diff --git a/cli/internal/validate.go b/cli/internal/validate.go
index a2a098282..2a1c0cfaa 100644
--- a/cli/internal/validate.go
+++ b/cli/internal/validate.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package internal
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"strings"
 
 	"coopcloud.tech/abra/pkg/app"
 	"coopcloud.tech/abra/pkg/catalogue"
@@ -111,3 +112,17 @@ func ValidateDomain(c *cli.Context) (string, error) {
 
 	return domainName, nil
 }
+
+// ValidateSubCmdFlags ensures flag order conforms to correct order
+func ValidateSubCmdFlags(c *cli.Context) bool {
+	for argIdx, arg := range c.Args().Slice() {
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(arg, "--") {
+			for _, flag := range c.Args().Slice()[argIdx:] {
+				if strings.HasPrefix(flag, "--") {
+					return false
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/cli/server/add.go b/cli/server/add.go
index ee5167049..2b8f53101 100644
--- a/cli/server/add.go
+++ b/cli/server/add.go
@@ -360,6 +360,10 @@ intended as the target server. This is useful when you want to have your entire
 Co-op Cloud config located on the server itself, and not on your local
 developer machine.
 
+Example:
+
+    abra server add --local
+
 Otherwise, you may specify a remote server. The <domain> argument must be a
 publicy accessible domain name which points to your server. You should have SSH
 access to this server, Abra will assume port 22 and will use your current
@@ -394,7 +398,7 @@ You may omit flags to avoid performing this provisioning logic.
 	},
 	ArgsUsage: "<domain> [<user>] [<port>]",
 	Action: func(c *cli.Context) error {
-		if c.Args().Len() > 0 && local {
+		if c.Args().Len() > 0 && local || !internal.ValidateSubCmdFlags(c) {
 			err := errors.New("cannot use '<domain>' and '--local' together")
 			internal.ShowSubcommandHelpAndError(c, err)
 		}