diff --git a/demo/cart.fnl b/demo/cart.fnl
index bb0e721..235cffe 100644
--- a/demo/cart.fnl
+++ b/demo/cart.fnl
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 {:title "pxl8 demo"
+ :pixel-mode "indexed"
  :resolution "640x360"
- :window-size [1280 720]
- :pixel-mode "indexed"}
+ :window-size [1280 720]}
diff --git a/pxl8.sh b/pxl8.sh
index f7257e3..f6a82c1 100755
--- a/pxl8.sh
+++ b/pxl8.sh
@@ -406,17 +406,21 @@ case "$COMMAND" in
         "$0" build "$@" || exit 1
 
         CART=""
+        EXTRA_ARGS=""
         for arg in "$@"; do
-            if [[ "$arg" != "--release" ]]; then
+            if [[ "$arg" == "--release" ]]; then
+                continue
+            elif [[ "$arg" == "--repl" ]]; then
+                EXTRA_ARGS="$EXTRA_ARGS --repl"
+            elif [[ -z "$CART" ]]; then
                 CART="$arg"
-                break
             fi
         done
 
         if [[ -z "$CART" ]]; then
-            "$BINDIR/pxl8"
+            "$BINDIR/pxl8" $EXTRA_ARGS
         else
-            "$BINDIR/pxl8" "$CART"
+            "$BINDIR/pxl8" "$CART" $EXTRA_ARGS
         fi
         ;;
 
diff --git a/src/lua/pxl8.lua b/src/lua/pxl8.lua
index 5cbd0cd..750a499 100644
--- a/src/lua/pxl8.lua
+++ b/src/lua/pxl8.lua
@@ -18,8 +18,9 @@ core.init(_pxl8_gfx, _pxl8_input, _pxl8_sys)
 local pxl8 = {}
 
 pxl8.get_fps = core.get_fps
-pxl8.get_width = core.get_width
 pxl8.get_height = core.get_height
+pxl8.get_title = core.get_title
+pxl8.get_width = core.get_width
 pxl8.info = core.info
 pxl8.warn = core.warn
 pxl8.error = core.error
diff --git a/src/lua/pxl8/core.lua b/src/lua/pxl8/core.lua
index e4b0348..531e3da 100644
--- a/src/lua/pxl8/core.lua
+++ b/src/lua/pxl8/core.lua
@@ -21,6 +21,17 @@ function core.get_height()
     return C.pxl8_gfx_get_height(core.gfx)
 end
 
+function core.get_title()
+    local cart = C.pxl8_get_cart()
+    if cart ~= nil then
+        local title = C.pxl8_cart_get_title(cart)
+        if title ~= nil then
+            return ffi.string(title)
+        end
+    end
+    return "pxl8"
+end
+
 local function is_user_script(info)
     local src = info and info.short_src
     return src and (src:match("%.fnl$") or src:match("%.lua$"))
diff --git a/src/pxl8.c b/src/pxl8.c
index 28867c6..9f5ea5c 100644
--- a/src/pxl8.c
+++ b/src/pxl8.c
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #define PXL8_COPYRIGHT "Copyright (c) 2024-2025 pxl8.org"
 #define PXL8_VERSION "0.1.0"
 
+#include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
@@ -60,6 +61,20 @@ void pxl8_destroy(pxl8* sys) {
     free(sys);
 }
 
+static void pxl8_print_help(void) {
+    printf("pxl8 %s - pixel art game framework\n", PXL8_VERSION);
+    printf("%s\n\n", PXL8_COPYRIGHT);
+    printf("Usage: pxl8 [path] [--repl]\n\n");
+    printf("  pxl8                    Run main.fnl from current directory\n");
+    printf("  pxl8 ./game             Run game from folder\n");
+    printf("  pxl8 game.pxc           Run packed cart file\n");
+    printf("  pxl8 --repl             Run with REPL enabled\n\n");
+    printf("Other commands:\n");
+    printf("  pxl8 pack <folder> <out.pxc>   Pack folder into cart file\n");
+    printf("  pxl8 bundle <in> <out>         Bundle cart into executable\n");
+    printf("  pxl8 help                      Show this help\n");
+}
+
 pxl8_result pxl8_init(pxl8* sys, i32 argc, char* argv[]) {
     if (!sys || !sys->game) return PXL8_ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENT;
 
