diff --git a/cmd/soong_ui/main.go b/cmd/soong_ui/main.go
index d0cad78..c965107 100644
--- a/cmd/soong_ui/main.go
+++ b/cmd/soong_ui/main.go
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@
 	buildErrorFile := filepath.Join(logsDir, c.logsPrefix+"build_error")
 	rbeMetricsFile := filepath.Join(logsDir, c.logsPrefix+"rbe_metrics.pb")
 	soongMetricsFile := filepath.Join(logsDir, c.logsPrefix+"soong_metrics")
-	defer build.UploadMetrics(buildCtx, config, buildStartedMilli, buildErrorFile, rbeMetricsFile, soongMetricsFile)
+	defer build.UploadMetrics(buildCtx, config, c.forceDumbOutput, buildStartedMilli, buildErrorFile, rbeMetricsFile, soongMetricsFile)
 
 	os.MkdirAll(logsDir, 0777)
 	log.SetOutput(filepath.Join(logsDir, c.logsPrefix+"soong.log"))
diff --git a/ui/build/upload.go b/ui/build/upload.go
index 75a5e2f..3a23a80 100644
--- a/ui/build/upload.go
+++ b/ui/build/upload.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 	"path/filepath"
 	"time"
 
+	"android/soong/ui/metrics"
 	"github.com/golang/protobuf/proto"
 
 	upload_proto "android/soong/ui/metrics/upload_proto"
@@ -32,11 +33,21 @@
 	uploadPbFilename = ".uploader.pb"
 )
 
+var (
+	// For testing purpose
+	getTmpDir = ioutil.TempDir
+)
+
 // UploadMetrics uploads a set of metrics files to a server for analysis. An
 // uploader full path is required to be specified in order to upload the set
 // of metrics files. This is accomplished by defining the ANDROID_ENABLE_METRICS_UPLOAD
-// environment variable.
-func UploadMetrics(ctx Context, config Config, buildStartedMilli int64, files ...string) {
+// environment variable. The metrics files are copied to a temporary directory
+// and the uploader is then executed in the background to allow the user to continue
+// working.
+func UploadMetrics(ctx Context, config Config, forceDumbOutput bool, buildStartedMilli int64, files ...string) {
+	ctx.BeginTrace(metrics.RunSetupTool, "upload_metrics")
+	defer ctx.EndTrace()
+
 	uploader := config.MetricsUploaderApp()
 	// No metrics to upload if the path to the uploader was not specified.
 	if uploader == "" {
@@ -56,6 +67,22 @@
 		return
 	}
 
+	// The temporary directory cannot be deleted as the metrics uploader is started
+	// in the background and requires to exist until the operation is done. The
+	// uploader can delete the directory as it is specified in the upload proto.
+	tmpDir, err := getTmpDir("", "upload_metrics")
+	if err != nil {
+		ctx.Fatalf("failed to create a temporary directory to store the list of metrics files: %v\n", err)
+	}
+
+	for i, src := range metricsFiles {
+		dst := filepath.Join(tmpDir, filepath.Base(src))
+		if _, err := copyFile(src, dst); err != nil {
+			ctx.Fatalf("failed to copy %q to %q: %v\n", src, dst, err)
+		}
+		metricsFiles[i] = dst
+	}
+
 	// For platform builds, the branch and target name is hardcoded to specific
 	// values for later extraction of the metrics in the data metrics pipeline.
 	data, err := proto.Marshal(&upload_proto.Upload{
@@ -64,17 +91,23 @@
 		BranchName:            proto.String("developer-metrics"),
 		TargetName:            proto.String("platform-build-systems-metrics"),
 		MetricsFiles:          metricsFiles,
+		DirectoriesToDelete:   []string{tmpDir},
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		ctx.Fatalf("failed to marshal metrics upload proto buffer message: %v\n", err)
 	}
 
