diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 1ccab0e..d004411 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        gleam: ["0.30.0-rc3"]
+        erlang: ["25.3.2.3", "26.0.2"]
+        gleam: ["0.30.3"]
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v2
       - uses: ./.github/actions/test
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index d83ac1d..ee6f8d3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v2
       - uses: ./.github/actions/test
         with:
-          gleam-version: "0.30.0-rc3"
+          gleam-version: "0.30.3"
       - name: publish to hex
         env:
           HEXPM_USER: ${{ secrets.HEXPM_USER }}
diff --git a/.tool-versions b/.tool-versions
index 50d8620..d968c6a 100644
--- a/.tool-versions
+++ b/.tool-versions
@@ -1 +1 @@
-gleam 0.30.0-rc4
+gleam 0.30.3
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 51509cf..72f658b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -17,6 +17,90 @@ gleam add glint
 
 ## Usage
 
-You can import `glint` as a dependency and use it as follows:
+### Glint's Core
 
-...
+`glint` is conceptually quite small, your general flow will be:
+
+1. create a new glint instance with `glint.new`
+1. configure it with `glint.with_pretty_help` and other configuration functions
+1. add commands with `glint.add`
+   1. create a new command with `glint.cmd`
+   1. assign that command any flags required
+   1. assign the command a custom description
+1. run your cli with `glnt.run`, run with a function to handle command output with `glint.run_and_handle`
+
+### Mini Example
+
+You can import `glint` as a dependency and use it to build simple command-line applications like the following simplified version of the [the hello world example](./examples/hello/README.md)
+
+```gleam
+// stdlib imports
+import gleam/io
+import gleam/list
+import gleam/result
+import gleam/string.{uppercase}
+// external dep imports
+import snag
+// glint imports
+import glint
+import glint/flag
+// erlang-specific imports
+
+@target(erlang)
+import gleam/erlang.{start_arguments}
+
+/// the key for the caps flag
+const caps = "caps"
+
+/// a boolean flag with default False to control message capitalization.
+///
+fn caps_flag() -> flag.FlagBuilder(Bool) {
+  flag.new(flag.B)
+  |> flag.default(False)
+  |> flag.description("Capitalize the provided name")
+}
+
+/// the command function that will be executed
+///
+fn hello(input: glint.CommandInput) -> Nil {
+  let assert Ok(caps) = flag.get_bool(from: input.flags, for: caps)
+
+  let name =
+    case input.args {
+        [] -> "Joe"
+        [name,..] -> name
+    }
+
+  let msg = "Hello, " <> name <> "!"
+
+
+  case caps {
+    True -> uppercase(msg)
+    False -> msg
+  }
+  |> io.println
+}
+
+pub fn main() {
+  // create a new glint instance
+  glint.new()
+  // with an app name of "hello", this is used when printing help text
+  |> glint.with_name("hello")
+  // with pretty help enabled, using the built-in colours
+  |> glint.with_pretty_help(glint.default_pretty_help())
+  // with a root command that executes the `hello` function
+  |> glint.add(
+      // add the command to the root
+      at: [],
+      // create the command, add any flags
+      do: glint.command(hello)
+      // with flag `caps`
+      |> glint.flag(caps, caps_flag())
+      // with flag `repeat`
+      |> glint.flag(repeat, repeat_flag())
+      // with a short description
+      |> glint.description("Prints Hello, <NAME>!"),
+  )
+  |> glint.run(start_arguments())
+}
+```
diff --git a/examples/hello/.github/workflows/test.yml b/examples/hello/.github/workflows/test.yml
index ec75407..a13562c 100644
--- a/examples/hello/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/examples/hello/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ jobs:
       - uses: erlef/setup-beam@v1.15.4
         with:
           otp-version: "25.2"
-          gleam-version: "0.30.0-rc3"
+          gleam-version: "0.30.3"
           rebar3-version: "3"
           # elixir-version: "1.14.2"
       - run: gleam format --check src test
diff --git a/examples/hello/.tool-versions b/examples/hello/.tool-versions
deleted file mode 100644
index 8295f32..0000000
--- a/examples/hello/.tool-versions
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-gleam 0.30.0-rc3
diff --git a/examples/hello/README.md b/examples/hello/README.md
index 4a921ba..2d57891 100644
--- a/examples/hello/README.md
+++ b/examples/hello/README.md
@@ -1,24 +1,41 @@
 # hello
 
-[![Package Version](https://img.shields.io/hexpm/v/hello)](https://hex.pm/packages/hello)
-[![Hex Docs](https://img.shields.io/badge/hex-docs-ffaff3)](https://hexdocs.pm/hello/)
+This is an example project that demonstrates a simple workflow using `glint`.
+It contains only one command, the root command.
+Feel free to browse `src/hello.gleam` to get a sense of how a small cli application is written.
 
-A Gleam project
+## Usage
 
-## Quick start
+### Running the application
 
-```sh
-gleam run   # Run the project
-gleam test  # Run the tests
-gleam shell # Run an Erlang shell
-```
+You can run this example from the `examples/hello` directory by calling `gleam run` which prints `Hello, <NAMES>!`
 
-## Installation
+The `hello` application accepts any number of arguments, being the names of people to say hello to.
 
