@@ -1035,7 +1035,13 @@ <h2 id="command-line">Command line<a class="headerlink" href="#command-line" tit
 <li><code>--verbose</code> / <code>-v</code> shows full tracebacks instead of a one-line message, and
   adds the env-file line to the source report described under
   <a href="../configuration/#where-settings-come-from">Where settings come from</a>.</li>
+<li><code>--version</code> / <code>-V</code> prints one line with the osw version, the location of
+  the osw package and the Python version, then exits, needing no instance or
+  credentials.</li>
 </ul>
+<p><code>--help</code> / <code>-h</code> works on <code>osw</code> itself and after any subcommand or group, e.g.
+<code>osw entity --help</code> or <code>osw entity get -h</code>, and prints that command's own
+help.</p>
 <p>Failures exit non-zero with a short message on stderr and no traceback.</p>
 
 
 
@@ -1050,6 +1050,12 @@ <h1 id="mcp-server">MCP server<a class="headerlink" href="#mcp-server" title="Pe
 <code>OSW_DOMAIN</code> must be set, either in the server entry's <code>env</code> block or in the
 <code>.env</code> file that entry names. Without it the server refuses to start rather than
 register tools that would all fail.</p>
+<p><code>osw-mcp</code> also answers two flags from a shell, for checking an install rather
+than for an MCP client to pass: <code>-h</code> / <code>--help</code> prints usage and exits, and
+<code>-V</code> / <code>--version</code> prints one line with the osw version, the location of the
+osw package and the Python version, then exits. Neither one starts the server
+or needs an instance or credentials. Any other argument, including a
+shortened form of these two flags, is rejected with a usage error.</p>
 <h2 id="quick-install">Quick install<a class="headerlink" href="#quick-install" title="Permanent link">&para;</a></h2>
 <p>For Claude Code, one command registers the server. Replace the domain and the
 credential file path with your own:</p>