diff --git a/vyper/cli/vyper_compile.py b/vyper/cli/vyper_compile.py
index fc5477d3ac..517d4d3594 100755
--- a/vyper/cli/vyper_compile.py
+++ b/vyper/cli/vyper_compile.py
@@ -136,7 +136,9 @@ def _parse_args(argv):
         help="Switch to standard JSON mode. Use `--standard-json -h` for available options.",
         action="store_true",
     )
-    parser.add_argument("--hex-ir", action="store_true")
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--hex-ir", help="Represent integers as hex values in the IR", action="store_true"
+    )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--path", "-p", help="Set the root path for contract imports", action="append", dest="paths"
     )