diff --git a/bin/jtrim b/bin/jtrim
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..31b30ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/jtrim
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Trim a media file
+#
+# Usage:
+#
+#    jtrim in-file out-file [start] [end]
+#
+# in-file  : file to trim
+# out-file : write trimmed file here
+# start    : seconds to trim from the beginning. if omitted, default value is start of the file
+# end      : retain the file until this number of seconds. if omitted, default is to end of file
+#
+SCRIPT="${0}"
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${SCRIPT}")" && pwd)"
+. "${SCRIPT_DIR}"/jvcl_common
+
+IN_FILE="${1?no in-file provided}"
+OUT_FILE="${2?no out-file provided}"
+T_START="${3}"
+T_END="${4}"
+echo "
+{
+  \"assets\": [
+    { \"name\": \"input\", \"path\": \"${IN_FILE}\" }
+  ],
+  \"operations\": [
+    {
+      \"operation\": \"trim\",
+      \"creates\": {
+        \"name\": \"trimmed\",
+        \"dest\": \"${OUT_FILE}\"
+      },
+      \"perform\": {
+        \"trim\": \"input\",
+        \"start\": \"${T_START}\",
+        \"end\": \"${T_END}\"
+      }
+    }
+  ]
+}
+" | "${SCRIPT_DIR}"/jvcl
diff --git a/bin/jvcl b/bin/jvcl
index a32430b..32ae892 100755
--- a/bin/jvcl
+++ b/bin/jvcl
@@ -15,19 +15,8 @@
 # Note: this command will build the jvcl jar file if needed. The first time you run it, it might
 # take a long time to start up.
 #
-function die () {
-  echo 1>&2 "${1}"
-  exit 1
-}
+SCRIPT="${0}"
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${SCRIPT}")" && pwd)"
+. "${SCRIPT_DIR}"/jvcl_common
 
-JVCL_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${0}")"/.. && pwd)"
-JVCL_JAR="$(find "${JVCL_DIR}"/target -type f -name "jvcl-*.jar" | head -1)"
-if [[ -z "${JVCL_JAR}" ]] ; then
-  mvn -DskipTests=true clean package || die "Error building JVCL jar"
-  JVCL_JAR="$(find "${JVCL_DIR}"/target -type f -name "jvcl-*.jar" | head -1)"
-  if [[ -z "${JVCL_JAR}" ]] ; then
-    die "No JVCL jar file found after successful build"
-  fi
-fi
-
-java -cp "${JVCL_JAR}" jvcl.main.Jvcl "${@}"
+java -cp "${JVCL_JAR}" -agentlib:jdwp=transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=y,address=*:5005 jvcl.main.Jvcl "${@}"
diff --git a/bin/jvcl_common b/bin/jvcl_common
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7db7fe4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/jvcl_common
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+function die () {
+  echo 1>&2 "${1}"
+  exit 1
+}
+
+function handle_help_request() {
+  if [[ -z "${2}" ]]; then
+    return
+  fi
+
+  if [[ ${2} == "-h" || ${2} == "--help" ]]; then
+    while IFS='' read -r line || [[ -n "$line" ]]; do
+      if [[ ${line} =~ ^#.* ]]; then
+        if [[ ! ${line} =~ ^#!/bin/bash.* ]]; then
+          echo "${line}"
+        fi
+      else
+        break
+      fi
+    done <"${1}"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
+JVCL_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${0}")"/.. && pwd)"
+JVCL_JAR="$(find "${JVCL_DIR}"/target -type f -name "jvcl-*-prod.jar" | head -1)"
+if [[ -z "${JVCL_JAR}" ]] ; then
+  mvn -DskipTests=true -Puberjar clean package || die "Error building JVCL jar"
+  JVCL_JAR="$(find "${JVCL_DIR}"/target -type f -name "jvcl-*-prod.jar" | head -1)"
+  if [[ -z "${JVCL_JAR}" ]] ; then
+    die "No JVCL jar file found after successful build"
+  fi
+fi
+
+handle_help_request "${0}" "${1}"