diff --git a/src/eessi/cli/check.py b/src/eessi/cli/check.py
index 3eef1e3..6f37bd6 100644
--- a/src/eessi/cli/check.py
+++ b/src/eessi/cli/check.py
@@ -4,11 +4,22 @@
 
 import typer
 
+from eessi.cli.help import help_callback
+
 app = typer.Typer()
 
 
 @app.command()
-def check():
+def check(
+    help: bool = typer.Option(
+        None,  # default value
+        "-h",
+        "--help",
+        help="Show this message and exit.",
+        callback=help_callback,
+        is_eager=True,
+    ),
+):
     """
     Check CernVM-FS setup for accessing EESSI
     """
diff --git a/src/eessi/cli/help.py b/src/eessi/cli/help.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38b6f3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/eessi/cli/help.py
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# license (SPDX): GPL-2.0-only
+#
+# authors:
+# - Kenneth Hoste (Ghent University)
+# - Alex Domingo (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
+
+import click
+import typer
+from rich import print as rich_print
+from typer import rich_utils
+
+import eessi
+
+
+def help_callback(ctx: click.Context, param: click.Parameter, value: bool):
+    """
+    Show default help with rich and exit early.
+    """
+    # ensures this doesn't run during completion or other early parsing phases
+    if not value or ctx.resilient_parsing:
+        return
+
+    # print default help with rich
+    rich_utils.rich_format_help(obj=ctx.command, ctx=ctx, markup_mode="rich")
+    ctx.exit()
+
+def version_callback(value: bool):
+    """
+    Show version and exit early.
+    """
+    if value:
+        rich_print(f"[bold]eessi[/bold] version {eessi.__version__}")
+        raise typer.Exit()
+
diff --git a/src/eessi/cli/init.py b/src/eessi/cli/init.py
index 8f63dd0..ab5c279 100644
--- a/src/eessi/cli/init.py
+++ b/src/eessi/cli/init.py
@@ -4,13 +4,25 @@
 
 import os
 import sys
+
 import typer
 
+from eessi.cli.help import help_callback
+
 app = typer.Typer()
 
 
 @app.command()
-def init():
+def init(
+    help: bool = typer.Option(
+        None,  # default value
+        "-h",
+        "--help",
+        help="Show this message and exit.",
+        callback=help_callback,
+        is_eager=True,
+    ),
+):
     """
     Initialize shell environment for using EESSI
     """
diff --git a/src/eessi/cli/main.py b/src/eessi/cli/main.py
index c794be7..801ba01 100644
--- a/src/eessi/cli/main.py
+++ b/src/eessi/cli/main.py
@@ -1,40 +1,51 @@
 # license (SPDX): GPL-2.0-only
 #
-# authors: Kenneth Hoste (Ghent University)
+# authors:
+# - Kenneth Hoste (Ghent University)
+# - Alex Domingo (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
 
 import typer
 
-import eessi
 from eessi.cli.check import app as check_app
+from eessi.cli.help import help_callback, version_callback
 from eessi.cli.init import app as init_app
 from eessi.cli.shell import app as shell_app
 
 app = typer.Typer(
     help="User-friendly command line interface to EESSI - https://eessi.io",
-    context_settings={"help_option_names": ["-h", "--help"]},
+    # display help if no arguments given
     no_args_is_help=True,
+    # we use custom help option to control its placement
+    add_help_option=False,
 )
 
 app.add_typer(check_app)
 app.add_typer(init_app)
 app.add_typer(shell_app)
 
-def version_callback(value: bool):
-    if value:
-        print(f"eessi version {eessi.__version__}")
-        raise typer.Exit()
-
 
 @app.callback()
 def main(
+    help: bool = typer.Option(
+        None,  # default value
+        "-h",
+        "--help",
+        help="Show this message and exit.",
+        callback=help_callback,
+        is_eager=True,
+    ),
     version: bool = typer.Option(
         None,  # default value
-        "-v",  # short option
-        "--version",  # long option
-        help="Show version of eessi CLI",
+        "-v",
+        "--version",
+        help="Show version of eessi CLI.",
         callback=version_callback,
+        is_eager=True,
     ),
 ):
+    """
+    Top level eessi command
+    """
     pass
 
 
diff --git a/src/eessi/cli/shell.py b/src/eessi/cli/shell.py
index c8447b2..82be213 100644
--- a/src/eessi/cli/shell.py
+++ b/src/eessi/cli/shell.py
@@ -5,9 +5,12 @@
 import subprocess
 import sys
 import tempfile
+from typing import Annotated
+
 import typer
 from rich import print as rich_print
-from typing import Annotated
+
+from eessi.cli.help import help_callback
 
 app = typer.Typer()
 
@@ -24,7 +27,17 @@ def report_error(msg, exit_code: int = 1):
 
 @app.command()
 def shell(
-    eessi_version: Annotated[str, typer.Option(help="EESSI version")] = '',
+    help: bool = typer.Option(
+        None,  # default value
+        "-h",
+        "--help",
+        help="Show this message and exit.",
+        callback=help_callback,
+        is_eager=True,
+    ),
+    eessi_version: Annotated[str, typer.Option(
+        help="EESSI version"
+    )] = '',
 ):
     """
     Create subshell in which EESSI is available and initialised