntry(
+    prefix = Seq.empty,
+    name = "offline",
+    specificationLevel = SpecificationLevel.IMPLEMENTATION,
+    description = "Globally enables offline mode (the '--offline' flag)."
+  )
+
   val suppressDirectivesInMultipleFilesWarning =
     new Key.BooleanEntry(
       prefix = Seq("suppress-warning"),
@@ -172,6 +179,7 @@ object Keys {
     suppressDirectivesInMultipleFilesWarning,
     suppressOutdatedDependenciessWarning,
     suppressExperimentalFeatureWarning,
+    offline,
     pgpPublicKey,
     pgpSecretKey,
     pgpSecretKeyPassword,
diff --git a/modules/integration/src/test/scala/scala/cli/integration/ConfigTests.scala b/modules/integration/src/test/scala/scala/cli/integration/ConfigTests.scala
index 327f161350..70325523c5 100644
--- a/modules/integration/src/test/scala/scala/cli/integration/ConfigTests.scala
+++ b/modules/integration/src/test/scala/scala/cli/integration/ConfigTests.scala
@@ -560,4 +560,45 @@ class ConfigTests extends ScalaCliSuite {
     }
   }
 
+  for {
+    offlineSetting <- Seq(true, false)
+    prefillCache   <- if (offlineSetting) Seq(true, false) else Seq(false)
+    caption = s"offline mode: $offlineSetting, " +
+      (offlineSetting -> prefillCache match {
+        case (true, true)  => "build should succeed when cache was pre-filled"
+        case (true, false) => "build should fail when cache is empty"
+        case _             => "dependencies should be downloaded as normal"
+      })
+  }
+    test(caption) {
+      TestInputs(
+        os.rel / "simple.sc" -> "println(dotty.tools.dotc.config.Properties.versionNumberString)"
+      )
+        .fromRoot { root =>
+          val configFile    = os.rel / "config" / "config.json"
+          val localRepoPath = root / "local-repo"
+          val envs = Map(
+            "COURSIER_CACHE"   -> localRepoPath.toString,
+            "SCALA_CLI_CONFIG" -> configFile.toString
+          )
+          os.proc(TestUtil.cli, "bloop", "exit", "--power").call(cwd = root)
+          os.proc(TestUtil.cli, "config", "offline", offlineSetting.toString)
+            .call(cwd = root, env = envs)
+          if (prefillCache) for {
+            artifactName <- Seq(
+              "scala3-compiler_3",
+              "scala3-staging_3",
+              "scala3-tasty-inspector_3",
+              "scala3-sbt-bridge"
+            )
+            artifact = s"org.scala-lang:$artifactName:${Constants.scala3Next}"
+          } os.proc(TestUtil.cs, "fetch", "--cache", localRepoPath, artifact).call(cwd = root)
+          val buildExpectedToSucceed = !offlineSetting || prefillCache
+          val r = os.proc(TestUtil.cli, "run", "simple.sc", "--with-compiler")
+            .call(cwd = root, env = envs, check = buildExpectedToSucceed)
+          if (buildExpectedToSucceed) expect(r.out.trim() == Constants.scala3Next)
+          else expect(r.exitCode == 1)
+        }
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/website/docs/guides/power/offline.md b/website/docs/guides/power/offline.md
index 14ca81e925..4bac876ea5 100644
--- a/website/docs/guides/power/offline.md
+++ b/website/docs/guides/power/offline.md
@@ -39,6 +39,11 @@ or
 scala-cli -Dcoursier.mode=offline run Main.scala 
 ```
 
+Finally, it's possible to enable offline mode via global config:
+```bash ignore
+scala-cli --power config offline true
+```
+
 ## Changes in behaviour
 
 ### Scala artifacts
diff --git a/website/docs/reference/commands.md b/website/docs/reference/commands.md
index 193dfbba8d..b5a99d3ccf 100644
--- a/website/docs/reference/commands.md
+++ b/website/docs/reference/commands.md
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ Available keys:
   - interactive                                    Globally enables interactive mode (the '--interactive' flag).
   - interactive-was-suggested                      Setting indicating if the global interactive mode was already suggested.
   - java.properties                                Java properties for Scala CLI's execution.
+  - offline                                        Globally enables offline mode (the '--offline' flag).
   - pgp.public-key                                 The PGP public key, used for signing.
   - pgp.secret-key                                 The PGP secret key, used for signing.
   - pgp.secret-key-password                        The PGP secret key password, used for signing.
diff --git a/website/docs/reference/scala-command/commands.md b/website/docs/reference/scala-command/commands.md
index 8018179432..c0b9e392af 100644
--- a/website/docs/reference/scala-command/commands.md
+++ b/website/docs/reference/scala-command/commands.md
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ Available keys:
   - interactive                                    Globally enables interactive mode (the '--interactive' flag).
   - interactive-was-suggested                      Setting indicating if the global interactive mode was already suggested.
   - java.properties                                Java properties for Scala CLI's execution.
+  - offline                                        Globally enables offline mode (the '--offline' flag).
   - pgp.public-key                                 The PGP public key, used for signing.
   - pgp.secret-key                                 The PGP secret key, used for signing.
   - pgp.secret-key-password                        The PGP secret key password, used for signing.
diff --git a/website/docs/reference/scala-command/runner-specification.md b/website/docs/reference/scala-command/runner-specification.md
index 5a4f4ab8d9..c8da077117 100644
--- a/website/docs/reference/scala-command/runner-specification.md
+++ b/website/docs/reference/scala-command/runner-specification.md
@@ -663,6 +663,7 @@ Available keys:
   - interactive                                    Globally enables interactive mode (the '--interactive' flag).
   - interactive-was-suggested                      Setting indicating if the global interactive mode was already suggested.
   - java.properties                                Java properties for Scala CLI's execution.
+  - offline                                        Globally enables offline mode (the '--offline' flag).
   - pgp.public-key                                 The PGP public key, used for signing.
   - pgp.secret-key                                 The PGP secret key, used for signing.
   - pgp.secret-key-password                        The PGP secret key password, used for signing.