diff --git a/.changeset/fix-skill-rule-extra-args.md b/.changeset/fix-skill-rule-extra-args.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0644d45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-skill-rule-extra-args.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@stainless-code/codemap": patch
+---
+
+Reject unexpected arguments on `codemap skill` and `codemap rule` instead of silently printing bundled content.
diff --git a/src/cli/cmd-skill.test.ts b/src/cli/cmd-skill.test.ts
index 3b1be58..09497c3 100644
--- a/src/cli/cmd-skill.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/cmd-skill.test.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,38 @@ import {
   checkConsumerPointers,
   EXPECTED_POINTER_VERSION,
 } from "../application/agent-content";
+import { parseAgentContentRest } from "./cmd-skill";
+
+describe("parseAgentContentRest", () => {
+  it("returns help on --help / -h", () => {
+    expect(parseAgentContentRest(["skill", "--help"]).kind).toBe("help");
+    expect(parseAgentContentRest(["rule", "-h"]).kind).toBe("help");
+  });
+
+  it("runs with no extra arguments", () => {
+    expect(parseAgentContentRest(["skill"])).toEqual({
+      kind: "run",
+      verb: "skill",
+    });
+    expect(parseAgentContentRest(["rule"])).toEqual({
+      kind: "run",
+      verb: "rule",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("errors on unexpected flags or positionals", () => {
+    const skillJson = parseAgentContentRest(["skill", "--json"]);
+    expect(skillJson.kind).toBe("error");
+    if (skillJson.kind === "error") {
+      expect(skillJson.message).toContain("unexpected argument");
+    }
+    const ruleExtra = parseAgentContentRest(["rule", "extra"]);
+    expect(ruleExtra.kind).toBe("error");
+    if (ruleExtra.kind === "error") {
+      expect(ruleExtra.message).toContain("unexpected argument");
+    }
+  });
+});
 
 describe("agent content fetch surfaces", () => {
   it("assembles the skill from section files", () => {
diff --git a/src/cli/cmd-skill.ts b/src/cli/cmd-skill.ts
index 5644b53..7768843 100644
--- a/src/cli/cmd-skill.ts
+++ b/src/cli/cmd-skill.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,37 @@ import type { AgentContentKind } from "../application/agent-content";
  */
 export type { AgentContentKind };
 
+export type AgentContentRest =
+  | { kind: "help"; verb: AgentContentKind }
+  | { kind: "run"; verb: AgentContentKind }
+  | { kind: "error"; message: string };
+
+/** Parse `codemap skill` / `codemap rule` argv after bootstrap strips global flags. */
+export function parseAgentContentRest(rest: string[]): AgentContentRest {
+  const verb = rest[0];
+  if (verb !== "skill" && verb !== "rule") {
+    throw new Error(
+      `parseAgentContentRest: expected first token skill|rule, got ${String(verb)}`,
+    );
+  }
+  const args = rest.slice(1);
+  if (args.length === 0) return { kind: "run", verb };
+  if (args.length === 1 && (args[0] === "--help" || args[0] === "-h")) {
+    return { kind: "help", verb };
+  }
+  const bad = args.find((a) => a !== "--help" && a !== "-h");
+  if (bad !== undefined) {
+    return {
+      kind: "error",
+      message: `codemap ${verb}: unexpected argument "${bad}". Run \`codemap ${verb} --help\` for usage.`,
+    };
+  }
+  return {
+    kind: "error",
+    message: `codemap ${verb}: unexpected extra arguments. Run \`codemap ${verb} --help\` for usage.`,
+  };
+}
+
 export function printAgentContentCmdHelp(kind: AgentContentKind): void {
   const verb = kind;
   const source = `templates/agent-content/${kind}/*.md (assembled)`;
diff --git a/src/cli/main.ts b/src/cli/main.ts
index 4c73fa5..8681c87 100644
--- a/src/cli/main.ts
+++ b/src/cli/main.ts
@@ -98,14 +98,21 @@ Copies bundled agent templates into .agents/ under the project root.
   }
 
   if (rest[0] === "skill" || rest[0] === "rule") {
-    const kind = rest[0];
-    const { printAgentContentCmdHelp, runAgentContentCmd } =
-      await import("./cmd-skill.js");
-    if (rest.includes("--help") || rest.includes("-h")) {
-      printAgentContentCmdHelp(kind);
+    const {
+      parseAgentContentRest,
+      printAgentContentCmdHelp,
+      runAgentContentCmd,
+    } = await import("./cmd-skill.js");
+    const parsed = parseAgentContentRest(rest);
+    if (parsed.kind === "help") {
+      printAgentContentCmdHelp(parsed.verb);
       return;
     }
-    runAgentContentCmd(kind);
+    if (parsed.kind === "error") {
+      console.error(parsed.message);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+    runAgentContentCmd(parsed.verb);
     return;
   }