diff --git a/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk.ts b/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk.ts
index 43ad09fe0e94d..74b7c47338ad9 100644
--- a/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk.ts
+++ b/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk.ts
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ async function parseCommandLineArguments() {
     .version(VERSION)
     .demandCommand(1, '') // just print help
     .help()
+    .alias('h', 'help')
     .epilogue([
       'If your app has a single stack, there is no need to specify the stack name',
       'If one of cdk.json or ~/.cdk.json exists, options specified there will be used as defaults. Settings in cdk.json take precedence.'