diff --git a/packages/markitdown/src/markitdown/__init__.py b/packages/markitdown/src/markitdown/__init__.py
index 5407233..59d9750 100644
--- a/packages/markitdown/src/markitdown/__init__.py
+++ b/packages/markitdown/src/markitdown/__init__.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
 
+from .__about__ import __version__
 from ._markitdown import MarkItDown
 from ._exceptions import (
     MarkItDownException,
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ from ._exceptions import (
 from .converters import DocumentConverter, DocumentConverterResult
 
 __all__ = [
+    "__version__",
     "MarkItDown",
     "DocumentConverter",
     "DocumentConverterResult",
diff --git a/packages/markitdown/tests/test_cli.py b/packages/markitdown/tests/test_cli.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e2b095
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/markitdown/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3 -m pytest
+import os
+import subprocess
+import pytest
+from markitdown import __version__
+
+try:
+    from .test_markitdown import TEST_FILES_DIR, DOCX_TEST_STRINGS
+except ImportError:
+    from test_markitdown import TEST_FILES_DIR, DOCX_TEST_STRINGS
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
+def shared_tmp_dir(tmp_path_factory):
+    return tmp_path_factory.mktemp("pytest_tmp")
+
+
+def test_version(shared_tmp_dir) -> None:
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["python", "-m", "markitdown", "--version"], capture_output=True, text=True
+    )
+
+    assert result.returncode == 0, f"CLI exited with error: {result.stderr}"
+    assert __version__ in result.stdout, f"Version not found in output: {result.stdout}"
+
+
+def test_invalid_flag(shared_tmp_dir) -> None:
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["python", "-m", "markitdown", "--foobar"], capture_output=True, text=True
+    )
+
+    assert result.returncode != 0, f"CLI exited with error: {result.stderr}"
+    assert (
+        "unrecognized arguments" in result.stderr
+    ), f"Expected 'unrecognized arguments' to appear in STDERR"
+    assert "SYNTAX" in result.stderr, f"Expected 'SYNTAX' to appear in STDERR"
+
+
+def test_output_to_stdout(shared_tmp_dir) -> None:
+    # DOC X
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["python", "-m", "markitdown", os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.docx")],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+
+    assert result.returncode == 0, f"CLI exited with error: {result.stderr}"
+    for test_string in DOCX_TEST_STRINGS:
+        assert (
+            test_string in result.stdout
+        ), f"Expected string not found in output: {test_string}"
+
+
+def test_output_to_file(shared_tmp_dir) -> None:
+    # DOC X, flag -o at the end
+    docx_output_file_1 = os.path.join(shared_tmp_dir, "test_docx_1.md")
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        [
+            "python",
+            "-m",
+            "markitdown",
+            os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.docx"),
+            "-o",
+            docx_output_file_1,
+        ],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+
+    assert result.returncode == 0, f"CLI exited with error: {result.stderr}"
+    assert os.path.exists(
+        docx_output_file_1
+    ), f"Output file not created: {docx_output_file_1}"
+
+    with open(docx_output_file_1, "r") as f:
+        output = f.read()
+        for test_string in DOCX_TEST_STRINGS:
+            assert (
+                test_string in output
+            ), f"Expected string not found in output: {test_string}"
+
+    # DOC X, flag -o at the beginning
+    docx_output_file_2 = os.path.join(shared_tmp_dir, "test_docx_2.md")
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        [
+            "python",
+            "-m",
+            "markitdown",
+            "-o",
+            docx_output_file_2,
+            os.path.join(TEST_FILES_DIR, "test.docx"),
+        ],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+
+    assert result.returncode == 0, f"CLI exited with error: {result.stderr}"
+    assert os.path.exists(
+        docx_output_file_2
+    ), f"Output file not created: {docx_output_file_2}"
+
+    with open(docx_output_file_2, "r") as f:
+        output = f.read()
+        for test_string in DOCX_TEST_STRINGS:
+            assert (
+                test_string in output
+            ), f"Expected string not found in output: {test_string}"
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    """Runs this file's tests from the command line."""
+    import tempfile
+
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp_dir:
+        test_version(tmp_dir)
+        test_invalid_flag(tmp_dir)
+        test_output_to_stdout(tmp_dir)
+        test_output_to_file(tmp_dir)
+    print("All tests passed!")