diff --git a/bin/doctrine-dbal.php b/bin/doctrine-dbal.php
index f3e064ffd62..61a4098c9b0 100644
--- a/bin/doctrine-dbal.php
+++ b/bin/doctrine-dbal.php
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 <?php
 
+use Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConnectionProvider;
 use Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConsoleRunner;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Helper\HelperSet;
 
@@ -41,17 +42,17 @@
     exit(1);
 }
 
-$commands  = [];
-$helperSet = require $configFile;
+$commands                      = [];
+$helperSetOrConnectionProvider = require $configFile;
 
-if (! $helperSet instanceof HelperSet) {
-    foreach ($GLOBALS as $helperSetCandidate) {
-        if ($helperSetCandidate instanceof HelperSet) {
-            $helperSet = $helperSetCandidate;
+if (! $helperSetOrConnectionProvider instanceof HelperSet && ! $helperSetOrConnectionProvider instanceof ConnectionProvider) {
+    foreach ($GLOBALS as $candidate) {
+        if ($candidate instanceof HelperSet) {
+            $helperSetOrConnectionProvider = $candidate;
 
             break;
         }
     }
 }
 
-ConsoleRunner::run($helperSet, $commands);
+ConsoleRunner::run($helperSetOrConnectionProvider, $commands);
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Command/ReservedWordsCommand.php b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Command/ReservedWordsCommand.php
index cc3d1611ecf..5d19cb5e40b 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Command/ReservedWordsCommand.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Command/ReservedWordsCommand.php
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 use Doctrine\DBAL\Platforms\Keywords\SQLServer2008Keywords;
 use Doctrine\DBAL\Platforms\Keywords\SQLServer2012Keywords;
 use Doctrine\DBAL\Platforms\Keywords\SQLServerKeywords;
+use Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConnectionProvider;
+use Exception;
 use InvalidArgumentException;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
@@ -30,6 +32,9 @@
 use function assert;
 use function count;
 use function implode;
+use function is_string;
+use function trigger_error;
+use const E_USER_DEPRECATED;
 
 class ReservedWordsCommand extends Command
 {
@@ -54,6 +59,20 @@ class ReservedWordsCommand extends Command
         'sqlanywhere16' => SQLAnywhere16Keywords::class,
     ];
 
+    /** @var ConnectionProvider|null */
+    private $connectionProvider;
+
+    public function __construct(?ConnectionProvider $connectionProvider = null)
+    {
+        parent::__construct();
+        $this->connectionProvider = $connectionProvider;
+        if ($connectionProvider !== null) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        @trigger_error('Not passing a connection provider as the first constructor argument is deprecated', E_USER_DEPRECATED);
+    }
+
     /**
      * If you want to add or replace a keywords list use this command.
      *
@@ -73,12 +92,14 @@ protected function configure()
         $this
         ->setName('dbal:reserved-words')
         ->setDescription('Checks if the current database contains identifiers that are reserved.')
-        ->setDefinition([new InputOption(
-            'list',
-            'l',
-            InputOption::VALUE_OPTIONAL | InputOption::VALUE_IS_ARRAY,
-            'Keyword-List name.'
-        ),
+        ->setDefinition([
+            new InputOption('connection', null, InputOption::VALUE_REQUIRED, 'The named database connection'),
+            new InputOption(
+                'list',
+                'l',
+                InputOption::VALUE_OPTIONAL | InputOption::VALUE_IS_ARRAY,
+                'Keyword-List name.'
+            ),
         ])
         ->setHelp(<<<EOT
 Checks if the current database contains tables and columns
@@ -121,8 +142,7 @@ protected function configure()
      */
     protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output)
     {
-        $conn = $this->getHelper('db')->getConnection();
-        assert($conn instanceof Connection);
+        $conn = $this->getConnection($input);
 
         $keywordLists = (array) $input->getOption('list');
         if (! $keywordLists) {
@@ -178,4 +198,24 @@ protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output)
 
         return 0;
     }
+
+    private function getConnection(InputInterface $input) : Connection
+    {
+        $connectionName = $input->getOption('connection');
+        assert(is_string($connectionName) || $connectionName === null);
+
+        if ($this->connectionProvider === null) {
+            if ($connectionName !== null) {
+                throw new Exception('Specifying a connection is only supported when a ConnectionProvider is used.');
+            }
+
+            return $this->getHelper('db')->getConnection();
+        }
+
+        if ($connectionName !== null) {
+            return $this->connectionProvider->getConnection($connectionName);
+        }
+
+        return $this->connectionProvider->getDefaultConnection();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Command/RunSqlCommand.php b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Command/RunSqlCommand.php
index 5111a6505db..37c3c8973ca 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Command/RunSqlCommand.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Command/RunSqlCommand.php
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 
 namespace Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\Command;
 
