diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index f3ef99a3..5ce14be5 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ UTIL_FILES   =			\
     bezier.hpp			\
     bitwise.cpp			\
     bitwise.hpp			\
+    cmdopt.cpp			\
+    cmdopt.hpp			\
+    cmdopt.ipp			\
     colour.cpp			\
     colour.hpp			\
     colour.ipp			\
diff --git a/cmdopt.cpp b/cmdopt.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..968bdc7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmdopt.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,263 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ *
+ * Copyright 2013 Danny Robson <danny@nerdcruft.net>
+ */
+
+#include "cmdopt.hpp"
+
+#include "debug.hpp"
+
+#include <algorithm>
+#include <cstring>
+#include <sstream>
+
+using util::cmdopt::option::base;
+using util::cmdopt::option::bytes;
+using util::cmdopt::option::count;
+using util::cmdopt::option::value;
+using util::cmdopt::parser;
+
+
+///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+base::base (std::string _name):
+    m_name (_name)
+{ ; }
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+base::~base ()
+{ ; }
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void
+base::execute (void)
+{
+    throw invalid_null (m_name);
+}
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void
+base::execute (const char *restrict)
+{
+    throw invalid_value (m_name);
+}
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void
+base::start (void)
+{ ; }
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+void
+base::finish (void)
+{ ; }
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+std::string
+base::name (void) const
+{
+    return m_name;
+}
+
+
+///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+template <typename T>
+value<T>::value (std::string _name, T &_data):
+    base (_name),
+    m_data (_data)
+{ ; }
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+template <typename T>
+void
+value<T>::execute (const char *restrict str)
+{
+    try {
+        std::istringstream os (str);
+        os.exceptions (
+              std::istringstream::failbit
+            | std::istringstream::badbit
+        );
+        os >> m_data;
+
+        if (!os.eof ())
+            throw invalid_value (__func__);
+    } catch (...) {
+        throw invalid_value (__func__);
+    }
+}
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+template <typename T>
+T
+value<T>::data (void) const
+{
+    return m_data;
+}
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+template <typename T>
+T&
+value<T>::data (void)
+{
+    return m_data;
+}
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+namespace util { namespace cmdopt { namespace option {
+    template class value<uint16_t>;
+    template class value<uint32_t>;
+    template class value<uint64_t>;
+} } }
+
+
+///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+template <typename T>
+void
+count<T>::execute (void)
+{
+    ++ this->data();
+}
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+namespace util { namespace cmdopt { namespace option {
+    template class count<unsigned>;
+} } }
+
+
+///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+int
+parser::scan (int argc, char *const *argv)
+{
+    CHECK_GE (argc, 0);
+    CHECK    (argv);
+
+    // start iterating after our program's name
+    int i = 1;
+    while (i < argc) {
+        auto len = strlen (argv[i]);
+
+        // bail if there's no potential for an option
+        if (len < 2 || argv[i][0] != '-')
+            return i;
+
+        // parse longopt
+        auto inc = argv[i][1] == '-'
+             ? parse_long  (i, argc, argv)
+             : parse_short (i, argc, argv);
+        
+        CHECK_GT (inc, 0);
+        i += inc;
+    }
+
+    return i;
+}
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+int
+parser::parse_long (int pos, int argc, char *const *argv)
+{
+    CHECK_LT (pos, argc);
+    CHECK_GE (pos, 0);
+    CHECK_GE (argc, 0);
+    CHECK    (argv);
+
+    CHECK_EQ (argv[pos][0], '-');
+    CHECK_EQ (argv[pos][1], '-');
+
+    // break first atom into components and extract the key
+    const char *start = argv[pos] + 2;
+    const char *eq    = strchr (start, '=');
+    const char *last  = start + strlen (start);
+
+    std::string key { start, eq ? eq : last };
+
+    // find the handler
+    auto handle_pos = std::find_if (m_long.begin (),
+                                 m_long.end (),
+                                 [&] (auto i) { return std::get<0> (i) == key; });
+    if (handle_pos == m_long.end ())
+        throw invalid_key (key);
+
+    auto &handler = std::get<1> (*handle_pos);
+
+    // maybe grab a value from the next atom and dispatch
+    if (!eq) {
+        // check the next atom for the value
+        if (pos + 1 < argc)
+            if (argv[pos + 1][0] != '-') {
+                handler.execute (argv[pos+1]);
+                return 2;
+            }
+
+        handler.execute ();
+    } else {
+        handler.execute (eq+1);
+    }
+
+    return 1;
+}
+
+
+//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+int
+parser::parse_short (int pos, int argc, char *const *argv)
+{
+    CHECK_LT (pos, argc);
+    CHECK_GE (pos, 0);
+    CHECK_GE (argc, 0);
+    CHECK    (argv);
+
+    CHECK_EQ  (argv[pos][0], '-');
+    CHECK_NEQ (argv[pos][1], '-');
+
+    // we have a run of no-value keys
+    auto len = strlen (argv[pos]);
+    if (len > 2 || pos + 1 == argc || argv[pos+1][0] == '-') {
+        for (size_t i = 1; i < len; ++i) {
+            auto letter = argv[pos][i];
+
+            auto hpos = std::find_if (m_short.begin (),
+                                      m_short.end (),
+                                      [letter] (auto j) { return std::get<0> (j) == letter; });
+            if (hpos == m_short.end ())
+                throw invalid_key (std::to_string (letter));
+            std::get<1> (*hpos).execute ();
+        }
+
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    // we have a value following
+    auto letter = argv[pos][1];
+    auto hpos = std::find_if (m_short.begin (),
+                              m_short.end (),
+                              [letter] (auto i) { return std::get<0> (i) == letter; });
+    if (hpos == m_short.end ())
+        throw invalid_key (std::to_string (letter));
+    std::get<1> (*hpos).execute (argv[pos+1]);
+
+    return 2;
+}
diff --git a/cmdopt.hpp b/cmdopt.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4c87496c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmdopt.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ *
+ * Copyright 2013 Danny Robson <danny@nerdcruft.net>
+ */
+
+
+#ifndef __UTIL_CMDLINE_HPP
+#define __UTIL_CMDLINE_HPP
+
+#include <memory>
+#include <tuple>
+#include <vector>
+#include <stdexcept>
+#include <string>
+
+namespace util { namespace cmdopt {
+    namespace option {
+        class base {
+        public:
+            base (std::string name);
+            virtual ~base ();
+
+            virtual void execute (void);
+            virtual void execute (const char *restrict);
+            virtual void start   (void);
+            virtual void finish  (void);
+
+            std::string name (void) const;
+
+        private:
+            std::string m_name;
+        };
+
+
+        template <typename T>
+        class value : public base {
+        public:
+            value (std::string name, T&);
+
+            void execute (const char *restrict) override;
+
+            T  data (void) const;
+            T& data (void);
+
+        private:
+            T& m_data;
+        };
+
+
+        template <typename T = unsigned>
+        class count : public value<T> {
+        public:
+            count (std::string name);
+            void execute (void) override;
+        };
+
+
+        class bytes : public value<size_t> {
+        public:
+            bytes (std::string name);
+            void execute (const char *restrict) override;
+        };
+    }
+
+
+    class error : public std::runtime_error
+    { using runtime_error::runtime_error; };
+
+    class invalid_key : public error
+    { using error::error; };
+
+    class invalid_value : public error
+    { using error::error; };
+
+    class invalid_null : public error
+    { using error::error; };
+
+
+    class parser {
+    public:
+        template <typename T, typename ...Args>
+        T& add (char shortname,
+                std::string longname,
+                std::string description,
+                Args&&...);
+
+        int scan (int argc, char *const *argv);
+
+    private:
+        int parse_long  (int pos, int argc, char *const *argv);
+        int parse_short (int pos, int argc, char *const *argv);
+
+
+        using short_t = std::tuple<char,option::base&>;
+        using long_t  = std::tuple<std::string,option::base&>;
+
+        std::vector<short_t> m_short;
+        std::vector<long_t>  m_long;
+
+        std::vector<std::unique_ptr<option::base>> m_options;
+    };
+} }
+
+#include "cmdopt.ipp"
+
+#endif
diff --git a/cmdopt.ipp b/cmdopt.ipp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8b17c131
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmdopt.ipp
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ *
+ * Copyright 2013 Danny Robson <danny@nerdcruft.net>
+ */
+
+#ifdef __UTIL_CMDLINE_IPP
+#error
+#endif
+#define __UTIL_CMDLINE_IPP
+
+namespace util { namespace cmdopt {
+    template <typename T, typename ...Args>
+    T&
+    parser::add (char shortname, std::string longname, std::string description, Args&&... args)
+    {
+        auto handler = std::make_unique<T> (longname, std::forward<Args> (args)...);
+        T& ref = *handler;
+
+        m_short.emplace_back (shortname, ref);
+        m_long .emplace_back (longname,  ref);
+
+        m_options.emplace_back (std::move (handler));
+
+        return ref;
+    }
+} }
diff --git a/tools/noise.cpp b/tools/noise.cpp
index fca20524..bd8cec62 100644
--- a/tools/noise.cpp
+++ b/tools/noise.cpp
@@ -270,20 +270,33 @@ adjust_ocean (util::image::buffer<float> &height,
 static const unsigned THERMAL_ITERATIONS = 10;
 static const unsigned HYDRAULIC_ITERATIONS = 100;
 
+#include "cmdopt.hpp"
+
 
 int
-main (void)
+main (int argc, char **argv)
 {
-    // setup the output buffer
+    // setup default variables
 #ifdef ENABLE_DEBUGGING
-    util::extent2u size {320, 240};
+    util::extent2u res {320, 240};
 #else
-    util::extent2u size {1920, 1080};
+    util::extent2u res {1920, 1080};
 #endif
-    util::image::buffer<float> img (size);
 
     uint64_t seed = time (nullptr);
 
+    // fill variables from arguments
+    util::cmdopt::parser args;
+    args.add<util::cmdopt::option::value<size_t>> ('w', "width",  "output image width",  res.w);
+    args.add<util::cmdopt::option::value<size_t>> ('h', "height", "output image height", res.h);
+    args.add<util::cmdopt::option::value<uint64_t>> ('s', "seed", "random seed", seed);
+    //args.add<util::cmdopt::option::value<unsigned>> ('o', "octaves", "total fractal iterations", octaves);
+    //args.add<util::cmdopt::option::value<float>> ('H', "hurst", "Hurst exponent", H);
+
+    args.scan (argc, argv);
+
+    util::image::buffer<float> img (res);
+
     // setup the noise generator
 #if 0
     //util::noise::fractal::fbm<float, util::noise::basis::worley<float>> b (seed);
@@ -294,7 +307,7 @@ main (void)
     util::noise::fractal::hetero<float, util::noise::basis::value<float,util::lerp::quintic>> b (seed);
 
     b.octaves (8);
-    b.frequency (10.f / size.w);
+    b.frequency (10.f / res.w);
     b.lacunarity = 2.f;
     b.H = 1.0f;
     b.seed (seed);
@@ -306,21 +319,21 @@ main (void)
         util::noise::fractal::fbm<float, util::noise::basis::perlin<float,util::lerp::quintic>>
     > b (seed, { 0.13f, 0.13f });
 
-    b.data.frequency (1.f / size.w);
+    b.data.frequency (1.f / res.w);
     b.perturb[0].octaves (4);
     b.perturb[1].octaves (4);
-    b.perturb[0].frequency (10.f / size.w);
-    b.perturb[1].frequency (10.f / size.w);
+    b.perturb[0].frequency (10.f / res.w);
+    b.perturb[1].frequency (10.f / res.w);
 #endif
 
     // generate the values. offset positions slightly to observe simple axis issues with perlin basis
     {
         auto offset = util::vector2f { -100 };
 
-        for (size_t y = 0; y < size.h; ++y)
-            for (size_t x = 0; x < size.w; ++x) {
+        for (size_t y = 0; y < res.h; ++y)
+            for (size_t x = 0; x < res.w; ++x) {
                 auto v = b (util::point2f {float (x), float (y)} + offset);
-                img.data ()[y * size.w + x] = v;
+                img.data ()[y * res.w + x] = v;
             }
     }
 
@@ -342,7 +355,7 @@ main (void)
 
     std::cerr << "thermal_erosion\n";
     for (size_t i = 0; i < THERMAL_ITERATIONS; ++i)
-        thermal_erode (soft, to_radians (30.f), 1.f / size.w, 0.f);
+        thermal_erode (soft, to_radians (30.f), 1.f / res.w, 0.f);
 
     hydraulic_erode (soft, HYDRAULIC_ITERATIONS);