diff --git a/test/Makefile b/test/Makefile
index 1408d0c4921..4d824a88ed9 100644
--- a/test/Makefile
+++ b/test/Makefile
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 
 BINS = bin/random bin/multihash bin/ipfs bin/pollEndpoint bin/iptb bin/go-sleep
+BINS += bin/go-timeout
 IPFS_ROOT = ../
 IPFS_CMD = ../cmd/ipfs
 RANDOM_SRC = ../Godeps/_workspace/src/github.com/jbenet/go-random
 RANDOM_FILES_SRC = ../Godeps/_workspace/src/github.com/jbenet/go-random-files
 POLLENDPOINT_SRC= ../thirdparty/pollEndpoint
 GOSLEEP_SRC = ./dependencies/go-sleep
+GOTIMEOUT_SRC = ./dependencies/go-timeout
 
 export PATH := ../bin:${PATH}
 
@@ -48,6 +50,10 @@ bin/go-sleep: $(call find_go_files, $(GOSLEEP_SRC)) IPFS-BUILD-OPTIONS
 	@echo "*** installing $@ ***"
 	go build $(GOFLAGS) -o bin/go-sleep $(GOSLEEP_SRC)
 
+bin/go-timeout: $(call find_go_files, $(GOTIMEOUT_SRC)) IPFS-BUILD-OPTIONS
+	@echo "*** installing $@ ***"
+	go build $(GOFLAGS) -o bin/go-timeout $(GOTIMEOUT_SRC)
+
 # gx dependencies
 
