diff --git a/src/redis-cli.c b/src/redis-cli.c
index c182ac17d1bbb511dc977556129cd7a75439903b..a7795513137bd87262b6b0dc01975a6ac48aa00c 100644
--- a/src/redis-cli.c
+++ b/src/redis-cli.c
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
 #define OUTPUT_STANDARD 0
 #define OUTPUT_RAW 1
 #define OUTPUT_CSV 2
+#define REDIS_CLI_KEEPALIVE_INTERVAL 15 /* seconds */
 
 static redisContext *context;
 static struct config {
@@ -332,6 +333,12 @@ static int cliConnect(int force) {
             return REDIS_ERR;
         }
 
+        /* Set aggressive KEEP_ALIVE socket option in the Redis context socket
+         * in order to prevent timeouts caused by the execution of long
+         * commands. At the same time this improves the detection of real
+         * errors. */
+        anetKeepAlive(NULL, context->fd, REDIS_CLI_KEEPALIVE_INTERVAL);
+
         /* Do AUTH and select the right DB. */
         if (cliAuth() != REDIS_OK)
             return REDIS_ERR;