diff --git a/engine-cli/src/main/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLI.java b/engine-cli/src/main/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLI.java
index 7b14d20e5..6544bc6e0 100644
--- a/engine-cli/src/main/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLI.java
+++ b/engine-cli/src/main/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLI.java
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ public class NBCLI implements Function<String[], Integer>, NBLabeledElement {
             annotatorsConfig = gson.toJson(annotatorsConfigs);
         }
 
-        final NBCLIOptions options = new NBCLIOptions(args);
+        final NBCLIOptions options = new NBCLIOptions(args,Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         NBCLI.logger = LogManager.getLogger("NBCLI");
 
         NBIO.addGlobalIncludes(options.wantsIncludes());
diff --git a/engine-cli/src/main/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIOptions.java b/engine-cli/src/main/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIOptions.java
index d584c0c52..ee9a76385 100644
--- a/engine-cli/src/main/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIOptions.java
+++ b/engine-cli/src/main/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIOptions.java
@@ -279,10 +279,6 @@ public class NBCLIOptions {
         ParseAllOptions
     }
 
-    public NBCLIOptions(final String[] args) {
-        this(args, Mode.ParseAllOptions);
-    }
-
     public NBCLIOptions(final String[] args, final Mode mode) {
         switch (mode) {
             case ParseGlobalsOnly:
@@ -306,8 +302,8 @@ public class NBCLIOptions {
 
         // Process --include and --statedir, separately first
         // regardless of position
-        LinkedList<String> nonincludes = new LinkedList<>();
-        while (null != arglist.peekFirst()) {
+        LinkedList<String> everythingButIncludes = new LinkedList<>();
+        while (!arglist.isEmpty()) {
             final String word = arglist.peekFirst();
             if (word.startsWith("--") && word.contains("=")) {
                 final String wordToSplit = arglist.removeFirst();
@@ -328,13 +324,13 @@ public class NBCLIOptions {
                     this.wantsToIncludePaths.add(include);
                     break;
                 default:
-                    nonincludes.addLast(arglist.removeFirst());
+                    everythingButIncludes.addLast(arglist.removeFirst());
             }
         }
         this.statepath = NBStatePath.initialize(statedirs);
 
-        arglist = nonincludes;
-        nonincludes = new LinkedList<>();
+        arglist = everythingButIncludes;
+        everythingButIncludes = new LinkedList<>();
 
         // Now that statdirs is settled, auto load argsfile if it is present
         final NBCLIArgsFile argsfile = new NBCLIArgsFile();
@@ -507,11 +503,11 @@ public class NBCLIOptions {
                     this.metricsLabelSpec = this.readWordOrThrow(arglist, "labels validator specification for metric labels");
                     break;
                 default:
-                    nonincludes.addLast(arglist.removeFirst());
+                    everythingButIncludes.addLast(arglist.removeFirst());
             }
         }
 
-        return nonincludes;
+        return everythingButIncludes;
     }
 
     private void setLabels(String labeldata) {
@@ -674,10 +670,16 @@ public class NBCLIOptions {
 
                 You can discover available ways to invoke PROG by using the various --list-* commands:
                 [ --list-commands, --list-scripts, --list-workloads (and --list-scenarios), --list-apps ]
+
+                After parsing all global options out of the command line, the remaining commands were found,
+                and mapped to valid options as describe above. This command stream was:
+                COMMANDSTREAM
                 """
                 .replaceAll("ARG", cmdParam)
                 .replaceAll("PROG", "nb5")
-                .replaceAll("INCLUDES", String.join(",", wantsIncludes()));
+                .replaceAll("INCLUDES", String.join(",", wantsIncludes()))
+                .replaceAll("COMMANDSTREAM",
+                    String.join(" ",arglist));
             throw new BasicError(helpmsg);
 
         }
diff --git a/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/BasicScriptBufferTest.java b/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/BasicScriptBufferTest.java
index 8569f3d92..22ecae70e 100644
--- a/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/BasicScriptBufferTest.java
+++ b/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/BasicScriptBufferTest.java
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ public class BasicScriptBufferTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testScriptInterpolation() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"script", "path=script_to_interpolate", "parameter1=replaced"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"script", "path=script_to_interpolate", "parameter1=replaced"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
 
