diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 883bb31..78966d2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -53,9 +53,20 @@ The Emergency Management example exposes both a Reticulum‑backed service and a
 gateway implemented with FastAPI. Start the Reticulum service first:
 
 ```bash
-python examples/EmergencyManagement/Server/server_emergency.py
+python examples/EmergencyManagement/Server/server_emergency.py \
+  --config-path ~/.reticulum \
+  --storage-path ~/.reticulum/lxmf \
+  --display-name "Emergency Ops" \
+  --auth-token YOUR_TOKEN \
+  --link-keepalive-interval 30 \
+  --database-path ./emergency.db
 ```
 
+All flags are optional; omit them to fall back to the defaults embedded in the
+example. At startup the server prints the announced identity hash, command
+destination hash, and the active configuration so that clients can copy the
+values without digging through the code.
+
 ### Starting the HTTP gateway
 
 Launch the FastAPI gateway with `uvicorn` to serve the OpenAPI on
diff --git a/TASK.md b/TASK.md
index 398b995..82c347e 100644
--- a/TASK.md
+++ b/TASK.md
@@ -85,5 +85,6 @@
 ## 2025-09-26
 - [x] Derive EmergencyManagement database configuration from the server module path and expose runtime overrides.
 - [x] Add sortable tables to the EmergencyManagement web UI for messages and events.
+- [x] Extend EmergencyManagement server CLI to accept runtime overrides and document usage.
 
 
diff --git a/docs/emergency_management_architecture.md b/docs/emergency_management_architecture.md
index ea1b64b..cecfcdf 100644
--- a/docs/emergency_management_architecture.md
+++ b/docs/emergency_management_architecture.md
@@ -7,6 +7,17 @@ associated event reports. The upcoming FastAPI gateway will reuse the existing
 LXMF service stack while presenting a northbound REST API for web and mobile
 clients.
 
+### Runtime configuration
+
+The LXMF service located at
+`examples/EmergencyManagement/Server/server_emergency.py` accepts command-line
+flags so operators can point the process at different Reticulum configurations,
+LXMF storage directories, database locations, and authentication tokens without
+editing the source code. The same CLI also controls the announced display name
+and link keepalive interval. When the service starts it prints a summary of the
+effective settings alongside the identity and destination hashes used by LXMF
+clients and gateways.
+
 ## Emergency Action Message Operations
 
 | Operation | LXMF Command | Controller Method | Input Dataclass | Output |
diff --git a/examples/EmergencyManagement/Server/server_emergency.py b/examples/EmergencyManagement/Server/server_emergency.py
index 17d78c9..535c96d 100644
--- a/examples/EmergencyManagement/Server/server_emergency.py
+++ b/examples/EmergencyManagement/Server/server_emergency.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 import sys
 from contextlib import suppress
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Optional, Sequence
+from typing import Any, Dict, Optional, Sequence
 
 
 def _ensure_standard_library_on_path() -> None:
@@ -147,26 +147,146 @@ def _sync_handler(*_: int, **__: object) -> None:
     EmergencyService = None
 
 
-def _resolve_database_override(argv: Optional[Sequence[str]]) -> Optional[str]:
-    """Parse ``argv`` for optional database overrides."""
+def _build_arg_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
+    """Construct the command-line parser for the server module."""
 
-    if argv is None:
-        return None
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        description="Run the Emergency Management LXMF service.",
+        formatter_class=argparse.ArgumentDefaultsHelpFormatter,
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--config-path",
+        dest="config_path",
+        help="Path to the Reticulum configuration directory.",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--storage-path",
+        dest="storage_path",
+        help="Directory used for LXMF storage and message persistence.",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--display-name",
+        dest="display_name",
+        help="Display name announced for the LXMF identity.",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--auth-token",
+        dest="auth_token",
+        help="Auth token required from clients when sending commands.",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--link-keepalive-interval",
+        dest="link_keepalive_interval",
+        type=float,
+        help="Seconds between LXMF link keepalive packets.",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--database-url",
+        dest="database_url",
+        help="SQLAlchemy database URL override.",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--database-path",
+        dest="database_path",
+        help="Filesystem path to a SQLite database file.",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--database",
+        dest="database",
+        help="Backward compatible alias for --database-path.",
+    )
+    return parser
+
+
+def _parse_args(argv: Optional[Sequence[str]]) -> argparse.Namespace:
+    """Parse ``argv`` into configuration options for the service."""
+
+    parser = _build_arg_parser()
+    return parser.parse_args(argv)
 
