diff --git a/packages/markitdown/src/markitdown/__main__.py b/packages/markitdown/src/markitdown/__main__.py
index 6a24391..ed43289 100644
--- a/packages/markitdown/src/markitdown/__main__.py
+++ b/packages/markitdown/src/markitdown/__main__.py
@@ -8,101 +8,77 @@ from importlib.metadata import entry_points
 from .__about__ import __version__
 from ._markitdown import MarkItDown, DocumentConverterResult
 
+parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+    description="Convert various file formats to markdown.",
+    prog="markitdown",
+    formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter,
+    epilog=dedent(
+        """\
+        examples:
+          markitdown example.pdf
+          markitdown -o example.md example.pdf
+          cat example.pdf | markitdown > example.md"""
+    ),
+)
+parser.add_argument(
+    "-v",
+    "--version",
+    action="version",
+    version=f"%(prog)s {__version__}",
+    help="show the version number and exit",
+)
+parser.add_argument(
+    "-o",
+    "--output",
+    metavar="OUTFILENAME",
+    help="if unspecified, defaults to stdout",
+)
+parser.add_argument(
+    "-d",
+    "--use-docintel",
+    action="store_true",
+    help="use online Document Intelligence to extract text (requires a valid `--endpoint`)",
+)
+parser.add_argument(
+    "-e",
+    "--endpoint",
+    type=str,
+    help="required for `--use-docintel`",
+)
+parser.add_argument(
+    "-p",
+    "--use-plugins",
+    action="store_true",
+    help="use 3rd-party plugins to convert files (see `--list-plugins`)",
+)
+parser.add_argument(
+    "--list-plugins",
+    action="store_true",
+    help="list installed 3rd-party plugins (loaded with `--use-plugin`)",
+)
+parser.add_argument(
+    "filename", metavar="FILENAME", nargs="?", help="if unspecified, defaults to stdin"
+)
 
-def main():
-    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
-        description="Convert various file formats to markdown.",
-        prog="markitdown",
-        formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter,
-        usage=dedent(
-            """
-            SYNTAX:
 
-                markitdown <OPTIONAL: FILENAME>
-                If FILENAME is empty, markitdown reads from stdin.
-
-            EXAMPLE:
-
-                markitdown example.pdf
-
-                OR
-
-                cat example.pdf | markitdown
-
-                OR
-
-                markitdown < example.pdf
-                
-                OR to save to a file use
-    
-                markitdown example.pdf -o example.md
-                
-                OR
-                
-                markitdown example.pdf > example.md
-            """
-        ).strip(),
-    )
-
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "-v",
-        "--version",
-        action="version",
-        version=f"%(prog)s {__version__}",
-        help="show the version number and exit",
-    )
-
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "-o",
-        "--output",
-        help="Output file name. If not provided, output is written to stdout.",
-    )
-
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "-d",
-        "--use-docintel",
-        action="store_true",
-        help="Use Document Intelligence to extract text instead of offline conversion. Requires a valid Document Intelligence Endpoint.",
-    )
-
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "-e",
-        "--endpoint",
-        type=str,
-        help="Document Intelligence Endpoint. Required if using Document Intelligence.",
-    )
-
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "-p",
-        "--use-plugins",
-        action="store_true",
-        help="Use 3rd-party plugins to convert files. Use --list-plugins to see installed plugins.",
-    )
-
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "--list-plugins",
-        action="store_true",
-        help="List installed 3rd-party plugins. Plugins are loaded when using the -p or --use-plugin option.",
-    )
-
-    parser.add_argument("filename", nargs="?")
-    args = parser.parse_args()
+def main(args=None):
+    args = parser.parse_args(args)
 
     if args.list_plugins:
         # List installed plugins, then exit
         print("Installed MarkItDown 3rd-party Plugins:\n")
         plugin_entry_points = list(entry_points(group="markitdown.plugin"))
-        if len(plugin_entry_points) == 0:
-            print("  * No 3rd-party plugins installed.")
-            print(
-                "\nFind plugins by searching for the hashtag #markitdown-plugin on GitHub.\n"
-            )
-        else:
+        if plugin_entry_points:
             for entry_point in plugin_entry_points:
                 print(f"  * {entry_point.name:<16}\t(package: {entry_point.value})")
             print(
                 "\nUse the -p (or --use-plugins) option to enable 3rd-party plugins.\n"
             )
+        else:
+            print("No 3rd-party plugins installed.")
+            print(
+                "\nFind plugins by searching for the hashtag #markitdown-plugin on GitHub.\n"
+            )
         sys.exit(0)
 
     if args.use_docintel:
@@ -112,25 +88,20 @@ def main():
             )
         elif args.filename is None:
             raise ValueError("Filename is required when using Document Intelligence.")
-        markitdown = MarkItDown(
-            enable_plugins=args.use_plugins, docintel_endpoint=args.endpoint
-        )
-    else:
-        markitdown = MarkItDown(enable_plugins=args.use_plugins)
 
-    if args.filename is None:
-        result = markitdown.convert_stream(sys.stdin.buffer)
-    else:
+    markitdown = MarkItDown(
+        enable_plugins=args.use_plugins,
+        docintel_endpoint=args.endpoint if args.use_docintel else None,
+    )
+
+    if args.filename:
         result = markitdown.convert(args.filename)
+    else:
+        result = markitdown.convert_stream(sys.stdin.buffer)
 
-    _handle_output(args, result)
-
-
-def _handle_output(args, result: DocumentConverterResult):
-    """Handle output to stdout or file"""
     if args.output:
         with open(args.output, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            f.write(result.text_content)
+            print(result.text_content, file=f)
     else:
         print(result.text_content)
 
diff --git a/packages/markitdown/tests/test_cli.py b/packages/markitdown/tests/test_cli.py
index 7c8afc2..02004af 100644
--- a/packages/markitdown/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/packages/markitdown/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ def test_invalid_flag(shared_tmp_dir) -> None:
     assert (
         "unrecognized arguments" in result.stderr
     ), f"Expected 'unrecognized arguments' to appear in STDERR"
-    assert "SYNTAX" in result.stderr, f"Expected 'SYNTAX' to appear in STDERR"
+    assert "usage" in result.stderr, f"Expected 'usage' to appear in STDERR"
 
 
 def test_output_to_stdout(shared_tmp_dir) -> None: