diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/char_.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/char_.rs
index b61918e183..496af0f105 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/char_.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/char_.rs
@@ -202,17 +202,17 @@ impl Command for Char {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Output Unicode character",
-                example: r#"char -u 1f378"#,
+                example: r#"char --unicode 1f378"#,
                 result: Some(Value::test_string("\u{1f378}")),
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Create Unicode from integer codepoint values",
-                example: r#"char -i (0x60 + 1) (0x60 + 2)"#,
+                example: r#"char --integer (0x60 + 1) (0x60 + 2)"#,
                 result: Some(Value::test_string("ab")),
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Output multi-byte Unicode character",
-                example: r#"char -u 1F468 200D 1F466 200D 1F466"#,
+                example: r#"char --unicode 1F468 200D 1F466 200D 1F466"#,
                 result: Some(Value::test_string(
                     "\u{1F468}\u{200D}\u{1F466}\u{200D}\u{1F466}",
                 )),
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/detect_columns.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/detect_columns.rs
index 7a24d23aa1..405ab6f832 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/detect_columns.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/detect_columns.rs
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ impl Command for DetectColumns {
         vec![
             Example {
                 description: "Splits string across multiple columns",
-                example: "'a b c' | detect columns -n",
+                example: "'a b c' | detect columns --no-headers",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![Value::test_record(Record {
                         cols: vec![
@@ -81,17 +81,20 @@ impl Command for DetectColumns {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "",
-                example: "$'c1 c2 c3 c4 c5(char nl)a b c d e' | detect columns -c 0..1",
+                example:
+                    "$'c1 c2 c3 c4 c5(char nl)a b c d e' | detect columns --combine-columns 0..1",
                 result: None,
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Splits a multi-line string into columns with headers detected",
-                example: "$'c1 c2 c3 c4 c5(char nl)a b c d e' | detect columns -c -2..-1",
+                example:
+                    "$'c1 c2 c3 c4 c5(char nl)a b c d e' | detect columns --combine-columns -2..-1",
                 result: None,
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Splits a multi-line string into columns with headers detected",
-                example: "$'c1 c2 c3 c4 c5(char nl)a b c d e' | detect columns -c 2..",
+                example:
+                    "$'c1 c2 c3 c4 c5(char nl)a b c d e' | detect columns --combine-columns 2..",
                 result: None,
             },
             Example {
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/encode_decode/encode.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/encode_decode/encode.rs
index 7cc1359c4c..86bfc5ff11 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/encode_decode/encode.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/encode_decode/encode.rs
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ documentation link at https://docs.rs/encoding_rs/latest/encoding_rs/#statics"#
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Replace characters with HTML entities if they can't be encoded",
-                example: r#""🎈" | encode -i shift-jis"#,
+                example: r#""🎈" | encode --ignore-errors shift-jis"#,
                 result: Some(Value::binary(
                     vec![0x26, 0x23, 0x31, 0x32, 0x37, 0x38, 0x38, 0x30, 0x3b],
                     Span::test_data(),
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/parse.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/parse.rs
index 7ffbdbde32..2bd1cbd9cf 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/parse.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/parse.rs
@@ -59,12 +59,12 @@ impl Command for Parse {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Parse a string using regex pattern",
-                example: "\"hi there\" | parse -r '(?P<foo>\\w+) (?P<bar>\\w+)'",
+                example: "\"hi there\" | parse --regex '(?P<foo>\\w+) (?P<bar>\\w+)'",
                 result: Some(result),
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Parse a string using fancy-regex named capture group pattern",
-                example: "\"foo bar.\" | parse -r '\\s*(?<name>\\w+)(?=\\.)'",
+                example: "\"foo bar.\" | parse --regex '\\s*(?<name>\\w+)(?=\\.)'",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![Value::test_record(Record {
                         cols: vec!["name".to_string()],
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ impl Command for Parse {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Parse a string using fancy-regex capture group pattern",
-                example: "\"foo! bar.\" | parse -r '(\\w+)(?=\\.)|(\\w+)(?=!)'",
+                example: "\"foo! bar.\" | parse --regex '(\\w+)(?=\\.)|(\\w+)(?=!)'",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![
                         Value::test_record(Record {
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ impl Command for Parse {
             Example {
                 description: "Parse a string using fancy-regex look behind pattern",
                 example:
-                    "\" @another(foo bar)   \" | parse -r '\\s*(?<=[() ])(@\\w+)(\\([^)]*\\))?\\s*'",
+                    "\" @another(foo bar)   \" | parse --regex '\\s*(?<=[() ])(@\\w+)(\\([^)]*\\))?\\s*'",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![Value::test_record(Record {
                         cols: vec!["capture0".to_string(), "capture1".to_string()],
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ impl Command for Parse {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Parse a string using fancy-regex look ahead atomic group pattern",
-                example: "\"abcd\" | parse -r '^a(bc(?=d)|b)cd$'",
