diff --git a/src/it/java/dev/jbang/it/CliCompatibilityIT.java b/src/it/java/dev/jbang/it/CliCompatibilityIT.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ce1b15785
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/it/java/dev/jbang/it/CliCompatibilityIT.java
@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+package dev.jbang.it;
+
+import static dev.jbang.it.CommandResultAssert.assertThat;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import io.qameta.allure.Description;
+
+/**
+ * Integration tests verifying CLI compatibility expectations. These cover
+ * regressions identified in PR #2453: replace picocli with aesh
+ *
+ * These tests encode the expected behavior from the picocli-based CLI and
+ * should be merged to main independently of the migration PR so that any
+ * migration can be validated mechanically.
+ * 
+ * Note: these tests are not exhaustive and do not cover all possible CLI
+ * behaviors. They are intended to be a starting point for verifying the
+ * compatibility of possible new CLI implementation.
+ */
+public class CliCompatibilityIT extends BaseIT {
+
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// deprecated flag scan must not fire on script arguments
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("Deprecated flags after script arg must be passed through as script parameters")
+	public void deprecatedFlagAfterScriptArgIsPassedThrough() {
+		// echo.java prints its arguments; --init after the script is a script arg
+		assertThat(shell("jbang run echo.java --init"))
+			.succeeded()
+			.outContains("--init");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("Deprecated flags after -- must be passed through as script parameters")
+	public void deprecatedFlagAfterDoubleDashIsPassedThrough() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang run echo.java -- --edit"))
+			.succeeded()
+			.outContains("--edit");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("Deprecated flags in leading position should still error")
+	public void deprecatedFlagInLeadingPositionErrors() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang --init test.java"))
+			.failed()
+			.errContains("deprecated and now removed");
+	}
+
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Review item 2: --itr shorthand for --ignore-transitive-repositories
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("--itr shorthand must be accepted as alias for --ignore-transitive-repositories")
+	public void itrShorthandIsAccepted() {
+		// --itr should be silently accepted; the script should still run
+		assertThat(shell("jbang run --itr helloworld.java"))
+			.succeeded()
+			.outContains("Hello World");
+	}
+
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Review item 5: --source-type with invalid value should give
+	// user-friendly error, not a raw Java exception
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("Invalid --source-type should produce a user-friendly error message")
+	public void invalidSourceTypeGivesUserFriendlyError() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang run --source-type invalid helloworld.java"))
+			.failed()
+			.errNotContains("java.lang.IllegalArgumentException")
+			.errContains("invalid");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("Invalid --source-type should exit with INVALID_INPUT (2), not INTERNAL_ERROR (4)")
+	public void invalidSourceTypeExitsWithInvalidInput() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang run --source-type invalid helloworld.java"))
+			.exitedWith(2);
+	}
+
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Review item 7a: bare 'jbang' (no args) should show help and exit 0
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("Bare 'jbang' with no arguments should exit 0")
+	public void bareJbangExitsZero() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang"))
+			.succeeded();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("Bare 'jbang' should print usage information")
+	public void bareJbangShowsUsage() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang"))
+			.errContains("Usage:");
+	}
+
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Review item 7b: group commands without subcommand should show
+	// available subcommands, not just a terse error
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("'jbang alias' without subcommand should list available subcommands")
+	public void aliasWithoutSubcommandShowsSubcommands() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang alias"))
+			.errContains("add")
+			.errContains("list")
+			.errContains("remove");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("'jbang export' without subcommand should list available subcommands")
+	public void exportWithoutSubcommandShowsSubcommands() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang export"))
+			.errContains("portable")
+			.errContains("local");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("'jbang jdk' without subcommand should list available subcommands")
+	public void jdkWithoutSubcommandShowsSubcommands() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang jdk"))
+			.errContains("install")
+			.errContains("list")
+			.errContains("uninstall");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("'jbang cache' without subcommand should list available subcommands")
+	public void cacheWithoutSubcommandShowsSubcommands() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang cache"))
+			.errContains("clear");
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("'jbang catalog' without subcommand should list available subcommands")
+	public void catalogWithoutSubcommandShowsSubcommands() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang catalog"))
+			.errContains("add")
+			.errContains("list")
+			.errContains("remove");
+	}
+
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Review item 10: --format validation on alias list / jdk list
+	// -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("'jbang alias list --format xml' should fail with invalid format error")
+	public void aliasListInvalidFormatFails() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang alias list --format xml"))
+			.failed();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("'jbang alias list --format json' should succeed")
+	public void aliasListJsonFormatSucceeds() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang alias list --format json"))
+			.succeeded();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	@Description("'jbang alias list --format text' should succeed")
+	public void aliasListTextFormatSucceeds() {
+		assertThat(shell("jbang alias list --format text"))
+			.succeeded();
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/native-image/config/reflect-config.json b/src/native-image/config/reflect-config.json
index 70a196378..5d5f0dcb3 100644
--- a/src/native-image/config/reflect-config.json
+++ b/src/native-image/config/reflect-config.json
@@ -24,6 +24,12 @@
     "allDeclaredMethods": true,
     "allDeclaredFields": true
   },
+  {
+    "name": "dev.jbang.catalog.Alias$AliasOut",
+    "allDeclaredConstructors": true,
+    "allDeclaredMethods": true,
+    "allDeclaredFields": true
+  },
   {
     "name": "dev.jbang.catalog.Alias$JavaAgent",
     "allDeclaredConstructors": true,
@@ -77,6 +83,36 @@
     "queryAllDeclaredMethods": true,
     "queryAllPublicMethods": true
   },
+  {
+    "name": "dev.jbang.cli.AliasList$AliasOut",
+    "allDeclaredConstructors": true,
+    "allDeclaredMethods": true,
+    "allDeclaredFields": true
+  },
+  {
+    "name": "dev.jbang.cli.CatalogList$CatalogOut",
+    "allDeclaredConstructors": true,
+    "allDeclaredMethods": true,
+    "allDeclaredFields": true
+  },
+  {
+    "name": "dev.jbang.cli.TemplateList$TemplateOut",
+    "allDeclaredConstructors": true,
+    "allDeclaredMethods": true,
+    "allDeclaredFields": true
+  },
+  {
+    "name": "dev.jbang.cli.ConfigList$OriginOut",
+    "allDeclaredConstructors": true,
+    "allDeclaredMethods": true,
+    "allDeclaredFields": true
+  },
+  {
+    "name": "dev.jbang.cli.Jdk$JdkOut",
+    "allDeclaredConstructors": true,
+    "allDeclaredMethods": true,
+    "allDeclaredFields": true
+  },
   {
     "name": "dev.jbang.devkitman.jdkinstallers.FoojayJdkInstaller$VersionsResponse",
     "allDeclaredConstructors": true,