diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 8a27b42..90553e2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -58,6 +58,14 @@ jobs:
           if-no-files-found: ignore
           retention-days: 7
 
+      - name: Upload CLI Cheatsheet
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: marlin-cli-cheatsheet
+          path: docs/cli_cheatsheet.md
+          if-no-files-found: warn
+          retention-days: 7
+
   coverage:
     name: Code Coverage (Tarpaulin)
     needs: comprehensive-tests
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1249495..d1e5e13 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -78,3 +78,7 @@ Before a milestone is declared **shipped**:
 | 3 | **DP‑001 Schema v1.1** draft   | @carol | **30 May 25** |
 | 4 | backup prune CLI + nightly job | @dave  | **05 Jun 25** |
 
+## CLI Cheatsheet
+
+The full command reference is generated during the build of the CLI. See
+[docs/cli_cheatsheet.md](docs/cli_cheatsheet.md).
diff --git a/cli-bin/Cargo.toml b/cli-bin/Cargo.toml
index fd3ea0f..68eae29 100644
--- a/cli-bin/Cargo.toml
+++ b/cli-bin/Cargo.toml
@@ -32,3 +32,7 @@ dirs        = "5"
 [features]
 # Enable JSON output with `--features json`
 json = ["serde_json"]
+
+[build-dependencies]
+serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
+serde_yaml = "0.9"
diff --git a/cli-bin/build.rs b/cli-bin/build.rs
index 8364828..22f9fac 100644
--- a/cli-bin/build.rs
+++ b/cli-bin/build.rs
@@ -1,11 +1,59 @@
 // cli-bin/build.rs
 //
-// The CLI currently needs no build-time code-generation, but Cargo
-// insists on rerunning any build-script each compile.  Tell it to
-// rebuild only if this file itself changes.
+// Build script to generate the CLI cheatsheet at compile time.  It
+// parses `src/cli/commands.yaml` and emits a simple Markdown table of
+// commands and flags to `docs/cli_cheatsheet.md`.
+
+use std::{fs, path::Path};
+
+use serde_yaml::Value;
 
 fn main() {
-    // If you later add code-gen (e.g. embed completions or YAML), add
-    // further `cargo:rerun-if-changed=<path>` lines here.
     println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=build.rs");
+    println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=src/cli/commands.yaml");
+
+    if let Err(e) = generate_cheatsheet() {
+        eprintln!("Failed to generate CLI cheatsheet: {e}");
+        std::process::exit(1);
+    }
+}
+
+fn generate_cheatsheet() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+    let yaml_str = fs::read_to_string("src/cli/commands.yaml")?;
+    let parsed: Value = serde_yaml::from_str(&yaml_str)?;
+
+    let mut table = String::from("| Command | Flags |\n| ------- | ----- |\n");
+
+    if let Value::Mapping(cmds) = parsed {
+        for (cmd_name_val, cmd_details_val) in cmds {
+            let cmd_name = cmd_name_val.as_str().unwrap_or("");
+            if let Value::Mapping(cmd_details) = cmd_details_val {
+                if let Some(Value::Mapping(actions)) = cmd_details.get(&Value::String("actions".into())) {
+                    for (action_name_val, action_body_val) in actions {
+                        let action_name = action_name_val.as_str().unwrap_or("");
+                        let flags = if let Value::Mapping(action_map) = action_body_val {
+                            match action_map.get(&Value::String("flags".into())) {
+                                Some(Value::Sequence(seq)) => seq
+                                    .iter()
+                                    .filter_map(|v| v.as_str())
+                                    .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+                                    .join(", "),
+                                _ => String::new(),
+                            }
+                        } else {
+                            String::new()
+                        };
+
+                        let flags_disp = if flags.is_empty() { "—" } else { &flags };
+                        table.push_str(&format!("| `{}` | {} |\n", format!("{} {}", cmd_name, action_name), flags_disp));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    fs::create_dir_all(Path::new("docs"))?;
+    fs::write("docs/cli_cheatsheet.md", table)?;
+
+    Ok(())
 }