+                example: "\"abcd\" | parse --regex '^a(bc(?=d)|b)cd$'",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![Value::test_record(Record {
                         cols: vec!["capture0".to_string()],
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/chars.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/chars.rs
index 68d0c7d02d..e8948b3ae0 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/chars.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/chars.rs
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Split on grapheme clusters",
-                example: "'🇯🇵ほげ' | split chars -g",
+                example: "'🇯🇵ほげ' | split chars --grapheme-clusters",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![
                         Value::test_string("🇯🇵"),
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/column.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/column.rs
index 16a1d87996..3e2fa30f6f 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/column.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/column.rs
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Split a string into columns of char and remove the empty columns",
-                example: "'abc' | split column -c ''",
+                example: "'abc' | split column --collapse-empty ''",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![Value::test_record(Record {
                         cols: vec![
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Split a list of strings into a table, ignoring padding",
-                example: r"['a -  b' 'c  -    d'] | split column -r '\s*-\s*'",
+                example: r"['a -  b' 'c  -    d'] | split column --regex '\s*-\s*'",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![
                         Value::test_record(Record {
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/words.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/words.rs
index bb3f03cf5a..a566849c84 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/words.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/split/words.rs
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             Example {
                 description:
                     "Split the string's words, of at least 3 characters, into separate rows",
-                example: "'hello to the world' | split words -l 3",
+                example: "'hello to the world' | split words --min-word-length 3",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![
                         Value::test_string("hello"),
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             Example {
                 description:
                     "A real-world example of splitting words",
-                example: "http get https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11/11-0.txt | str downcase | split words -l 2 | uniq --count | sort-by count --reverse | first 10",
+                example: "http get https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11/11-0.txt | str downcase | split words --min-word-length 2 | uniq --count | sort-by count --reverse | first 10",
                 result: None,
             },
         ]
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/contains.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/contains.rs
index f88d10f639..160dd71197 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/contains.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/contains.rs
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Check if input contains string case insensitive",
-                example: "'my_library.rb' | str contains -i '.RB'",
+                example: "'my_library.rb' | str contains --ignore-case '.RB'",
                 result: Some(Value::test_bool(true)),
             },
             Example {
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Check if input contains string in a table",
-                example: " [[ColA ColB]; [test 100]] | str contains -i 'E' ColA",
+                example: " [[ColA ColB]; [test 100]] | str contains --ignore-case 'E' ColA",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![Value::test_record(Record {
                         cols: vec!["ColA".to_string(), "ColB".to_string()],
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Check if list does not contain string",
-                example: "[one two three] | str contains -n o",
+                example: "[one two three] | str contains --not o",
                 result: Some(Value::list(
                     vec![
                         Value::test_bool(false),
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/ends_with.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/ends_with.rs
index dc3e337882..dcea8d1a9d 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/ends_with.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/ends_with.rs
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Checks if string ends with '.RB', case-insensitive",
-                example: "'my_library.rb' | str ends-with -i '.RB'",
+                example: "'my_library.rb' | str ends-with --ignore-case '.RB'",
                 result: Some(Value::test_bool(true)),
             },
         ]
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/index_of.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/index_of.rs
index 6b830f9258..6dfd83bcd2 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/index_of.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/index_of.rs
@@ -107,22 +107,22 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Count length using grapheme clusters",
-                example: "'🇯🇵ほげ ふが ぴよ' | str index-of -g 'ふが'",
+                example: "'🇯🇵ほげ ふが ぴよ' | str index-of --grapheme-clusters 'ふが'",
                 result: Some(Value::test_int(4)),
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Returns index of string in input within a`rhs open range`",
-                example: " '.rb.rb' | str index-of '.rb' -r 1..",
+                example: " '.rb.rb' | str index-of '.rb' --range 1..",
                 result: Some(Value::test_int(3)),
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Returns index of string in input within a lhs open range",
-                example: " '123456' | str index-of '6' -r ..4",
+                example: " '123456' | str index-of '6' --range ..4",
                 result: Some(Value::test_int(-1)),
