diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b9285af50e..babf5bf4be 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -264,6 +264,26 @@ want to do this:
 `client.end()` is useful for timeout cases where something is stuck or taking too long and you want
 to start over.
 
+## client.unref()
+
+Call `unref()` on the underlying socket connection to the Redis server, allowing the program to exit once no more commands are pending.
+
+This is an **experimental** feature, and only supports a subset of the Redis protocol. Any commands where client state is saved on the Redis server, e.g. `*SUBSCRIBE` or the blocking `BL*` commands will *NOT* work with `.unref()`.
+
+```js
+var redis = require("redis")
+var client = redis.createClient()
+
+/*
+    Calling unref() will allow this program to exit immediately after the get command finishes. Otherwise the client would hang as long as the client-server connection is alive.
+*/
+client.unref()
+client.get("foo", function (err, value){
+    if (err) throw(err)
+    console.log(value)
+})
+```
+
 ## Friendlier hash commands
 
 Most Redis commands take a single String or an Array of Strings as arguments, and replies are sent back as a single String or an Array of Strings.
diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 38606be769..7a93a58dc8 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -121,6 +121,20 @@ RedisClient.prototype.initialize_retry_vars = function () {
     this.attempts = 1;
 };
 
+RedisClient.prototype.unref = function () {
+    trace("User requesting to unref the connection");
+    if (this.connected) {
+        trace("unref'ing the socket connection");
+        this.stream.unref();
+    }
+    else {
+        trace("Not connected yet, will unref later");
+        this.once("connect", function () {
+            this.unref();
+        })
+    }
+};
+
 // flush offline_queue and command_queue, erroring any items with a callback first
 RedisClient.prototype.flush_and_error = function (message) {
     var command_obj;
diff --git a/test-unref.js b/test-unref.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4a3cc3622d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-unref.js
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+var redis = require("./")
+//redis.debug_mode = true
+var PORT = process.argv[2] || 6379;
+var HOST = process.argv[3] || '127.0.0.1';
+
+var c = redis.createClient(PORT, HOST)
+c.unref()
+c.info(function (err, reply) {
+  if (err) process.exit(-1)
+  if (!reply.length) process.exit(-1)
+  process.stdout.write(reply.length.toString())
+})
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test.js b/test.js
index 5e204bc2c7..89f67e1b34 100644
--- a/test.js
+++ b/test.js
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ var redis = require("./index"),
     assert = require("assert"),
     crypto = require("crypto"),
     util = require("./lib/util"),
+    fork = require("child_process").fork,
     test_db_num = 15, // this DB will be flushed and used for testing
     tests = {},
     connected = false,
@@ -2013,6 +2014,23 @@ tests.reconnectRetryMaxDelay = function() {
     });
 };
 
+tests.unref = function () {
+    var name = "unref";
+    var external = fork("./test-unref.js");
+    var done = false;
+    external.on("close", function (code) {
+        assert(code == 0, "test-unref.js failed");
+        done = true;
+    })
+    setTimeout(function () {
+        if (!done) {
+            external.kill();
+        }
+        assert(done, "test-unref.js didn't finish in time.");
+        next(name);
+    }, 100);
+};
+
 all_tests = Object.keys(tests);
 all_start = new Date();
 test_count = 0;