diff --git a/src/cli/action.zig b/src/cli/action.zig
index a0fa216eb..2e3afb1c0 100644
--- a/src/cli/action.zig
+++ b/src/cli/action.zig
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ const Allocator = std.mem.Allocator;
 const help_strings = @import("help_strings");
 
 const list_fonts = @import("list_fonts.zig");
+const help = @import("help.zig");
 const version = @import("version.zig");
 const list_keybinds = @import("list_keybinds.zig");
 const list_themes = @import("list_themes.zig");
@@ -15,6 +16,9 @@ pub const Action = enum {
     /// Output the version and exit
     version,
 
+    /// Output help information for the CLI or configuration
+    help,
+
     /// List available fonts
     @"list-fonts",
 
@@ -48,18 +52,33 @@ pub const Action = enum {
 
     /// Detect the action from any iterator, used primarily for tests.
     pub fn detectIter(iter: anytype) Error!?Action {
+        var pending_help: bool = false;
         var pending: ?Action = null;
         while (iter.next()) |arg| {
             // Special case, --version always outputs the version no
             // matter what, no matter what other args exist.
             if (std.mem.eql(u8, arg, "--version")) return .version;
 
+            // --help matches "help" but if a subcommand is specified
+            // then we match the subcommand.
+            if (std.mem.eql(u8, arg, "--help") or std.mem.eql(u8, arg, "-h")) {
+                pending_help = true;
+                continue;
+            }
+
             // Commands must start with "+"
             if (arg.len == 0 or arg[0] != '+') continue;
             if (pending != null) return Error.MultipleActions;
             pending = std.meta.stringToEnum(Action, arg[1..]) orelse return Error.InvalidAction;
         }
 
+        // If we have an action, we always return that action, even if we've
+        // seen "--help" or "-h" because the action may have its own help text.
+        if (pending != null) return pending;
+
+        // If we've seen "--help" or "-h" then we return the help action.
+        if (pending_help) return .help;
+
         return pending;
     }
 
@@ -95,6 +114,7 @@ pub const Action = enum {
     fn runMain(self: Action, alloc: Allocator) !u8 {
         return switch (self) {
             .version => try version.run(alloc),
+            .help => try help.run(alloc),
             .@"list-fonts" => try list_fonts.run(alloc),
             .@"list-keybinds" => try list_keybinds.run(alloc),
             .@"list-themes" => try list_themes.run(alloc),
diff --git a/src/cli/help.zig b/src/cli/help.zig
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e75b1b617
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/help.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const Allocator = std.mem.Allocator;
+const args = @import("args.zig");
+const Action = @import("action.zig").Action;
+
+// Note that this options struct doesn't implement the `help` decl like
+// other actions. That is because the help command is special and wants to
+// handle its own logic around help detection.
+pub const Options = struct {
+    /// This must be registered so that it isn't an error to pass `--help`
+    help: bool = false,
+
+    pub fn deinit(self: Options) void {
+        _ = self;
+    }
+};
+
+/// The `help` command shows general help about Ghostty. You can also
+/// specify `--help` or `-h` along with any action such as `+list-themes`
+/// to see help for a specific action.
+pub fn run(alloc: Allocator) !u8 {
+    var opts: Options = .{};
+    defer opts.deinit();
+
+    {
+        var iter = try std.process.argsWithAllocator(alloc);
+        defer iter.deinit();
+        try args.parse(Options, alloc, &opts, &iter);
+    }
+
+    const stdout = std.io.getStdOut().writer();
+    try stdout.writeAll(
+        \\Usage: ghostty [+action] [options]
+        \\
+        \\Run the Ghostty terminal emulator or a specific helper action.
+        \\
+        \\If no `+action` is specified, run the Ghostty terminal emulator.
+        \\All configuration keys are available as command line options.
+        \\To specify a configuration key, use the `--<key>=<value>` syntax
+        \\where key and value are the same format you'd put into a configuration
+        \\file. For example, `--font-size=12` or `--font-family="Fira Code"`.
+        \\
+        \\To see a list of all available configuration options, please see
+        \\the `src/config/Config.zig` file. A future update will allow seeing
+        \\the list of configuration options from the command line.
+        \\
+        \\A special command line argument `-e <command>` can be used to run
+        \\the specific command inside the terminal emulator. For example,
+        \\`ghostty -e top` will run the `top` command inside the terminal.
+        \\
+        \\On macOS, launching the terminal emulator from the CLI is not
+        \\supported and only actions are supported.
+        \\
+        \\Available actions:
+        \\
+        \\
+    );
+
+    inline for (@typeInfo(Action).Enum.fields) |field| {
+        try stdout.print("  +{s}\n", .{field.name});
+    }
+
+    try stdout.writeAll(
+        \\
+        \\Specify `+<action> --help` to see the help for a specific action,
+        \\where `<action>` is one of actions listed below.
+        \\
+    );
+
+    return 0;
+}