diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cli.ts b/packages/cli/src/cli.ts
index ba2a8ee2d..a94d7b771 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cli.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cli.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ if (process.argv.includes("--version") || process.argv.includes("-V")) {
 // For --help we skip telemetry entirely.
 
 import { defineCommand, runMain } from "citty";
+import type { ArgsDef, CommandDef } from "citty";
 
 const isHelp = process.argv.includes("--help") || process.argv.includes("-h");
 
@@ -91,4 +92,13 @@ process.on("exit", () => {
   _flushSync?.();
 });
 
-runMain(main);
+// Lazy-load help renderer — avoids allocating help data on non-help invocations
+async function showUsage<T extends ArgsDef>(
+  cmd: CommandDef<T>,
+  parent?: CommandDef<T>,
+): Promise<void> {
+  const { showUsage: impl } = await import("./help.js");
+  return impl(cmd as CommandDef, parent as CommandDef | undefined);
+}
+
+runMain(main, { showUsage });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
index 471ca89bb..aed2cd4b6 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
@@ -428,13 +428,7 @@ async function scaffoldProject(
 export default defineCommand({
   meta: {
     name: "init",
-    description: `Scaffold a new composition project
-
-Examples:
-  hyperframes init my-video                            # interactive wizard
-  hyperframes init my-video --template warm-grain      # pick a template
-  hyperframes init my-video --video video.mp4          # with video file
-  hyperframes init my-video --non-interactive           # skip prompts (CI/agents)`,
+    description: "Scaffold a new composition project",
   },
   args: {
     name: { type: "positional", description: "Project name", required: false },
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/install-skills.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/install-skills.ts
index 89daf7699..377664435 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/install-skills.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/install-skills.ts
@@ -364,13 +364,7 @@ async function runInstall({ args }: { args: Record<string, unknown> }): Promise<
 export default defineCommand({
   meta: {
     name: "skills",
-    description: `Install HyperFrames and GSAP skills for AI coding tools
-
-Examples:
-  hyperframes skills                      # install to Claude, Gemini, Codex
-  hyperframes skills --claude             # install to Claude Code only
-  hyperframes skills --cursor             # install to Cursor (project-level)
-  hyperframes skills --claude --gemini    # install to specific tools`,
+    description: "Install HyperFrames and GSAP skills for AI coding tools",
   },
   args: {
     claude: { type: "boolean", description: "Install to Claude Code (~/.claude/skills/)" },
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/render.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/render.ts
index 4bc73211c..67acf563f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/render.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/render.ts
@@ -27,13 +27,7 @@ function defaultWorkerCount(): number {
 export default defineCommand({
   meta: {
     name: "render",
-    description: `Render a composition to MP4 or WebM
-
-Examples:
-  hyperframes render --output output.mp4
-  hyperframes render --format webm --output overlay.webm    # transparent WebM
-  hyperframes render --fps 60 --quality high --output hd.mp4
-  hyperframes render --docker --output deterministic.mp4`,
+    description: "Render a composition to MP4 or WebM",
   },
   args: {
     dir: {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/help.ts b/packages/cli/src/help.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a2440e845
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/help.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,216 @@
+/**
+ * Custom help renderer for the hyperframes CLI.
+ *
+ * Root-level: grouped command categories + examples.
+ * Subcommands: citty's standard USAGE/ARGUMENTS/OPTIONS + appended examples.
