diff --git a/doc/sudo.pod b/doc/sudo.pod
index c0e5cb064..784f89a72 100644
--- a/doc/sudo.pod
+++ b/doc/sudo.pod
@@ -229,7 +229,8 @@ Depending on the policy, this may be the default behavior.
 
 =item -h
 
-The B<-h> (I<help>) option causes B<sudo> to print a usage message and exit.
+The B<-h> (I<help>) option causes B<sudo> to print a short help message
+to the standard output and exit.
 
 =item -i [command]
 
diff --git a/doc/sudoreplay.pod b/doc/sudoreplay.pod
index c36f9133e..5eb6e1e55 100644
--- a/doc/sudoreplay.pod
+++ b/doc/sudoreplay.pod
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ sudoreplay - replay sudo session logs
 
 =head1 SYNOPSIS
 
-B<sudoreplay> [B<-d> I<directory>] [B<-f> I<filter>] [B<-m> I<max_wait>] [B<-s> I<speed_factor>] ID
+B<sudoreplay> [B<-h>] [B<-d> I<directory>] [B<-f> I<filter>] [B<-m> I<max_wait>] [B<-s> I<speed_factor>] ID
 
-B<sudoreplay> [B<-d> I<directory>] -l [search expression]
+B<sudoreplay> [B<-h>] [B<-d> I<directory>] -l [search expression]
 
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
@@ -76,7 +76,12 @@ used to select which of these to output.  The I<filter> argument
 is a comma-separated list, consisting of one or more of following:
 I<stdout>, I<stderr>, and I<ttyout>.
 
-=item -l
+=item -h
+
+The B<-h> (I<help>) option causes B<sudoreplay> to print a short
+help message to the standard output and exit.
+
+=item -l [I<search expression>]
 
 Enable "list mode".  In this mode, B<sudoreplay> will list available
 session IDs.  If a I<search expression> is specified, it will be
diff --git a/doc/visudo.pod b/doc/visudo.pod
index 073dda7ed..2f68cde09 100644
--- a/doc/visudo.pod
+++ b/doc/visudo.pod
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ visudo - edit the sudoers file
 
 =head1 SYNOPSIS
 
-B<visudo> [B<-c>] [B<-q>] [B<-s>] [B<-V>] [B<-f> I<sudoers>]
+B<visudo> [B<-chqsV>] [B<-f> I<sudoers>]
 
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
@@ -85,6 +85,11 @@ is the specified I<sudoers> file with ".tmp" appended to it.
 In B<check-only> mode only, the argument to B<-f> may be "-",
 indicating that I<sudoers> will be read from the standard input.
 
+=item -h
+
+The B<-h> (I<help>) option causes B<visudo> to print a short help message
+to the standard output and exit.
+
 =item -q
 
 Enable B<quiet> mode.  In this mode details about syntax errors
diff --git a/plugins/sudoers/sudoreplay.c b/plugins/sudoers/sudoreplay.c
index 81d72ae2f..0d4d5d8ec 100644
--- a/plugins/sudoers/sudoreplay.c
+++ b/plugins/sudoers/sudoreplay.c
@@ -196,7 +196,8 @@ static int list_sessions(int, char **, const char *, const char *, const char *)
 static int parse_expr(struct search_node **, char **);
 static void check_input(int, double *);
 static void delay(double);
-static void usage(void);
+static void help(void) __attribute__((__noreturn__));
+static void usage(int);
 static void *open_io_fd(char *pathbuf, int len, const char *suffix);
 static int parse_timing(const char *buf, const char *decimal, int *idx, double *seconds, size_t *nbytes);
 
@@ -233,7 +234,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
     decimal = localeconv()->decimal_point;
 #endif
 
-    while ((ch = getopt(argc, argv, "d:f:lm:s:V")) != -1) {
+    while ((ch = getopt(argc, argv, "d:f:hlm:s:V")) != -1) {
 	switch(ch) {
 	case 'd':
 	    session_dir = optarg;
@@ -252,6 +253,9 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		    errorx(1, "invalid filter option: %s", optarg);
 	    }
 	    break;
+	case 'h':
+	    help();
+	    /* NOTREACHED */
 	case 'l':
 	    listonly = 1;
 	    break;
@@ -271,7 +275,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	    (void) printf("%s version %s\n", getprogname(), PACKAGE_VERSION);
 	    exit(0);
 	default:
-	    usage();
+	    usage(1);
 	    /* NOTREACHED */
 	}
 
@@ -283,7 +287,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	exit(list_sessions(argc, argv, pattern, user, tty));
 
     if (argc != 1)
-	usage();
+	usage(1);
 
     /* 6 digit ID in base 36, e.g. 01G712AB */
     id = argv[0];
@@ -917,15 +921,32 @@ bad:
 }
 
 static void
-usage(void)
+usage(int fatal)
 {
-    fprintf(stderr,
-	"usage: %s [-d directory] [-m max_wait] [-s speed_factor] ID\n",
+    fprintf(fatal ? stderr : stdout,
+	"usage: %s [-h] [-d directory] [-m max_wait] [-s speed_factor] ID\n",
 	getprogname());
-    fprintf(stderr,
-	"usage: %s [-d directory] -l [search expression]\n",
+    fprintf(fatal ? stderr : stdout,
+	"usage: %s [-h] [-d directory] -l [search expression]\n",
 	getprogname());
-    exit(1);
+    if (fatal)
+	exit(1);
+}
+
+static void
+help(void)
+{
+    (void) printf("%s - replay sudo session logs\n\n", getprogname());
+    usage(0);
+    (void) puts("\nOptions:");
+    (void) puts("  -d directory     specify directory for session logs");
+    (void) puts("  -f filter        specify which I/O type to display");
+    (void) puts("  -h               display help message and exit");
+    (void) puts("  -l [expression]  list available session IDs that match expression");
+    (void) puts("  -m max_wait      max number of seconds to wait between events");
+    (void) puts("  -s speed_factor  speed up or slow down output");
+    (void) puts("  -V               display version information and exit");
+    exit(0);
 }
 
 /*
diff --git a/plugins/sudoers/visudo.c b/plugins/sudoers/visudo.c
index ddc2f251c..99d3f088a 100644
--- a/plugins/sudoers/visudo.c
+++ b/plugins/sudoers/visudo.c
@@ -111,7 +111,8 @@ static int visudo_printf(int msg_type, const char *fmt, ...);
 static void print_selfref(char *name, int, int, int);
 static void print_undefined(char *name, int, int, int);
 static void setup_signals(void);
-static void usage(void) __attribute__((__noreturn__));
+static void help(void) __attribute__((__noreturn__));
+static void usage(int);
 
 void cleanup(int);
 
@@ -154,7 +155,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
     setprogname(argc > 0 ? argv[0] : "visudo");
 #endif
     if (argc < 1)
-	usage();
+	usage(1);
 
     /*
      * Arg handling.
@@ -173,6 +174,9 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		sudoers_path = optarg;	/* sudoers file path */
 		oldperms = TRUE;
 		break;
+	    case 'h':
+		help();
+		break;
 	    case 's':
 		strict++;		/* strict mode */
 		break;
@@ -180,13 +184,13 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		quiet++;		/* quiet mode */
 		break;
 	    default:
-		usage();
+		usage(1);
 	}
     }
     argc -= optind;
     argv += optind;
     if (argc)
-	usage();
+	usage(1);
 
     sudo_setpwent();
     sudo_setgrent();
@@ -1157,11 +1161,27 @@ quit(int signo)
 }
 
 static void
-usage(void)
+usage(int fatal)
 {
-    (void) fprintf(stderr, "usage: %s [-c] [-q] [-s] [-V] [-f sudoers]\n",
-	getprogname());
-    exit(1);
+    (void) fprintf(fatal ? stderr : stdout,
+	"usage: %s [-chqsV] [-f sudoers]\n", getprogname());
+    if (fatal)
+	exit(1);
+}
+
+static void
+help(void)
+{
+    (void) printf("%s - safely edit the sudoers file\n\n", getprogname());
+    usage(0);
+    (void) puts("\nOptions:");
+    (void) puts("  -c          check-only mode");
+    (void) puts("  -f sudoers  specify sudoers file location");
+    (void) puts("  -h          display help message and exit");
+    (void) puts("  -q          less verbose (quiet) syntax error messages");
+    (void) puts("  -s          strict syntax checking");
+    (void) puts("  -V          display version information and exit");
+    exit(0);
 }
 
 static int
diff --git a/src/parse_args.c b/src/parse_args.c
index bf6747ad4..b9dc2fd5d 100644
--- a/src/parse_args.c
+++ b/src/parse_args.c
@@ -58,7 +58,8 @@ int tgetpass_flags;
 /*
  * Local functions.
  */
-static void usage_excl(int) __attribute__((__noreturn__));
+static void help(void) __attribute__((__noreturn__));
+static void usage_excl(int);
 
