diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/assets.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/assets.dart
index 77a5fc003a2..795cbf77da7 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/assets.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/assets.dart
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ import '../../devfs.dart';
 import '../../flutter_manifest.dart';
 import '../build_system.dart';
 import '../depfile.dart';
-import '../exceptions.dart';
 import '../tools/asset_transformer.dart';
 import '../tools/scene_importer.dart';
 import '../tools/shader_compiler.dart';
@@ -36,7 +35,7 @@ Future<Depfile> copyAssets(
   Directory outputDirectory, {
   Map<String, DevFSContent> additionalContent = const <String, DevFSContent>{},
   required TargetPlatform targetPlatform,
-  required BuildMode buildMode,
+  BuildMode? buildMode,
   List<File> additionalInputs = const <File>[],
   String? flavor,
 }) async {
@@ -102,7 +101,6 @@ Future<Depfile> copyAssets(
     processManager: environment.processManager,
     fileSystem: environment.fileSystem,
     dartBinaryPath: environment.artifacts.getArtifactPath(Artifact.engineDartBinary),
-    buildMode: buildMode,
   );
 
   final Map<String, AssetBundleEntry> assetEntries = <String, AssetBundleEntry>{
@@ -188,7 +186,7 @@ Future<Depfile> copyAssets(
   // Copy deferred components assets only for release or profile builds.
   // The assets are included in assetBundle.entries as a normal asset when
   // building as debug.
-  if (environment.defines[kDeferredComponents] == 'true') {
+  if (environment.defines[kDeferredComponents] == 'true' && buildMode != null) {
     await Future.wait<void>(assetBundle.deferredComponentsEntries.entries.map<Future<void>>(
       (MapEntry<String, Map<String, AssetBundleEntry>> componentEntries) async {
         final Directory componentOutputDir =
@@ -345,11 +343,6 @@ class CopyAssets extends Target {
 
   @override
   Future<void> build(Environment environment) async {
-    final String? buildModeEnvironment = environment.defines[kBuildMode];
-    if (buildModeEnvironment == null) {
-      throw MissingDefineException(kBuildMode, name);
-    }
-    final BuildMode buildMode = BuildMode.fromCliName(buildModeEnvironment);
     final Directory output = environment
       .buildDir
       .childDirectory('flutter_assets');
@@ -358,7 +351,6 @@ class CopyAssets extends Target {
       environment,
       output,
       targetPlatform: TargetPlatform.android,
-      buildMode: buildMode,
       flavor: environment.defines[kFlavor],
     );
     environment.depFileService.writeToFile(
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/ios.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/ios.dart
index 1fd586e063f..9ca6e543a20 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/ios.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/ios.dart
@@ -503,7 +503,6 @@ abstract class IosAssetBundle extends Target {
       environment,
       assetDirectory,
       targetPlatform: TargetPlatform.ios,
-      buildMode: buildMode,
       additionalInputs: <File>[
         flutterProject.ios.infoPlist,
         flutterProject.ios.appFrameworkInfoPlist,
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/linux.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/linux.dart
index 6f761f27b95..bc446c5fa65 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/linux.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/linux.dart
@@ -137,7 +137,6 @@ abstract class BundleLinuxAssets extends Target {
       environment,
       outputDirectory,
       targetPlatform: targetPlatform,
-      buildMode: buildMode,
       additionalContent: <String, DevFSContent>{
         'version.json': DevFSStringContent(versionInfo),
       },
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/macos.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/macos.dart
index 2e018fe84cc..9996664a0a1 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/macos.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/macos.dart
@@ -438,7 +438,6 @@ abstract class MacOSBundleFlutterAssets extends Target {
       environment,
       assetDirectory,
       targetPlatform: TargetPlatform.darwin,
-      buildMode: buildMode,
       flavor: environment.defines[kFlavor],
     );
     environment.depFileService.writeToFile(
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/web.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/web.dart
index d8372c8c340..d3423e73808 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/web.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/web.dart
@@ -380,21 +380,13 @@ class WebReleaseBundle extends Target {
       }
     }
 
