diff --git a/src/cli/program/helpers.test.ts b/src/cli/program/helpers.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0c475d3a613
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/program/helpers.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+import { Command } from "commander";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { collectOption, parsePositiveIntOrUndefined, resolveActionArgs } from "./helpers.js";
+
+describe("program helpers", () => {
+  it("collectOption appends values in order", () => {
+    expect(collectOption("a")).toEqual(["a"]);
+    expect(collectOption("b", ["a"])).toEqual(["a", "b"]);
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    { value: undefined, expected: undefined },
+    { value: null, expected: undefined },
+    { value: "", expected: undefined },
+    { value: 5, expected: 5 },
+    { value: 5.9, expected: 5 },
+    { value: 0, expected: undefined },
+    { value: -1, expected: undefined },
+    { value: Number.NaN, expected: undefined },
+    { value: "10", expected: 10 },
+    { value: "10ms", expected: 10 },
+    { value: "0", expected: undefined },
+    { value: "nope", expected: undefined },
+    { value: true, expected: undefined },
+  ])("parsePositiveIntOrUndefined(%j)", ({ value, expected }) => {
+    expect(parsePositiveIntOrUndefined(value)).toBe(expected);
+  });
+
+  it("resolveActionArgs returns args when command has arg array", () => {
+    const command = new Command();
+    (command as Command & { args?: string[] }).args = ["one", "two"];
+    expect(resolveActionArgs(command)).toEqual(["one", "two"]);
+  });
+
+  it("resolveActionArgs returns empty array for missing/invalid args", () => {
+    const command = new Command();
+    (command as Command & { args?: unknown }).args = "not-an-array";
+    expect(resolveActionArgs(command)).toEqual([]);
+    expect(resolveActionArgs(undefined)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});