diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 8b20c69ed..1f7264286 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ Collate:
     'string_boundary_linter.R'
     'strings_as_factors_linter.R'
     'system_file_linter.R'
+    'terminal_close_linter.R'
     'trailing_blank_lines_linter.R'
     'trailing_whitespace_linter.R'
     'tree_utils.R'
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index f1ea599a2..9da6d5205 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -133,6 +133,7 @@ export(stopifnot_all_linter)
 export(string_boundary_linter)
 export(strings_as_factors_linter)
 export(system_file_linter)
+export(terminal_close_linter)
 export(todo_comment_linter)
 export(trailing_blank_lines_linter)
 export(trailing_whitespace_linter)
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index ee042c597..4f53beb0e 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
 * `stopifnot_all_linter()` discourages tests with `all()` like `stopifnot(all(x > 0))`; `stopifnot()` runs `all()` itself, and uses a better error message (part of #884, @MichaelChirico).
 * `comparison_negation_linter()` for discouraging negated comparisons when a direct negation is preferable, e.g. `!(x == y)` could be `x != y` (part of #884, @MichaelChirico).
+* `terminal_close_linter()` for discouraging using `close()` to end functions (part of #884, @MichaelChirico). Such usages are not robust to errors, where `close()` will not be run as intended. Put `close()` in an `on.exit()` hook, or use {withr} to manage connections with proper cleanup.
 
 ### Lint accuracy fixes: removing false positives
 
diff --git a/R/terminal_close_linter.R b/R/terminal_close_linter.R
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f860a3429
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/terminal_close_linter.R
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#' Prohibit close() from terminating a function definition
+#'
+#' Functions that end in `close(x)` are almost always better written by using
+#'   `on.exit(close(x))` close to where `x` is defined and/or opened.
+#'
+#' @evalRd rd_tags("terminal_close_linter")
+#' @seealso [linters] for a complete list of linters available in lintr.
+#' @export
+terminal_close_linter <- make_linter_from_xpath(
+  xpath = "
+  //FUNCTION
+    /following-sibling::expr
+    /expr[last()][
+      expr/SYMBOL_FUNCTION_CALL[text() = 'close']
+      or expr[
+        SYMBOL_FUNCTION_CALL[text() = 'return']
+        and following-sibling::expr/expr/SYMBOL_FUNCTION_CALL[text() = 'close']
+      ]
+    ]
+  ",
+  lint_message = paste(
+    "Use on.exit(close(x)) to close connections instead of",
+    "running it as the last call in a function."
+  )
+)
diff --git a/inst/lintr/linters.csv b/inst/lintr/linters.csv
index e5e763c4f..275c1863d 100644
--- a/inst/lintr/linters.csv
+++ b/inst/lintr/linters.csv
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ string_boundary_linter,readability efficiency configurable
 strings_as_factors_linter,robustness
 system_file_linter,consistency readability best_practices
 T_and_F_symbol_linter,style readability robustness consistency best_practices default
+terminal_close_linter,best_practices robustness
 todo_comment_linter,style configurable
 trailing_blank_lines_linter,style default
 trailing_whitespace_linter,style default configurable
diff --git a/man/best_practices_linters.Rd b/man/best_practices_linters.Rd
index 7022070d1..9baf4f3bc 100644
--- a/man/best_practices_linters.Rd
+++ b/man/best_practices_linters.Rd
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ The following linters are tagged with 'best_practices':
 \item{\code{\link{stopifnot_all_linter}}}
 \item{\code{\link{system_file_linter}}}
 \item{\code{\link{T_and_F_symbol_linter}}}
+\item{\code{\link{terminal_close_linter}}}
 \item{\code{\link{undesirable_function_linter}}}
 \item{\code{\link{undesirable_operator_linter}}}
 \item{\code{\link{unnecessary_lambda_linter}}}
diff --git a/man/linters.Rd b/man/linters.Rd
index 21947f999..c960b5d00 100644
--- a/man/linters.Rd
+++ b/man/linters.Rd
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ see also \code{\link[=available_tags]{available_tags()}}.