@@ -67,28 +82,36 @@ pxl8_result pxl8_init(pxl8* sys, i32 argc, char* argv[]) {
     const char* script_arg = NULL;
     bool bundle_mode = false;
     bool pack_mode = false;
+    bool run_mode = false;
     const char* pack_input = NULL;
     const char* pack_output = NULL;
 
+    bool has_embedded = pxl8_cart_has_embedded(argv[0]);
+
     for (i32 i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
-        if (strcmp(argv[i], "--repl") == 0) {
+        if (strcmp(argv[i], "help") == 0 || strcmp(argv[i], "--help") == 0 || strcmp(argv[i], "-h") == 0) {
+            pxl8_print_help();
+            return PXL8_ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENT;
+        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "run") == 0) {
+            run_mode = true;
+        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "--repl") == 0) {
             game->repl_mode = true;
-        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "--bundle") == 0) {
+        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "bundle") == 0 || strcmp(argv[i], "--bundle") == 0) {
             bundle_mode = true;
             if (i + 2 < argc) {
                 pack_input = argv[++i];
                 pack_output = argv[++i];
             } else {
-                pxl8_error("--bundle requires <folder|.pxc> <output>");
+                pxl8_error("bundle requires <folder|.pxc> <output>");
                 return PXL8_ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENT;
             }
-        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "--pack") == 0) {
+        } else if (strcmp(argv[i], "pack") == 0 || strcmp(argv[i], "--pack") == 0) {
             pack_mode = true;
             if (i + 2 < argc) {
                 pack_input = argv[++i];
                 pack_output = argv[++i];
             } else {
-                pxl8_error("--pack requires <folder> <output.pxc>");
+                pxl8_error("pack requires <folder> <output.pxc>");
                 return PXL8_ERROR_INVALID_ARGUMENT;
             }
         } else if (!script_arg) {
@@ -96,6 +119,10 @@ pxl8_result pxl8_init(pxl8* sys, i32 argc, char* argv[]) {
         }
     }
 
+    if (!run_mode && !bundle_mode && !pack_mode) {
+        run_mode = true;
+    }
+
     if (bundle_mode) {
         char exe_path[1024];
         ssize_t len = readlink("/proc/self/exe", exe_path, sizeof(exe_path) - 1);
@@ -121,18 +148,25 @@ pxl8_result pxl8_init(pxl8* sys, i32 argc, char* argv[]) {
         return PXL8_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED;
     }
 
-    bool has_embedded = pxl8_cart_has_embedded(argv[0]);
     const char* cart_path = script_arg;
     char* original_cwd = getcwd(NULL, 0);
 
-    bool load_embedded = has_embedded && !script_arg;
+    bool load_embedded = has_embedded && !run_mode;
     bool load_from_path = false;
 
-    if (!load_embedded && (cart_path || !has_embedded)) {
-        if (!cart_path) cart_path = "demo";
+    if (!load_embedded && run_mode) {
+        if (!cart_path) {
+            if (access("main.fnl", F_OK) == 0 || access("main.lua", F_OK) == 0) {
+                cart_path = ".";
+            } else {
+                pxl8_error("no main.fnl or main.lua found in current directory");
+                free(original_cwd);
+                return PXL8_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED;
+            }
+        }
         struct stat st;
         load_from_path = (stat(cart_path, &st) == 0 && S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) ||
-                         (cart_path && strstr(cart_path, ".pxc"));
+                         strstr(cart_path, ".pxc");
     }
 
     if (load_embedded || load_from_path) {
diff --git a/src/pxl8_cart.c b/src/pxl8_cart.c
index 431132d..1bbf69f 100644
--- a/src/pxl8_cart.c
+++ b/src/pxl8_cart.c
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ pxl8_cart* pxl8_cart_create(void) {
     return cart;
 }
 
