diff --git a/bot_bottle/cli/__init__.py b/bot_bottle/cli/__init__.py
index b26642a..6a1ea3b 100644
--- a/bot_bottle/cli/__init__.py
+++ b/bot_bottle/cli/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """Main CLI dispatcher.
 
-Commands: backend, cleanup, commit, edit, info, init, list, resume, start, supervise
+Commands: backend, cleanup, commit, edit, help, info, init, list, login,
+resume, start, supervise
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -17,6 +18,7 @@ from .commands.backend import cmd_backend
 from .commands.cleanup import cmd_cleanup
 from .commands.commit import cmd_commit
 from .commands.edit import cmd_edit
+from .commands.help import cmd_help
 from .commands.info import cmd_info
 from .commands.init import cmd_init
 from .commands.login import cmd_login
@@ -31,6 +33,7 @@ COMMANDS = {
     "cleanup": cmd_cleanup,
     "commit": cmd_commit,
     "edit": cmd_edit,
+    "help": cmd_help,
     "info": cmd_info,
     "init": cmd_init,
     "list": cmd_list,
@@ -45,49 +48,23 @@ COMMANDS = {
 # the host (TAP pool, /dev/kvm, firecracker) and never opens the store, so
 # gating it on the schema breaks preflight on a fresh CI runner where stdin
 # isn't a TTY and the migration prompt can't be answered.
-NO_MIGRATION_COMMANDS = frozenset({"backend", "login"})
-
-
-def usage() -> None:
-    sys.stderr.write(f"usage: {PROG} <command> [args...]\n\n")
-    sys.stderr.write("Commands:\n")
-    sys.stderr.write("  backend   set up / check / undo a backend's host prerequisites (setup|status|teardown)\n")
-    sys.stderr.write("  cleanup   stop and remove all active bot-bottle containers\n")
-    sys.stderr.write("  commit    snapshot a running bottle's container state to a Docker image\n")
-    sys.stderr.write("  edit      open an agent in vim for editing\n")
-    sys.stderr.write("  info      print env, skills, and prompt details for a named agent\n")
-    sys.stderr.write("  init      interactively create a new agent and add it to bot-bottle.json\n")
-    sys.stderr.write("  list      list available agents or active containers\n")
-    sys.stderr.write("  login     register this host with a bot-bottle console\n")
-    sys.stderr.write(
-        "  resume    re-launch a bottle by its identity "
-        "(continues state from PRD 0016)\n"
-    )
-    sys.stderr.write(
-        "  start     boot a container for a named agent and "
-        "attach an interactive session\n"
-    )
-    sys.stderr.write(
-        "  supervise view + approve/modify/reject pending supervise "
-        "proposals (PRD 0013)\n\n"
-    )
-    sys.stderr.write(f"Run '{PROG} <command> --help' for command-specific usage.\n")
+NO_MIGRATION_COMMANDS = frozenset({"backend", "help", "login"})
 
 
 def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
     if argv is None:
         argv = sys.argv[1:]
     if not argv:
-        usage()
+        cmd_help()
         return 2
     command = argv[0]
     rest = argv[1:]
     if command in ("-h", "--help"):
-        usage()
+        cmd_help()
         return 0
     handler = COMMANDS.get(command)
     if handler is None:
-        usage()
+        cmd_help()
         die(f"unknown command: {command}")
     mgr = StoreManager.instance()
     if command not in NO_MIGRATION_COMMANDS and not mgr.is_migrated():
diff --git a/bot_bottle/cli/commands/help.py b/bot_bottle/cli/commands/help.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d7ee633
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bot_bottle/cli/commands/help.py
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+"""help: print the top-level command list and usage.
+
+Rendered by the dispatcher for the `help` command and for its
+`-h`/`--help`, no-args, and unknown-command fallbacks. The per-command
+summaries live here; keep them in sync with the COMMANDS table in
+`bot_bottle.cli`.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import sys
+
+from ..constants import PROG
+
+
+def cmd_help(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
+    """Write the top-level usage + command list to stderr. Returns 0;
+    the dispatcher chooses the process exit code per entry path (0 for an
+    explicit `help`/`-h`, 2 for the bare no-args usage error)."""
+    del argv  # help takes no arguments
+    w = sys.stderr.write
+    w(f"usage: {PROG} <command> [args...]\n\n")
+    w("Commands:\n")
+    w("  backend   set up / check / undo a backend's host prerequisites (setup|status|teardown)\n")
+    w("  cleanup   stop and remove all active bot-bottle containers\n")
+    w("  commit    snapshot a running bottle's container state to a Docker image\n")
+    w("  edit      open an agent in vim for editing\n")
+    w("  help      show this command list\n")
+    w("  info      print env, skills, and prompt details for a named agent\n")
+    w("  init      interactively create a new agent and add it to bot-bottle.json\n")
+    w("  list      list available agents or active containers\n")
+    w("  login     register this host with a bot-bottle console\n")
+    w("  resume    re-launch a bottle by its identity (continues state from PRD 0016)\n")
+    w("  start     boot a container for a named agent and attach an interactive session\n")
+    w("  supervise view + approve/modify/reject pending supervise proposals (PRD 0013)\n\n")
+    w(f"Run '{PROG} <command> --help' for command-specific usage.\n")
+    return 0