diff --git a/cli/cobra.go b/cli/cobra.go
index 1385743f4b..ed9c9b5bac 100644
--- a/cli/cobra.go
+++ b/cli/cobra.go
@@ -42,6 +42,10 @@ func setupCommonRootCommand(rootCmd *cobra.Command) (*cliflags.ClientOptions, *p
 	rootCmd.SetFlagErrorFunc(FlagErrorFunc)
 	rootCmd.SetHelpCommand(helpCommand)
 
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolP("help", "h", false, "Print usage")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().MarkShorthandDeprecated("help", "please use --help")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Lookup("help").Hidden = true
+
 	return opts, flags, helpCommand
 }
 
@@ -52,20 +56,12 @@ func SetupRootCommand(rootCmd *cobra.Command) (*cliflags.ClientOptions, *pflag.F
 
 	rootCmd.SetVersionTemplate("Docker version {{.Version}}\n")
 
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolP("help", "h", false, "Print usage")
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().MarkShorthandDeprecated("help", "please use --help")
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Lookup("help").Hidden = true
-
 	return opts, flags, helpCmd
 }
 
 // SetupPluginRootCommand sets default usage, help and error handling for a plugin root command.
 func SetupPluginRootCommand(rootCmd *cobra.Command) (*cliflags.ClientOptions, *pflag.FlagSet) {
 	opts, flags, _ := setupCommonRootCommand(rootCmd)
-
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolP("help", "", false, "Print usage")
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Lookup("help").Hidden = true
-
 	return opts, flags
 }
 
diff --git a/e2e/cli-plugins/run_test.go b/e2e/cli-plugins/run_test.go
index f337a99d18..1309cc0d58 100644
--- a/e2e/cli-plugins/run_test.go
+++ b/e2e/cli-plugins/run_test.go
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import (
 	"gotest.tools/icmd"
 )
 
+const shortHFlagDeprecated = "Flag shorthand -h has been deprecated, please use --help\n"
+
 // TestRunNonexisting ensures correct behaviour when running a nonexistent plugin.
 func TestRunNonexisting(t *testing.T) {
 	run, _, cleanup := prepare(t)
@@ -50,6 +52,15 @@ func TestNonexistingHelp(t *testing.T) {
 		Out: "Usage:	docker [OPTIONS] COMMAND\n\nA self-sufficient runtime for containers",
 		Err: icmd.None,
 	})
+	// Short -h should be the same, modulo the deprecation message
+	exp := shortHFlagDeprecated + res.Stdout()
+	res = icmd.RunCmd(run("nonexistent", "-h"))
+	res.Assert(t, icmd.Expected{
+		ExitCode: 0,
+		// This should be identical to the --help case above
+		Out: exp,
+		Err: icmd.None,
+	})
 }
 
 // TestRunBad ensures correct behaviour when running an existent but invalid plugin
@@ -93,6 +104,15 @@ func TestBadHelp(t *testing.T) {
 		Out: "Usage:	docker [OPTIONS] COMMAND\n\nA self-sufficient runtime for containers",
 		Err: icmd.None,
 	})
+	// Short -h should be the same, modulo the deprecation message
+	exp := shortHFlagDeprecated + res.Stdout()
+	res = icmd.RunCmd(run("badmeta", "-h"))
+	res.Assert(t, icmd.Expected{
+		ExitCode: 0,
+		// This should be identical to the --help case above
+		Out: exp,
+		Err: icmd.None,
+	})
 }
 
 // TestRunGood ensures correct behaviour when running a valid plugin
@@ -137,6 +157,15 @@ func TestGoodHelp(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 	// This is the same golden file as `TestHelpGood`, above.
 	golden.Assert(t, res.Stdout(), "docker-help-helloworld.golden")
+	// Short -h should be the same, modulo the deprecation message
+	exp := shortHFlagDeprecated + res.Stdout()
+	res = icmd.RunCmd(run("-D", "helloworld", "-h"))
+	res.Assert(t, icmd.Expected{
+		ExitCode: 0,
+		// This should be identical to the --help case above
+		Out: exp,
+		Err: icmd.None,
+	})
 }
 
 // TestRunGoodSubcommand ensures correct behaviour when running a valid plugin with a subcommand