+ */
+import { renderUsage } from "citty";
+import type { CommandDef } from "citty";
+import { c } from "./ui/colors.js";
+import { VERSION } from "./version.js";
+
+// ── Root-level command groups ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+interface Group {
+  title: string;
+  commands: [name: string, description: string][];
+}
+
+const GROUPS: Group[] = [
+  {
+    title: "Getting Started",
+    commands: [
+      ["init", "Scaffold a new composition project"],
+      ["preview", "Start the studio for previewing compositions"],
+      ["render", "Render a composition to MP4 or WebM"],
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    title: "Project",
+    commands: [
+      ["lint", "Validate a composition for common mistakes"],
+      ["info", "Print project metadata"],
+      ["compositions", "List all compositions in a project"],
+      ["docs", "View inline documentation in the terminal"],
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    title: "Tooling",
+    commands: [
+      [
+        "benchmark",
+        "Render with preset fps/quality/worker configs and compare speed and file size",
+      ],
+      ["browser", "Manage the Chrome browser used for rendering"],
+      ["doctor", "Check system dependencies and environment"],
+      ["upgrade", "Check for updates and show upgrade instructions"],
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    title: "AI & Integrations",
+    commands: [
+      ["skills", "Install HyperFrames and GSAP skills for AI coding tools"],
+      [
+        "transcribe",
+        "Transcribe audio/video to word-level timestamps, or import an existing transcript",
+      ],
+    ],
+  },
+  {
+    title: "Settings",
+    commands: [["telemetry", "Manage anonymous usage telemetry"]],
+  },
+];
+
+// ── Root-level examples ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+type Example = [comment: string, command: string];
+
+const ROOT_EXAMPLES: Example[] = [
+  ["Create a new project", "hyperframes init my-video"],
+  ["Start the live preview studio", "hyperframes preview"],
+  ["Render to MP4", "hyperframes render -o out.mp4"],
+  ["Transparent WebM overlay", "hyperframes render --format webm -o out.webm"],
+  ["Validate your composition", "hyperframes lint"],
+  ["Check system dependencies", "hyperframes doctor"],
+];
+
+// ── Per-command examples (comment + command style: comment + command) ────────────────
+const COMMAND_EXAMPLES: Record<string, Example[]> = {
+  init: [
+    ["Create a project with the interactive wizard", "hyperframes init my-video"],
+    ["Pick a starter template", "hyperframes init my-video --template warm-grain"],
+    ["Start from an existing video file", "hyperframes init my-video --video clip.mp4"],
+    ["Start from an audio file", "hyperframes init my-video --audio track.mp3"],
+    ["Non-interactive mode (for CI or AI agents)", "hyperframes init my-video --non-interactive"],
+  ],
+  preview: [
+    ["Preview the current project", "hyperframes preview"],
+    ["Preview a specific project directory", "hyperframes preview ./my-video"],
+    ["Use a custom port", "hyperframes preview --port 8080"],
+  ],
+  render: [
+    ["Render to MP4", "hyperframes render --output output.mp4"],
+    ["Render transparent WebM overlay", "hyperframes render --format webm --output overlay.webm"],
+    ["High quality at 60fps", "hyperframes render --fps 60 --quality high --output hd.mp4"],
+    ["Deterministic render via Docker", "hyperframes render --docker --output deterministic.mp4"],
+    ["Parallel rendering with 4 workers", "hyperframes render --workers 4 --output fast.mp4"],
+  ],
+  lint: [
+    ["Lint the current project", "hyperframes lint"],
+    ["Lint a specific directory", "hyperframes lint ./my-video"],
+    ["Output findings as JSON", "hyperframes lint --json"],
+    ["Include info-level findings", "hyperframes lint --verbose"],
+  ],
+  info: [
+    ["Show project metadata", "hyperframes info"],
+    ["Output as JSON", "hyperframes info --json"],
+  ],
+  compositions: [
+    ["List compositions in the current project", "hyperframes compositions"],
+    ["Output as JSON", "hyperframes compositions --json"],
+  ],
+  benchmark: [
+    ["Run benchmarks with default settings (3 runs)", "hyperframes benchmark"],
+    ["Run 5 iterations per config", "hyperframes benchmark --runs 5"],
+    ["Output results as JSON", "hyperframes benchmark --json"],
+  ],
