diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index cc6f56f..ed5f939 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ Add this to your .pre-commit-config.yaml:
 
 ```yaml
 -   repo: https://github.com/jordanopensource/pre-commit-hooks
-    rev: v0.1.0  # Use the ref you want to point at
+    rev: v0.1.1  # Use the ref you want to point at
     hooks:
     -   id: validate-flux
     # -   id: ...
diff --git a/scripts/validate-flux.sh b/scripts/validate-flux.sh
index a6dc96f..9f3ac03 100755
--- a/scripts/validate-flux.sh
+++ b/scripts/validate-flux.sh
@@ -24,6 +24,300 @@
 # - kustomize v5.0
 # - kubeconform v0.6
 
+# General variables
+numberOfFilesChanged=0
+numberOfClusterFilesChanged=0
+numberOfKsFilesChanged=0
+numberOfKsChecksFailed=0
+numberOfClustersChecksFailed=0
+DEBUG=0
+# Define the color codes
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+MAGENTA='\033[0;35m'
+CYAN='\033[0;36m'
+YELLOW='\033[0;33m'
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+NC='\033[0m'
+# Define text decorations
+UNDERLINE='\033[4m'
+NOUNDERLINE='\033[0m'
+
+# Define the help message
+show_help() {
+  echo "Usage: $(basename "$0") [options]"
+  echo
+  echo "Options:"
+  echo "  --help, -h          Show this help message and exit"
+  echo "  --validate, -v      Validate specified items (clstr=clusters, ks=kustomize) -- NOTE: YAML file check will always run"
+  echo "  --debug, -d         Enable debug mode showing more information"
+}
+
+# Check for --help or -h flag
+if [[ "$1" == "--help" || "$1" == "-h" ]]; then
+  show_help
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+# Initialize an array to store validation options
+validate_options=()
+
+# Process command line arguments
+while [[ "$1" != "" ]]; do
+  case $1 in
+  -v | --validate)
+    shift
+    while [[ "$1" != "" && "$1" != -* ]]; do
+      case $1 in
+      clusters | clstr)
+        validate_options+=("clusters")
+        ;;
+      kustomize | ks)
+        validate_options+=("kustomize")
+        ;;
+      *)
+        echo "Unknown validation option: $1"
+        show_help
+        exit 1
+        ;;
+      esac
+      shift
+    done
+    validate_options+=("files") # always validate YAML files
+    ;;
+  -d | --debug)
+    DEBUG=1
+    shift
+    ;;
+  *)
+    echo "Unknown option: $1"
+    show_help
+    exit 1
+    ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+## Function: check_package
+#
+### Description
+# The `check_package` function is a Bash script that checks if a specified command-line package is installed on the system. If the package is not installed, the function provides instructions on how to install it, depending on the package name.
+#
+### Parameters
+# - `$1` (String): The name of the package to check.
+#
+### Usage
+# ```bash
+# check_package <package_name>
+
+check_package() {
+  if ! command -v $1 &>/dev/null; then
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}WARN${NC} - Package $1 is not installed."
+    if [ "$1" == "yq" ]; then
+      echo -e "You can download it from the GitHub page: ${CYAN}${UNDERLINE}https://github.com/mikefarah/yq?tab=readme-ov-file#install${NOUNDERLINE}${NC}"
+    elif [ "$1" == "kustomize" ]; then
+      echo -e "You can download it from the GitHub page: ${CYAN}${UNDERLINE}https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize${NOUNDERLINE}${NC}"
+    elif [ "$1" == "kubeconform" ]; then
+      echo -e "You can download it from the GitHub page: ${CYAN}${UNDERLINE}https://github.com/yannh/kubeconform${NOUNDERLINE}${NC}"
+    else
+      echo -e "Please install ${YELLOW}${UNDERLINE}$1${NOUNDERLINE}${NC} and try again."
+    fi
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
+## Function: get_git_diff_files
+#
+### Description
+# The `get_git_diff_files` function is a Bash script that retrieves the list of modified files in a Git repository, filtered by a specified directory and pattern. This function is particularly useful for identifying specific types of files that have been staged for commit.
+#
+### Parameters
+# - `dir` (String): The directory to filter the git diff output. This parameter limits the scope of the files to be checked within the specified directory.
+# - `pattern` (String): The pattern to filter the file names using grep. This parameter allows you to specify a regular expression to match certain file types or naming conventions.
+#
+### Usage
+# ```bash
+# get_git_diff_files <dir> <pattern>
+
+get_git_diff_files() {
+  local dir="$1"
+  local pattern="$2"
+  git diff --diff-filter=d --cached --name-only -- "$dir" | grep "$pattern"
+}
+
+# Define the error handling function
+handle_error() {
+  local message="$1"
+  echo -e "\n${RED}ERROR${NC} - ${message}"
+}
+
+## Function: download_schemas
+
+### Description
+# The `download_schemas` function downloads the latest Flux OpenAPI schemas and extracts them to a specified directory. It also retrieves and stores the latest version tag of the schemas for future reference.