         BasicScriptBuffer b = new BasicScriptBuffer();
         b.add(opts.getCommands().toArray(new Cmd[0]));
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public class BasicScriptBufferTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testAutoScriptCommand() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "script","path=acommand" });
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "script","path=acommand" }, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         BasicScriptBuffer b = new BasicScriptBuffer();
         b.add(opts.getCommands().toArray(new Cmd[0]));
         String s = b.getParsedScript();
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ public class BasicScriptBufferTest {
         NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[] {
             "script",
             "path=testscripts/printscript.js",
-            "param1=value1"
-        });
+            "param1=value1",
+        }, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         BasicScriptBuffer b = new BasicScriptBuffer();
         b.add(opts.getCommands().toArray(new Cmd[0]));
         String script = b.getParsedScript();
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ public class BasicScriptBufferTest {
             "path=testscripts/printparam.js",
             "paramname=another",
             "param2=andanother"
-        });
+        }, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         BasicScriptBuffer b = new BasicScriptBuffer();
         b.add(opts.getCommands().toArray(new Cmd[0]));
         String script = b.getParsedScript();
@@ -84,6 +84,6 @@ public class BasicScriptBufferTest {
     @Test
     public void shouldThrowErrorForInvalidWaitMillisOperand() {
         assertThatExceptionOfType(NumberFormatException.class)
-                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "waitmillis", "ms=noway" }));
+                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "waitmillis", "ms=noway" }, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions));
     }
 }
diff --git a/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTemplateVarTest.java b/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTemplateVarTest.java
index b9dc21ccf..95ac26821 100644
--- a/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTemplateVarTest.java
+++ b/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTemplateVarTest.java
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTemplateVarTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testMultipleOccurencesOfSameTemplateVar() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "local/example_scenarios_templatevars" });
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "local/example_scenarios_templatevars" }, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         cmds.forEach(System.out::println);
 
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTemplateVarTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testThatCLIOverridesWorkForTemplateVars() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "local/example_scenarios_templatevars", "tvar1=overridden" });
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "local/example_scenarios_templatevars", "tvar1=overridden" }, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         cmds.forEach(System.out::println);
 
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTemplateVarTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testThatAdditionalCLIParamIsAdded() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"local/example_scenarios_templatevars", "tvar3=tval3"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"local/example_scenarios_templatevars", "tvar3=tval3"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         cmds.forEach(System.out::println);
         assertThat(cmds).hasSize(2);
diff --git a/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest.java b/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest.java
index 11cd593e1..2715dfa23 100644
--- a/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest.java
+++ b/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest.java
@@ -33,39 +33,39 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest {
 
     @Test
     public void providePathForScenario() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"local/example_scenarios"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"local/example_scenarios"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
     }
 
     @Test
     public void defaultScenario() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
     }
 
     @Test
     public void defaultScenarioWithParams() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "cycles=100"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "cycles=100"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds.get(0).getArgValue("cycles")).isEqualTo("100");
     }
 
     @Test
     public void namedScenario() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "schema_only"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "schema_only"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
     }
 
     @Test
     public void namedScenarioWithParams() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "schema_only", "cycles=100"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "schema_only", "cycles=100"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds.get(0).getArgValue("cycles")).containsOnlyOnce("100");
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testThatSilentFinalParametersPersist() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "type=foo"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "type=foo"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds.get(0).getArgValue("driver")).isEqualTo("stdout");
     }
@@ -73,25 +73,25 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest {
     @Test
     public void testThatVerboseFinalParameterThrowsError() {
         assertThatExceptionOfType(BasicError.class)
-            .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "workload=canttouchthis"}));
+            .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "workload=canttouchthis"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions));
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testThatMissingScenarioNameThrowsError() {
         assertThatExceptionOfType(BasicError.class)
-            .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "missing_scenario"}));
+            .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "missing_scenario"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions));
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testThatMultipleScenariosConcatenate() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "default", "default"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "default", "default"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds.size()).isEqualTo(6);
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testThatTemplatesAreExpandedDefault() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "template_test"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "template_test"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds.size()).isEqualTo(1);
         assertThat(cmds.get(0).getArgValue("driver")).isEqualTo("stdout");
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testThatTemplateParamsAreExpandedAndNotRemovedOverride() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "template_test", "cycles-test=20"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "template_test", "cycles-test=20"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds.size()).isEqualTo(1);
         assertThat(cmds.get(0).getArgMap()).isEqualTo(Map.of(
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testThatUndefValuesAreUndefined() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "schema_only", "cycles-test=20"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "schema_only", "cycles-test=20"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds.size()).isEqualTo(1);
         assertThat(cmds.get(0).getArgMap()).isEqualTo(Map.of(
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest {
             "tags", "block:\"schema.*\"",
             "workload", "scenario_test"
         ));
-        NBCLIOptions opts1 = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "schema_only", "doundef=20"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts1 = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "schema_only", "doundef=20"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds1 = opts1.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds1.size()).isEqualTo(1);
         assertThat(cmds1.get(0).getArgValueOrNull("cycles-test")).isNull();
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest {
         Path absolute = rel.toAbsolutePath();
         assertThat(absolute).exists();
 
