diff --git a/core/tiny_refill_opt.h b/core/tiny_refill_opt.h
index 38fd5e76..3224d62a 100644
--- a/core/tiny_refill_opt.h
+++ b/core/tiny_refill_opt.h
@@ -82,6 +82,9 @@ static inline void trc_splice_to_sll(int class_idx, TinyRefillChain* c,
 }
 
 static inline int trc_refill_guard_enabled(void) {
+#if HAKMEM_BUILD_RELEASE
+    return 0;  // Always disabled in release builds
+#else
     static int g_trc_guard = -1;
     if (__builtin_expect(g_trc_guard == -1, 0)) {
         const char* env = getenv("HAKMEM_TINY_REFILL_FAILFAST");
@@ -90,6 +93,7 @@ static inline int trc_refill_guard_enabled(void) {
         fflush(stderr);
     }
     return g_trc_guard;
+#endif
 }
 
 static inline int trc_ptr_is_valid(uintptr_t base, uintptr_t limit, size_t blk, const void* node) {