-If available on Hex this package can be added to your Gleam project:
+- No input: `gleam run` -> prints "Hello, Joe!"
+- One input: `gleam run Rob` -> prints "Hello, Rob!"
+- Two inputs: `gleam run Rob Louis` -> prints "Hello, Rob and Louis!"
+- \>2 inputs: `gleam run Rob Louis Hayleigh` -> prints "Hello, Rob, Louis and Hayleigh!"
 
-```sh
-gleam add hello
-```
+### Flags
+
+The root command accepts two flags:
+
+- `--caps`: capitalizes the output, so if output would be "Hello, Joe!" it prints "HELLO, JOE!"
+- `--repeat=N`: repeats the output N times separated , so with N=2 if output would be "Hello, Joe!" it prints "Hello, Joe!\nHello, Joe!"
+
+## Help Output
 
-and its documentation can be found at <https://hexdocs.pm/hello>.
+Generated help output for the root command is as follows
+
+```txt
+Prints Hello, <NAME>!
+
+USAGE:
+        hello [ ARGS ] [ --caps=<BOOL> --repeat=<INT> ]
+
+FLAGS:
+        --caps=<BOOL>           Capitalize the provided name
+        --help                  Print help information
+        --repeat=<INT>          Repeat the message n-times
+```
diff --git a/examples/hello/src/hello.gleam b/examples/hello/src/hello.gleam
index cf615ce..4291ea4 100644
--- a/examples/hello/src/hello.gleam
+++ b/examples/hello/src/hello.gleam
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 // stdlib imports
 import gleam/io
 import gleam/list
-import gleam/result
-import gleam/string.{join, uppercase}
-import gleam/function.{compose}
+import gleam/string.{uppercase}
 // external dep imports
 import snag
 // glint imports
@@ -13,24 +11,66 @@ import glint/flag
 @target(erlang)
 import gleam/erlang.{start_arguments}
 
+// ----- APPLICATION LOGIC -----
+
+/// a helper function to join a list of names
+fn join_names(names: List(String)) -> String {
+  case names {
+    [] -> "Joe"
+    [name] -> name
+    [name, ..rest] -> do_join_names(rest, name)
+  }
+}
+
+// tail-recursive implementation of join_naemes
+fn do_join_names(names: List(String), acc: String) {
+  case names {
+    [] -> acc
+    [a] -> acc <> " and " <> a
+    [a, ..b] -> do_join_names(b, acc <> ", " <> a)
+  }
+}
+
+pub fn message(names: List(String)) {
+  "Hello, " <> join_names(names) <> "!"
+}
+
+pub fn capitalize(msg, caps) -> String {
+  case caps {
+    True -> uppercase(msg)
+    False -> msg
+  }
+}
+
+/// hello is a function that 
+pub fn hello(names: List(String), caps: Bool, repeat: Int) -> String {
+  names
+  |> message
+  |> capitalize(caps)
+  |> list.repeat(repeat)
+  |> string.join("\n")
+}
+
+// ----- CLI SETUP -----
+
 /// the key for the caps flag
-const caps = "caps"
+pub const caps = "caps"
 
 /// a boolean flag with default False to control message capitalization.
 ///
-fn caps_flag() -> flag.FlagBuilder(Bool) {
+pub fn caps_flag() -> flag.FlagBuilder(Bool) {
   flag.new(flag.B)
   |> flag.default(False)
   |> flag.description("Capitalize the provided name")
 }
 
 /// the key for the repeat flag
-const repeat = "repeat"
+pub const repeat = "repeat"
 
 /// an int flag with default 1 to control how many times to repeat the message.
 /// this flag has the `gtz` constraint applied to it.
 ///
-fn repeat_flag() -> flag.FlagBuilder(Int) {
+pub fn repeat_flag() -> flag.FlagBuilder(Int) {
   flag.new(flag.I)
   |> flag.default(1)
   |> flag.constraint(gtz)
@@ -46,58 +86,44 @@ fn gtz(n: Int) -> snag.Result(Nil) {
   }
 }
 
-/// the command function that will be executed
+/// the command function that will be executed as the root command
 ///
-fn hello(input: glint.CommandInput) -> snag.Result(String) {
-  let assert Ok(caps) = flag.get_bool(from: input.flags, for: caps)
-  let assert Ok(repeat) = flag.get_int(from: input.flags, for: repeat)
-
-  use name <- result.map(case input.args {
-    [] -> snag.error("no arguments provided")
-    _ -> Ok(input.args)
-  })
-
-  ["Hello,", ..name]
-  |> case caps {
-    True -> compose(join(_, " "), uppercase)
-    False -> join(_, " ")
+pub fn hello_cmd() -> glint.Command(String) {
+  {
+    use input <- glint.command()
+    // the caps flag has a default value, so we can be sure it will always be present
+    let assert Ok(caps) = flag.get_bool(from: input.flags, for: caps)
+    // the repeat flag has a default value, so we can be sure it will always be present
+    let assert Ok(repeat) = flag.get_int(from: input.flags, for: repeat)
+    // call the hello function with all necessary inputs
+    hello(input.args, caps, repeat)
   }
-  |> string.append("!")
-  |> list.repeat(repeat)
-  |> string.join("\n")
+  // with flag `caps`
+  |> glint.flag(caps, caps_flag())
+  // with flag `repeat`
+  |> glint.flag(repeat, repeat_flag())
+  // with flag `repeat`
+  |> glint.description("Prints Hello, <NAMES>!")
 }
 