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Returns index of string in input within a range",
-                example: " '123456' | str index-of '3' -r 1..4",
+                example: " '123456' | str index-of '3' --range 1..4",
                 result: Some(Value::test_int(2)),
             },
             Example {
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/length.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/length.rs
index 696ec0bf36..dd505f89ce 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/length.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/length.rs
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Count length using grapheme clusters",
-                example: "'🇯🇵ほげ ふが ぴよ' | str length -g",
+                example: "'🇯🇵ほげ ふが ぴよ' | str length  --grapheme-clusters",
                 result: Some(Value::test_int(9)),
             },
             Example {
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/starts_with.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/starts_with.rs
index 5c1ed82d79..bb8c36d2f1 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/starts_with.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/starts_with.rs
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Checks if input string starts with 'cargo', case-insensitive",
-                example: "'Cargo.toml' | str starts-with -i 'cargo'",
+                example: "'Cargo.toml' | str starts-with --ignore-case 'cargo'",
                 result: Some(Value::test_bool(true)),
             },
         ]
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/substring.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/substring.rs
index 5de61e43be..edfdf53146 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/substring.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/substring.rs
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Count indexes and split using grapheme clusters",
-                example: " '🇯🇵ほげ ふが ぴよ' | str substring -g 4..6",
+                example: " '🇯🇵ほげ ふが ぴよ' | str substring --grapheme-clusters 4..6",
                 result: Some(Value::test_string("ふが")),
             },
         ]
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/trim/trim_.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/trim/trim_.rs
index 6b1ca5f965..6f7b2591dc 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/trim/trim_.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/strings/str_/trim/trim_.rs
@@ -134,27 +134,27 @@ impl Command for SubCommand {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Trim a specific character",
-                example: "'=== Nu shell ===' | str trim -c '=' | str trim",
+                example: "'=== Nu shell ===' | str trim --char '=' | str trim",
                 result: Some(Value::test_string("Nu shell")),
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Trim whitespace from the beginning of string",
-                example: "' Nu shell ' | str trim -l",
+                example: "' Nu shell ' | str trim --left",
                 result: Some(Value::test_string("Nu shell ")),
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Trim a specific character",
-                example: "'=== Nu shell ===' | str trim -c '='",
+                example: "'=== Nu shell ===' | str trim --char '='",
                 result: Some(Value::test_string(" Nu shell ")),
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Trim whitespace from the end of string",
-                example: "' Nu shell ' | str trim -r",
+                example: "' Nu shell ' | str trim --right",
                 result: Some(Value::test_string(" Nu shell")),
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Trim a specific character",
-                example: "'=== Nu shell ===' | str trim -r -c '='",
+                example: "'=== Nu shell ===' | str trim --right --char '='",
                 result: Some(Value::test_string("=== Nu shell ")),
             },
         ]
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/system/nu_check.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/system/nu_check.rs
index ae612ae8c3..bbd055d23e 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/system/nu_check.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/system/nu_check.rs
@@ -187,17 +187,17 @@ impl Command for NuCheck {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Parse a input file by showing error message",
-                example: "nu-check -d script.nu",
+                example: "nu-check --debug script.nu",
                 result: None,
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Parse an external stream as script by showing error message",
-                example: "open foo.nu | nu-check -d script.nu",
+                example: "open foo.nu | nu-check --debug script.nu",
                 result: None,
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Parse an internal stream as module by showing error message",
-                example: "open module.nu | lines | nu-check -d --as-module module.nu",
+                example: "open module.nu | lines | nu-check --debug --as-module module.nu",
                 result: None,
             },
             Example {
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ impl Command for NuCheck {
             },
             Example {
                 description: "Heuristically parse by showing error message",
-                example: "open foo.nu | lines | nu-check -ad",
+                example: "open foo.nu | lines | nu-check --all --debug",
                 result: None,
             },
         ]
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/detect_columns.rs b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/detect_columns.rs
index 89a6bdc7eb..662f770130 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/detect_columns.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/detect_columns.rs
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ fn detect_columns_with_flag_c() {
         for case in cases.into_iter() {
             let out = nu!(
                 cwd: dirs.test(),
-                "({} | detect columns -c {}) == {}",
+                "({} | detect columns --combine-columns {}) == {}",
                 case.0,
                 case.2,
                 case.1,
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ fn detect_columns_with_flag_c() {
 
