diff --git a/buildkite/bazelci.py b/buildkite/bazelci.py
index 2b3bcf3c4c..12e569f06b 100755
--- a/buildkite/bazelci.py
+++ b/buildkite/bazelci.py
@@ -1170,6 +1170,14 @@ def use_bazelisk_migrate():
     """
     return is_trueish(os.environ.get("USE_BAZELISK_MIGRATE"))
 
+
+def is_downstream_pipeline():
+    """
+    Return true if BAZELCI_DOWNSTREAM_PIPELINE is set
+    """
+    return is_trueish(os.environ.get("BAZELCI_DOWNSTREAM_PIPELINE"))
+
+
 def local_run_only():
     """
     If BAZELCI_LOCAL_RUN is set, run bazelci in local-only mode, with no attempt
@@ -1991,6 +1999,12 @@ def common_build_flags(bep_file, platform):
         "--disk_cache=",
     ]
 
+    if is_downstream_pipeline():
+        # If we are in a downstream pipeline, turn off the lockfile update since changing Bazel version could affect the lockfile.
+        flags.append("--lockfile_mode=off")
+        # Filter out targets that should not be built in downstream pipelines.
+        flags.append("--build_tag_filters=-no_bazel_downstream")
+
     if is_windows():
         pass
     elif is_mac():
@@ -2547,6 +2561,10 @@ def execute_bazel_test(
         "--build_tests_only",
         "--local_test_jobs=" + concurrent_test_jobs(platform),
     ]
+    if is_downstream_pipeline():
+        # Filter out targets that should not be built in downstream pipelines.
+        aggregated_flags.append("--test_tag_filters=-no_bazel_downstream")
+
     # Don't enable remote caching if the user enabled remote execution / caching themselves
     # or flaky test monitoring is enabled, as remote caching makes tests look less flaky than
     # they are.
@@ -2789,12 +2807,9 @@ def print_project_pipeline(
 
     task_configs = filter_tasks_that_should_be_skipped(task_configs, pipeline_steps)
 
-    # In Bazel Downstream Project pipelines, git_repository and project_name must be specified.
-    is_downstream_project = use_but and git_repository and project_name
-
     buildifier_config = configs.get("buildifier")
     # Skip Buildifier when we test downstream projects.
-    if buildifier_config and not is_downstream_project:
+    if buildifier_config and not is_downstream_pipeline():
         buildifier_env_vars = {}
         if isinstance(buildifier_config, str):
             # Simple format:
@@ -2827,7 +2842,7 @@ def print_project_pipeline(
 
     # In Bazel Downstream Project pipelines, we should test the project at the last green commit.
     git_commit = None
-    if is_downstream_project:
+    if is_downstream_pipeline():
         last_green_commit_url = bazelci_last_green_commit_url(
             git_repository, DOWNSTREAM_PROJECTS[project_name]["pipeline_slug"]
         )
@@ -2844,7 +2859,7 @@ def print_project_pipeline(
         # only differ in the value of their explicit "bazel" field will be identical in the
         # downstream pipeline, thus leading to duplicate work.
         # Consequently, we filter those duplicate tasks here.
-        if is_downstream_project:
+        if is_downstream_pipeline():
             h = hash_task_config(task, task_config)
             if h in config_hashes:
                 skipped_downstream_tasks.append(
@@ -2945,14 +2960,14 @@ def print_project_pipeline(
     if "validate_config" in configs:
         pipeline_steps += create_config_validation_steps()
 
-    if use_bazelisk_migrate() and not is_downstream_project:
+    if use_bazelisk_migrate() and not is_downstream_pipeline():
         # Print results of bazelisk --migrate in project pipelines that explicitly set
         # the USE_BAZELISK_MIGRATE env var, but that are not being run as part of a
         # downstream pipeline.
         number = os.getenv("BUILDKITE_BUILD_NUMBER")
         pipeline_steps += get_steps_for_aggregating_migration_results(number, notify)
 
-    print_pipeline_steps(pipeline_steps, handle_emergencies=not is_downstream_project)
+    print_pipeline_steps(pipeline_steps, handle_emergencies=not is_downstream_pipeline())
 
 
 def show_gerrit_review_link(git_repository, pipeline_steps):
diff --git a/docs/downstream-testing.md b/docs/downstream-testing.md
index 896909ad85..4666a070f5 100644
--- a/docs/downstream-testing.md
+++ b/docs/downstream-testing.md
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ The Bazel team monitors the downstream pipeline status and report issues for bre
 - The downstream project is expected to respond to the issue within 5 working days. Otherwise, the project is eligible to be temporarily disabled in the downstream pipeline. Note that, even if a pipeline is disabled from the [Bazel@HEAD + downstream](https://buildkite.com/bazel/bazel-at-head-plus-downstream) pipeline, the nightly result can still be checked from the [Bazel@HEAD+ Disabled](https://buildkite.com/bazel/bazel-at-head-plus-disabled) pipeline.
 - If a project remains disabled in the downstream pipeline for more than 6 months without any indication of a fix, we will remove the pipeline configuration from Bazel's downstream pipeline.
 
+Note that: if you want to skip some builds in the downstream pipeline, you can specify `skip_in_bazel_downstream_pipeline: <reason>` for a given job in your [Bazel CI configuration file](../buildkite/README.md#configuring-a-pipeline) or add `no_bazel_downstream` tag for certain build and test targets.
+
 As of May 2023, some projects' pipeline config files live under [the "pipeline" directory](https://github.com/bazelbuild/continuous-integration/tree/master/pipelines) of this repository, which means the Bazel team is responsible for their setup for now, ideally they should be moved to their corresponding repository or the project should be removed.
 
 ## Testing Local Changes With All Downstream Projects