1 files changed, 8 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/lib/rubygems/command.rb b/lib/rubygems/command.rb
index 5b41fc288e..14b70b75ec 100644
--- a/lib/rubygems/command.rb
+++ b/lib/rubygems/command.rb
@@ -300,6 +300,8 @@ class Gem::Command
 
     options[:build_args] = build_args
 
+    self.ui = Gem::SilentUI.new if options[:silent]
+
     if options[:help] then
       show_help
     elsif @when_invoked then
@@ -520,10 +522,15 @@ class Gem::Command
     end
   end
 
-  add_common_option('-q', '--quiet', 'Silence commands') do |value, options|
+  add_common_option('-q', '--quiet', 'Silence command progress meter') do |value, options|
     Gem.configuration.verbose = false
   end
 
+  add_common_option("--silent",
+                    "Silence rubygems output") do |value, options|
+    options[:silent] = true
+  end
+
   # Backtrace and config-file are added so they show up in the help
   # commands.  Both options are actually handled before the other
   # options get parsed.