+#
+### Usage
+# ```bash
+# download_schemas
+
+download_schemas() {
+  [[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && echo -e "${CYAN}INFO${NC} - Downloading Flux OpenAPI schemas"
+  mkdir -p "$SCHEMA_DIR"
+  curl -sL https://github.com/fluxcd/flux2/releases/latest/download/crd-schemas.tar.gz -o "$SCHEMA_TAR"
+  tar zxf "$SCHEMA_TAR" -C "$SCHEMA_DIR"
+  curl -sL $LATEST_VERSION_URL | grep '"tag_name":' | sed -E 's/.*"([^"]+)".*/\1/' >"$LATEST_VERSION_FILE"
+}
+
+## Function: check_latest_schemas
+#
+### Description
+# The `check_latest_schemas` function checks if the downloaded Flux OpenAPI schemas are the latest available version. It compares the version tag of the currently downloaded schemas with the latest version available on GitHub.
+#
+### Usage
+# ```bash
+# check_latest_schemas
+
+check_latest_schemas() {
+  local latest_version
+  latest_version=$(curl -sL $LATEST_VERSION_URL | grep '"tag_name":' | sed -E 's/.*"([^"]+)".*/\1/')
+  if [[ -f "$LATEST_VERSION_FILE" ]]; then
+    local current_version
+    current_version=$(cat "$LATEST_VERSION_FILE")
+    if [[ "$latest_version" == "$current_version" ]]; then
+      [[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && echo -e "${CYAN}INFO${NC} - Flux OpenAPI schemas are already up-to-date."
+      return 0
+    fi
+  fi
+  return 1
+}
+
+print_initialization() {
+  echo "----------------------------------"
+  if [ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]; then
+    echo -e "# ${MAGENTA}Running validation checks in Debug mode${NC}   "
+  else
+    echo -e "# ${MAGENTA}Running validation checks in Regular mode${NC} "
+  fi
+  echo -e "----------------------------------"
+}
+
+print_summary() {
+
+  echo -e "----------------------------------"
+  echo -e "# ${YELLOW}Validation Summary${NC}             "
+  echo -e "Total YAML files validated: ${CYAN}$numberOfFilesChanged${NC}"
+  echo -e "Validated Clusters: ${CYAN}$numberOfClusterFilesChanged${NC}"
+  echo -e "Validated Kustomizations: ${CYAN}$numberOfKsFilesChanged${NC}"
+  if [[ ! $numberOfClustersChecksFailed -eq 0 || ! $numberOfKsChecksFailed -eq 0 ]]; then
+    echo -e "-------------------------"
+    echo -e "Failed Clusters validation checks: ${RED}$numberOfClustersChecksFailed${NC}"
+    echo -e "Failed Kustomizations checks: ${RED}$numberOfKsChecksFailed${NC}"
+    echo "----------------------------------"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  echo "----------------------------------"
+}
+
+## Function: validate_files
+#
+### Description
+# The `validate_files` function is a Bash script that identifies and validates YAML files that have been modified and staged for commit in a Git repository.
+# It uses the `yq` tool to check the syntax of each file.
+#
+### Usage
+# ```bash
+# validate_files
+
+validate_files() {
+  mapfile -t fileList < <(get_git_diff_files "./" ".*\.ya\?ml$")
+  if [ ${#fileList[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo "No files to validate"
+    exit 0
+  fi
+  echo -n "VALIDATING YAML FILES ..." # validates the yaml convention,
+  [[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && echo -e "\n----------------------------------\n${YELLOW}Files changed:${NC}"
+  for file in "${fileList[@]}"; do
+    [[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && echo "$file"
+    [[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && echo -e "${CYAN}INFO${NC} - Validating $file"
+    yq e 'true' "$file" >/dev/null
+    ((++numberOfFilesChanged))
+  done
+  echo -e "[ ${GREEN}Done${NC} ]"
+}
+
+## Function: validate_clusters
+#
+### Description
+# The `validate_clusters` function is a Bash script that validates YAML files related to clusters that have been modified and staged for commit in a Git repository.
+# It uses the `kubeconform` tool to perform validation on these files.
+#
+### Usage
+# ```bash
+# validate_clusters
+
+validate_clusters() {
+
+  echo -n "VALIDATING CLUSTERS ..."
+  [[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && echo -e "\n${CYAN}INFO${NC} - Validating clusters"
+  mapfile -t clusterList < <(get_git_diff_files "./clusters" ".*\.ya\?ml$")
+  for file in "${clusterList[@]}"; do
+    local failed_checks
+    [[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && echo -e "${CYAN}INFO${NC} - Validating ${file}"
+    kubeconform "${kubeconform_flags[@]}" "${kubeconform_config[@]}" "${file}" || ((failed_checks = 1))
+
+    if [[ ! $failed_checks -eq 0 ]]; then
+      handle_error "kubeconform checks failed for: ${file}"
+      ((++numberOfClustersChecksFailed))
+    else
+      ((++numberOfClusterFilesChanged))
+    fi
+  done
+  if [[ $numberOfClustersChecksFailed -eq 0 ]]; then
+    echo -e "[ ${GREEN}Done${NC} ]"
+  else
+    echo -e "[ ${RED}Failed${NC} ]"
+  fi
+}
+
+## Function: validate_kustomize
+#
+### Description
+# The `validate_kustomize` function is a Bash script that identifies and validates kustomize overlays that have been modified and staged for commit in a Git repository.
