diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
index 4974450333..d3d76c003f 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_driver.c
@@ -6255,7 +6255,7 @@ static char *qemuConnectDomainXMLToNative(virConnectPtr conn,
         vm->def->nets[i] = newNet;
     }
 
-    if (qemuProcessCreatePretendCmdPrepare(driver, vm, NULL, true,
+    if (qemuProcessCreatePretendCmdPrepare(driver, vm, NULL,
                                            VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_COLD) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
index de1146251d..5c9ca0fe4f 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_process.c
@@ -5522,7 +5522,6 @@ qemuProcessStartUpdateCustomCaps(virDomainObj *vm)
  * qemuProcessPrepareQEMUCaps:
  * @vm: domain object
  * @qemuCapsCache: cache of QEMU capabilities
- * @processStartFlags: flags based on the VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_* enum
  *
  * Prepare the capabilities of a QEMU process for startup. This includes
  * copying the caps to a static cache and potential post-processing depending
@@ -5532,8 +5531,7 @@ qemuProcessStartUpdateCustomCaps(virDomainObj *vm)
  */
 static int
 qemuProcessPrepareQEMUCaps(virDomainObj *vm,
-                           virFileCache *qemuCapsCache,
-                           unsigned int processStartFlags)
+                           virFileCache *qemuCapsCache)
 {
     qemuDomainObjPrivate *priv = vm->privateData;
 
@@ -5544,9 +5542,6 @@ qemuProcessPrepareQEMUCaps(virDomainObj *vm,
                                                       vm->def->os.machine)))
         return -1;
 
-    if (processStartFlags & VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_STANDALONE)
-        virQEMUCapsClear(priv->qemuCaps, QEMU_CAPS_CHARDEV_FD_PASS_COMMANDLINE);
-
     /* Update qemu capabilities according to lists passed in via namespace */
     if (qemuProcessStartUpdateCustomCaps(vm) < 0)
         return -1;
@@ -5605,7 +5600,7 @@ qemuProcessInit(virQEMUDriver *driver,
     }
 
     VIR_DEBUG("Determining emulator version");
-    if (qemuProcessPrepareQEMUCaps(vm, driver->qemuCapsCache, flags) < 0)
+    if (qemuProcessPrepareQEMUCaps(vm, driver->qemuCapsCache) < 0)
         goto cleanup;
 
     if (qemuDomainUpdateCPU(vm, updatedCPU, &origCPU) < 0)
@@ -7887,7 +7882,6 @@ int
 qemuProcessCreatePretendCmdPrepare(virQEMUDriver *driver,
                                    virDomainObj *vm,
                                    const char *migrateURI,
-                                   bool standalone,
                                    unsigned int flags)
 {
     virCheckFlags(VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_COLD |
@@ -7899,9 +7893,6 @@ qemuProcessCreatePretendCmdPrepare(virQEMUDriver *driver,
     if (!migrateURI)
         flags |= VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_NEW;
 
-    if (standalone)
-        flags |= VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_STANDALONE;
-
     if (qemuProcessInit(driver, vm, NULL, QEMU_ASYNC_JOB_NONE,
                         !!migrateURI, flags) < 0)
         return -1;
diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_process.h b/src/qemu/qemu_process.h
index ab276da15c..1b1cc489f0 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_process.h
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_process.h
@@ -79,8 +79,6 @@ typedef enum {
     VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_PRETEND      = 1 << 3,
     VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_NEW          = 1 << 4, /* internal, new VM is starting */
     VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_GEN_VMID     = 1 << 5, /* Generate a new VMID */
-    VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_STANDALONE   = 1 << 6, /* Require CLI args to be usable standalone,
-                                                     ie no FD passing and the like */
 } qemuProcessStartFlags;
 
 int qemuProcessStart(virConnectPtr conn,
@@ -98,7 +96,6 @@ int qemuProcessStart(virConnectPtr conn,
 int qemuProcessCreatePretendCmdPrepare(virQEMUDriver *driver,
                                        virDomainObj *vm,
                                        const char *migrateURI,
-                                       bool standalone,
                                        unsigned int flags);
 
 virCommand *qemuProcessCreatePretendCmdBuild(virQEMUDriver *driver,
diff --git a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
index 6c67b36d5c..85f28c0ece 100644
--- a/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
+++ b/tests/qemuxml2argvtest.c
@@ -460,7 +460,7 @@ testCompareXMLToArgvCreateArgs(virQEMUDriver *drv,
     bool enableFips = !!(flags & FLAG_FIPS_HOST);
     size_t i;
 
-    if (qemuProcessCreatePretendCmdPrepare(drv, vm, migrateURI, false,
+    if (qemuProcessCreatePretendCmdPrepare(drv, vm, migrateURI,
                                            VIR_QEMU_PROCESS_START_COLD) < 0)
         return NULL;