-pxl8_cart* pxl8_cart_current(void) {
+pxl8_cart* pxl8_get_cart(void) {
     return pxl8_current_cart;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/pxl8_cart.h b/src/pxl8_cart.h
index 16b5914..b142c9b 100644
--- a/src/pxl8_cart.h
+++ b/src/pxl8_cart.h
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ extern "C" {
 #endif
 
 pxl8_cart* pxl8_cart_create(void);
-pxl8_cart* pxl8_cart_current(void);
 void pxl8_cart_destroy(pxl8_cart* cart);
 
 pxl8_result pxl8_cart_bundle(const char* input_path, const char* output_path, const char* exe_path);
@@ -21,6 +20,7 @@ void pxl8_cart_unload(pxl8_cart* cart);
 pxl8_result pxl8_cart_mount(pxl8_cart* cart);
 void pxl8_cart_unmount(pxl8_cart* cart);
 
+pxl8_cart* pxl8_get_cart(void);
 const char* pxl8_cart_get_base_path(const pxl8_cart* cart);
 const char* pxl8_cart_get_title(const pxl8_cart* cart);
 pxl8_resolution pxl8_cart_get_resolution(const pxl8_cart* cart);
diff --git a/src/pxl8_io.c b/src/pxl8_io.c
index f112bb9..ae354b7 100644
--- a/src/pxl8_io.c
+++ b/src/pxl8_io.c
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ static inline char pxl8_to_lower(char c) {
 pxl8_result pxl8_io_read_file(const char* path, char** content, size_t* size) {
     if (!path || !content || !size) return PXL8_ERROR_NULL_POINTER;
 
-    pxl8_cart* cart = pxl8_cart_current();
+    pxl8_cart* cart = pxl8_get_cart();
     if (cart && pxl8_cart_is_packed(cart)) {
         u8* data = NULL;
         u32 cart_size = 0;
diff --git a/src/pxl8_script.c b/src/pxl8_script.c
index 70a092d..c5972b1 100644
--- a/src/pxl8_script.c
+++ b/src/pxl8_script.c
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ static int pxl8_cart_loader(lua_State* L) {
 static int pxl8_cart_searcher(lua_State* L) {
     const char* modname = luaL_checkstring(L, 1);
 
-    pxl8_cart* cart = pxl8_cart_current();
+    pxl8_cart* cart = pxl8_get_cart();
     if (!cart || !pxl8_cart_is_packed(cart)) {
         lua_pushstring(L, "\n\tno packed cart mounted");
         return 1;
@@ -212,6 +212,9 @@ static const char* pxl8_ffi_cdefs =
 "void pxl8_set_relative_mouse_mode(pxl8* sys, bool enabled);\n"
 "void pxl8_set_running(pxl8* sys, bool running);\n"
 "void pxl8_lua_log(int level, const char* file, int line, const char* msg);\n"
+"typedef struct pxl8_cart pxl8_cart;\n"
+"pxl8_cart* pxl8_get_cart(void);\n"
+"const char* pxl8_cart_get_title(const pxl8_cart* cart);\n"
 "typedef u32 pxl8_tile;\n"
 "typedef struct pxl8_tilemap pxl8_tilemap;\n"
 "typedef struct pxl8_tilesheet pxl8_tilesheet;\n"
@@ -736,7 +739,7 @@ pxl8_result pxl8_script_run_fennel_file(pxl8_script* script, const char* filenam
         return PXL8_ERROR_SCRIPT_ERROR;
     }
 
-    pxl8_cart* cart = pxl8_cart_current();
+    pxl8_cart* cart = pxl8_get_cart();
     pxl8_result result = PXL8_OK;
 
     if (cart && pxl8_cart_is_packed(cart)) {