diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index d073ba3..bfeaa28 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@
 #endif
 #include "jtag.hpp"
 #include "part.hpp"
+#include "progressBar.hpp"
 #include "spiFlash.hpp"
 #include "rawParser.hpp"
 #ifdef ENABLE_XILINX_SUPPORT
@@ -72,6 +73,7 @@ using namespace std;
 
 struct arguments {
 	int8_t verbose;
+	bool force_terminal_mode;
 	bool reset, detect, detect_flash, verify, scan_usb;
 	unsigned int offset;
 	string bit_file;
@@ -149,7 +151,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	jtag_pins_conf_t pins_config = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0};
 
 	/* command line args. */
-	struct arguments args = {0,
+	struct arguments args = {
+			/* verbose, force_terminal_mode */
+			0,          false,
 			//reset, detect, detect_flash, verify, scan_usb
 			false,   false,  false,        false,  false,
 			0, "", "", "", "-", "", -1,
@@ -172,6 +176,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	if (ret != 0)
 		return (ret == 1) ? EXIT_SUCCESS : EXIT_FAILURE;
 
+	if (args.force_terminal_mode)
+		ProgressBar::setForceTerminalMode();
+
 	if (args.is_list_command) {
 		displaySupported(args);
 		return EXIT_SUCCESS;
@@ -998,6 +1005,9 @@ int parse_opt(int argc, char **argv, struct arguments *args,
 			("v,verbose", "Produce verbose output", cxxopts::value<bool>(verbose))
 			("verbose-level", "verbose level -1: quiet, 0: normal, 1:verbose, 2:debug",
 				cxxopts::value<int8_t>(verbose_level))
+			("force-terminal-mode",
+				"force progress bar output as if connected to a terminal",
+				cxxopts::value<bool>(args->force_terminal_mode))
 			("h,help", "Give this help list")
 			("verify", "Verify write operation (SPI Flash only)",
 				cxxopts::value<bool>(args->verify))
diff --git a/src/progressBar.cpp b/src/progressBar.cpp
index 14ab04f..c25ea3a 100644
--- a/src/progressBar.cpp
+++ b/src/progressBar.cpp
@@ -11,13 +11,21 @@
 #include "progressBar.hpp"
 #include "display.hpp"
 
+bool ProgressBar::_force_terminal_mode = false;
+
 ProgressBar::ProgressBar(const std::string &mess, int maxValue,
 		int progressLen, bool quiet): _mess(mess), _maxValue(maxValue),
 		_progressLen(progressLen), last_time(std::chrono::system_clock::now()),
-		_quiet(quiet), _first(true), _is_tty(isatty(STDOUT_FILENO) == 1)
+		_quiet(quiet), _first(true),
+		_is_tty(_force_terminal_mode || isatty(STDOUT_FILENO) == 1)
 {
 }
 
+void ProgressBar::setForceTerminalMode()
+{
+	_force_terminal_mode = true;
+}
+
 void ProgressBar::display(int value, char force)
 {
 	if (_quiet) {
diff --git a/src/progressBar.hpp b/src/progressBar.hpp
index 2d17367..e8db37e 100644
--- a/src/progressBar.hpp
+++ b/src/progressBar.hpp
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ class ProgressBar {
 	public:
 		ProgressBar(const std::string &mess, int maxValue, int progressLen,
 				bool quiet = false);
+		static void setForceTerminalMode();
 		void display(int value, char force = 0);
 		void done();
 		void fail();
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ class ProgressBar {
 		bool _quiet;
 		bool _first;
 		bool _is_tty;
+		static bool _force_terminal_mode;
 };
 
 #endif