diff --git a/src/Operations.jl b/src/Operations.jl
index 6d6bc94558..b25b796e6f 100644
--- a/src/Operations.jl
+++ b/src/Operations.jl
@@ -1621,6 +1621,12 @@ function _resolve(io::IO, env::EnvCache, registries::Vector{Registry.RegistryIns
     end
 end
 
+# A shared environment lives in the "environments" subdirectory of a depot.
+function is_shared_env(project_file::String)
+    parent_parent = dirname(dirname(project_file))
+    return basename(parent_parent) == "environments" && dirname(parent_parent) in Base.DEPOT_PATH
+end
+
 function add(ctx::Context, pkgs::Vector{PackageSpec}, new_git=Set{UUID}();
              allow_autoprecomp::Bool=true, preserve::PreserveLevel=default_preserve(), platform::AbstractPlatform=HostPlatform(),
              target::Symbol=:deps)
@@ -1658,8 +1664,8 @@ function add(ctx::Context, pkgs::Vector{PackageSpec}, new_git=Set{UUID}();
         # and ensure they are all downloaded and unpacked as well:
         download_artifacts(ctx, platform=platform, julia_version=ctx.julia_version)
 
-        # if env is a package add compat entries
-        if ctx.env.project.name !== nothing && ctx.env.project.uuid !== nothing
+        # If the environment isn't a shared one add compat entries
+        if !is_shared_env(ctx.env.project_file)
             compat_names = String[]
             for pkg in pkgs
                 haskey(ctx.env.project.compat, pkg.name) && continue
diff --git a/src/Pkg.jl b/src/Pkg.jl
index d6260607dd..99b1c06443 100644
--- a/src/Pkg.jl
+++ b/src/Pkg.jl
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ Add a package to the current project. This package will be available by using th
 `import` and `using` keywords in the Julia REPL, and if the current project is
 a package, also inside that package.
 
-If the active environment is a package (the Project has both `name` and `uuid` fields) compat entries will be
+If the active environment is not a shared one compat entries will be
 added automatically with a lower bound of the added version.
 
 To add as a weak dependency (in the `[weakdeps]` field) set the kwarg `target=:weakdeps`.
diff --git a/src/REPLMode/command_declarations.jl b/src/REPLMode/command_declarations.jl
index cb00dfb260..c9115ce0f9 100644
--- a/src/REPLMode/command_declarations.jl
+++ b/src/REPLMode/command_declarations.jl
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ are of the form `@1`, `@1.2` or `@1.2.3`, allowing any version with a prefix
 that matches, or ranges thereof, such as `@1.2-3.4.5`. A git revision can be
 specified by `#branch` or `#commit`.
 
-If the active environment is a package (the Project has both `name` and `uuid` fields) compat entries will be
+If the active environment is not a shared one compat entries will be
 added automatically with a lower bound of the added version.
 
 If a local path is used as an argument to `add`, the path needs to be a git repository.