diff --git a/app.go b/app.go
index a62aa237f1..09b13be617 100644
--- a/app.go
+++ b/app.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package cli
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
@@ -207,6 +208,13 @@ func (a *App) useShortOptionHandling() bool {
 // Run is the entry point to the cli app. Parses the arguments slice and routes
 // to the proper flag/args combination
 func (a *App) Run(arguments []string) (err error) {
+	return a.RunContext(context.Background(), arguments)
+}
+
+// RunContext is like Run except it takes a Context that will be
+// passed to its commands and sub-commands. Through this, you can
+// propagate timeouts and cancellation requests
+func (a *App) RunContext(ctx context.Context, arguments []string) (err error) {
 	a.Setup()
 
 	// handle the completion flag separately from the flagset since
@@ -224,7 +232,7 @@ func (a *App) Run(arguments []string) (err error) {
 
 	err = parseIter(set, a, arguments[1:], shellComplete)
 	nerr := normalizeFlags(a.Flags, set)
-	context := NewContext(a, set, nil)
+	context := NewContext(a, set, &Context{Context: ctx})
 	if nerr != nil {
 		_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(a.Writer, nerr)
 		_ = ShowAppHelp(context)
diff --git a/context.go b/context.go
index 13fb52358d..5b59e753b4 100644
--- a/context.go
+++ b/context.go
@@ -5,10 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
-	"os"
-	"os/signal"
 	"strings"
-	"syscall"
 )
 
 // Context is a type that is passed through to
@@ -36,14 +33,7 @@ func NewContext(app *App, set *flag.FlagSet, parentCtx *Context) *Context {
 	c.Command = &Command{}
 
 	if c.Context == nil {
-		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
-		go func() {
-			defer cancel()
-			sigs := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
-			signal.Notify(sigs, syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM)
-			<-sigs
-		}()
-		c.Context = ctx
+		c.Context = context.Background()
 	}
 
 	return c