-	pbFile := filepath.Join(config.OutDir(), uploadPbFilename)
+	pbFile := filepath.Join(tmpDir, uploadPbFilename)
 	if err := ioutil.WriteFile(pbFile, data, 0644); err != nil {
 		ctx.Fatalf("failed to write the marshaled metrics upload protobuf to %q: %v\n", pbFile, err)
 	}
-	// Remove the upload file as it's not longer needed after it has been processed by the uploader.
-	defer os.Remove(pbFile)
 
-	Command(ctx, config, "upload metrics", uploader, "--upload-metrics", pbFile).RunAndStreamOrFatal()
+	// Start the uploader in the background as it takes several milliseconds to start the uploader
+	// and prepare the metrics for upload. This affects small commands like "lunch".
+	cmd := Command(ctx, config, "upload metrics", uploader, "--upload-metrics", pbFile)
+	if forceDumbOutput {
+		cmd.RunOrFatal()
+	} else {
+		cmd.RunAndStreamOrFatal()
+	}
 }
diff --git a/ui/build/upload_test.go b/ui/build/upload_test.go
index adaa08d..c812730 100644
--- a/ui/build/upload_test.go
+++ b/ui/build/upload_test.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package build
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -61,6 +62,22 @@
 			}
 			defer os.RemoveAll(outDir)
 
+			// Supply our own getTmpDir to delete the temp dir once the test is done.
+			orgGetTmpDir := getTmpDir
+			getTmpDir = func(string, string) (string, error) {
+				retDir := filepath.Join(outDir, "tmp_upload_dir")
+				if err := os.Mkdir(retDir, 0755); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("failed to create temporary directory %q: %v", retDir, err)
+				}
+				return retDir, nil
+			}
+			defer func() { getTmpDir = orgGetTmpDir }()
+
+			metricsUploadDir := filepath.Join(outDir, ".metrics_uploader")
+			if err := os.Mkdir(metricsUploadDir, 0755); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("failed to create %q directory for oauth valid check: %v", metricsUploadDir, err)
+			}
+
 			var metricsFiles []string
 			if tt.createFiles {
 				for _, f := range tt.files {
@@ -80,41 +97,62 @@
 				buildDateTime: strconv.FormatInt(time.Now().UnixNano()/int64(time.Millisecond), 10),
 			}}
 
-			UploadMetrics(ctx, config, 1591031903, metricsFiles...)
-
-			if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(outDir, uploadPbFilename)); err == nil {
-				t.Error("got true, want false for upload protobuf file to exist")
-			}
+			UploadMetrics(ctx, config, false, 1591031903, metricsFiles...)
 		})
 	}
 }
 
 func TestUploadMetricsErrors(t *testing.T) {
-	expectedErr := "failed to write the marshaled"
-	defer logger.Recover(func(err error) {
-		got := err.Error()
-		if !strings.Contains(got, expectedErr) {
-			t.Errorf("got %q, want %q to be contained in error", got, expectedErr)
-		}
-	})
+	ctx := testContext()
+	tests := []struct {
+		description string
+		tmpDir      string
+		tmpDirErr   error
+		expectedErr string
+	}{{
+		description: "getTmpDir returned error",
+		tmpDirErr:   errors.New("getTmpDir failed"),
+		expectedErr: "getTmpDir failed",
+	}, {
+		description: "copyFile operation error",
+		tmpDir:      "/fake_dir",
+		expectedErr: "failed to copy",
+	}}
 