-    final String? buildModeEnvironment = environment.defines[kBuildMode];
-    if (buildModeEnvironment == null) {
-      throw MissingDefineException(kBuildMode, name);
-    }
-    final BuildMode buildMode = BuildMode.fromCliName(buildModeEnvironment);
-
     createVersionFile(environment, environment.defines);
     final Directory outputDirectory = environment.outputDir.childDirectory('assets');
     outputDirectory.createSync(recursive: true);
-
     final Depfile depfile = await copyAssets(
       environment,
       environment.outputDir.childDirectory('assets'),
       targetPlatform: TargetPlatform.web_javascript,
-      buildMode: buildMode,
     );
     final DepfileService depfileService = environment.depFileService;
     depfileService.writeToFile(
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/windows.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/windows.dart
index 2aadcf12b17..ada0afe5b55 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/windows.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/windows.dart
@@ -142,7 +142,6 @@ abstract class BundleWindowsAssets extends Target {
       environment,
       outputDirectory,
       targetPlatform: targetPlatform,
-      buildMode: buildMode,
     );
     environment.depFileService.writeToFile(
       depfile,
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/tools/asset_transformer.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/tools/asset_transformer.dart
index 43ffd0d59a6..8e352d2186e 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/tools/asset_transformer.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/tools/asset_transformer.dart
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ import '../../base/error_handling_io.dart';
 import '../../base/file_system.dart';
 import '../../base/io.dart';
 import '../../base/logger.dart';
-import '../../build_info.dart';
 import '../../devfs.dart';
 import '../../flutter_manifest.dart';
 import '../build_system.dart';
@@ -23,18 +22,13 @@ final class AssetTransformer {
     required ProcessManager processManager,
     required FileSystem fileSystem,
     required String dartBinaryPath,
-    required BuildMode buildMode,
   })  : _processManager = processManager,
         _fileSystem = fileSystem,
-        _dartBinaryPath = dartBinaryPath,
-        _buildMode = buildMode;
-
-  static const String buildModeEnvVar = 'FLUTTER_BUILD_MODE';
+        _dartBinaryPath = dartBinaryPath;
 
   final ProcessManager _processManager;
   final FileSystem _fileSystem;
   final String _dartBinaryPath;
-  final BuildMode _buildMode;
 
   /// The [Source] inputs that targets using this should depend on.
   ///
@@ -121,9 +115,6 @@ final class AssetTransformer {
     final ProcessResult result = await _processManager.run(
       command,
       workingDirectory: workingDirectory,
-      environment: <String, String>{
-        AssetTransformer.buildModeEnvVar: _buildMode.cliName,
-      }
     );
     final String stdout = result.stdout as String;
     final String stderr = result.stderr as String;
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/devfs.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/devfs.dart
index 4027001eee3..9db81a4df81 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/devfs.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/devfs.dart
@@ -442,7 +442,6 @@ class DevFS {
     required FileSystem fileSystem,
     required ProcessManager processManager,
     required Artifacts artifacts,
-    required BuildMode buildMode,
     HttpClient? httpClient,
     Duration? uploadRetryThrottle,
     StopwatchFactory stopwatchFactory = const StopwatchFactory(),
@@ -466,7 +465,6 @@ class DevFS {
             processManager: processManager,
             fileSystem: fileSystem,
             dartBinaryPath: artifacts.getArtifactPath(Artifact.engineDartBinary),
-            buildMode: buildMode,
           ),
           fileSystem: fileSystem,
           logger: logger,
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/resident_runner.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/resident_runner.dart
index 147c3ae676b..1e73e423259 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/resident_runner.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/resident_runner.dart
@@ -387,7 +387,6 @@ class FlutterDevice {
       logger: globals.logger,
       processManager: globals.processManager,
       artifacts: globals.artifacts!,
-      buildMode: buildInfo.mode,
     );
     return devFS!.create();
   }
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/asset_transformer_test.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/asset_transformer_test.dart
index 9e017573b0a..02aea1e3f06 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/asset_transformer_test.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/asset_transformer_test.dart
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import 'package:file_testing/file_testing.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_tools/src/artifacts.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_tools/src/base/file_system.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_tools/src/base/logger.dart';
-import 'package:flutter_tools/src/build_info.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_tools/src/build_system/tools/asset_transformer.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_tools/src/flutter_manifest.dart';
 
@@ -54,7 +53,6 @@ void main() {
       processManager: processManager,
       fileSystem: fileSystem,
       dartBinaryPath: artifacts.getArtifactPath(Artifact.engineDartBinary),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     final AssetTransformationFailure? transformationFailure = await transformer.transformAsset(
@@ -114,7 +112,6 @@ void main() {
       processManager: processManager,
       fileSystem: fileSystem,
       dartBinaryPath: dartBinaryPath,
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     final AssetTransformationFailure? failure = await transformer.transformAsset(
@@ -174,7 +171,6 @@ Something went wrong''');
       processManager: processManager,
       fileSystem: fileSystem,
       dartBinaryPath: dartBinaryPath,
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     final AssetTransformationFailure? failure = await transformer.transformAsset(
@@ -269,7 +265,6 @@ Transformation failed, but I forgot to exit with a non-zero code.'''
       processManager: processManager,
       fileSystem: fileSystem,
       dartBinaryPath: dartBinaryPath,
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     final AssetTransformationFailure? failure = await transformer.transformAsset(
@@ -336,10 +331,7 @@ Transformation failed, but I forgot to exit with a non-zero code.'''
         onRun: (List<String> args) {
           // Do nothing.
         },
-        stderr: 'Transformation failed, but I forgot to exit with a non-zero code.',
-        environment: const <String, String>{
-          'FLUTTER_BUILD_MODE': 'debug',
-        },
+        stderr: 'Transformation failed, but I forgot to exit with a non-zero code.'
       ),
     ]);
 