-    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(add_help=False)
-    parser.add_argument("--database")
-    parser.add_argument("--database-path")
-    parser.add_argument("--database-url")
-    parsed, _ = parser.parse_known_args(list(argv))
 
-    for candidate in (parsed.database_url, parsed.database_path, parsed.database):
-        if candidate:
-            return candidate
+def _select_database_override(args: argparse.Namespace) -> Optional[str]:
+    """Determine the preferred database override from parsed arguments."""
+
+    for attr in ("database_url", "database_path", "database"):
+        value = getattr(args, attr, None)
+        if value:
+            return value
 
     return None
 
 
-async def main(argv: Optional[Sequence[str]] = None) -> None:
+def _prepare_service_kwargs(args: argparse.Namespace) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    """Extract keyword arguments for ``EmergencyService`` from ``args``."""
+
+    candidate_kwargs: Dict[str, Any] = {
+        "config_path": getattr(args, "config_path", None),
+        "storage_path": getattr(args, "storage_path", None),
+        "display_name": getattr(args, "display_name", None),
+        "auth_token": getattr(args, "auth_token", None),
+        "link_keepalive_interval": getattr(args, "link_keepalive_interval", None),
+    }
+    return {
+        key: value
+        for key, value in candidate_kwargs.items()
+        if value is not None
+    }
+
+
+def _format_hash(value: Optional[bytes]) -> str:
+    """Convert a destination or identity hash into a human readable string."""
+
+    if not value:
+        return "n/a"
+
+    return value.hex().upper()
+
+
+def _emit_startup_summary(
+    service: Any,
+    database_url: str,
+    args: argparse.Namespace,
+) -> None:
+    """Print a summary of the active runtime configuration to stdout."""
+
+    identity_hash = _format_hash(
+        getattr(getattr(service, "source_identity", None), "hash", None)
+    )
+    destination_hash = _format_hash(
+        getattr(getattr(service, "destination", None), "hash", None)
+    )
+    link_destination = getattr(service, "link_destination", None)
+    if link_destination is None:
+        link_hash = "disabled"
+    else:
+        link_hash = _format_hash(getattr(link_destination, "hash", None))
+
+    display_name = getattr(args, "display_name", None) or "ReticulumOpenAPI"
+    storage_path = getattr(args, "storage_path", None) or "default"
+    config_path = getattr(args, "config_path", None) or "default"
+    auth_token = "set" if getattr(args, "auth_token", None) else "not set"
+    keepalive = getattr(args, "link_keepalive_interval", None)
+    keepalive_display = keepalive if keepalive is not None else "default"
+
+    summary_lines = [
+        "Emergency Management service is running.",
+        f"  Identity hash: {identity_hash}",
+        f"  Command destination: {destination_hash}",
+        f"  Link destination: {link_hash}",
+        f"  Reticulum config: {config_path}",
+        f"  LXMF storage: {storage_path}",
+        f"  Display name: {display_name}",
+        f"  Auth token: {auth_token}",
+        f"  Link keepalive interval: {keepalive_display}",
+        f"  Database URL: {database_url}",
+    ]
+    print("\n".join(summary_lines))
+
+
+async def main(
+    options: Optional[argparse.Namespace] = None,
+    argv: Optional[Sequence[str]] = None,
+) -> None:
     """Run the emergency management service until interrupted.
 
