diff --git a/core/commands/object/object.go b/core/commands/object/object.go
index 55d9f0282..8c61f91bd 100644
--- a/core/commands/object/object.go
+++ b/core/commands/object/object.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 	core "github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/core"
 	dag "github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/merkledag"
 	path "github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/path"
+	pin "github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/pin"
 	ft "github.com/ipfs/go-ipfs/unixfs"
 
 	cid "gx/ipfs/QmTprEaAA2A9bst5XH7exuyi5KzNMK3SEDNN8rBDnKWcUS/go-cid"
@@ -355,6 +356,7 @@ And then run:
 	Options: []cmds.Option{
 		cmds.StringOption("inputenc", "Encoding type of input data. One of: {\"protobuf\", \"json\"}.").Default("json"),
 		cmds.StringOption("datafieldenc", "Encoding type of the data field, either \"text\" or \"base64\".").Default("text"),
+		cmds.BoolOption("pin", "Pin this object when adding.").Default(false),
 	},
 	Run: func(req cmds.Request, res cmds.Response) {
 		n, err := req.InvocContext().GetNode()
@@ -381,6 +383,16 @@ And then run:
 			return
 		}
 
+		dopin, _, err := req.Option("pin").Bool()
+		if err != nil {
+			res.SetError(err, cmds.ErrNormal)
+			return
+		}
+
+		if dopin {
+			defer n.Blockstore.PinLock().Unlock()
+		}
+
 		output, err := objectPut(n, input, inputenc, datafieldenc)
 		if err != nil {
 			errType := cmds.ErrNormal
@@ -391,6 +403,21 @@ And then run:
 			return
 		}
 
+		if dopin {
+			c, err := cid.Decode(output.Hash)
+			if err != nil {
+				res.SetError(err, cmds.ErrNormal)
+				return
+			}
+
+			n.Pinning.PinWithMode(c, pin.Recursive)
+			err = n.Pinning.Flush()
+			if err != nil {
+				res.SetError(err, cmds.ErrNormal)
+				return
+			}
+		}
+
 		res.SetOutput(output)
 	},
 	Marshalers: cmds.MarshalerMap{
diff --git a/test/sharness/t0051-object.sh b/test/sharness/t0051-object.sh
index fab8c1231..183a041fb 100755
--- a/test/sharness/t0051-object.sh
+++ b/test/sharness/t0051-object.sh
@@ -168,7 +168,23 @@ test_object_cmd() {
 		test_cmp expected actual
 	'
 
-    test_expect_success "'ipfs object patch' should work (no unixfs-dir)" '
+	test_expect_success "'ipfs object put --pin' succeeds" '
+		HASH="QmXg9Pp2ytZ14xgmQjYEiHjVjMFXzCVVEcRTWJBmLgR39V" &&
+		echo "added $HASH" >expected &&
+		echo "{ \"Data\": \"abc\" }" | ipfs object put --pin >actual
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "'ipfs object put --pin' output looks good" '
+		echo "added $HASH" >expected &&
+		test_cmp expected actual
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "after gc, objects still acessible" '
+		ipfs repo gc > /dev/null &&
+		ipfs refs -r --timeout=2s $HASH > /dev/null
+	'
+
+	test_expect_success "'ipfs object patch' should work (no unixfs-dir)" '
 		EMPTY_DIR=$(ipfs object new) &&
 		OUTPUT=$(ipfs object patch $EMPTY_DIR add-link foo $EMPTY_DIR) &&
 		ipfs object stat $OUTPUT