+use Doctrine\DBAL\Connection;
+use Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConnectionProvider;
 use Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Dumper;
+use Exception;
 use LogicException;
 use RuntimeException;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;
@@ -14,6 +17,8 @@
 use function is_numeric;
 use function is_string;
 use function stripos;
+use function trigger_error;
+use const E_USER_DEPRECATED;
 
 /**
  * Task for executing arbitrary SQL that can come from a file or directly from
@@ -21,6 +26,20 @@
  */
 class RunSqlCommand extends Command
 {
+    /** @var ConnectionProvider|null */
+    private $connectionProvider;
+
+    public function __construct(?ConnectionProvider $connectionProvider = null)
+    {
+        parent::__construct();
+        $this->connectionProvider = $connectionProvider;
+        if ($connectionProvider !== null) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        @trigger_error('Not passing a connection provider as the first constructor argument is deprecated', E_USER_DEPRECATED);
+    }
+
     /** @return void */
     protected function configure()
     {
@@ -28,6 +47,7 @@ protected function configure()
         ->setName('dbal:run-sql')
         ->setDescription('Executes arbitrary SQL directly from the command line.')
         ->setDefinition([
+            new InputOption('connection', null, InputOption::VALUE_REQUIRED, 'The named database connection'),
             new InputArgument('sql', InputArgument::REQUIRED, 'The SQL statement to execute.'),
             new InputOption('depth', null, InputOption::VALUE_REQUIRED, 'Dumping depth of result set.', 7),
             new InputOption('force-fetch', null, InputOption::VALUE_NONE, 'Forces fetching the result.'),
@@ -43,7 +63,7 @@ protected function configure()
      */
     protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output)
     {
-        $conn = $this->getHelper('db')->getConnection();
+        $conn = $this->getConnection($input);
 
         $sql = $input->getArgument('sql');
 
@@ -69,4 +89,24 @@ protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output)
 
         return 0;
     }
+
+    private function getConnection(InputInterface $input) : Connection
+    {
+        $connectionName = $input->getOption('connection');
+        assert(is_string($connectionName) || $connectionName === null);
+
+        if ($this->connectionProvider === null) {
+            if ($connectionName !== null) {
+                throw new Exception('Specifying a connection is only supported when a ConnectionProvider is used.');
+            }
+
+            return $this->getHelper('db')->getConnection();
+        }
+
+        if ($connectionName !== null) {
+            return $this->connectionProvider->getConnection($connectionName);
+        }
+
+        return $this->connectionProvider->getDefaultConnection();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConnectionNotFound.php b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConnectionNotFound.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..81ca4182a03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConnectionNotFound.php
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console;
+
+use OutOfBoundsException;
+
+final class ConnectionNotFound extends OutOfBoundsException
+{
+}
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConnectionProvider.php b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConnectionProvider.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2701365ba12
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConnectionProvider.php
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console;
+
+use Doctrine\DBAL\Connection;
+
+interface ConnectionProvider
+{
+    public function getDefaultConnection() : Connection;
+
+    /**
+     * @throws ConnectionNotFound in case a connection with the given name does not exist.
+     */
+    public function getConnection(string $name) : Connection;
+}
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConnectionProvider/SingleConnectionProvider.php b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConnectionProvider/SingleConnectionProvider.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8387371c0a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConnectionProvider/SingleConnectionProvider.php
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConnectionProvider;
+
+use Doctrine\DBAL\Connection;
+use Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConnectionNotFound;
+use Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConnectionProvider;
+use function sprintf;
+
+class SingleConnectionProvider implements ConnectionProvider
+{
+    /** @var Connection */
+    private $connection;
+
+    /** @var string */
+    private $defaultConnectionName;
+
+    public function __construct(Connection $connection, string $defaultConnectionName = 'default')
+    {
+        $this->connection            = $connection;
+        $this->defaultConnectionName = $defaultConnectionName;
+    }
+
+    public function getDefaultConnection() : Connection
+    {
+        return $this->connection;
+    }
+
+    public function getConnection(string $name) : Connection
+    {
+        if ($name !== $this->defaultConnectionName) {
+            throw new ConnectionNotFound(sprintf('Connection with name "%s" does not exist.', $name));
+        }
+
+        return $this->connection;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConsoleRunner.php b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConsoleRunner.php
index e028c807c01..f0e65c33928 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConsoleRunner.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/ConsoleRunner.php
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Application;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Helper\HelperSet;
+use TypeError;
+use function sprintf;
+use function trigger_error;
+use const E_USER_DEPRECATED;
 
