diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/account/register/register-account.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/account/register/register-account.go
index 534f9a7..f97504d 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/account/register/register-account.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/account/register/register-account.go
@@ -26,23 +26,23 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	phoneNumber string
-	voice       bool
+	voice bool
 
 	RegisterAccountCmd = &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "register",
+		Use:   "register [phone number]",
 		Short: "begin the process of creating a new account",
-		PreRun: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) {
-			if phoneNumber == "" {
-				log.Fatal("--phone-number required")
+		PreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+			if len(args) != 1 {
+				common.Must(cmd.Help())
+				log.Fatal("must specify phone number")
 			}
 		},
-		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) {
+		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			requestID := signald.GenerateID()
 			err := common.Signald.RawRequest(v0.LegacyRequest{
 				Type:     "register",
 				ID:       requestID,
-				Username: phoneNumber,
+				Username: args[0],
 				Voice:    voice,
 			})
 			if err != nil {
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ var (
 			go common.Signald.Listen(c)
 			response := signald.GetLegacyResponse(c, requestID)
 			if response.Type == "verification_required" {
-				log.Println("verification code requested. submit with: signaldctl account verify --phone-number", phoneNumber, "--code XXX-XXX")
+				log.Println("verification code requested. submit with: signaldctl account verify", args[0], "<code>")
 			} else {
 				log.Fatalf("unexpected response from signald when requesting verification code: %+v", response)
 			}
@@ -61,6 +61,5 @@ var (
 )
 
 func init() {
-	RegisterAccountCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&phoneNumber, "number", "n", "", "phone number being registered")
 	RegisterAccountCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&voice, "voice", "V", false, "request verification code be sent via an automated voice call (code is sent via SMS by default)")
 }
diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/account/verify/verify-account.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/account/verify/verify-account.go
index 2b032bb..151804a 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/account/verify/verify-account.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/account/verify/verify-account.go
@@ -26,27 +26,22 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	phoneNumber string
-	code        string
-
 	VerifyAccountCmd = &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "verify",
+		Use:   "verify [phone number] [code]",
 		Short: "verify an account and complete the registration process",
-		PreRun: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) {
-			if phoneNumber == "" {
-				log.Fatal("--phone-number required")
-			}
-			if code == "" {
-				log.Fatal("--code required")
+		PreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+			if len(args) != 2 {
+				common.Must(cmd.Help())
+				log.Fatal("must specify phone number and code")
 			}
 		},
-		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) {
+		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			requestID := signald.GenerateID()
 			err := common.Signald.RawRequest(v0.LegacyRequest{
 				Type:     "verify",
 				ID:       requestID,
-				Username: phoneNumber,
-				Code:     code,
+				Username: args[0],
+				Code:     args[1],
 			})
 			if err != nil {
 				log.Fatal("error sending request to signald: ", err)
@@ -62,8 +57,3 @@ var (
 		},
 	}
 )
-
-func init() {
-	VerifyAccountCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&phoneNumber, "phone-number", "n", "", "phone number being verified")
-	VerifyAccountCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&code, "code", "c", "", "verification code to submit")
-}
diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/config/set/set-config.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/config/set/set-config.go
index ee3e587..34aeba5 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/config/set/set-config.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/config/set/set-config.go
@@ -21,15 +21,18 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
+	"gitlab.com/signald/signald-go/cmd/signaldctl/common"
 	"gitlab.com/signald/signald-go/cmd/signaldctl/config"
 )
 
 var (
 	SetConfigCmd = &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "set",
-		Short: "send a message",
-		PreRun: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		Use:         "set <key> <value>",
+		Short:       "send a message",
+		Annotations: map[string]string{common.AnnotationNoSocketConnection: "true"},
+		PreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			if len(args) != 2 {
+				common.Must(cmd.Help())
 				log.Fatal("unexpected number of arguments")
 			}
 		},
diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/device/remove/remove.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/device/remove/remove.go
index 4b158ad..d8c69f6 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/device/remove/remove.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/device/remove/remove.go
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ var (
 	device  int64
 
 	RemoveDeviceCmd = &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "remove",
+		Use:   "remove <device id>",
 		Short: "remove a linked device",
 		PreRun: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			if account == "" {
diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/group/accept/accept-invitation-to-group.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/group/accept/accept-invitation-to-group.go
index 4dea28a..db73494 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/group/accept/accept-invitation-to-group.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/group/accept/accept-invitation-to-group.go
@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@ import (
 var (
 	account                  string
 	AcceptGroupInvitationCmd = &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "accept",
+		Use:   "accept <group id> [<group id>...]",
 		Short: "accept an invitation to join a group",
-		PreRun: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		PreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			if account == "" {
 				account = config.Config.DefaultAccount
 			}
@@ -42,7 +42,8 @@ var (
 				log.Fatal("No account specified. Please specify with --account or set a default")
 			}
 			if len(args) == 0 {
-				log.Fatal("at least one group ID required")
+				common.Must(cmd.Help())
+				log.Fatal("must specify at least one group id")
 			}
 		},
 		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/group/show/show-group.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/group/show/show-group.go
index 125742a..44daa65 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/group/show/show-group.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/group/show/show-group.go
@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@ import (
 var (
 	account      string
 	ShowGroupCmd = &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "show",
+		Use:   "show <group id> [<group id>]",
 		Short: "show details about a group",
-		PreRun: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		PreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			if account == "" {
 				account = config.Config.DefaultAccount
 			}
@@ -42,7 +42,8 @@ var (
 				log.Fatal("No account specified. Please specify with --account or set a default")
 			}
 			if len(args) == 0 {
-				log.Fatal("at least one group ID required")
+				common.Must(cmd.Help())
+				log.Fatal("must specify at least one group id")
 			}
 		},
 		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/react/react-to-message.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/react/react-to-message.go
index 393c62b..5db9085 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/react/react-to-message.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/react/react-to-message.go
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ var (
 	ReactMessageCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		Use:   "react",
 		Short: "react to a message",
-		PreRun: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		PreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			if account == "" {
 				account = config.Config.DefaultAccount
 			}
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ var (
 				log.Fatal("No account specified. Please specify with --account or set a default")
 			}
 			if len(args) != 1 {
+				common.Must(cmd.Help())
 				log.Fatal("must provide exactly one reaction")
 			}
 		},
diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/read/mark-message-as-read.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/read/mark-message-as-read.go
index fe1c36d..f18670c 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/read/mark-message-as-read.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/read/mark-message-as-read.go
@@ -30,9 +30,9 @@ var (
 	account string
 
