diff --git a/webdev/CHANGELOG.md b/webdev/CHANGELOG.md
index fefe68694..46c68d2cc 100644
--- a/webdev/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/webdev/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+- Always pass the argument `--fail-on-severe` to the `build` command.
+
 ## 0.2.1
 
 - Exit with an error if unsupported arguments are passed to `build` command.
diff --git a/webdev/lib/src/command/build_command.dart b/webdev/lib/src/command/build_command.dart
index f2a935c99..6751615d6 100644
--- a/webdev/lib/src/command/build_command.dart
+++ b/webdev/lib/src/command/build_command.dart
@@ -26,6 +26,6 @@ class BuildCommand extends CommandBase {
           '"${argResults.rest.join(' ')}".',
           argParser.usage);
     }
-    return runCore('build');
+    return runCore('build', extraArgs: ['--fail-on-severe']);
   }
 }
diff --git a/webdev/lib/src/command/command_base.dart b/webdev/lib/src/command/command_base.dart
index 087126f6d..feec9ec6f 100644
--- a/webdev/lib/src/command/command_base.dart
+++ b/webdev/lib/src/command/command_base.dart
@@ -68,14 +68,16 @@ abstract class CommandBase extends Command<int> {
     return arguments;
   }
 
-  Future<int> runCore(String command) async {
+  Future<int> runCore(String command, {List<String> extraArgs}) async {
     await checkPubspecLock(
         requireBuildWebCompilers:
             argResults[_requireBuildWebCompilers] as bool);
 
     var buildRunnerScript = await _buildRunnerScript();
 
-    final arguments = [command]..addAll(getArgs());
+    final arguments = [command]
+      ..addAll(extraArgs ?? const [])
+      ..addAll(getArgs());
 
     var exitCode = 0;