diff --git a/arch/sandbox/cpu/os.c b/arch/sandbox/cpu/os.c
index cb469e0..36637af 100644
--- a/arch/sandbox/cpu/os.c
+++ b/arch/sandbox/cpu/os.c
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
+#include <getopt.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <termios.h>
 #include <time.h>
@@ -31,6 +32,9 @@
 #include <sys/types.h>
 #include <linux/types.h>
 
+#include <asm/getopt.h>
+#include <asm/sections.h>
+#include <asm/state.h>
 #include <os.h>
 
 /* Operating System Interface */
@@ -155,3 +159,97 @@
 	return tv.tv_sec * 1000000000ULL + tv.tv_usec * 1000;
 #endif
 }
+
+static char *short_opts;
+static struct option *long_opts;
+
+int os_parse_args(struct sandbox_state *state, int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+	struct sb_cmdline_option **sb_opt = __u_boot_sandbox_option_start;
+	size_t num_options = __u_boot_sandbox_option_count();
+	size_t i;
+
+	int hidden_short_opt;
+	size_t si;
+
+	int c;
+
+	if (short_opts || long_opts)
+		return 1;
+
+	state->argc = argc;
+	state->argv = argv;
+
+	/* dynamically construct the arguments to the system getopt_long */
+	short_opts = os_malloc(sizeof(*short_opts) * num_options * 2 + 1);
+	long_opts = os_malloc(sizeof(*long_opts) * num_options);
+	if (!short_opts || !long_opts)
+		return 1;
+
+	/*
+	 * getopt_long requires "val" to be unique (since that is what the
+	 * func returns), so generate unique values automatically for flags
+	 * that don't have a short option.  pick 0x100 as that is above the
+	 * single byte range (where ASCII/ISO-XXXX-X charsets live).
+	 */
+	hidden_short_opt = 0x100;
+	si = 0;
+	for (i = 0; i < num_options; ++i) {
+		long_opts[i].name = sb_opt[i]->flag;
+		long_opts[i].has_arg = sb_opt[i]->has_arg ?
+			required_argument : no_argument;
+		long_opts[i].flag = NULL;
+
+		if (sb_opt[i]->flag_short) {
+			short_opts[si++] = long_opts[i].val = sb_opt[i]->flag_short;
+			if (long_opts[i].has_arg == required_argument)
+				short_opts[si++] = ':';
+		} else
+			long_opts[i].val = sb_opt[i]->flag_short = hidden_short_opt++;
+	}
+	short_opts[si] = '\0';
+
+	/* we need to handle output ourselves since u-boot provides printf */
+	opterr = 0;
+
+	/*
+	 * walk all of the options the user gave us on the command line,
+	 * figure out what u-boot option structure they belong to (via
+	 * the unique short val key), and call the appropriate callback.
+	 */
+	while ((c = getopt_long(argc, argv, short_opts, long_opts, NULL)) != -1) {
+		for (i = 0; i < num_options; ++i) {
+			if (sb_opt[i]->flag_short == c) {
+				if (sb_opt[i]->callback(state, optarg)) {
+					state->parse_err = sb_opt[i]->flag;
+					return 0;
+				}
+				break;
+			}
+		}
+		if (i == num_options) {
+			/*
+			 * store the faulting flag for later display.  we have to
+			 * store the flag itself as the getopt parsing itself is
+			 * tricky: need to handle the following flags (assume all
+			 * of the below are unknown):
+			 *   -a        optopt='a' optind=<next>
+			 *   -abbbb    optopt='a' optind=<this>
+			 *   -aaaaa    optopt='a' optind=<this>
+			 *   --a       optopt=0   optind=<this>
+			 * as you can see, it is impossible to determine the exact
+			 * faulting flag without doing the parsing ourselves, so
+			 * we just report the specific flag that failed.
+			 */
+			if (optopt) {
+				static char parse_err[3] = { '-', 0, '\0', };
+				parse_err[1] = optopt;
+				state->parse_err = parse_err;
+			} else
+				state->parse_err = argv[optind - 1];
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/arch/sandbox/cpu/start.c b/arch/sandbox/cpu/start.c
index 4a84486..6c3e8eb 100644
--- a/arch/sandbox/cpu/start.c
+++ b/arch/sandbox/cpu/start.c
@@ -20,21 +20,109 @@
  */
 
 #include <common.h>
+#include <asm/getopt.h>
+#include <asm/sections.h>
 #include <asm/state.h>
 
