diff --git a/cmd/cue/cmd/modregistry.go b/cmd/cue/cmd/modregistry.go
index 6f0d447e2..d1680fae3 100644
--- a/cmd/cue/cmd/modregistry.go
+++ b/cmd/cue/cmd/modregistry.go
@@ -45,8 +45,16 @@ This command starts an OCI-compliant server that stores all its
 contents in memory. It can serve as a scratch CUE modules registry
 for use in testing.
 
+For example, start a local registry with:
+
+	cue mod registry localhost:8080
+
+and point CUE_REGISTRY to it to publish a module version:
+
+	CUE_REGISTRY=localhost:8080 cue mod publish v0.0.1
+
 Note: this command might be removed or changed significantly in the future.
-`,
+`[1:],
 		RunE: mkRunE(c, runModRegistry),
 		Args: cobra.MaximumNArgs(1),
 	}