diff --git a/python/release.sh b/python/release.sh
index fc90f155..c11c2aa1 100755
--- a/python/release.sh
+++ b/python/release.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-set -exo pipefail
+set -eo pipefail
 
 # Copyright 2016-2023 Nitor Creations Oy
 #
@@ -15,43 +15,85 @@ set -exo pipefail
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
+USAGE="Usage: $(basename "$0") [OPTIONS] [MESSAGE]
+
+OPTIONS: All options are optional
+  -h | --help                 Display these instructions.
+  -d | --dryrun               Only print commands instead of executing them.
+  -x | --verbose              Display commands being executed.
+  -m | --major                Increment major version and reset minor version to 0.
+  -v | --version [VERSION]    Set the new version explicitly.
+  [MESSAGE]                   Optional commit message for git commit (default is the new version).
+
+Example Usage:
+  $(basename "$0") -v 2.5              # Set version to 2.5.
+  $(basename "$0") 'Updated features'  # Increment minor version number with commit message 'Updated features'."
+
 # Import common functions
 DIR=$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)
 # shellcheck source=../common.sh
 source "$DIR/../common.sh"
 
-VERSION=$(grep '^VERSION' n_vault/__init__.py | cut -d\" -f 2)
-MAJOR=${VERSION//.*/}
-MINOR=${VERSION##*.}
-
-if [ "$1" = "-m" ]; then
-  MAJOR=$(($MAJOR + 1))
-  MINOR="0"
-  NEW_VERSION=$MAJOR.$MINOR
-  shift
-elif [ "$1" = "-v" ]; then
-  shift
-  NEW_VERSION="$1"
-  shift
-else
-  MINOR=$(($MINOR + 1))
-  NEW_VERSION=$MAJOR.$MINOR
-  MESSAGE="$1"
-fi
-
-if [ -z "$MESSAGE" ]; then
-  MESSAGE="$NEW_VERSION"
-fi
+init_options() {
+  DRYRUN=false
+  VERSION=$(grep '^VERSION' n_vault/__init__.py | cut -d\" -f 2)
+  MAJOR=${VERSION//.*/}
+  MINOR=${VERSION##*.}
+  while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
+    case "$1" in
+      -h | --help)
+        echo "$USAGE"
+        exit 1
+        ;;
+      -d | --dryrun)
+        DRYRUN=true
+        print_yellow "Doing a dryrun"
+        ;;
+      -m | --major)
+        MAJOR=$(($MAJOR + 1))
+        MINOR="0"
+        NEW_VERSION=$MAJOR.$MINOR
+        echo "Incrementing major version: $NEW_VERSION"
+        ;;
+      -v | --version)
+        NEW_VERSION="$2"
+        shift
+        ;;
+      -x | --verbose)
+        set -x
+        ;;
+      *)
+        MESSAGE="$1"
+        ;;
+    esac
+    shift
+  done
+
+  if [ -z "$NEW_VERSION" ]; then
+    MINOR=$(($MINOR + 1))
+    NEW_VERSION=$MAJOR.$MINOR
+    echo "Incrementing minor version: $NEW_VERSION"
+  fi
 
+  if [ -z "$MESSAGE" ]; then
+    MESSAGE="$NEW_VERSION"
+  fi
+}
+
+init_options "$@"
+
+print_magenta "Updating version number..."
 "${SED_COMMAND[@]}" "s/^VERSION = .*/VERSION = \"$NEW_VERSION\"/g" n_vault/__init__.py
 "${SED_COMMAND[@]}" "s/^version = .*/version = $NEW_VERSION/g" setup.cfg
-# update tarball url versio
+# update tarball url version
 "${SED_COMMAND[@]}" "s/$VERSION/$NEW_VERSION/g" setup.cfg
-git commit -m "$1" n_vault/__init__.py setup.cfg
+git commit -m "$MESSAGE" n_vault/__init__.py setup.cfg
+# TODO: should use annotated tags for releases: convert old tags and add `-a` here
 git tag "$NEW_VERSION" -m "$MESSAGE"
-git push origin "$NEW_VERSION"
-rm -rf dist
+run_command git push origin "$NEW_VERSION"
 
+print_magenta "Uploading package..."
 check_and_set_python
+rm -rf dist
 $PYTHON setup.py sdist bdist_wheel
-twine upload dist/*
+run_command twine upload dist/*