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{absolute.toString(), "schema_only", "cycles-test=20"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{absolute.toString(), "schema_only", "cycles-test=20"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds.size()).isGreaterThan(0);
     }
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest {
         //TODO: This might change?
         String urlScenario = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nosqlbench/nosqlbench/main/engine-cli/src/test/resources/activities/scenario_test.yaml";
 
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{urlScenario, "schema_only", "cycles-test=20"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{urlScenario, "schema_only", "cycles-test=20"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds.size()).isGreaterThan(0);
     }
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest {
 
     @Test
     public void testSubStepSelection() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "schema_only", "cycles-test=20"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"scenario_test", "schema_only", "cycles-test=20"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds = opts.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds.size()).isEqualTo(1);
         assertThat(cmds.get(0).getArgMap()).isEqualTo(Map.of(
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ public class NBCLIScenarioPreprocessorTest {
             "tags", "block:\"schema.*\"",
             "workload", "scenario_test"
         ));
-        NBCLIOptions opts1 = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"local/example_scenarios", "namedsteps.one", "testparam1=testvalue2"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts1 = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"local/example_scenarios", "namedsteps.one", "testparam1=testvalue2"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> cmds1 = opts1.getCommands();
         assertThat(cmds1.size()).isEqualTo(1);
         assertThat(cmds1.get(0).getArgValueOrNull("cycles_test")).isNull();
diff --git a/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/TestNBCLIOptions.java b/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/TestNBCLIOptions.java
index ab37ede4f..1ecac7f4e 100644
--- a/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/TestNBCLIOptions.java
+++ b/engine-cli/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/engine/cli/TestNBCLIOptions.java
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ public class TestNBCLIOptions {
 
     @Test
     public void shouldRecognizeActivities() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"start", "foo=wan", "start", "bar=lan"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"start", "foo=wan", "start", "bar=lan"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.getCommands()).isNotNull();
         assertThat(opts.getCommands().size()).isEqualTo(2);
 //        assertThat(opts.getCommands().get(0).getArgs()).containsEntry("foo","wan");
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ public class TestNBCLIOptions {
     @Test
     public void shouldParseLongActivityForm() {
         NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"start", "param1=param2", "param3=param4",
-                                                          "--report-graphite-to", "woot", "--report-interval", "23"});
+                                                          "--report-graphite-to", "woot", "--report-interval", "23"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.getCommands().size()).isEqualTo(1);
 //        assertThat(opts.getCommands().get(0).getArgs()).containsEntry("param1","param2");
 //        assertThat(opts.getCommands().get(0).getArgs()).containsEntry("param3","param4");
@@ -56,21 +56,21 @@ public class TestNBCLIOptions {
 
     @Test
     public void shouldRecognizeShortVersion() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--version"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--version"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.isWantsVersionShort()).isTrue();
         assertThat(opts.wantsVersionCoords()).isFalse();
     }
 
     @Test
     public void shouldRecognizeVersion() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--version-coords"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--version-coords"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.isWantsVersionShort()).isFalse();
         assertThat(opts.wantsVersionCoords()).isTrue();
     }
 
     @Test
     public void shouldRecognizeScripts() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"script", "path=ascriptaone", "script", "path=ascriptatwo"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"script", "path=ascriptaone", "script", "path=ascriptatwo"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.getCommands()).isNotNull();
         assertThat(opts.getCommands().size()).isEqualTo(2);
         assertThat(opts.getCommands().get(0).getCmdType()).isEqualTo(CmdType.script);
@@ -81,41 +81,41 @@ public class TestNBCLIOptions {
 