-@target(erlang)
-pub fn main() {
-  use res <- glint.run_and_handle(
-    // create a new glint instance
-    glint.new()
-    // with an app name of "hello", this is used when printing help text
-    |> glint.with_name("hello")
-    // with pretty help enabled, using the built-in colours
-    |> glint.with_pretty_help(glint.default_pretty_help())
-    // with a root command that executes the `hello` function
-    |> glint.add(
-      // add the command to the root
-      at: [],
-      // create the command, add any flags
-      do: glint.command(hello)
-      // with flag `caps`
-      |> glint.flag(caps, caps_flag())
-      // with flag `repeat`
-      |> glint.flag(repeat, repeat_flag())
-      |> glint.description("Prints Hello, <NAME>!"),
-    ),
-    start_arguments(),
+// the function that describes our cli structure
+pub fn app() {
+  // create a new glint instance
+  glint.new()
+  // with an app name of "hello", this is used when printing help text
+  |> glint.with_name("hello")
+  // with pretty help enabled, using the built-in colours
+  |> glint.with_pretty_help(glint.default_pretty_help())
+  // with a root command that executes the `hello` function
+  |> glint.add(
+    // add the hello command to the root
+    at: [],
+    do: hello_cmd(),
   )
+}
 
-  // run with a handler that converts the command output to a string and prints it
-  case res {
-    Ok(out) -> out
-    Error(err) ->
-      err
-      |> snag.layer("failed to execute command")
-      |> snag.pretty_print()
-  }
-  |> io.println
+@target(erlang)
+pub fn main() {
+  // run with a handler that prints the command output
+  glint.run_and_handle(app(), start_arguments(), io.println)
 }
diff --git a/examples/hello/test/hello_test.gleam b/examples/hello/test/hello_test.gleam
index 7e95d32..0bbc0e8 100644
--- a/examples/hello/test/hello_test.gleam
+++ b/examples/hello/test/hello_test.gleam
@@ -1,7 +1,38 @@
 import gleeunit
-
-// import gleeunit/should
+import gleeunit/should
+import hello
+import gleam/list
 
 pub fn main() {
   gleeunit.main()
 }
+
+type TestCase {
+  TestCase(input: List(String), caps: Bool, repeat: Int, expected: String)
+}
+
+pub fn hello_test() {
+  use tc <- list.each([
+    TestCase([], False, 1, "Hello, Joe!"),
+    TestCase(["Rob"], False, 1, "Hello, Rob!"),
+    TestCase([], True, 1, "HELLO, JOE!"),
+    TestCase([], True, 2, "HELLO, JOE!\nHELLO, JOE!"),
+    TestCase(["Rob"], True, 1, "HELLO, ROB!"),
+    TestCase(["Tony", "Maria"], True, 1, "HELLO, TONY AND MARIA!"),
+    TestCase(
+      ["Tony", "Maria", "Nadia"],
+      True,
+      1,
+      "HELLO, TONY, MARIA AND NADIA!",
+    ),
+    TestCase(["Tony", "Maria"], False, 1, "Hello, Tony and Maria!"),
+    TestCase(
+      ["Tony", "Maria", "Nadia"],
+      False,
+      1,
+      "Hello, Tony, Maria and Nadia!",
+    ),
+  ])
+  hello.hello(tc.input, tc.caps, tc.repeat)
+  |> should.equal(tc.expected)
+}
diff --git a/gleam.toml b/gleam.toml
index fc92fd7..d2a50cb 100644
--- a/gleam.toml
+++ b/gleam.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name = "glint"
-version = "0.12.0-rc5"
+version = "0.12.0"
 
 # Fill out these fields if you intend to generate HTML documentation or publish
 # your project to the Hex package manager.
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ links = [
     { title = "Hex", href = "https://hex.pm/packages/glint" },
     { title = "Docs", href = "https://hexdocs.pm/glint/" },
 ]
-
+gleam = ">= 0.30.3"
 [dependencies]
 gleam_stdlib = "~> 0.19"
 snag = "~> 0.2"
diff --git a/src/glint/flag.gleam b/src/glint/flag.gleam
index 86afc3f..cd05f90 100644
--- a/src/glint/flag.gleam
+++ b/src/glint/flag.gleam
@@ -335,6 +335,8 @@ pub fn flags_help(flags: Map) -> List(String) {
   |> list.map(flag_help)
 }
 
+// -- FLAG ACCESS FUNCTIONS --
+
 /// Access the contents for the associated flag
 ///
 fn access(flags: Map, name: String) -> Result(Flag) {