diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index 9be84c1..914c846 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -158,14 +158,14 @@ export async function main(argv: string[]): Promise<number> {
   const args = parseArgs(argv);
   const { command, flags } = args;
 
-  if (flags["help"] || command === "help" || command === undefined) {
-    process.stdout.write(usage());
-    return command === undefined && !flags["help"] ? 2 : 0;
-  }
   if (flags["version"]) {
     process.stdout.write(`${VERSION}\n`);
     return 0;
   }
+  if (flags["help"] || command === "help" || command === undefined) {
+    process.stdout.write(usage());
+    return command === undefined && !flags["help"] ? 2 : 0;
+  }
   if (command === "rules") {
     printRules();
     return 0;
diff --git a/test/cli.test.ts b/test/cli.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..491023a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/cli.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { main } from "../src/cli.js";
+
+describe("cli", () => {
+  it("prints the version and exits 0 for --version", async () => {
+    expect(await main(["--version"])).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("prints usage and exits 2 with no command", async () => {
+    expect(await main([])).toBe(2);
+  });
+
+  it("prints usage and exits 0 for --help", async () => {
+    expect(await main(["--help"])).toBe(0);
+  });
+});