+#include <os.h>
+
+int sandbox_early_getopt_check(void)
+{
+	struct sandbox_state *state = state_get_current();
+	struct sb_cmdline_option **sb_opt = __u_boot_sandbox_option_start;
+	size_t num_options = __u_boot_sandbox_option_count();
+	size_t i;
+	int max_arg_len, max_noarg_len;
+
+	/* parse_err will be a string of the faulting option */
+	if (!state->parse_err)
+		return 0;
+
+	if (strcmp(state->parse_err, "help")) {
+		printf("u-boot: error: failed while parsing option: %s\n"
+			"\ttry running with --help for more information.\n",
+			state->parse_err);
+		os_exit(1);
+	}
+
+	printf(
+		"u-boot, a command line test interface to U-Boot\n\n"
+		"Usage: u-boot [options]\n"
+		"Options:\n");
+
+	max_arg_len = 0;
+	for (i = 0; i < num_options; ++i)
+		max_arg_len = max(strlen(sb_opt[i]->flag), max_arg_len);
+	max_noarg_len = max_arg_len + 7;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < num_options; ++i) {
+		struct sb_cmdline_option *opt = sb_opt[i];
+
+		/* first output the short flag if it has one */
+		if (opt->flag_short >= 0x100)
+			printf("      ");
+		else
+			printf("  -%c, ", opt->flag_short);
+
+		/* then the long flag */
+		if (opt->has_arg)
+			printf("--%-*s", max_noarg_len, opt->flag);
+		else
+			printf("--%-*s <arg> ", max_arg_len, opt->flag);
+
+		/* finally the help text */
+		printf("  %s\n", opt->help);
+	}
+
+	os_exit(0);
+}
+
+static int sb_cmdline_cb_help(struct sandbox_state *state, const char *arg)
+{
+	/* just flag to sandbox_early_getopt_check to show usage */
+	return 1;
+}
+SB_CMDLINE_OPT_SHORT(help, 'h', 0, "Display help");
+
 int sandbox_main_loop_init(void)
 {
+	struct sandbox_state *state = state_get_current();
+
+	/* Execute command if required */
+	if (state->cmd) {
+		/* TODO: redo this when cmd tidy-up series lands */
+#ifdef CONFIG_SYS_HUSH_PARSER
+		run_command(state->cmd, 0);
+#else
+		parse_string_outer(state->cmd, FLAG_PARSE_SEMICOLON |
+				    FLAG_EXIT_FROM_LOOP);
+#endif
+		os_exit(state->exit_type);
+	}
+
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static int sb_cmdline_cb_command(struct sandbox_state *state, const char *arg)
+{
+	state->cmd = arg;
+	return 0;
+}
+SB_CMDLINE_OPT_SHORT(command, 'c', 1, "Execute U-Boot command");
+
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
+	struct sandbox_state *state;
 	int err;
 
 	err = state_init();
 	if (err)
 		return err;
 
+	state = state_get_current();
+	if (os_parse_args(state, argc, argv))
+		return 1;
+
 	/*
 	 * Do pre- and post-relocation init, then start up U-Boot. This will
 	 * never return.
diff --git a/arch/sandbox/cpu/u-boot.lds b/arch/sandbox/cpu/u-boot.lds
index 0c56aa7..9960138 100644
--- a/arch/sandbox/cpu/u-boot.lds
+++ b/arch/sandbox/cpu/u-boot.lds
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@
 	_u_boot_cmd : { *(.u_boot_cmd) }
 	__u_boot_cmd_end = .;
 
+	__u_boot_sandbox_option_start = .;
+	_u_boot_sandbox_getopt : { *(.u_boot_sandbox_getopt) }
+	__u_boot_sandbox_option_end = .;
+
 	__bss_start = .;
 }
 