+# It uses the `kustomize` and `kubeconform` tools to perform validation on these overlays.
+#
+### Usage
+# ```bash
+# validate_kustomize
+
+validate_kustomize() {
+  echo -n "VALIDATING KUSTOMIZE ..."
+  [[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && echo -e "\n${CYAN}INFO${NC} - Validating kustomize overlays"
+  mapfile -t kustomizeList < <(get_git_diff_files "./" "$kustomize_config")
+  for file in "${kustomizeList[@]}"; do
+    local failed_checks=0
+    if [[ "$file" == *"$kustomize_config" ]]; then
+      [[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && echo -e "${CYAN}INFO${NC} - Validating kustomization ${file/%$kustomize_config/}"
+      kustomize build "${file/%$kustomize_config/}" "${kustomize_flags[@]}" | kubeconform "${kubeconform_flags[@]}" "${kubeconform_config[@]}" || ((failed_checks = 1))
+
+      # if [[ ${PIPESTATUS[0]} != 0 ]]; then
+      if [[ ! $failed_checks -eq 0 ]]; then
+        handle_error "kustomize checks failed for: ${file}"
+        ((++numberOfKsChecksFailed))
+      else
+        ((++numberOfKsFilesChanged))
+      fi
+    fi
+  done
+
+  if [[ $numberOfKsChecksFailed -eq 0 ]]; then
+    echo -e "[ ${GREEN}Done${NC} ]"
+  else
+    echo -e "[ ${RED}Failed${NC} ]"
+  fi
+}
+
+check_package "yq"
+check_package "kustomize"
+check_package "kubeconform"
+
 set -o errexit
 set -o pipefail
 
@@ -33,34 +327,48 @@ kustomize_config="kustomization.yaml"
 
 # skip Kubernetes Secrets due to SOPS fields failing validation
 kubeconform_flags=("-skip=Secret")
-kubeconform_config=("-strict" "-ignore-missing-schemas" "-schema-location" "default" "-schema-location" "/tmp/flux-crd-schemas" "-verbose")
+kubeconform_config=("-strict" "-ignore-missing-schemas" "-schema-location" "default" "-schema-location" "/tmp/flux-crd-schemas")
+[[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && kubeconform_config+=("-verbose")
 
-echo "INFO - Downloading Flux OpenAPI schemas"
-mkdir -p /tmp/flux-crd-schemas/master-standalone-strict
-curl -sL https://github.com/fluxcd/flux2/releases/latest/download/crd-schemas.tar.gz | tar zxf - -C /tmp/flux-crd-schemas/master-standalone-strict
+# Define the directory and file paths
+SCHEMA_DIR="/tmp/flux-crd-schemas/master-standalone-strict"
+SCHEMA_TAR="$SCHEMA_DIR/crd-schemas.tar.gz"
+LATEST_VERSION_URL="https://api.github.com/repos/fluxcd/flux2/releases/latest"
+LATEST_VERSION_FILE="$SCHEMA_DIR/latest_version"
 
-find . -type f -name '*.yaml' -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d $'\0' file;
-  do
-    echo "INFO - Validating $file"
-    yq e 'true' "$file" > /dev/null
-done
+# Check if the directory exists and contains the schema files
+if [[ -d "$SCHEMA_DIR" && $(ls -A "$SCHEMA_DIR" 2>/dev/null) ]] && check_latest_schemas; then
+  [[ $DEBUG -eq 1 ]] && echo -e "${CYAN}INFO${NC} - Flux OpenAPI schemas are already cached."
+else
+  download_schemas
+fi
 
-echo "INFO - Validating clusters"
-find ./clusters -maxdepth 2 -type f -name '*.yaml' -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d $'\0' file;
-  do
-    kubeconform "${kubeconform_flags[@]}" "${kubeconform_config[@]}" "${file}"
-    if [[ ${PIPESTATUS[0]} != 0 ]]; then
-      exit 1
-    fi
-done
+print_initialization
 
-echo "INFO - Validating kustomize overlays"
-find . -type f -name $kustomize_config -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d $'\0' file;
-  do
-    echo "INFO - Validating kustomization ${file/%$kustomize_config}"
-    kustomize build "${file/%$kustomize_config}" "${kustomize_flags[@]}" | \
-      kubeconform "${kubeconform_flags[@]}" "${kubeconform_config[@]}"
-    if [[ ${PIPESTATUS[0]} != 0 ]]; then
+# Run validations based on user input
+if [[ ${#validate_options[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
+  validate_files
+  validate_clusters
+  validate_kustomize
+else
+  for option in "${validate_options[@]}"; do
+    case $option in
+    files)
+      validate_files
+      ;;
+    clusters)
+      validate_clusters
+      ;;
+    kustomize)
+      validate_kustomize
+      ;;
+    *)
+      echo "Unknown validation option: $option"
+      show_help
       exit 1
-    fi
-done
\ No newline at end of file
+      ;;
+    esac
+  done
+fi
+
+print_summary