@@ -347,7 +339,6 @@ Transformation failed, but I forgot to exit with a non-zero code.'''
       processManager: processManager,
       fileSystem: fileSystem,
       dartBinaryPath: dartBinaryPath,
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     final AssetTransformationFailure? failure = await transformer.transformAsset(
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/assets_test.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/assets_test.dart
index 6d33eeec297..cd9fc31799c 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/assets_test.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/assets_test.dart
@@ -38,9 +38,7 @@ void main() {
       fileSystem: fileSystem,
       logger: BufferLogger.test(),
       platform: FakePlatform(),
-      defines: <String, String>{
-        kBuildMode: BuildMode.debug.cliName,
-      },
+      defines: <String, String>{},
     );
     fileSystem.file(environment.buildDir.childFile('app.dill')).createSync(recursive: true);
     fileSystem.file('packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/build_system/targets/assets.dart')
@@ -180,9 +178,7 @@ flutter:
       fileSystem: fileSystem,
       logger: logger,
       platform: globals.platform,
-      defines: <String, String>{
-        kBuildMode: BuildMode.debug.cliName,
-      },
+      defines: <String, String>{},
     );
 
     await fileSystem.file('.packages').create();
@@ -266,9 +262,7 @@ flutter:
       fileSystem: fileSystem,
       logger: logger,
       platform: globals.platform,
-      defines: <String, String>{
-        kBuildMode: BuildMode.debug.cliName,
-      },
+      defines: <String, String>{},
     );
 
     await fileSystem.file('.packages').create();
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/web_test.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/web_test.dart
index e5eef5cd8a0..46c4e1cc7bc 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/web_test.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/build_system/targets/web_test.dart
@@ -68,7 +68,6 @@ void main() {
         outputDir: globals.fs.currentDirectory.childDirectory('bar'),
         defines: <String, String>{
           kTargetFile: globals.fs.path.join('foo', 'lib', 'main.dart'),
-          kBuildMode: BuildMode.debug.cliName,
         },
         artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
         processManager: processManager,
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/devfs_test.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/devfs_test.dart
index 98b9078fac4..2cd54da3ea7 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/devfs_test.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/test/general.shard/devfs_test.dart
@@ -135,7 +135,6 @@ void main() {
       httpClient: FakeHttpClient.any(),
       processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
       artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
     expect(() async => devFS.create(), throwsA(isA<DevFSException>()));
   });
@@ -161,7 +160,6 @@ void main() {
       httpClient: FakeHttpClient.any(),
       processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
       artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     expect(await devFS.create(), isNotNull);
@@ -212,7 +210,6 @@ void main() {
       uploadRetryThrottle: Duration.zero,
       processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
       artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
     await devFS.create();
 
@@ -248,7 +245,6 @@ void main() {
       httpClient: FakeHttpClient.any(),
       processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
       artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     await devFS.create();
@@ -291,7 +287,6 @@ void main() {
       httpClient: FakeHttpClient.any(),
       processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
       artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     await devFS.create();
@@ -336,7 +331,6 @@ void main() {
       httpClient: HttpClient(),
       processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
       artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     await devFS.create();
@@ -388,7 +382,6 @@ void main() {
       httpClient: FakeHttpClient.any(),
       processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
       artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     await devFS.create();
@@ -468,7 +461,6 @@ void main() {
       }),
       processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
       artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     await devFS.create();
@@ -515,7 +507,6 @@ void main() {
       httpClient: FakeHttpClient.any(),
       processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
       artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
     );
 
     await devFS.create();
@@ -621,8 +612,7 @@ void main() {
         httpClient: FakeHttpClient.any(),
         config: Config.test(),
         processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
-      artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
+        artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
       );
 
       await devFS.create();
@@ -680,8 +670,7 @@ void main() {
         httpClient: FakeHttpClient.any(),
         config: Config.test(),
         processManager: FakeProcessManager.empty(),
-      artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
-      buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
+        artifacts: Artifacts.test(),
       );
 
       await devFS.create();
@@ -774,7 +763,6 @@ void main() {
         config: Config.test(),
         processManager: processManager,
         artifacts: artifacts,
-        buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
       );
 
       await devFS.create();
@@ -855,7 +843,6 @@ void main() {
         config: Config.test(),
         processManager: processManager,
         artifacts: artifacts,
-        buildMode: BuildMode.debug,
       );
 
       await devFS.create();