diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5c68732..5a60a0e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 
 ### Fixes
 
+- **CLI metadata flags**: Handle `--help` and `--version` before server startup so users can inspect usage and version information without requiring Mapbox environment configuration.
 - **Prompt descriptions**: Add missing `driving-traffic` transport mode to `get-directions`, `search-along-route`, and `show-reachable-areas` prompt descriptions
 - **ground_location_tool**: Use `mapbox/` prefix for isochrone profiles and add `driving-traffic` support
 - **ground_location_tool**: Reverse geocode now returns neighborhood/locality/place name instead of street address by default
diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e98c3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+// Copyright (c) Mapbox, Inc.
+// Licensed under the MIT License.
+
+interface CliVersionInfo {
+  name: string;
+  version: string;
+}
+
+interface CliMetadataResult {
+  handled: boolean;
+  exitCode: number;
+  output?: string;
+  error?: string;
+}
+
+const OPTIONS = [
+  '--help, -h           Show this help message',
+  '--version, -v        Show the server version',
+  '--enable-tools       Enable only the comma-separated tools',
+  '--disable-tools      Disable the comma-separated tools',
+  '--disable-mcp-ui     Disable MCP-UI resources'
+];
+
+const OPTIONS_WITH_VALUES = new Set(['--enable-tools', '--disable-tools']);
+const KNOWN_FLAGS = new Set([
+  '--help',
+  '-h',
+  '--version',
+  '-v',
+  '--enable-tools',
+  '--disable-tools',
+  '--disable-mcp-ui'
+]);
+
+function formatHelp(versionInfo: CliVersionInfo): string {
+  return [
+    `${versionInfo.name} ${versionInfo.version}`,
+    '',
+    'Usage: mcp-server [options]',
+    '',
+    'Options:',
+    ...OPTIONS.map((option) => `  ${option}`),
+    ''
+  ].join('\n');
+}
+
+export function handleCliMetadataArgs(
+  args: string[],
+  versionInfo: CliVersionInfo
+): CliMetadataResult {
+  if (args.includes('--help') || args.includes('-h')) {
+    return {
+      handled: true,
+      exitCode: 0,
+      output: formatHelp(versionInfo)
+    };
+  }
+
+  if (args.includes('--version') || args.includes('-v')) {
+    return {
+      handled: true,
+      exitCode: 0,
+      output: `${versionInfo.version}\n`
+    };
+  }
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
+    const arg = args[i];
+
+    if (OPTIONS_WITH_VALUES.has(arg)) {
+      i++;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (arg.startsWith('-') && !KNOWN_FLAGS.has(arg)) {
+      return {
+        handled: true,
+        exitCode: 1,
+        error: `Unknown option: ${arg}\n`
+      };
+    }
+  }
+
+  return {
+    handled: false,
+    exitCode: 0
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index d0f3dc6..c64ca97 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import { getAllResources } from './resources/resourceRegistry.js';
 import { getAllPrompts, getPromptByName } from './prompts/promptRegistry.js';
 import { completePromptArgument } from './completions/index.js';
 import { getVersionInfo } from './utils/versionUtils.js';
+import { handleCliMetadataArgs } from './cli.js';
 import {
   initializeTracing,
   shutdownTracing,
@@ -61,6 +62,20 @@ if (existsSync(envPath)) {
 }
 
 const versionInfo = getVersionInfo();
+const cliMetadataResult = handleCliMetadataArgs(
+  process.argv.slice(2),
+  versionInfo
+);
+
+if (cliMetadataResult.handled) {
+  if (cliMetadataResult.output) {
+    process.stdout.write(cliMetadataResult.output);
+  }
+  if (cliMetadataResult.error) {
+    process.stderr.write(cliMetadataResult.error);
+  }
+  process.exit(cliMetadataResult.exitCode);
+}
 
 // Parse configuration from command-line arguments
 const config = parseToolConfigFromArgs();
diff --git a/test/cli.test.ts b/test/cli.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..20a2eae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/cli.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+// Copyright (c) Mapbox, Inc.
+// Licensed under the MIT License.
+
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { handleCliMetadataArgs } from '../src/cli.js';
+
+const versionInfo = {
+  name: 'Mapbox MCP server',
+  version: '1.2.3'
+};
+
+describe('CLI metadata arguments', () => {
+  it('handles --help before server startup', () => {
+    const result = handleCliMetadataArgs(['--help'], versionInfo);
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      handled: true,
+      exitCode: 0,
+      output: expect.stringContaining('Usage: mcp-server [options]')
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('handles -h before server startup', () => {
+    const result = handleCliMetadataArgs(['-h'], versionInfo);
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      handled: true,
+      exitCode: 0,
+      output: expect.stringContaining('Usage: mcp-server [options]')
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('handles --version before server startup', () => {
+    const result = handleCliMetadataArgs(['--version'], versionInfo);
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      handled: true,
+      exitCode: 0,
+      output: '1.2.3\n'
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('handles -v before server startup', () => {
+    const result = handleCliMetadataArgs(['-v'], versionInfo);
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      handled: true,
+      exitCode: 0,
+      output: '1.2.3\n'
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('rejects unknown flags before server startup', () => {
+    const result = handleCliMetadataArgs(['--bogus'], versionInfo);
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      handled: true,
+      exitCode: 1,
+      error: 'Unknown option: --bogus\n'
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('does not handle server configuration flags', () => {
+    const result = handleCliMetadataArgs(
+      ['--enable-tools', 'version_tool'],
+      versionInfo
+    );
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({
+      handled: false,
+      exitCode: 0
+    });
+  });
+});