diff --git a/server/src/main.rs b/server/src/main.rs
index dbd2fd4..a053685 100644
--- a/server/src/main.rs
+++ b/server/src/main.rs
@@ -34,6 +34,32 @@ use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use tokio::sync::broadcast;
 
+/// What the first CLI argument means.
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq)]
+enum CliDirective {
+    /// `--help` / `-h`
+    Help,
+    /// `--version` / `-V`
+    Version,
+    /// An unrecognised flag (starts with `-`).
+    UnknownFlag(String),
+    /// A positional path argument.
+    Path,
+    /// No arguments at all.
+    None,
+}
+
+/// Inspect the raw CLI arguments and return the directive they imply.
+fn classify_cli_args(args: &[String]) -> CliDirective {
+    match args.first().map(String::as_str) {
+        None => CliDirective::None,
+        Some("--help" | "-h") => CliDirective::Help,
+        Some("--version" | "-V") => CliDirective::Version,
+        Some(a) if a.starts_with('-') => CliDirective::UnknownFlag(a.to_string()),
+        Some(_) => CliDirective::Path,
+    }
+}
+
 /// Resolve the optional positional path argument (everything after the binary
 /// name) into an absolute `PathBuf`.  Returns `None` when no argument was
 /// supplied so that the caller can fall back to the auto-detect behaviour.
@@ -53,8 +79,61 @@ async fn main() -> Result<(), std::io::Error> {
 
     // Collect CLI args, skipping the binary name (argv[0]).
     let cli_args: Vec<String> = std::env::args().skip(1).collect();
+
+    // Handle CLI flags before treating anything as a project path.
+    match classify_cli_args(&cli_args) {
+        CliDirective::Help => {
+            println!("storkit [PATH]");
+            println!();
+            println!("Serve a storkit project.");
+            println!();
+            println!("USAGE:");
+            println!("  storkit [PATH]");
+            println!();
+            println!("ARGS:");
+            println!(
+                "  PATH  Path to an existing project directory. \
+                 If omitted, storkit searches parent directories for a .storkit/ root."
+            );
+            println!();
+            println!("OPTIONS:");
+            println!("  -h, --help     Print this help and exit");
+            println!("  -V, --version  Print the version and exit");
+            std::process::exit(0);
+        }
+        CliDirective::Version => {
+            println!("storkit {}", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"));
+            std::process::exit(0);
+        }
+        CliDirective::UnknownFlag(flag) => {
+            eprintln!("error: unknown option: {flag}");
+            eprintln!("Run 'storkit --help' for usage.");
+            std::process::exit(1);
+        }
+        CliDirective::Path | CliDirective::None => {}
+    }
+
     let explicit_path = parse_project_path_arg(&cli_args, &cwd);
 
+    // When a path is given explicitly on the CLI, it must already exist as a
+    // directory.  We do not create directories from the command line.
+    if let Some(ref path) = explicit_path {
+        if !path.exists() {
+            eprintln!(
+                "error: path does not exist: {}",
+                path.display()
+            );
+            std::process::exit(1);
+        }
+        if !path.is_dir() {
+            eprintln!(
+                "error: path is not a directory: {}",
+                path.display()
+            );
+            std::process::exit(1);
+        }
+    }
+
     if let Some(explicit_root) = explicit_path {
         // An explicit path was given on the command line.
         // Open it directly — scaffold .storkit/ if it is missing — and
@@ -399,6 +478,61 @@ name = "coder"
             .unwrap_or_else(|e| panic!("Invalid project.toml: {e}"));
     }
 
+    // ── classify_cli_args ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    #[test]
+    fn classify_none_when_no_args() {
+        assert_eq!(classify_cli_args(&[]), CliDirective::None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn classify_help_long() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            classify_cli_args(&["--help".to_string()]),
+            CliDirective::Help
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn classify_help_short() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            classify_cli_args(&["-h".to_string()]),
+            CliDirective::Help
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn classify_version_long() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            classify_cli_args(&["--version".to_string()]),
+            CliDirective::Version
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn classify_version_short() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            classify_cli_args(&["-V".to_string()]),
+            CliDirective::Version
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn classify_unknown_flag() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            classify_cli_args(&["--serve".to_string()]),
+            CliDirective::UnknownFlag("--serve".to_string())
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn classify_path() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            classify_cli_args(&["/some/path".to_string()]),
+            CliDirective::Path
+        );
+    }
+
     // ── parse_project_path_arg ────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     #[test]