diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/ExecutionOptions.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/ExecutionOptions.java
index fe41141..318ac9e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/ExecutionOptions.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/ExecutionOptions.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
 import com.google.common.collect.Iterables;
+import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.ActionExecutionContext;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.ActionExecutionContext.ShowSubcommands;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.LocalHostCapacity;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.actions.ResourceSet;
@@ -134,9 +135,17 @@
       effectTags = {OptionEffectTag.UNKNOWN},
       help =
           "Writes intermediate parameter files to output tree even when using "
-              + "remote action execution. Useful when debugging actions. ")
+              + "remote action execution. Useful when debugging actions. "
+              + "This is implied by --subcommands or --verbose_failures.")
   public boolean materializeParamFiles;
 
+  public boolean shouldMaterializeParamFiles() {
+    // Implied by --subcommands or --verbose_failures
+    return materializeParamFiles
+        || showSubcommands != ActionExecutionContext.ShowSubcommands.FALSE
+        || verboseFailures;
+  }
+
   @Option(
     name = "verbose_failures",
     defaultValue = "false",
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteSpawnRunner.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteSpawnRunner.java
index e5873a4..82754f8 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteSpawnRunner.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/remote/RemoteSpawnRunner.java
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@
   }
 
   private void maybeWriteParamFilesLocally(Spawn spawn) throws IOException {
-    if (!executionOptions.materializeParamFiles) {
+    if (!executionOptions.shouldMaterializeParamFiles()) {
       return;
     }
     for (ActionInput actionInput : spawn.getInputFiles()) {