diff --git a/artiq/frontend/artiq_devtool.py b/artiq/frontend/artiq_devtool.py
index 8c5b0ac01..a2c5bbfd1 100755
--- a/artiq/frontend/artiq_devtool.py
+++ b/artiq/frontend/artiq_devtool.py
@@ -136,6 +136,7 @@ def main():
             lock()
 
             transport = client.get_transport()
+            transport.set_keepalive(30)
 
             def forwarder(local_stream, remote_stream):
                 try: