diff --git a/src/PostIt/Directory.Packages.props b/src/PostIt/Directory.Packages.props
index 05fe0e228..42d09cd55 100644
--- a/src/PostIt/Directory.Packages.props
+++ b/src/PostIt/Directory.Packages.props
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
     <PackageVersion Include="Material.Avalonia" Version="3.20.0" />
     <PackageVersion Include="AvaloniaUI.DiagnosticsSupport" Version="2.2.3" />
     <PackageVersion Include="CommunityToolkit.Mvvm" Version="8.4.2" />
+    <PackageVersion Include="Mono.Options" Version="6.12.0.148" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Xamarin.AndroidX.Browser" Version="1.10.0.1" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Xamarin.AndroidX.Core.SplashScreen" Version="1.2.0.3" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Xamarin.AndroidX.Lifecycle.Runtime" Version="2.11.0.1" />
@@ -30,4 +31,4 @@
     <PackageVersion Include="Xamarin.UITest" Version="4.4.2" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection" Version="10.0.12" />
   </ItemGroup>
-</Project>
+</Project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/PostIt/PostIt.Desktop/Program.cs b/src/PostIt/PostIt.Desktop/Program.cs
index 0de3bd69e..a2b8cd66f 100644
--- a/src/PostIt/PostIt.Desktop/Program.cs
+++ b/src/PostIt/PostIt.Desktop/Program.cs
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ sealed class Program
     [STAThread]
     public static void Main(string[] args)
     {
+        CLIOptionHandler.HandleArgs(args);
+
         // Short-circuit 2nd-instance launches (OS handing us the
         // postit://callback URL) BEFORE Avalonia spins up a window.
         // If we let Avalonia initialise, the new MainWindow flashes
diff --git a/src/PostIt/PostIt/App.axaml.cs b/src/PostIt/PostIt/App.axaml.cs
index b80351e17..9a04ffd03 100644
--- a/src/PostIt/PostIt/App.axaml.cs
+++ b/src/PostIt/PostIt/App.axaml.cs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ namespace PostIt;
 public partial class App : Application
 {
     private int _bootStarted;
+    public string? CliConfigFileSpecification {  get; private set; }
 
     /// <summary>
     /// DI container the platform entry points hand to ViewModels so
@@ -203,4 +204,9 @@ public partial class App : Application
     {
         await View!.NavRoot.PopAsync();
     }
+
+    internal void UseConfigFileWhenLoading(string configFile)
+    {
+        this.CliConfigFileSpecification = configFile;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/PostIt/PostIt/CLIOptions/CLIOptions.cs b/src/PostIt/PostIt/CLIOptions/CLIOptions.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c0bea85ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/PostIt/PostIt/CLIOptions/CLIOptions.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using Mono.Options;
+using PostIt;
+using PostIt.ViewModels;
+
+public static class CLIOptionHandler
+{
+    public static void HandleArgs(string[] args)
+    {
+        bool showHelp = false;
+        string configFile = null;
+
+        var options = new OptionSet {
+            { "c|configuration=", "Configuration file to load", (string v) => configFile = v },
+            { "h|help", "Show this message and exit", v => showHelp = true }
+        };
+
+        List<string> extra = options.Parse(args);
+
+        if (showHelp)
+        {
+            Console.WriteLine("Usage: app [OPTIONS]+");
+            options.WriteOptionDescriptions(Console.Out);
+            return;
+        }
+        if (configFile != null)
+        {
+            var app = App.Current as App;
+            app.UseConfigFileWhenLoading(configFile);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/PostIt/PostIt/PostIt.csproj b/src/PostIt/PostIt/PostIt.csproj
index 3216cebb2..8d49a9a3e 100644
--- a/src/PostIt/PostIt/PostIt.csproj
+++ b/src/PostIt/PostIt/PostIt.csproj
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
     <PackageReference Include="IdentityModel.OidcClient" />
     <PackageReference Include="MarkdownViewer.Core" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection" />
+    <PackageReference Include="Mono.Options" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
     <ProjectReference Include="../../Yavsc.Abstract/Yavsc.Abstract.csproj" />
diff --git a/src/PostIt/PostIt/ViewModels/Settings/Settings.cs b/src/PostIt/PostIt/ViewModels/Settings/Settings.cs
index 1c2802e33..5576f01cd 100644
--- a/src/PostIt/PostIt/ViewModels/Settings/Settings.cs
+++ b/src/PostIt/PostIt/ViewModels/Settings/Settings.cs
@@ -259,25 +259,13 @@ public partial class Settings : ViewModelBase
                 return;
             }
         }
-        if (Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("POSTIT_SETTINGS_JSON") is string envJson
-            && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(envJson))
+
+        var app = App.Current as App;
+        if (app!=null)
+        if (app.CliConfigFileSpecification!=null)
         {
-            Console.WriteLine("🔎 Loading settings from POSTIT_SETTINGS_JSON environment variable.");
-            FileInfo configByEnvFileInfo = new FileInfo(envJson);
-            if (!configByEnvFileInfo.Exists)
-            {
-                throw new Exception($"🩎 Settings file not found at {configByEnvFileInfo.FullName}");
-            }
-            string json = File.ReadAllText(configByEnvFileInfo.FullName);
-            ApplyJson(json, "POSTIT_SETTINGS_JSON");
-            SettingsFileFullName = configByEnvFileInfo.FullName;
-            Loaded = true;
-            return;
+            SettingsFileFullName = app.CliConfigFileSpecification;
         }
-        string configDir = Path.Combine(
-            Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData),
-            "PostIt"
-        );
 
         if (SettingsFileFullName is not null)
         {
@@ -287,10 +275,18 @@ public partial class Settings : ViewModelBase
         else if (Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("POSTIT_SETTINGS_JSON") is string envPath
             && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(envPath))
         {
-            SettingsFileFullName = envPath;
+            FileInfo configByEnvFileInfo = new FileInfo(envPath);
+            if (!configByEnvFileInfo.Exists)
+            {
+                throw new Exception($"🩎 Settings file not found at {configByEnvFileInfo.FullName}");
+            }
+            SettingsFileFullName = configByEnvFileInfo.FullName;
         }
         else
         {
+             string configDir = Path.Combine(
+                Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData),
+                "PostIt");
             SettingsFileFullName = Path.Combine(configDir, "postit-settings.json");
         }
 
@@ -536,6 +532,7 @@ public partial class Settings : ViewModelBase
     /// </summary>
     partial void OnIsDirtyChanged(bool value) => SaveCommand.NotifyCanExecuteChanged();
 
+
     public override bool CanNavigateNext { get => false; protected set => throw new System.NotImplementedException(); }
     public override bool CanNavigatePrevious { get => true; protected set => throw new System.NotImplementedException(); }
 }