 multihash_src:
diff --git a/test/bin/.gitignore b/test/bin/.gitignore
index 8eec62514ef..c032badeef4 100644
--- a/test/bin/.gitignore
+++ b/test/bin/.gitignore
@@ -8,4 +8,3 @@
 !checkflags
 !continueyn
 !verify-go-fmt.sh
-!time-out
diff --git a/test/bin/time-out b/test/bin/time-out
deleted file mode 100755
index 47d863bd0f5..00000000000
--- a/test/bin/time-out
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,83 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-#
-# The Bash shell script executes a command with a time-out.
-# Upon time-out expiration SIGTERM (15) is sent to the process. If the signal
-# is blocked, then the subsequent SIGKILL (9) terminates it.
-#
-# Based on the Bash documentation example.
-
-scriptName="${0##*/}"
-
-declare -i DEFAULT_TIMEOUT=9
-declare -i DEFAULT_INTERVAL=1
-declare -i DEFAULT_DELAY=1
-
-# Timeout.
-declare -i timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT
-# Interval between checks if the process is still alive.
-declare -i interval=DEFAULT_INTERVAL
-# Delay between posting the SIGTERM signal and destroying the process by SIGKILL.
-declare -i delay=DEFAULT_DELAY
-
-function printUsage() {
-    cat <<EOF
-
-Synopsis
-    $scriptName [-t timeout] [-i interval] [-d delay] command
-    Execute a command with a time-out.
-    Upon time-out expiration SIGTERM (15) is sent to the process. If SIGTERM
-    signal is blocked, then the subsequent SIGKILL (9) terminates it.
-
-    -t timeout
-        Number of seconds to wait for command completion.
-        Default value: $DEFAULT_TIMEOUT seconds.
-
-    -i interval
-        Interval between checks if the process is still alive.
-        Positive integer, default value: $DEFAULT_INTERVAL seconds.
-
-    -d delay
-        Delay between posting the SIGTERM signal and destroying the
-        process by SIGKILL. Default value: $DEFAULT_DELAY seconds.
-
-As of today, Bash does not support floating point arithmetic (sleep does),
-therefore all delay/time values must be integers.
-EOF
-}
-
-# Options.
-while getopts ":t:i:d:" option; do
-    case "$option" in
-        t) timeout=$OPTARG ;;
-        i) interval=$OPTARG ;;
-        d) delay=$OPTARG ;;
-        *) printUsage; exit 1 ;;
-    esac
-done
-shift $((OPTIND - 1))
-
-# $# should be at least 1 (the command to execute), however it may be strictly
-# greater than 1 if the command itself has options.
-if (($# == 0 || interval <= 0)); then
-    printUsage
-    exit 1
-fi
-
-# kill -0 pid   Exit code indicates if a signal may be sent to $pid process.
-(
-    ((t = timeout))
-
-    while ((t > 0)); do
-        sleep $interval
-        kill -0 $$ || exit 0
-        ((t -= interval))
-    done
-
-    # Be nice, post SIGTERM first.
-    # The 'exit 0' below will be executed if any preceeding command fails.
-    kill -s SIGTERM $$ && kill -0 $$ || exit 0
-    sleep $delay
-    kill -s SIGKILL $$
-) 2> /dev/null &
-
-exec "$@"
diff --git a/test/dependencies/go-timeout/.gitignore b/test/dependencies/go-timeout/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..46c758b1daa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/dependencies/go-timeout/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+go-timeout
diff --git a/test/dependencies/go-timeout/LICENSE b/test/dependencies/go-timeout/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5c30e8cce46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/dependencies/go-timeout/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+The MIT License (MIT)
+
+Copyright (c) 2016 Jakub "Kubuxu" Sztandera <k.sztandera@protonmail.ch>
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+THE SOFTWARE.
+
diff --git a/test/dependencies/go-timeout/main.go b/test/dependencies/go-timeout/main.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..326267c8890
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/dependencies/go-timeout/main.go
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strconv"
+	"syscall"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func main() {
+	if len(os.Args) < 3 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr,
+			"Usage: %s <timeout-in-sec> <command ...>\n", os.Args[0])
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+	timeout, err := strconv.ParseUint(os.Args[1], 10, 32)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+	ctx, _ := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Duration(timeout)*time.Second)
+
+	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, os.Args[2], os.Args[3:]...)
+	cmd.Stdin = os.Stdin
+	cmd.Stdout = os.Stdout
+	cmd.Stderr = os.Stderr
+	err = cmd.Start()
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
+	}
+	err = cmd.Wait()
+
+	if err != nil {
+		if ctx.Err() != nil {
+			os.Exit(124)
+		} else {
+			exitErr, ok := err.(*exec.ExitError)
+			if !ok {
+				fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
+				os.Exit(255)
+			}
+			waits, ok := exitErr.Sys().(syscall.WaitStatus)
+			if !ok {
+				fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
+				os.Exit(255)
+			}
+			os.Exit(waits.ExitStatus())
+		}
+	} else {
+		os.Exit(0)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/test/sharness/Makefile b/test/sharness/Makefile
index 4e6d2a940f8..2c5488dcbc0 100644
--- a/test/sharness/Makefile
+++ b/test/sharness/Makefile
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 T = $(sort $(wildcard t[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]-*.sh))
 BINS = bin/random bin/multihash bin/ipfs bin/pollEndpoint \
-	   bin/iptb bin/go-sleep bin/random-files
+	   bin/iptb bin/go-sleep bin/random-files bin/go-timeout
 SHARNESS = lib/sharness/sharness.sh
 IPFS_ROOT = ../..
 
diff --git a/test/sharness/t0500-issues-and-regressions-offline.sh b/test/sharness/t0500-issues-and-regressions-offline.sh
index 802adea6a8a..bfab467e53e 100755
--- a/test/sharness/t0500-issues-and-regressions-offline.sh
+++ b/test/sharness/t0500-issues-and-regressions-offline.sh
@@ -8,17 +8,17 @@ test_description="Tests for various fixed issues and regressions."
 
 test_expect_success "ipfs init with occupied input works - #2748" '
 	export IPFS_PATH="ipfs_path"
-	echo "" | time-out ipfs init &&
+	echo "" | go-timeout 10 ipfs init &&
 	rm -rf ipfs_path
 '
 test_init_ipfs
 
-test_expect_success "ipfs cat --help succeeds with no input" '
- 	time-out ipfs cat --help
+test_expect_success "ipfs cat --help succeeds when input remains open" '
+	yes | go-timeout 1 ipfs cat --help
 '
 
-test_expect_success "ipfs pin ls --help succeeds with no input" '
- 	time-out ipfs pin ls --help
+test_expect_success "ipfs pin ls --help succeeds when input remains open" '
+	yes | go-timeout 1 ipfs pin ls --help
 '
 
 test_expect_success "ipfs add on 1MB from stdin woks" '