diff --git a/build-tools/build-docker-images/build-stx-base.sh b/build-tools/build-docker-images/build-stx-base.sh
index 7acd62f5..55c5c102 100755
--- a/build-tools/build-docker-images/build-stx-base.sh
+++ b/build-tools/build-docker-images/build-stx-base.sh
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ if [ -z "${MY_WORKSPACE}" -o -z "${MY_REPO}" ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
+# make this process nice
+renice -n 10 -p $$
+ionice -c 3 -p $$
+
 SUPPORTED_OS_ARGS=( 'debian' )
 OS=                      # default: autodetect
 OS_VERSION=              # default: lookup "ARG RELEASE" in Dockerfile
diff --git a/build-tools/build-docker-images/build-stx-images.sh b/build-tools/build-docker-images/build-stx-images.sh
index 8ea449cf..a24071a2 100755
--- a/build-tools/build-docker-images/build-stx-images.sh
+++ b/build-tools/build-docker-images/build-stx-images.sh
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ fi
 
 source ${MY_REPO}/build-tools/git-utils.sh
 
+# make this process nice
+renice -n 10 -p $$
+ionice -c 3 -p $$
+
 SUPPORTED_OS_ARGS=('centos' 'debian' 'distroless')
 OS=
 OS_LABEL=
diff --git a/build-tools/build-wheels/build-wheel-tarball.sh b/build-tools/build-wheels/build-wheel-tarball.sh
index 3dae69bc..86805505 100755
--- a/build-tools/build-wheels/build-wheel-tarball.sh
+++ b/build-tools/build-wheels/build-wheel-tarball.sh
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ if [ -z "${MY_WORKSPACE}" -o -z "${MY_REPO}" ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
+
+# make this process nice
+renice -n 10 -p $$
+ionice -c 3 -p $$
+
 SUPPORTED_OS_ARGS=( 'debian' )
 OS=
 OS_VERSION=
diff --git a/build-tools/stx/build-image b/build-tools/stx/build-image
index e08fb8f2..7b60f3f4 100755
--- a/build-tools/stx/build-image
+++ b/build-tools/stx/build-image
@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@ import time
 import utils
 import yaml
 
+# make ourself nice
+pid = os.getpid()
+os.setpriority(os.PRIO_PROCESS, 0, 15) 
+subprocess.run(['ionice', '-c', '3', '-p', str(pid)])
+
 STX_DEFAULT_DISTRO = discovery.STX_DEFAULT_DISTRO
 ALL_LAYERS = discovery.get_all_layers(distro=STX_DEFAULT_DISTRO)
 ALL_BUILD_TYPES = discovery.get_all_build_types(distro=STX_DEFAULT_DISTRO)
diff --git a/build-tools/stx/build-pkgs b/build-tools/stx/build-pkgs
index 8d644746..ec812a4f 100755
--- a/build-tools/stx/build-pkgs
+++ b/build-tools/stx/build-pkgs
@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ import time
 import utils
 import yaml
 
+# make ourself nice
+pid = os.getpid()
+os.setpriority(os.PRIO_PROCESS, 0, 15)
+subprocess.run(['ionice', '-c', '3', '-p', str(pid)])
 
 BUILDER_URL = os.environ.get('BUILDER_URL')
 REPOMGR_URL = os.environ.get('REPOMGR_URL')
diff --git a/build-tools/stx/downloader b/build-tools/stx/downloader
index 9940d833..fc2f4ed6 100755
--- a/build-tools/stx/downloader
+++ b/build-tools/stx/downloader
@@ -26,9 +26,15 @@ import pathlib
 import repo_manage
 import shutil
 import signal
+import subprocess
 import sys
 import utils
 
+# make ourself nice
+pid = os.getpid()
+os.setpriority(os.PRIO_PROCESS, 0, 15)
+subprocess.run(['ionice', '-c', '3', '-p', str(pid)])
+
 DEFAULT_ARCH = 'amd64'
 REPO_BIN = 'deb-local-binary'
 mirror_root = os.environ.get('STX_MIRROR')