 /**
  * Handles running the Console Tools inside Symfony Console context.
@@ -20,6 +24,8 @@ class ConsoleRunner
     /**
      * Create a Symfony Console HelperSet
      *
+     * @deprecated use a ConnectionProvider instead.
+     *
      * @return HelperSet
      */
     public static function createHelperSet(Connection $connection)
@@ -30,20 +36,31 @@ public static function createHelperSet(Connection $connection)
     }
 
     /**
-     * Runs console with the given helperset.
+     * Runs console with the given connection provider or helperset (deprecated).
      *
-     * @param Command[] $commands
+     * @param ConnectionProvider|HelperSet $helperSetOrConnectionProvider
+     * @param Command[]                    $commands
      *
      * @return void
      */
-    public static function run(HelperSet $helperSet, $commands = [])
+    public static function run($helperSetOrConnectionProvider, $commands = [])
     {
         $cli = new Application('Doctrine Command Line Interface', Version::VERSION);
 
         $cli->setCatchExceptions(true);
-        $cli->setHelperSet($helperSet);
 
-        self::addCommands($cli);
+        $connectionProvider = null;
+        if ($helperSetOrConnectionProvider instanceof HelperSet) {
+            @trigger_error(sprintf('Passing an instance of "%s" as the first argument is deprecated. Pass an instance of "%s" instead.', HelperSet::class, ConnectionProvider::class), E_USER_DEPRECATED);
+            $connectionProvider = null;
+            $cli->setHelperSet($helperSetOrConnectionProvider);
+        } elseif ($helperSetOrConnectionProvider instanceof ConnectionProvider) {
+            $connectionProvider = $helperSetOrConnectionProvider;
+        } else {
+            throw new TypeError(sprintf('First argument must be an instance of "%s" or "%s"', HelperSet::class, ConnectionProvider::class));
+        }
+
+        self::addCommands($cli, $connectionProvider);
 
         $cli->addCommands($commands);
         $cli->run();
@@ -52,12 +69,12 @@ public static function run(HelperSet $helperSet, $commands = [])
     /**
      * @return void
      */
-    public static function addCommands(Application $cli)
+    public static function addCommands(Application $cli, ?ConnectionProvider $connectionProvider = null)
     {
         $cli->addCommands([
-            new RunSqlCommand(),
+            new RunSqlCommand($connectionProvider),
             new ImportCommand(),
-            new ReservedWordsCommand(),
+            new ReservedWordsCommand($connectionProvider),
         ]);
     }
 
@@ -74,14 +91,17 @@ public static function printCliConfigTemplate()
 following sample as a template:
 
 <?php
-use Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConsoleRunner;
-
-// replace with the mechanism to retrieve DBAL connection in your app
-$connection = getDBALConnection();
+use Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConnectionProvider\SingleConnectionProvider;
 
 // You can append new commands to $commands array, if needed
 
-return ConsoleRunner::createHelperSet($connection);
+// replace with the mechanism to retrieve DBAL connection(s) in your app
+// and return a Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConnectionProvider instance.
+$connection = getDBALConnection();
+
+// in case you have a single connection you can use SingleConnectionProvider
+// otherwise you need to implement the Doctrine\DBAL\Tools\Console\ConnectionProvider interface with your custom logic
+return new SingleConnectionProvider($connection);
 
 HELP;
     }
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Helper/ConnectionHelper.php b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Helper/ConnectionHelper.php
index b5497d068a0..09855a74cd5 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Helper/ConnectionHelper.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Tools/Console/Helper/ConnectionHelper.php
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 
 /**
  * Doctrine CLI Connection Helper.
+ *
+ * @deprecated use a ConnectionProvider instead.
  */
 class ConnectionHelper extends Helper
 {