diff --git a/arch/sandbox/include/asm/getopt.h b/arch/sandbox/include/asm/getopt.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..685883c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/arch/sandbox/include/asm/getopt.h
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+/*
+ * Code for setting up command line flags like `./u-boot --help`
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2011 The Chromium OS Authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the GPL-2 or later.
+ */
+
+#ifndef __SANDBOX_GETOPT_H
+#define __SANDBOX_GETOPT_H
+
+struct sandbox_state;
+
+/*
+ * Internal structure for storing details about the flag.
+ * Most people should not have to dig around in this as
+ * it only gets parsed by the core sandbox code.  End
+ * consumer code should focus on the macros below and
+ * the callback function.
+ */
+struct sb_cmdline_option {
+	/* The long flag name: "help" for "--help" */
+	const char *flag;
+	/* The (optional) short flag name: "h" for "-h" */
+	int flag_short;
+	/* The help string shown to the user when processing --help */
+	const char *help;
+	/* Whether this flag takes an argument */
+	int has_arg;
+	/* Callback into the end consumer code with the option */
+	int (*callback)(struct sandbox_state *state, const char *opt);
+};
+
+/*
+ * Internal macro to expand the lower macros into the necessary
+ * magic junk that makes this all work.
+ */
+#define _SB_CMDLINE_OPT(f, s, ha, h) \
+	static struct sb_cmdline_option sb_cmdline_option_##f = { \
+		.flag = #f, \
+		.flag_short = s, \
+		.help = h, \
+		.has_arg = ha, \
+		.callback = sb_cmdline_cb_##f, \
+	}; \
+	/* Ppointer to the struct in a special section for the linker script */ \
+	static __attribute__((section(".u_boot_sandbox_getopt"), used)) \
+		struct sb_cmdline_option *sb_cmdline_option_##f##_ptr = \
+		&sb_cmdline_option_##f
+
+/**
+ * Macros for end code to declare new command line flags.
+ *
+ * @param f   The long flag name e.g. help
+ * @param ha  Does the flag have an argument e.g. 0/1
+ * @param h   The help string displayed when showing --help
+ *
+ * This invocation:
+ *   SB_CMDLINE_OPT(foo, 0, "The foo arg");
+ * Will create a new flag named "--foo" (no short option) that takes
+ * no argument.  If the user specifies "--foo", then the callback func
+ * sb_cmdline_cb_foo() will automatically be called.
+ */
+#define SB_CMDLINE_OPT(f, ha, h) _SB_CMDLINE_OPT(f, 0, ha, h)
+/*
+ * Same as above, but @s is used to specify a short flag e.g.
+ *   SB_CMDLINE_OPT(foo, 'f', 0, "The foo arg");
+ */
+#define SB_CMDLINE_OPT_SHORT(f, s, ha, h) _SB_CMDLINE_OPT(f, s, ha, h)
+
+#endif
diff --git a/arch/sandbox/include/asm/sections.h b/arch/sandbox/include/asm/sections.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eafce7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/arch/sandbox/include/asm/sections.h
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/*
+ * decls for symbols defined in the linker script
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2012 The Chromium OS Authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the GPL-2 or later.
+ */
+
+#ifndef __SANDBOX_SECTIONS_H
+#define __SANDBOX_SECTIONS_H
+
+struct sb_cmdline_option;
+
+extern struct sb_cmdline_option *__u_boot_sandbox_option_start[],
+	*__u_boot_sandbox_option_end[];
+
+static inline size_t __u_boot_sandbox_option_count(void)
+{
+	return __u_boot_sandbox_option_end - __u_boot_sandbox_option_start;
+}
+
+#endif
diff --git a/arch/sandbox/include/asm/state.h b/arch/sandbox/include/asm/state.h
index 5b34e94..2b62b46 100644
--- a/arch/sandbox/include/asm/state.h
+++ b/arch/sandbox/include/asm/state.h
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@
 #ifndef __SANDBOX_STATE_H
 #define __SANDBOX_STATE_H
 
+#include <config.h>
+
 /* How we exited U-Boot */
 enum exit_type_id {
 	STATE_EXIT_NORMAL,
@@ -33,6 +35,9 @@
 struct sandbox_state {
 	const char *cmd;		/* Command to execute */
 	enum exit_type_id exit_type;	/* How we exited U-Boot */
+	const char *parse_err;		/* Error to report from parsing */
+	int argc;			/* Program arguments */
+	char **argv;
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/arch/sandbox/include/asm/u-boot-sandbox.h b/arch/sandbox/include/asm/u-boot-sandbox.h
index 99e950b..50bf8c6 100644
--- a/arch/sandbox/include/asm/u-boot-sandbox.h
+++ b/arch/sandbox/include/asm/u-boot-sandbox.h
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 int dram_init(void);
 
 /* start.c */
+int sandbox_early_getopt_check(void);
 int sandbox_main_loop_init(void);
 
 #endif	/* _U_BOOT_SANDBOX_H_ */
diff --git a/arch/sandbox/lib/board.c b/arch/sandbox/lib/board.c
index 25a8d02..306d1ec 100644
--- a/arch/sandbox/lib/board.c
+++ b/arch/sandbox/lib/board.c
@@ -134,6 +134,7 @@
 	env_init,		/* initialize environment */
 	serial_init,		/* serial communications setup */
 	console_init_f,		/* stage 1 init of console */
+	sandbox_early_getopt_check,	/* process command line flags (err/help) */
 	display_banner,		/* say that we are here */
 #if defined(CONFIG_DISPLAY_CPUINFO)
 	print_cpuinfo,		/* display cpu info (and speed) */