diff --git a/docs/using-the-plugin.md b/docs/using-the-plugin.md
index 0eba1435..cdad2088 100644
--- a/docs/using-the-plugin.md
+++ b/docs/using-the-plugin.md
@@ -234,6 +234,18 @@ It's really simple to setup this plugin; below is a sample pom that you may base
                     -->
                     <skip>false</skip>
 
+                    <!-- @since 3.0.1 -->
+                    <--
+                        Default (optional):
+                        false
+
+                        Explanation:
+                        When set to `true`, the plugin will not try to contact any remote repositories.
+                        Any operations will only use the local state of the repo. If set to `false`, it will execute `git fetch` operations
+                        e.g. to determine the `ahead` and `behind` branch information.
+                    -->
+                    <offline>false</offline>
+
                     <!-- @since 2.1.12 -->
                     <!--
                         Default (optional):
diff --git a/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitCommitIdMojo.java b/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitCommitIdMojo.java
index c3338b46..6d54d26d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitCommitIdMojo.java
+++ b/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitCommitIdMojo.java
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 import org.apache.maven.plugins.annotations.Mojo;
 import org.apache.maven.plugins.annotations.Parameter;
 import org.apache.maven.project.MavenProject;
+import org.apache.maven.settings.Settings;
 import org.sonatype.plexus.build.incremental.BuildContext;
 
 import pl.project13.maven.git.build.BuildServerDataProvider;
@@ -70,6 +71,12 @@ public class GitCommitIdMojo extends AbstractMojo {
   @Parameter(property = "session", required = true, readonly = true)
   MavenSession session;
 
+  /**
+   * The Maven settings.
+   */
+  @Parameter(property = "settings", required = true, readonly = true)
+  Settings settings;
+
   /**
    * <p>Set this to {@code 'true'} to inject git properties into all reactor projects, not just the current one.</p>
    *
@@ -331,7 +338,15 @@ public class GitCommitIdMojo extends AbstractMojo {
    */
   @Parameter(defaultValue = "true")
   boolean injectIntoSysProperties;
-  
+
+  /**
+   * Controls whether the git plugin tries to access remote repos to fetch latest information
+   * or only use local information.
+   * @since 3.0.1
+   */
+  @Parameter(defaultValue = "false")
+  boolean offline;
+
   /**
    * Injected {@link BuildContext} to recognize incremental builds.
    */
@@ -563,7 +578,8 @@ private void loadGitDataWithNativeGit(@Nonnull Properties properties) throws Git
               .setCommitIdGenerationMode(commitIdGenerationModeEnum)
               .setUseBranchNameFromBuildEnvironment(useBranchNameFromBuildEnvironment)
               .setExcludeProperties(excludeProperties)
-              .setIncludeOnlyProperties(includeOnlyProperties);
+              .setIncludeOnlyProperties(includeOnlyProperties)
+              .setOffline(offline || settings.isOffline());
 
       nativeGitProvider.loadGitData(evaluateOnCommit, properties);
     } catch (IOException e) {
@@ -582,7 +598,8 @@ private void loadGitDataWithJGit(@Nonnull Properties properties) throws GitCommi
         .setCommitIdGenerationMode(commitIdGenerationModeEnum)
         .setUseBranchNameFromBuildEnvironment(useBranchNameFromBuildEnvironment)
         .setExcludeProperties(excludeProperties)
-        .setIncludeOnlyProperties(includeOnlyProperties);
+        .setIncludeOnlyProperties(includeOnlyProperties)
+        .setOffline(offline || settings.isOffline());
 
     jGitProvider.loadGitData(evaluateOnCommit, properties);
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitDataProvider.java b/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitDataProvider.java
index c813d987..c156b806 100644
--- a/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitDataProvider.java
+++ b/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitDataProvider.java
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ public abstract class GitDataProvider implements GitProvider {
 
   protected List<String> includeOnlyProperties;
 
+  protected boolean offline;
+
   public GitDataProvider(@Nonnull LoggerBridge log) {
     this.log = log;
   }
@@ -109,6 +111,11 @@ public GitDataProvider setIncludeOnlyProperties(List<String> includeOnlyProperti
     return this;
   }
 
+  public GitDataProvider setOffline(boolean offline) {
+    this.offline = offline;
+    return this;
+  }
+
   public void loadGitData(@Nonnull String evaluateOnCommit, @Nonnull Properties properties) throws GitCommitIdExecutionException {
     this.evaluateOnCommit = evaluateOnCommit;
     init();
diff --git a/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/JGitProvider.java b/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/JGitProvider.java
index dc736a79..1e06db8e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/JGitProvider.java
+++ b/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/JGitProvider.java
@@ -335,7 +335,9 @@ private Repository getGitRepository() throws GitCommitIdExecutionException {
   @Override
   public AheadBehind getAheadBehind() throws GitCommitIdExecutionException {
     try {
-      fetch();
+      if (!offline) {
+        fetch();
+      }
       Optional<BranchTrackingStatus> branchTrackingStatus = Optional.ofNullable(BranchTrackingStatus.of(git, getBranchName()));
       return branchTrackingStatus.map(bts -> AheadBehind.of(bts.getAheadCount(), bts.getBehindCount()))
                                  .orElse(AheadBehind.NO_REMOTE);
diff --git a/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/NativeGitProvider.java b/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/NativeGitProvider.java
index 2492935e..bde26fdb 100644
--- a/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/NativeGitProvider.java
+++ b/src/main/java/pl/project13/maven/git/NativeGitProvider.java
@@ -552,7 +552,9 @@ public AheadBehind getAheadBehind() throws GitCommitIdExecutionException {
       if (!remoteBranch.isPresent()) {
         return AheadBehind.NO_REMOTE;
       }
-      fetch(remoteBranch.get());
+      if (!offline) {
+        fetch(remoteBranch.get());
+      }
       String localBranchName = getBranchName();
       String ahead = runQuietGitCommand(canonical, nativeGitTimeoutInMs, "rev-list --right-only --count " + remoteBranch.get() + "..." + localBranchName);
       String behind = runQuietGitCommand(canonical, nativeGitTimeoutInMs, "rev-list --left-only --count " + remoteBranch.get() + "..." + localBranchName);
diff --git a/src/test/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitIntegrationTest.java b/src/test/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitIntegrationTest.java
index 2a25aed8..8c4aa8c8 100644
--- a/src/test/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/pl/project13/maven/git/GitIntegrationTest.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils;
 import org.apache.maven.execution.MavenSession;
 import org.apache.maven.project.MavenProject;
+import org.apache.maven.settings.Settings;
 import org.eclipse.jgit.api.Git;
 import org.junit.After;
 import org.junit.Before;
@@ -116,6 +117,7 @@ public static void initializeMojoWithDefaults(GitCommitIdMojo mojo) {
     mojo.evaluateOnCommit = evaluateOnCommit;
     mojo.nativeGitTimeoutInMs = (30 * 1000);
     mojo.session = mockSession();
+    mojo.settings = mockSettings();
   }
 
   public void setProjectToExecuteMojoIn(@Nonnull MavenProject project) {
@@ -131,6 +133,12 @@ private static MavenSession mockSession() {
     return session;
   }
 
+  private static Settings mockSettings() {
+    Settings settings = mock(Settings.class);
+    when(settings.isOffline()).thenReturn(false);
+    return settings;
+  }
+
   private static List<MavenProject> getReactorProjects(@Nonnull MavenProject project) {
     List<MavenProject> reactorProjects = new ArrayList<>();
     MavenProject mavenProject = project;