diff --git a/docs/reference/commands.md b/docs/reference/commands.md
index 0158c53e6d..318ea9b755 100644
--- a/docs/reference/commands.md
+++ b/docs/reference/commands.md
@@ -229,6 +229,30 @@ Starts the garden development console.
 
     garden dev 
 
+### garden exec
+
+Executes a command (such as an interactive shell) in a running service.
+
+Finds an active container for a deployed service and executes the given command within the container.
+Supports interactive shells.
+
+_NOTE: This command may not be supported for all module types._
+
+Examples:
+
+     garden exec my-service /bin/sh   # runs a shell in the my-service container
+
+##### Usage
+
+    garden exec <service> <command> 
+
+##### Arguments
+
+| Argument | Required | Description |
+| -------- | -------- | ----------- |
+  | `service` | Yes | The service to exec the command in.
+  | `command` | Yes | The command to run.
+
 ### garden get config
 
 Get a configuration variable from the environment.
diff --git a/garden-cli/src/commands/commands.ts b/garden-cli/src/commands/commands.ts
index 5f8152e7d1..d5d9cc02f6 100644
--- a/garden-cli/src/commands/commands.ts
+++ b/garden-cli/src/commands/commands.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import { ScanCommand } from "./scan"
 import { SetCommand } from "./set"
 import { TestCommand } from "./test"
 import { ValidateCommand } from "./validate"
+import { ExecCommand } from "./exec"
 
 export const coreCommands: Command[] = [
   new BuildCommand(),
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ export const coreCommands: Command[] = [
   new DeleteCommand(),
   new DeployCommand(),
   new DevCommand(),
+  new ExecCommand(),
   new GetCommand(),
   new InitCommand(),
   new LoginCommand(),
diff --git a/garden-cli/src/commands/exec.ts b/garden-cli/src/commands/exec.ts
index c56aa7ad96..051a443c02 100644
--- a/garden-cli/src/commands/exec.ts
+++ b/garden-cli/src/commands/exec.ts
@@ -8,9 +8,8 @@
 
 import chalk from "chalk"
 import { PluginContext } from "../plugin-context"
-import {
-  ExecInServiceResult,
-} from "../types/plugin/outputs"
+import { LoggerType } from "../logger/types"
+import { ExecInServiceResult } from "../types/plugin/outputs"
 import {
   Command,
   CommandResult,
@@ -49,7 +48,7 @@ export class ExecCommand extends Command<typeof runArgs, typeof runOpts> {
     Finds an active container for a deployed service and executes the given command within the container.
     Supports interactive shells.
 
-    _NOTE: This command may not be supported for all module types.
+    _NOTE: This command may not be supported for all module types._
 
     Examples:
 
@@ -58,6 +57,7 @@ export class ExecCommand extends Command<typeof runArgs, typeof runOpts> {
 
   arguments = runArgs
   options = runOpts
+  loggerType = LoggerType.basic
 
   async action(ctx: PluginContext, args: Args): Promise<CommandResult<ExecInServiceResult>> {
     const serviceName = args.service
@@ -68,8 +68,6 @@ export class ExecCommand extends Command<typeof runArgs, typeof runOpts> {
       command: `Running command ${chalk.cyan(args.command)} in service ${chalk.cyan(serviceName)}`,
     })
 
-    await ctx.configureEnvironment({})
-
     const result = await ctx.execInService({ serviceName, command })
 
     return { result }
diff --git a/garden-cli/src/plugins/kubernetes/actions.ts b/garden-cli/src/plugins/kubernetes/actions.ts
index 18701ad42c..cc4bc7594e 100644
--- a/garden-cli/src/plugins/kubernetes/actions.ts
+++ b/garden-cli/src/plugins/kubernetes/actions.ts
@@ -165,7 +165,13 @@ export async function execInService(
   }
 
   // exec in the pod via kubectl
-  const res = await kubectl(context, namespace).tty(["exec", "-it", pod.metadata.name, "--", ...command])
+  const kubecmd = ["exec", "-it", pod.metadata.name, "--", ...command]
+  const res = await kubectl(context, namespace).tty(kubecmd, {
+    ignoreError: true,
+    silent: false,
+    timeout: 999999,
+    tty: true,
+  })
 
   return { code: res.code, output: res.output }
 }