diff --git a/jbake-core/src/main/java/org/jbake/launcher/LaunchOptions.java b/jbake-core/src/main/java/org/jbake/launcher/LaunchOptions.java
index d30bd5865..39ef18272 100644
--- a/jbake-core/src/main/java/org/jbake/launcher/LaunchOptions.java
+++ b/jbake-core/src/main/java/org/jbake/launcher/LaunchOptions.java
@@ -24,9 +24,12 @@ public class LaunchOptions {
     @Option(name = "-s", aliases = {"--server"}, usage = "runs HTTP server to serve out baked site, if no <value> is supplied will default to a folder called \"output\" in the current directory")
     private boolean runServer;
 
-    @Option(name = "-h", aliases = {"--help"}, usage = "prints this message")
+    @Option(name = "-h", aliases = {"--help"}, usage = "prints this message and exits")
     private boolean helpNeeded;
 
+    @Option(name = "-V", aliases = {"--version"}, usage = "prints the version identifier and exits")
+    private boolean versionNeeded;
+
     @Option(name = "--reset", usage = "clears the local cache, enforcing rendering from scratch")
     private boolean clearCache;
 
@@ -66,6 +69,10 @@ public boolean isHelpNeeded() {
         return helpNeeded || !(isBake() || isRunServer() || isInit() || source != null || destination != null);
     }
 
+    public boolean isVersionNeeded() {
+        return versionNeeded;
+    }
+
     public boolean isRunServer() {
         return runServer;
     }
diff --git a/jbake-core/src/main/java/org/jbake/launcher/Main.java b/jbake-core/src/main/java/org/jbake/launcher/Main.java
index 5f970d439..2bbf395cf 100644
--- a/jbake-core/src/main/java/org/jbake/launcher/Main.java
+++ b/jbake-core/src/main/java/org/jbake/launcher/Main.java
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 import org.jbake.app.configuration.JBakeConfigurationFactory;
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineException;
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineParser;
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 import org.slf4j.bridge.SLF4JBridgeHandler;
 
 import java.io.File;
@@ -19,6 +21,8 @@
  */
 public class Main {
 
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory.getLogger(Main.class);
+
     private final String USAGE_PREFIX = "Usage: jbake";
     private final String ALT_USAGE_PREFIX = "   or  jbake";
     private Baker baker;
@@ -84,15 +88,19 @@ protected void run(String[] args) {
     }
 
     protected void run(LaunchOptions res, JBakeConfiguration config) {
-        System.out.println("JBake " + config.getVersion() + " (" + config.getBuildTimeStamp() + ") [http://jbake.org]");
-        System.out.println();
-
         if (res.isHelpNeeded()) {
             printUsage(res);
             // Help was requested, so we are done here
             return;
         }
 
+        if (res.isVersionNeeded()) {
+            System.out.println(getVersionString(config));
+            return;
+        }
+
+        LOGGER.info(getVersionString(config));
+
         if (res.isBake()) {
             baker.bake(config);
         }
@@ -124,6 +132,10 @@ protected void run(LaunchOptions res, JBakeConfiguration config) {
 
     }
 
+    private String getVersionString(JBakeConfiguration config) {
+        return "JBake " + config.getVersion() + " (" + config.getBuildTimeStamp() + ") [http://jbake.org]";
+    }
+
     private LaunchOptions parseArguments(String[] args) {
         LaunchOptions res = new LaunchOptions();
         CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(res);
diff --git a/jbake-core/src/test/java/org/jbake/launcher/LaunchOptionsTest.java b/jbake-core/src/test/java/org/jbake/launcher/LaunchOptionsTest.java
index 78d8060f4..69437fbd8 100644
--- a/jbake-core/src/test/java/org/jbake/launcher/LaunchOptionsTest.java
+++ b/jbake-core/src/test/java/org/jbake/launcher/LaunchOptionsTest.java
@@ -9,6 +9,16 @@
 
 public class LaunchOptionsTest {
 
+    @Test
+    public void showHelpIfNoArguments() throws Exception {
+        String[] args = {};
+        LaunchOptions res = new LaunchOptions();
+        CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(res);
+        parser.parseArgument(args);
+
+        assertThat(res.isHelpNeeded()).isTrue();
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void showHelp() throws Exception {
         String[] args = {"-h"};