diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index c0fb955c..f52493cc 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ class ServerlessDynamodbLocal {
                                 shortcut: "p",
                                 usage: "The port number that DynamoDB will use to communicate with your application. If you do not specify this option, the default port is 8000"
                             },
+                            host: {
+                                shortcut: "h",
+                                usage: "The host name that DynamoDB will use to communicate with your application. If you do not specify this option, the default host name is 'localhost'"
+                            },
                             cors: {
                                 shortcut: "c",
                                 usage: "Enable CORS support (cross-origin resource sharing) for JavaScript. You must provide a comma-separated \"allow\" list of specific domains. The default setting for -cors is an asterisk (*), which allows public access."
@@ -127,15 +131,25 @@ class ServerlessDynamodbLocal {
     }
 
     get port() {
-        const config = this.service.custom && this.service.custom.dynamodb || {};
-        const port = _.get(config, "start.port", 8000);
-        return port;
+      const config = this.service.custom && this.service.custom.dynamodb || {};
+      const options = _.merge(
+        {},
+        config.start,
+        this.options
+      );
+      const port = options["port"] || 8000;
+      return port;
     }
 
     get host() {
-        const config = this.service.custom && this.service.custom.dynamodb || {};
-        const host = _.get(config, "start.host", "localhost");
-        return host;
+      const config = this.service.custom && this.service.custom.dynamodb || {};
+      const options = _.merge(
+        {},
+        config.start,
+        this.options
+      );
+      const host = options["host"] || "localhost";
+      return host;
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/test/cliTest.js b/test/cliTest.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0cf6a65e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/cliTest.js
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+"use strict";
+//Define the modules required to mocha testing
+const assert = require("chai").assert;
+const http = require ("http");
+const expect = require("chai").expect;
+const should = require("should");
+const aws = require ("aws-sdk");
+const seeder = require("../src/seeder.js");
+const Plugin = require("../index.js");
+
+const serverlessMock = require("./serverlessMock");
+
+describe("command line options",function(){
+  describe("for 'start' command",function(){
+    let service;
+    before(function(){
+      this.timeout(60000);
+      service = new Plugin(serverlessMock, { port: 8123, host: "home.local" });
+      //return service.startHandler();
+    });
+
+    it(".port should return cli option",function(){
+      assert.equal(service.port, 8123);
+    });
+    
+    it(".host should return cli option",function(){
+      assert.equal(service.host, 'home.local');
+    });
+  });
+});
\ No newline at end of file