     Returns:
@@ -183,19 +303,24 @@ async def main(argv: Optional[Sequence[str]] = None) -> None:
     ):
         raise RuntimeError("Emergency service dependencies failed to load")
 
-    if argv is None:
-        argv = sys.argv[1:]
+    if options is None:
+        if argv is None:
+            argv = sys.argv[1:]
+        options = _parse_args(list(argv))
 
     _configure_environment()
-    override = _resolve_database_override(argv)
+    override = _select_database_override(options)
     configured_url = configure_database(override)
     await init_db(configured_url)
-    async with EmergencyService() as svc:
+    service_kwargs = _prepare_service_kwargs(options)
+    async with EmergencyService(**service_kwargs) as svc:
         svc.announce()
+        _emit_startup_summary(svc, configured_url, options)
         stop_event = asyncio.Event()
         _register_shutdown_signals(stop_event)
         await stop_event.wait()
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    asyncio.run(main())
+    parsed_args = _parse_args(sys.argv[1:])
+    asyncio.run(main(parsed_args))
diff --git a/tests/examples/emergency_management/test_server_cli.py b/tests/examples/emergency_management/test_server_cli.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..19b6f18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/examples/emergency_management/test_server_cli.py
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+"""Tests for the Emergency Management server CLI helpers."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from types import SimpleNamespace
+
+import pytest
+
+from examples.EmergencyManagement.Server import server_emergency
+
+
+class _StubService:
+    """Async context manager that captures invocation parameters."""
+
+    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+        self.kwargs = kwargs
+        self.announced = False
+        self.destination = SimpleNamespace(hash=b"\x01" * 16)
+        self.source_identity = SimpleNamespace(hash=b"\x02" * 16)
+        self.link_destination = SimpleNamespace(hash=b"\x03" * 16)
+
+    async def __aenter__(self):
+        return self
+
+    async def __aexit__(self, exc_type, exc, tb):
+        return False
+
+    def announce(self):
+        self.announced = True
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_main_threads_cli_arguments(monkeypatch, capsys):
+    """Parsed CLI options should propagate into the service and database calls."""
+
+    configure_calls = []
+    init_calls = []
+
+    class _Factory(_StubService):
+        def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+            super().__init__(**kwargs)
+            self_created["instance"] = self
+
+    self_created = {}
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        server_emergency,
+        "_ensure_dependencies_loaded",
+        lambda: None,
+    )
+    monkeypatch.setattr(server_emergency, "EmergencyService", _Factory)
+
+    def _fake_configure(url):
+        configure_calls.append(url)
+        return "configured://database"
+
+    async def _fake_init(url):
+        init_calls.append(url)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(server_emergency, "configure_database", _fake_configure)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(server_emergency, "init_db", _fake_init)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        server_emergency,
+        "_register_shutdown_signals",
+        lambda stop_event: stop_event.set(),
+    )
+
+    options = server_emergency._parse_args(
+        [
+            "--config-path",
+            "/var/lib/reticulum",
+            "--storage-path",
+            "/var/lib/lxmf",
+            "--display-name",
+            "Emergency Ops",
+            "--auth-token",
+            "secret-token",
+            "--link-keepalive-interval",
+            "15.5",
+            "--database-path",
+            "/tmp/emergency.db",
+        ]
+    )
+
+    await server_emergency.main(options=options)
+
+    stub_service = self_created["instance"]
+    assert stub_service.announced is True
+    assert stub_service.kwargs == {
+        "config_path": "/var/lib/reticulum",
+        "storage_path": "/var/lib/lxmf",
+        "display_name": "Emergency Ops",
+        "auth_token": "secret-token",
+        "link_keepalive_interval": 15.5,
+    }
+    assert configure_calls == ["/tmp/emergency.db"]
+    assert init_calls == ["configured://database"]
+
+    output = capsys.readouterr().out
+    assert "Emergency Management service is running." in output
+    assert "configured://database" in output
+    assert "01010101010101010101010101010101" in output
+
+
+def test_database_override_priority():
+    """The CLI should prefer explicit URLs over filesystem paths."""
+
+    options = server_emergency._parse_args(
+        [
+            "--database",
+            "./fallback.db",
+            "--database-path",
+            "./preferred.db",
+            "--database-url",
+            "postgresql+asyncpg://user:pass@host/db",
+        ]
+    )
+
+    override = server_emergency._select_database_override(options)
+    assert override == "postgresql+asyncpg://user:pass@host/db"