 	ReadMessageCmd = &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "mark-read",
+		Use:   "mark-read <author> <timestamp>",
 		Short: "mark a message as read",
-		PreRun: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		PreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			if account == "" {
 				account = config.Config.DefaultAccount
 			}
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ var (
 				log.Fatal("No account specified. Please specify with --account or set a default")
 			}
 			if len(args) < 2 {
-				log.Fatal("Usage: signaldctl message mark-read <author> <timestamp>")
+				common.Must(cmd.Help())
+				log.Fatal("must specify author and timestamp")
 			}
 		},
 		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/send/send-message.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/send/send-message.go
index de8b6b8..dd8d5cb 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/send/send-message.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/message/send/send-message.go
@@ -33,38 +33,34 @@ import (
 
 var (
 	account string
-	to      string
-	message string
 
 	SendMessageCmd = &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "send",
+		Use:   "send <group id> | <phone number> <message>",
 		Short: "send a message",
-		PreRun: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) {
+		PreRun: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			if account == "" {
 				account = config.Config.DefaultAccount
 			}
 			if account == "" {
 				log.Fatal("No account specified. Please specify with --account or set a default")
 			}
-			if to == "" {
-				log.Fatal("--to required")
-			}
-			if message == "" {
-				log.Fatal("--message required")
+			if len(args) < 2 {
+				common.Must(cmd.Help())
+				log.Fatal("must specify both destination (either group id or phone number) and message")
 			}
 		},
-		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) {
+		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 			go common.Signald.Listen(nil)
 
 			req := v1.SendRequest{
 				Username:    account,
-				MessageBody: message,
+				MessageBody: strings.Join(args[1:], " "),
 			}
 
-			if strings.HasPrefix(to, "+") {
-				req.RecipientAddress = &v1.JsonAddress{Number: to}
+			if strings.HasPrefix(args[0], "+") {
+				req.RecipientAddress = &v1.JsonAddress{Number: args[0]}
 			} else {
-				req.RecipientGroupID = to
+				req.RecipientGroupID = args[0]
 			}
 
 			resp, err := req.Submit(common.Signald)
@@ -124,6 +120,4 @@ var (
 
 func init() {
 	SendMessageCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&account, "account", "a", "", "local account to use")
-	SendMessageCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&to, "to", "t", "", "phone number or group ID to send the message to")
-	SendMessageCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&message, "message", "m", "", "the body of the message to send")
 }
diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/version.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/version.go
index f29608d..9510c43 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/version.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/version.go
@@ -35,20 +35,18 @@ var versionCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 		go common.Signald.Listen(nil)
 		r := v1.VersionRequest{}
-		response, err := r.Submit(common.Signald)
+		signaldVersion, err := r.Submit(common.Signald)
 		if err != nil {
 			log.Fatal(err)
 		}
 
-		output := []v1.JsonVersionMessage{
-			response,
-			{
-				Name:    common.Name,
-				Branch:  common.Branch,
-				Commit:  common.Commit,
-				Version: common.Version,
-			},
+		signaldctlVersion := v1.JsonVersionMessage{
+			Name:    common.Name,
+			Branch:  common.Branch,
+			Commit:  common.Commit,
+			Version: common.Version,
 		}
+		output := []v1.JsonVersionMessage{signaldVersion, signaldctlVersion}
 		switch common.OutputFormat {
 		case common.OutputFormatJSON:
 			err := json.NewEncoder(os.Stdout).Encode(output)
@@ -65,7 +63,7 @@ var versionCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			t.SetOutputMirror(os.Stdout)
 			t.AppendHeader(table.Row{"Name", "Version", "Branch", "Commit"})
 			t.AppendRow(table.Row{common.Name, common.Version, common.Branch, common.Commit})
-			t.AppendRow(table.Row{response.Name, response.Version, response.Branch, response.Commit})
+			t.AppendRow(table.Row{signaldVersion.Name, signaldVersion.Version, signaldVersion.Branch, signaldVersion.Commit})
 			if common.OutputFormat == common.OutputFormatCSV {
 				t.RenderCSV()
 			} else {