             assert_eq!(
                 out.out, "true",
-                "({} | detect columns -c {}) == {}",
+                "({} | detect columns --combine-columns {}) == {}",
                 case.0, case.2, case.1
             );
         }
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/nu_check.rs b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/nu_check.rs
index 9f34635c71..c2c5bc5783 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/nu_check.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/nu_check.rs
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ fn parse_script_with_wrong_type() {
         let actual = nu!(
             cwd: dirs.test(), pipeline(
             "
-                nu-check -d --as-module script.nu
+                nu-check --debug --as-module script.nu
             "
         ));
 
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ fn parse_script_failure() {
         let actual = nu!(
             cwd: dirs.test(), pipeline(
             "
-                nu-check -d script.nu
+                nu-check --debug script.nu
             "
         ));
 
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ fn parse_module_with_wrong_type() {
         let actual = nu!(
             cwd: dirs.test(), pipeline(
             "
-                nu-check -d foo.nu
+                nu-check --debug foo.nu
             "
         ));
 
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ fn parse_module_failure() {
         let actual = nu!(
             cwd: dirs.test(), pipeline(
             "
-                nu-check -d --as-module foo.nu
+                nu-check --debug --as-module foo.nu
             "
         ));
 
@@ -319,7 +319,7 @@ fn parse_string_as_script() {
         let actual = nu!(
             cwd: dirs.test(), pipeline(
             r#"
-                echo $'two(char nl)lines' | nu-check -d --as-module
+                echo $'two(char nl)lines' | nu-check --debug --as-module
             "#
         ));
 
@@ -545,7 +545,7 @@ fn parse_module_success_with_complex_external_stream() {
         let actual = nu!(
             cwd: dirs.test(), pipeline(
             "
-                open grep.nu | nu-check -d --as-module
+                open grep.nu | nu-check --debug --as-module
             "
         ));
 
@@ -594,7 +594,7 @@ fn parse_with_flag_all_success_for_complex_external_stream() {
         let actual = nu!(
             cwd: dirs.test(), pipeline(
             "
-                open grep.nu | nu-check -ad
+                open grep.nu | nu-check --all --debug
             "
         ));
 
@@ -643,7 +643,7 @@ fn parse_with_flag_all_failure_for_complex_external_stream() {
         let actual = nu!(
             cwd: dirs.test(), pipeline(
             "
-                open grep.nu | nu-check -ad
+                open grep.nu | nu-check --all --debug
             "
         ));
 
@@ -692,7 +692,7 @@ fn parse_with_flag_all_failure_for_complex_list_stream() {
         let actual = nu!(
             cwd: dirs.test(), pipeline(
             "
-                open grep.nu | lines | nu-check -ad
+                open grep.nu | lines | nu-check --all --debug
             "
         ));
 
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/select.rs b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/select.rs
index d44fc54391..4618a7a4af 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/select.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/select.rs
@@ -186,8 +186,9 @@ fn select_ignores_errors_successfully3() {
 
 #[test]
 fn select_ignores_errors_successfully4() {
-    let actual =
-        nu!(r#""key val\na 1\nb 2\n" | lines | split column -c " " | select foo? | to nuon"#);
+    let actual = nu!(
+        r#""key val\na 1\nb 2\n" | lines | split column --collapse-empty " " | select foo? | to nuon"#
+    );
 
     assert_eq!(actual.out, r#"[[foo]; [null], [null], [null]]"#.to_string());
     assert!(actual.err.is_empty());
@@ -211,7 +212,8 @@ fn select_failed2() {
 
 #[test]
 fn select_failed3() {
-    let actual = nu!(r#""key val\na 1\nb 2\n" | lines | split column -c " " | select "100""#);
+    let actual =
+        nu!(r#""key val\na 1\nb 2\n" | lines | split column --collapse-empty " " | select "100""#);
 
     assert!(actual.out.is_empty());
     assert!(actual.err.contains("cannot find column"));
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/split_column.rs b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/split_column.rs
index 0761229608..9728df1ddd 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/split_column.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/split_column.rs
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ fn to_column() {
                 open sample2.txt
                 | lines
                 | str trim
-                | split column -r '\s*,\s*'
+                | split column --regex '\s*,\s*'
                 | get column2
             "
         ));
diff --git a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/str_/mod.rs b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/str_/mod.rs
index 7991ad822f..5e136b40b8 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/str_/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/tests/commands/str_/mod.rs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ fn trims() {
 fn error_trim_multiple_chars() {
     let actual = nu!(pipeline(
         r#"
-        echo "does it work now?!" | str trim -c "?!"
+        echo "does it work now?!" | str trim --char "?!"
         "#
     ));
 
diff --git a/crates/nu-std/std/testing.nu b/crates/nu-std/std/testing.nu
index e39ffbcd16..5049dd7065 100644
--- a/crates/nu-std/std/testing.nu
+++ b/crates/nu-std/std/testing.nu
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def get-annotated [
     | where annotation in (valid-annotations|columns)
     | reject index
     | update item {
-        split column -c ' '
+        split column --collapse-empty ' '
         | get column2.0
     }
     | rename function_name