diff --git a/CHANGELOG-2.1.md b/CHANGELOG-2.1.md
index 1d867dd8da..4b977f119b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG-2.1.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG-2.1.md
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@ To get the diff between two versions, go to https://github.com/symfony/symfony/c
  * added support for STDERR in the console output class (errors are now sent to STDERR)
  * made the defaults (helper set, commands, input definition) in Application more easily customizable
  * added support for the shell even if readline is not available
+ * added support for process isolation in Symfony shell via `--process-isolation` switch
 
 ### ClassLoader
 
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Bundle/FrameworkBundle/Console/Application.php b/src/Symfony/Bundle/FrameworkBundle/Console/Application.php
index d19b4eab42..cd80330fb2 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Bundle/FrameworkBundle/Console/Application.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Bundle/FrameworkBundle/Console/Application.php
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ class Application extends BaseApplication
         parent::__construct('Symfony', Kernel::VERSION.' - '.$kernel->getName().'/'.$kernel->getEnvironment().($kernel->isDebug() ? '/debug' : ''));
 
         $this->getDefinition()->addOption(new InputOption('--shell', '-s', InputOption::VALUE_NONE, 'Launch the shell.'));
+        $this->getDefinition()->addOption(new InputOption('--process-isolation', null, InputOption::VALUE_NONE, 'Launch commands from shell as a separate processes.'));
         $this->getDefinition()->addOption(new InputOption('--env', '-e', InputOption::VALUE_REQUIRED, 'The Environment name.', $kernel->getEnvironment()));
         $this->getDefinition()->addOption(new InputOption('--no-debug', null, InputOption::VALUE_NONE, 'Switches off debug mode.'));
     }
@@ -67,6 +68,7 @@ class Application extends BaseApplication
 
         if (true === $input->hasParameterOption(array('--shell', '-s'))) {
             $shell = new Shell($this);
+            $shell->setProcessIsolation($input->hasParameterOption(array('--process-isolation')));
             $shell->run();
 
             return 0;
diff --git a/src/Symfony/Component/Console/Shell.php b/src/Symfony/Component/Console/Shell.php
index 1eaa958184..6b89b048ea 100644
--- a/src/Symfony/Component/Console/Shell.php
+++ b/src/Symfony/Component/Console/Shell.php
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ namespace Symfony\Component\Console;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Application;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\StringInput;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\ConsoleOutput;
+use Symfony\Component\Process\ProcessBuilder;
+use Symfony\Component\Process\PhpExecutableFinder;
 
 /**
  * A Shell wraps an Application to add shell capabilities to it.
@@ -31,6 +33,7 @@ class Shell
     private $output;
     private $hasReadline;
     private $prompt;
+    private $processIsolation;
 
     /**
      * Constructor.
@@ -39,8 +42,6 @@ class Shell
      * a \RuntimeException exception is thrown.
      *
      * @param Application $application An application instance
-     *
-     * @throws \RuntimeException When Readline extension is not enabled
      */
     public function __construct(Application $application)
     {
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ class Shell
         $this->history = getenv('HOME').'/.history_'.$application->getName();
         $this->output = new ConsoleOutput();
         $this->prompt = $application->getName().' > ';
+        $this->processIsolation = false;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -65,6 +67,20 @@ class Shell
         }
 
         $this->output->writeln($this->getHeader());
+        $php = null;
+        if ($this->processIsolation) {
+            $finder = new PhpExecutableFinder();
+            $php = $finder->find();
+            $this->output->writeln(<<<EOF
+<info>Running with process isolation, you should consider this:</info>
+  * each command is executed as separate process,
+  * commands don't support interactivity, all params must be passed explicitly,
+  * commands output is not colorized.
+
+EOF
+            );
+        }
+
         while (true) {
             $command = $this->readline();
 
@@ -79,7 +95,28 @@ class Shell
                 readline_write_history($this->history);
             }
 
-            if (0 !== $ret = $this->application->run(new StringInput($command), $this->output)) {
+            if ($this->processIsolation) {
+                $pb = new ProcessBuilder();
+
+                $process = $pb
+                    ->add($php)
+                    ->add($_SERVER['argv'][0])
+                    ->add($command)
+                    ->inheritEnvironmentVariables(true)
+                    ->getProcess()
+                ;
+
+                $output = $this->output;
+                $process->run(function($type, $data) use ($output) {
+                    $output->writeln($data);
+                });
+
+                $ret = $process->getExitCode();
+            } else {
+                $ret = $this->application->run(new StringInput($command), $this->output);
+            }
+
+            if (0 !== $ret) {
                 $this->output->writeln(sprintf('<error>The command terminated with an error status (%s)</error>', $ret));
             }
         }
@@ -156,4 +193,14 @@ EOF;
 
         return $line;
     }
+
+    public function getProcessIsolation()
+    {
+        return $this->processIsolation;
+    }
+
+    public function setProcessIsolation($processIsolation)
+    {
+        $this->processIsolation = (Boolean) $processIsolation;
+    }
 }