-	outDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("failed to create out directory: %v", outDir)
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.description, func(t *testing.T) {
+			defer logger.Recover(func(err error) {
+				got := err.Error()
+				if !strings.Contains(got, tt.expectedErr) {
+					t.Errorf("got %q, want %q to be contained in error", got, tt.expectedErr)
+				}
+			})
+
+			outDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "")
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("failed to create out directory: %v", outDir)
+			}
+			defer os.RemoveAll(outDir)
+
+			orgGetTmpDir := getTmpDir
+			getTmpDir = func(string, string) (string, error) {
+				return tt.tmpDir, tt.tmpDirErr
+			}
+			defer func() { getTmpDir = orgGetTmpDir }()
+
+			metricsFile := filepath.Join(outDir, "metrics_file_1")
+			if err := ioutil.WriteFile(metricsFile, []byte("test file"), 0644); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("failed to create a fake metrics file %q for uploading: %v", metricsFile, err)
+			}
+
+			config := Config{&configImpl{
+				environ: &Environment{
+					"ANDROID_ENABLE_METRICS_UPLOAD=fake",
+					"OUT_DIR=/bad",
+				}}}
+
+			UploadMetrics(ctx, config, true, 1591031903, metricsFile)
+			t.Errorf("got nil, expecting %q as a failure", tt.expectedErr)
+		})
 	}
-	defer os.RemoveAll(outDir)
-
-	metricsFile := filepath.Join(outDir, "metrics_file_1")
-	if err := ioutil.WriteFile(metricsFile, []byte("test file"), 0644); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("failed to create a fake metrics file %q for uploading: %v", metricsFile, err)
-	}
-
-	config := Config{&configImpl{
-		environ: &Environment{
-			"ANDROID_ENABLE_METRICS_UPLOAD=fake",
-			"OUT_DIR=/bad",
-		}}}
-
-	UploadMetrics(testContext(), config, 1591031903, metricsFile)
-	t.Errorf("got nil, expecting %q as a failure", expectedErr)
 }
diff --git a/ui/build/util.go b/ui/build/util.go
index 75e6753..d44cd6d 100644
--- a/ui/build/util.go
+++ b/ui/build/util.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package build
 
 import (
+	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
@@ -124,3 +125,20 @@
 	}
 	return str[:idx], str[idx+1:], true
 }
+
+// copyFile copies a file from src to dst. filepath.Dir(dst) must exist.
+func copyFile(src, dst string) (int64, error) {
+	source, err := os.Open(src)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	defer source.Close()
+
+	destination, err := os.Create(dst)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	defer destination.Close()
+
+	return io.Copy(destination, source)
+}
diff --git a/ui/build/util_test.go b/ui/build/util_test.go
index 89bfc77..b22e997 100644
--- a/ui/build/util_test.go
+++ b/ui/build/util_test.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package build
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -49,3 +50,72 @@
 
 	ensureEmptyDirectoriesExist(ctx, filepath.Join(tmpDir, "a"))
 }
+
+func TestCopyFile(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "test_copy_file")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to create temporary directory to hold test text files: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer os.Remove(tmpDir)
+
+	data := []byte("fake data")
+	src := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "src.txt")
+	if err := ioutil.WriteFile(src, data, 0755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to create a src file %q for copying: %v", src, err)
+	}
+
+	dst := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "dst.txt")
+
+	l, err := copyFile(src, dst)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("got %v, expecting nil error on copyFile operation", err)
+	}
+
+	if l != int64(len(data)) {
+		t.Errorf("got %d, expecting %d for copied bytes", l, len(data))
+	}
+
+	dstData, err := ioutil.ReadFile(dst)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("got %v, expecting nil error reading dst %q file", err, dst)
+	}
+
+	if bytes.Compare(data, dstData) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("got %q, expecting data %q from dst %q text file", string(data), string(dstData), dst)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCopyFileErrors(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "test_copy_file_errors")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to create temporary directory to hold test text files: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer os.Remove(tmpDir)
+
+	srcExists := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "src_exist.txt")
+	if err := ioutil.WriteFile(srcExists, []byte("fake data"), 0755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to create a src file %q for copying: %v", srcExists, err)
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		description string
+		src         string
+		dst         string
+	}{{
+		description: "src file does not exist",
+		src:         "/src/not/exist",
+		dst:         "/dst/not/exist",
+	}, {
+		description: "dst directory does not exist",
+		src:         srcExists,
+		dst:         "/dst/not/exist",
+	}}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.description, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if _, err := copyFile(tt.src, tt.dst); err == nil {
+				t.Errorf("got nil, expecting error")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/ui/metrics/upload_proto/upload.pb.go b/ui/metrics/upload_proto/upload.pb.go
index 1b1e5e8..614d4c7 100644
--- a/ui/metrics/upload_proto/upload.pb.go
+++ b/ui/metrics/upload_proto/upload.pb.go
@@ -30,7 +30,10 @@
 	// The target name.
 	TargetName *string `protobuf:"bytes,4,opt,name=target_name,json=targetName" json:"target_name,omitempty"`
 	// A list of metrics filepaths to upload.
-	MetricsFiles         []string `protobuf:"bytes,5,rep,name=metrics_files,json=metricsFiles" json:"metrics_files,omitempty"`
+	MetricsFiles []string `protobuf:"bytes,5,rep,name=metrics_files,json=metricsFiles" json:"metrics_files,omitempty"`
+	// A list of directories to delete after the copy of metrics files
+	// is completed for uploading.
+	DirectoriesToDelete  []string `protobuf:"bytes,6,rep,name=directories_to_delete,json=directoriesToDelete" json:"directories_to_delete,omitempty"`
 	XXX_NoUnkeyedLiteral struct{} `json:"-"`
 	XXX_unrecognized     []byte   `json:"-"`
 	XXX_sizecache        int32    `json:"-"`
@@ -96,6 +99,13 @@
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (m *Upload) GetDirectoriesToDelete() []string {
+	if m != nil {
+		return m.DirectoriesToDelete
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func init() {
 	proto.RegisterType((*Upload)(nil), "soong_metrics_upload.Upload")
 }
@@ -105,18 +115,20 @@
 }
 