     @Test
     public void shouldRecognizeWantsActivityTypes() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--list-activity-types"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--list-activity-types"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.wantsActivityTypes()).isTrue();
-        opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--version"});
+        opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--version"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.wantsActivityTypes()).isFalse();
-        opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--list-drivers"});
+        opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--list-drivers"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.wantsActivityTypes()).isTrue();
 
     }
 
     @Test
     public void shouldRecognizeWantsBasicHelp() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--help"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--help"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.wantsBasicHelp()).isTrue();
-        opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--version"});
+        opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--version"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.wantsTopicalHelp()).isFalse();
     }
 
     @Test
     public void shouldRecognizeWantsActivityHelp() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--help", "foo"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--help", "foo"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.wantsTopicalHelp()).isTrue();
         assertThat(opts.wantsTopicalHelpFor()).isEqualTo("foo");
-        opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--version"});
+        opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"--version"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.wantsTopicalHelp()).isFalse();
     }
 
     @Test
     public void shouldErrorSanelyWhenNoMatch() {
         assertThatExceptionOfType(IllegalArgumentException.class)
-                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"unrecognizable command"}));
+                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"unrecognizable command"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions));
     }
 
     @Test
     public void testShouldRecognizeScriptParams() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"script", "path=ascript", "param1=value1"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"script", "path=ascript", "param1=value1"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.getCommands().size()).isEqualTo(1);
         Cmd cmd = opts.getCommands().get(0);
         assertThat(cmd.getArgs().size()).isEqualTo(2);
@@ -127,14 +127,14 @@ public class TestNBCLIOptions {
     @Test
     public void testShouldErrorSanelyWhenScriptNameSkipped() {
         assertThatExceptionOfType(InvalidParameterException.class)
-                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"script", "param1=value1"}));
+                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"script", "param1=value1"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions));
     }
 
     @Disabled("semantic parsing is deferred until later")
     @Test
     public void testShouldErrorForMissingScriptName() {
         assertThatExceptionOfType(InvalidParameterException.class)
-                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"script"}));
+                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{"script"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions));
     }
 
 //    @Test
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ public class TestNBCLIOptions {
     @Test
     public void shouldThrowErrorForInvalidStopActivity() {
         assertThatExceptionOfType(InvalidParameterException.class)
-                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "stop", "woah=woah" }));
+                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "stop", "woah=woah" }, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions));
     }
 
 //    @Test
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ public class TestNBCLIOptions {
     @Test
     public void shouldThrowErrorForInvalidAwaitActivity() {
         assertThatExceptionOfType(InvalidParameterException.class)
-                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "await", "awaitme=notvalid" }));
+                .isThrownBy(() -> new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "await", "awaitme=notvalid" }, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions));
     }
 
 //    @Test
@@ -199,19 +199,19 @@ public class TestNBCLIOptions {
 
     @Test
     public void listWorkloads() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "--list-workloads"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "--list-workloads"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.wantsWorkloadsList()).isTrue();
     }
 
     @Test
     public void listScenarios() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "--list-scenarios"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "--list-scenarios"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.wantsScenariosList()).isTrue();
     }
 
     @Test
     public void listScripts() {
-        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "--list-scripts"});
+        NBCLIOptions opts = new NBCLIOptions(new String[]{ "--list-scripts"}, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         assertThat(opts.wantsListScripts()).isTrue();
     }
 
diff --git a/nbr-examples/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/nbr/examples/injavascript/ScenarioExampleTests.java b/nbr-examples/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/nbr/examples/injavascript/ScenarioExampleTests.java
index 8dbeee726..3a08dad86 100644
--- a/nbr-examples/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/nbr/examples/injavascript/ScenarioExampleTests.java
+++ b/nbr-examples/src/test/java/io/nosqlbench/nbr/examples/injavascript/ScenarioExampleTests.java
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ public class ScenarioExampleTests {
             throw new RuntimeException("Found [" + sources.size() +"] sources for '" + params[0] +"'");
         }
 
-        NBCLIOptions parser = new NBCLIOptions(params);
+        NBCLIOptions parser = new NBCLIOptions(params, NBCLIOptions.Mode.ParseAllOptions);
         List<Cmd> commands = parser.getCommands();
         var myroot = new TestComponent("test_"+params[0]);
         NBSession session = new NBSession(myroot,"session_"+params[0], Map.of());