+  browser: [
+    ["Find or download Chrome for rendering", "hyperframes browser ensure"],
+    ["Print the Chrome executable path", "hyperframes browser path"],
+    ["Remove cached Chrome download", "hyperframes browser clear"],
+  ],
+  skills: [
+    ["Install skills to all supported AI tools", "hyperframes skills"],
+    ["Install to Claude Code only", "hyperframes skills --claude"],
+    ["Install to Cursor (project-level)", "hyperframes skills --cursor"],
+    ["Install to specific tools", "hyperframes skills --claude --gemini"],
+  ],
+  transcribe: [
+    ["Transcribe an audio file", "hyperframes transcribe audio.mp3"],
+    ["Transcribe a video file", "hyperframes transcribe video.mp4"],
+    [
+      "Use a larger model for better accuracy",
+      "hyperframes transcribe audio.mp3 --model medium.en",
+    ],
+    ["Set language to filter non-target speech", "hyperframes transcribe audio.mp3 --language en"],
+    ["Import an existing SRT file", "hyperframes transcribe subtitles.srt"],
+    ["Import an OpenAI Whisper JSON response", "hyperframes transcribe response.json"],
+  ],
+  docs: [
+    ["List all available topics", "hyperframes docs"],
+    ["Read about data attributes", "hyperframes docs data-attributes"],
+    ["Read about rendering", "hyperframes docs rendering"],
+    ["Read about GSAP integration", "hyperframes docs gsap"],
+  ],
+  doctor: [["Check system dependencies", "hyperframes doctor"]],
+  upgrade: [
+    ["Check for updates interactively", "hyperframes upgrade"],
+    ["Check for updates without prompting", "hyperframes upgrade --check"],
+    ["Show upgrade commands directly", "hyperframes upgrade --yes"],
+  ],
+  telemetry: [
+    ["Check current telemetry status", "hyperframes telemetry status"],
+    ["Disable telemetry", "hyperframes telemetry disable"],
+    ["Enable telemetry", "hyperframes telemetry enable"],
+  ],
+};
+
+// ── Render root help ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+function renderRootHelp(): string {
+  const NAME_COL = 16;
+  const CMD_COL = 46;
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+
+  lines.push(
+    `${c.bold("hyperframes")} ${c.dim(`v${VERSION}`)} — Create and render HTML video compositions`,
+  );
+  lines.push("");
+  lines.push(`${c.bold("Usage:")}  hyperframes ${c.cyan("<command>")} [options]`);
+  lines.push("");
+
+  for (const group of GROUPS) {
+    lines.push(c.bold(`${group.title}:`));
+    for (const [name, desc] of group.commands) {
+      lines.push(`  ${c.cyan(name.padEnd(NAME_COL))}${desc}`);
+    }
+    lines.push("");
+  }
+
+  lines.push(c.bold("Examples:"));
+  for (const [comment, command] of ROOT_EXAMPLES) {
+    lines.push(`  ${c.dim("$")} ${command.padEnd(CMD_COL)} ${c.dim(comment)}`);
+  }
+  lines.push("");
+
+  lines.push(`Run ${c.cyan("hyperframes <command> --help")} for more information about a command.`);
+
+  return lines.join("\n");
+}
+
+// ── Format examples section (comment + command style) ────────────────────────────────
+function formatExamples(examples: Example[]): string {
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+  lines.push(c.bold("Examples:"));
+  for (const [comment, command] of examples) {
+    lines.push(`  ${c.gray(`# ${comment}`)}`);
+    lines.push(`  ${command}`);
+    lines.push("");
+  }
+  return lines.join("\n");
+}
+
+// ── Main showUsage override ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+export async function showUsage(cmd: CommandDef, parent?: CommandDef): Promise<void> {
+  if (!parent) {
+    console.log(renderRootHelp() + "\n");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const meta = await (typeof cmd.meta === "function" ? cmd.meta() : cmd.meta);
+  const usage = await renderUsage(cmd, parent);
+  console.log(usage + "\n");
+
+  const name = meta?.name;
+  if (name && COMMAND_EXAMPLES[name]) {
+    console.log(formatExamples(COMMAND_EXAMPLES[name]) + "\n");
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/colors.ts b/packages/cli/src/ui/colors.ts
index 7e1bdc870..719d25ab2 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/colors.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/colors.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ export const c = {
   dim: wrap(pc.dim),
   bold: wrap(pc.bold),
   accent: wrap(teal),
+  cyan: wrap(pc.cyan),
+  gray: wrap(pc.gray),
   progress: wrap(pc.magenta),
   reset: isColorSupported ? pc.reset : (s: string) => s,
 };