diff --git a/bin/jekyll b/bin/jekyll
index 403bfbd9..b2b34b5d 100755
--- a/bin/jekyll
+++ b/bin/jekyll
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ command :serve do |c|
   c.option '--limit_posts MAX_POSTS', Integer, 'Limits the number of posts to parse and publish'
   c.option '-w', '--watch', 'Watch for changes and rebuild'
   c.option '--lsi', 'Use LSI for improved related posts'
+  c.option '-B', '--detach', 'Run the server in the background (detach)'
   c.option '-D', '--drafts', 'Render posts in the _drafts folder'
 
   c.option '-P', '--port [PORT]', 'Port to listen on'
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/commands/serve.rb b/lib/jekyll/commands/serve.rb
index ae28665b..406d3ef7 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/commands/serve.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/commands/serve.rb
@@ -24,9 +24,16 @@ module Jekyll
         )
 
         s.mount(options['baseurl'], HTTPServlet::FileHandler, destination, fh_option)
-        t = Thread.new { s.start }
-        trap("INT") { s.shutdown }
-        t.join()
+
+        if options['detach'] # detach the server
+          pid = Process.fork {s.start}
+          Process.detach(pid)
+          pid
+        else # create a new server thread, then join it with current terminal
+          t = Thread.new { s.start }
+          trap("INT") { s.shutdown }
+          t.join()
+        end
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb b/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
index e00db8b1..05a097c7 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ module Jekyll
       'timezone'      => nil,           # use the local timezone
 
       'safe'          => false,
+      'detach'        => false,          # default to not detaching the server
       'show_drafts'   => nil,
       'limit_posts'   => 0,
       'lsi'           => false,
diff --git a/site/docs/configuration.md b/site/docs/configuration.md
index b001c65a..381ba43d 100644
--- a/site/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/site/docs/configuration.md
@@ -220,6 +220,16 @@ before your site is served.
         <p><code class="flag">--baseurl URL</code></p>
       </td>
     </tr>
+    <tr class='setting'>
+      <td>
+        <p class='name'><strong>Detach</strong></p>
+        <p class='description'>Detach the server from the terminal</p>
+      </td>
+      <td class="align-center">
+        <p><code class="option">detach: BOOL</code></p>
+        <p><code class="flag">-B, --detach</code></p>
+      </td>
+    </tr>
   </tbody>
 </table>
 </div>
diff --git a/site/docs/usage.md b/site/docs/usage.md
index ac09c40a..0a72e3d3 100644
--- a/site/docs/usage.md
+++ b/site/docs/usage.md
@@ -31,8 +31,13 @@ preview what the generated site will look like in your browser locally.
 $ jekyll serve
 # => A development server will run at http://localhost:4000/
 
+$ jekyll serve --detach
+# => Same as `jekyll serve` but will detach from the current terminal.
+#    If you need to kill the server, you can `kill -9 1234` where "1234" is the PID.
+#    If you cannot find the PID, then do, `ps aux | grep jekyll` and kill the instance. [Read more](http://unixhelp.ed.ac.uk/shell/jobz5.html).
+
 $ jekyll serve --watch
-# => As above, but watch for changes and regenerate automatically.
+# => Same as `jekyll serve`, but watch for changes and regenerate automatically.
 {% endhighlight %}
 
 This is just a few of the available [configuration options](../configuration/).