 \section{Tags}{
 The following tags exist:
 \itemize{
-\item{\link[=best_practices_linters]{best_practices} (54 linters)}
+\item{\link[=best_practices_linters]{best_practices} (55 linters)}
 \item{\link[=common_mistakes_linters]{common_mistakes} (8 linters)}
 \item{\link[=configurable_linters]{configurable} (34 linters)}
 \item{\link[=consistency_linters]{consistency} (23 linters)}
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ The following tags exist:
 \item{\link[=package_development_linters]{package_development} (14 linters)}
 \item{\link[=pkg_testthat_linters]{pkg_testthat} (12 linters)}
 \item{\link[=readability_linters]{readability} (56 linters)}
-\item{\link[=robustness_linters]{robustness} (14 linters)}
+\item{\link[=robustness_linters]{robustness} (15 linters)}
 \item{\link[=style_linters]{style} (38 linters)}
 }
 }
@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@ The following linters exist:
 \item{\code{\link{strings_as_factors_linter}} (tags: robustness)}
 \item{\code{\link{system_file_linter}} (tags: best_practices, consistency, readability)}
 \item{\code{\link{T_and_F_symbol_linter}} (tags: best_practices, consistency, default, readability, robustness, style)}
+\item{\code{\link{terminal_close_linter}} (tags: best_practices, robustness)}
 \item{\code{\link{todo_comment_linter}} (tags: configurable, style)}
 \item{\code{\link{trailing_blank_lines_linter}} (tags: default, style)}
 \item{\code{\link{trailing_whitespace_linter}} (tags: configurable, default, style)}
diff --git a/man/robustness_linters.Rd b/man/robustness_linters.Rd
index 9581e5d7f..499965308 100644
--- a/man/robustness_linters.Rd
+++ b/man/robustness_linters.Rd
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ The following linters are tagged with 'robustness':
 \item{\code{\link{seq_linter}}}
 \item{\code{\link{strings_as_factors_linter}}}
 \item{\code{\link{T_and_F_symbol_linter}}}
+\item{\code{\link{terminal_close_linter}}}
 \item{\code{\link{undesirable_function_linter}}}
 \item{\code{\link{undesirable_operator_linter}}}
 }
diff --git a/man/terminal_close_linter.Rd b/man/terminal_close_linter.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..207518708
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/terminal_close_linter.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/terminal_close_linter.R
+\name{terminal_close_linter}
+\alias{terminal_close_linter}
+\title{Prohibit close() from terminating a function definition}
+\usage{
+terminal_close_linter()
+}
+\description{
+Functions that end in \code{close(x)} are almost always better written by using
+\code{on.exit(close(x))} close to where \code{x} is defined and/or opened.
+}
+\seealso{
+\link{linters} for a complete list of linters available in lintr.
+}
+\section{Tags}{
+\link[=best_practices_linters]{best_practices}, \link[=robustness_linters]{robustness}
+}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-terminal_close_linter.R b/tests/testthat/test-terminal_close_linter.R
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..697804f68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-terminal_close_linter.R
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+test_that("terminal_close_linter skips allowed cases", {
+  linter <- terminal_close_linter()
+
+  lines <- trim_some("
+    foo <- function(bar) {
+      tmp <- tempfile()
+      on.exit(close(tmp))
+      writeLines(bar, tmp)
+      return(invisible())
+    }
+  ")
+  expect_lint(lines, NULL, linter)
+
+  lines <- trim_some("
+    foo <- function(bar) {
+      close <- bar + 1
+      return(close)
+    }
+  ")
+  expect_lint(lines, NULL, linter)
+
+  lines <- trim_some("
+    foo <- function(bar) {
+      close <- bar + 1
+      close
+    }
+  ")
+  expect_lint(lines, NULL, linter)
+})
+
+test_that("terminal_close_linter blocks simple cases", {
+  linter <- terminal_close_linter()
+  lint_msg <- rex::rex("Use on.exit(close(x)) to close connections")
+
+  expect_lint(
+    trim_some("
+      foo <- function(bar) {
+        tmp <- tempfile()
+        writeLines(bar, tmp)
+        return(close(tmp))
+      }
+    "),
+    list(lint_msg, line_number = 4L, column_number = 3L),
+    linter
+  )
+
+  expect_lint(
+    trim_some("
+      foo <- function(bar) {
+        tmp <- tempfile()
+        writeLines(bar, tmp)
+        close(tmp)
+      }
+    "),
+    list(lint_msg, line_number = 4L, column_number = 3L),
+    linter
+  )
+
+  # When multiple terminations happen, only lint the one
+  expect_lint(
+    trim_some("
+      foo <- function(bar) {
+        tmp1 <- tempfile()
+        tmp2 <- tempfile()
+        writeLines(bar, tmp1)
+        writeLines(bar, tmp2)
+        close(tmp1)
+        close(tmp2)
+      }
+    "),
+    list(lint_msg, line_number = 7L, column_number = 3L),
+    linter
+  )
+})