diff --git a/.changeset/skip-api-project-config.md b/.changeset/skip-api-project-config.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f1e2059a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/skip-api-project-config.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"cf": patch
+---
+
+Skip reading the compliance region from the config file when it is set in the environment
+
+Resolve `CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION` before project settings, matching the existing account ID priority. Commands with both `CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID` and `CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION` no longer evaluate a `cloudflare.config.ts` file solely to establish API context.
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/commands/api-config-loading.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/commands/api-config-loading.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..832a5b40f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/commands/api-config-loading.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import { writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { runInTempDir } from "@cloudflare/workers-utils/test-helpers";
+import { http, HttpResponse } from "msw/http";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vite-plus/test";
+import { server, setupMsw, TEST_BASE_URL } from "../helpers/msw.js";
+import { runCf } from "../helpers/run-cf.js";
+
+describe("API command project config loading", () => {
+	runInTempDir();
+	setupMsw();
+
+	afterEach(() => vi.restoreAllMocks());
+
+	it("does not load project config when account ID and compliance region are in the environment", async () => {
+		await writeFile(
+			"cloudflare.config.ts",
+			`import "a-package-that-does-not-exist"; export default {};`
+		);
+		vi.spyOn(console, "log").mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+		let requested = false;
+		server.use(
+			http.get(
+				`${TEST_BASE_URL}/accounts/account-1/workers/scripts-search`,
+				() => {
+					requested = true;
+					return HttpResponse.json({ success: true, result: [] });
+				}
+			)
+		);
+
+		const result = await runCf(
+			["workers", "scripts", "search", "--name", "x"],
+			{
+				CLOUDFLARE_API_BASE_URL: TEST_BASE_URL,
+				CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN: "test-token",
+				CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID: "account-1",
+				CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION: "public",
+			}
+		);
+
+		expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+		expect(requested).toBe(true);
+	});
+});
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/lib/context.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/lib/context.test.ts
index f4ef120f3..c51b4bd9b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/lib/context.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/lib/context.test.ts
@@ -156,27 +156,15 @@ describe("context", () => {
 			await expect(getComplianceRegion()).resolves.toBe("fedramp_high");
 		});
 
-		it("prioritises the legacy env representation", async () => {
+		it("reads the environment before loading project settings", async () => {
+			writeFileSync(
+				join(process.cwd(), "cloudflare.config.ts"),
+				`throw new Error("project config should not be loaded");`
+			);
 			vi.stubEnv("CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION", "fedramp_high");
 			await expect(getComplianceRegion()).resolves.toBe("fedramp_high");
 		});
 
-		it("warns when the environment overrides project settings", async () => {
-			const warn = vi
-				.spyOn(console, "warn")
-				.mockImplementation(() => undefined);
-			vi.stubEnv("CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION", "public");
-			writeProjectSettings({ complianceRegion: "fedramp-high" });
-
-			await expect(getComplianceRegion()).resolves.toBe("public");
-			await expect(getComplianceRegion()).resolves.toBe("public");
-
-			expect(warn).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
-			expect(warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-				'The compliance region was resolved to "public" from the `CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION` environment variable, which takes precedence over the configured value "fedramp-high" in `cloudflare.config.ts`.'
-			);
-		});
-
 		it("throws on an invalid value", async () => {
 			vi.stubEnv("CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION", "invalid");
 			await expect(getComplianceRegion()).rejects.toThrow(
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/context.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/context.ts
index 487bcd0c4..d37821fc7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/context.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/context.ts
@@ -203,8 +203,6 @@ const VALID_COMPLIANCE_REGIONS = ["public", "fedramp_high"] as const;
 
 export type ComplianceRegion = (typeof VALID_COMPLIANCE_REGIONS)[number];
 
-let complianceRegionConflictsReported = false;
-
 /**
  * Resolve the compliance region in the representation consumed by
  * workers-auth/workers-utils. cloudflare.config.ts uses `fedramp-high`, which
@@ -213,38 +211,23 @@ let complianceRegionConflictsReported = false;
 async function resolveComplianceRegion(
 	options: { isPreview?: boolean } = {}
 ): Promise<ComplianceRegion | undefined> {
+	const envRegion = normalizeComplianceRegion(
+		process.env.CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION,
+		"CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION"
+	);
+	if (envRegion) {
+		return envRegion;
+	}
+
 	const preloadedProjectSettings = getLoadedProjectSettings(undefined, options);
 	const projectSettings =
 		preloadedProjectSettings === undefined
 			? await loadProjectSettings(undefined, options)
 			: preloadedProjectSettings;
-	const configuredValue = projectSettings?.settings?.complianceRegion;
-	const configureRegion = normalizeComplianceRegion(
-		configuredValue,
+	return normalizeComplianceRegion(
+		projectSettings?.settings?.complianceRegion,
 		"cloudflare.config.ts"
 	);
-	const envValue = process.env.CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION;
-	const envRegion = normalizeComplianceRegion(
-		envValue,
-		"CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION"
-	);
-
-	if (!envRegion) {
-		return configureRegion;
-	}
-
-	if (
-		configureRegion &&
-		configureRegion !== envRegion &&
-		!complianceRegionConflictsReported
-	) {
-		complianceRegionConflictsReported = true;
-		console.warn(
-			`The compliance region was resolved to "${envValue}" from the \`CLOUDFLARE_COMPLIANCE_REGION\` environment variable, which takes precedence over the configured value "${configuredValue}" in \`cloudflare.config.ts\`.`
-		);
-	}
-
-	return envRegion;
 }
 
 /** Get the compliance region, defaulting to public. */