 var fileDescriptor_91b94b655bd2a7e5 = []byte{
-	// 201 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
-	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0xe2, 0xe2, 0x29, 0x2d, 0xc8, 0xc9,
-	0x4f, 0x4c, 0xd1, 0x2b, 0x28, 0xca, 0x2f, 0xc9, 0x17, 0x12, 0x29, 0xce, 0xcf, 0xcf, 0x4b, 0x8f,
-	0xcf, 0x4d, 0x2d, 0x29, 0xca, 0x4c, 0x2e, 0x8e, 0x87, 0xc8, 0x29, 0xdd, 0x66, 0xe4, 0x62, 0x0b,
-	0x05, 0x33, 0x85, 0x8c, 0xb8, 0x44, 0x93, 0x8b, 0x52, 0x13, 0x4b, 0x32, 0xf3, 0xf3, 0xe2, 0x4b,
-	0x32, 0x73, 0x53, 0x8b, 0x4b, 0x12, 0x73, 0x0b, 0xe2, 0x73, 0x8b, 0x25, 0x18, 0x15, 0x18, 0x35,
-	0x58, 0x82, 0x84, 0x61, 0x92, 0x21, 0x30, 0x39, 0xdf, 0x62, 0x21, 0x33, 0x2e, 0xf1, 0xe4, 0xfc,
-	0xdc, 0x82, 0x9c, 0x54, 0x4c, 0x5d, 0x4c, 0x60, 0x5d, 0xa2, 0x08, 0x69, 0x64, 0x7d, 0xf2, 0x5c,
-	0xdc, 0x49, 0x45, 0x89, 0x79, 0xc9, 0x19, 0xf1, 0x79, 0x89, 0xb9, 0xa9, 0x12, 0xcc, 0x0a, 0x8c,
-	0x1a, 0x9c, 0x41, 0x5c, 0x10, 0x21, 0xbf, 0xc4, 0xdc, 0x54, 0x90, 0x82, 0x92, 0xc4, 0xa2, 0xf4,
-	0xd4, 0x12, 0x88, 0x02, 0x16, 0x88, 0x02, 0x88, 0x10, 0x58, 0x81, 0x32, 0x17, 0x2f, 0xcc, 0x2b,
-	0x69, 0x99, 0x39, 0xa9, 0xc5, 0x12, 0xac, 0x0a, 0xcc, 0x1a, 0x9c, 0x41, 0x3c, 0x50, 0x41, 0x37,
-	0x90, 0x98, 0x93, 0x4c, 0x94, 0x14, 0x36, 0x5f, 0xc7, 0x83, 0x43, 0x04, 0x10, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff,
-	0xff, 0xe2, 0x01, 0x74, 0x65, 0x20, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00,
+	// 230 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
+	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0x6c, 0x90, 0xb1, 0x4a, 0x04, 0x31,
+	0x10, 0x86, 0xd9, 0xbb, 0xf3, 0xe0, 0xe2, 0xd9, 0xec, 0x79, 0x18, 0x44, 0x70, 0xd1, 0x66, 0x2b,
