diff --git a/build.py b/build.py
index 8ac0830..c1e3dfe 100644
--- a/build.py
+++ b/build.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import json
 import os
+import platform
 import subprocess
 import sys
 from argparse import ArgumentParser
@@ -15,6 +16,11 @@
 parser.add_argument("--legacy", action="store_true", help="Only build legacy languages that were in 1.10.2.")
 args = parser.parse_args()
 
+# Force legacy build on aarch64 to avoid timeouts
+if platform.machine() == 'aarch64':
+    print("Force --legacy because the qemu runner is too slow for the full build")
+    args.legacy = True
+
 repos = []
 vendors = []
 # https://github.com/tree-sitter/py-tree-sitter/issues/189