 /*
  * Mapping of command line flags to name/value settings.
@@ -365,7 +366,7 @@ parse_args(int argc, char **argv, int *nargc, char ***nargv, char ***settingsp,
     }
 
     if (mode == MODE_HELP)
-	usage(0);
+	help();
 
     /*
      * For shell mode we need to rewrite argv
@@ -436,17 +437,23 @@ parse_args(int argc, char **argv, int *nargc, char ***nargv, char ***settingsp,
 }
 
 static int
-usage_out(const char *buf)
+usage_err(const char *buf)
 {
     return fputs(buf, stderr);
 }
 
+static int
+usage_out(const char *buf)
+{
+    return fputs(buf, stdout);
+}
+
 /*
  * Give usage message and exit.
  * The actual usage strings are in sudo_usage.h for configure substitution.
  */
 void
-usage(int exit_val)
+usage(int fatal)
 {
     struct lbuf lbuf;
     char *uvec[6];
@@ -472,22 +479,112 @@ usage(int exit_val)
      * tty width.
      */
     ulen = (int)strlen(getprogname()) + 8;
-    lbuf_init(&lbuf, usage_out, ulen, NULL, user_details.ts_cols);
+    lbuf_init(&lbuf, fatal ? usage_err : usage_out, ulen, NULL,
+	user_details.ts_cols);
     for (i = 0; uvec[i] != NULL; i++) {
 	lbuf_append(&lbuf, "usage: ", getprogname(), uvec[i], NULL);
 	lbuf_print(&lbuf);
     }
     lbuf_destroy(&lbuf);
-    cleanup(0);
-    exit(exit_val);
+    if (fatal)
+	exit(1);
 }
 
 /*
  * Tell which options are mutually exclusive and exit.
  */
 static void
-usage_excl(int exit_val)
+usage_excl(int fatal)
 {
     warningx("Only one of the -e, -h, -i, -K, -l, -s, -v or -V options may be specified");
-    usage(exit_val);
+    usage(fatal);
+}
+
+static void
+help(void)
+{
+    struct lbuf lbuf;
+    int indent = 16;
+    const char *pname = getprogname();
+
+    lbuf_init(&lbuf, usage_out, indent, NULL, user_details.ts_cols);
+    if (strcmp(pname, "sudoedit") == 0)
+	lbuf_append(&lbuf, pname,  " - edit files as another user\n\n", NULL);
+    else
+	lbuf_append(&lbuf, pname,  " - execute a command as another user\n\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_print(&lbuf);
+
+    usage(0);
+
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf, "\nOptions:\n", NULL);
+#ifdef HAVE_BSD_AUTH_H
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -A            use helper program for password prompting\n", NULL);
+#endif
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -a type       use specified BSD authentication type\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -b            run command in the background\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -C fd         close all file descriptors >= fd\n", NULL);
+#ifdef HAVE_LOGIN_CAP_H
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -c class      run command with specified login class\n", NULL);
+#endif
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -E            preserve user environment when executing command\n",
+	NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -e            edit files instead of running a command\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -g group      execute command as the specified group\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -H            set HOME variable to target user's home dir.\n",
+	NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -h            display help message and exit\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -i [command]  run a login shell as target user\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -K            remove timestamp file completely\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -k            invalidate timestamp file\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -l[l] command list user's available commands\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -n            non-interactive mode, will not prompt user\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -P            preserve group vector instead of setting to target's\n",
+	NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -p prompt     use specified password prompt\n", NULL);
+#ifdef HAVE_SELINUX
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -r role       create SELinux security context with specified role\n",
+	NULL);
+#endif
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -S            read password from standard input\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -s [command]  run a shell as target user\n", NULL);
+#ifdef HAVE_SELINUX
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -t type       create SELinux security context with specified role\n",
+	NULL);
+#endif
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -U user       when listing, list specified user's privileges\n",
+	NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -u user       run command (or edit file) as specified user\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -V            display version information and exit\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  -v            update user's timestamp without running a command\n",
+	NULL);
+    lbuf_append(&lbuf,
+	"  --            stop processing command line arguments\n", NULL);
+    lbuf_print(&lbuf);
+    lbuf_destroy(&lbuf);
+    exit(0);
 }
diff --git a/src/sudo.h b/src/sudo.h
index 6402d82b2..e6190c16c 100644
--- a/src/sudo.h
+++ b/src/sudo.h
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ extern struct user_details user_details;
 int sudo_edit(struct command_details *details, char *argv[], char *envp[]);
 
 /* parse_args.c */
-void usage(int) __attribute__((__noreturn__));
+void usage(int);
 
 /* selinux.c */
 int selinux_restore_tty(void);