+	0x0b, 0x0b, 0x1f, 0x40, 0xc4, 0x4e, 0x8b, 0xe5, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x86, 0x98, 0x1d, 0xd7, 0x40, 0x92,
+	0x09, 0xc9, 0xf8, 0x1c, 0xbe, 0xb2, 0x6c, 0xe2, 0xe2, 0x82, 0x76, 0xc3, 0xff, 0x7d, 0x7f, 0x31,
+	0xbf, 0xd8, 0x7e, 0x06, 0x4b, 0xaa, 0xbf, 0x09, 0x91, 0x98, 0xea, 0xd3, 0x44, 0xe4, 0x07, 0x70,
+	0xc8, 0xd1, 0xe8, 0x04, 0x85, 0x5d, 0x7d, 0x2d, 0xc4, 0xfa, 0x25, 0x9f, 0xf5, 0xad, 0xd8, 0xeb,
+	0x88, 0x8a, 0x0d, 0x79, 0x60, 0xe3, 0x30, 0xb1, 0x72, 0x01, 0x5c, 0x92, 0x55, 0x53, 0xb5, 0xab,
+	0x6e, 0x37, 0xc1, 0xc3, 0xc4, 0x9e, 0x52, 0x7d, 0x27, 0xce, 0x34, 0xb9, 0x60, 0xf1, 0x6f, 0x6b,
+	0x91, 0x5b, 0xfb, 0x5f, 0x3c, 0xef, 0x5d, 0x8a, 0xe3, 0xb7, 0xa8, 0xbc, 0xfe, 0x00, 0xaf, 0x1c,
+	0xca, 0x65, 0x53, 0xb5, 0x9b, 0x4e, 0x94, 0xe8, 0x59, 0x39, 0x1c, 0x05, 0x56, 0x71, 0x40, 0x2e,
+	0xc2, 0xaa, 0x08, 0x25, 0xca, 0xc2, 0xb5, 0x38, 0x99, 0x5e, 0x79, 0x37, 0x16, 0x93, 0x3c, 0x6a,
+	0x96, 0xed, 0xa6, 0xdb, 0xfe, 0x84, 0x8f, 0x63, 0x36, 0xbe, 0xd4, 0x9b, 0x88, 0x9a, 0x29, 0x1a,
+	0x4c, 0xc0, 0x04, 0x3d, 0x5a, 0x64, 0x94, 0xeb, 0x2c, 0xef, 0x66, 0xf0, 0x40, 0x0f, 0x19, 0xdd,
+	0x5f, 0xbc, 0x9e, 0xff, 0xb7, 0x14, 0xe4, 0x15, 0xbf, 0x03, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0x64, 0x04,
+	0xa8, 0xf4, 0x54, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00,
 }
diff --git a/ui/metrics/upload_proto/upload.proto b/ui/metrics/upload_proto/upload.proto
index 7a9f080..bcd0ab2 100644
--- a/ui/metrics/upload_proto/upload.proto
+++ b/ui/metrics/upload_proto/upload.proto
@@ -32,4 +32,8 @@
 
   // A list of metrics filepaths to upload.
   repeated string metrics_files = 5;
+
+  // A list of directories to delete after the copy of metrics files
+  // is completed for uploading.
+  repeated string directories_to_delete = 6;
 }