diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a33e617..2792403 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,6 +11,11 @@ and the project adheres to [Semantic Versioning 2.0.0](https://semver.org/spec/v
 ## [Unreleased]
 
 ### Changed
+- **`--version` no longer prints the splash logo.** `commitbrief --version`
+  now emits only the single `commitbrief vX.Y.Z (commit <sha>, built <iso-ts>)`
+  line, so the output is trivially parseable by scripts. The branding logo is
+  unchanged for `--help` and every other invocation; the version line itself
+  is identical to before.
 - **Interactive Yes/No confirmation prompts.** On a TTY, every confirmation
   prompt — the pre-send `.commitbrief/**` guard, the secret-scan warning, the
   cost preflight, the token/context-window preflight, `cache clear`, and the
diff --git a/internal/cli/root.go b/internal/cli/root.go
index 11f6b36..c768dbc 100644
--- a/internal/cli/root.go
+++ b/internal/cli/root.go
@@ -141,6 +141,22 @@ func newRootCmd() *cobra.Command {
 	return cmd
 }
 
+// versionFlagRequested reports whether args contain the --version flag
+// before a "--" terminator. Cobra owns the flag itself; Execute only
+// peeks so it can suppress the branding logo for `commitbrief --version`
+// and keep that invocation's output a single parseable line.
+func versionFlagRequested(args []string) bool {
+	for _, a := range args {
+		if a == "--" {
+			return false
+		}
+		if a == "--version" {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 // Execute is the package entry point used by cmd/commitbrief/main.go.
 func Execute() {
 	// UC-18: on Windows the VT100 escape mode needs to be opted into
@@ -160,7 +176,13 @@ func Execute() {
 	// CI logs don't fill up with raw 24-bit color escapes. The version
 	// string is the resolved value (ldflags-injected at release time,
 	// debug.BuildInfo for `go install`, or "dev" for ad-hoc builds).
-	if ui.ColorEnabled(os.Stderr, ui.ColorAuto) {
+	//
+	// Suppressed for `--version`: that flag is meant to emit a single
+	// machine-parseable line — cobra prints version.Info() to stdout —
+	// so the logo (which lands on stderr above it on a TTY) must not
+	// appear. We peek os.Args because the logo prints before cobra
+	// parses flags; --help and every other invocation keep the logo.
+	if ui.ColorEnabled(os.Stderr, ui.ColorAuto) && !versionFlagRequested(os.Args[1:]) {
 		logo.Print(os.Stderr, version.Version)
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/cli/version_logo_test.go b/internal/cli/version_logo_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f9c028
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/cli/version_logo_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
+
+package cli
+
+import "testing"
+
+// versionFlagRequested gates whether Execute prints the branding logo:
+// `commitbrief --version` must emit a single parseable line (no logo),
+// while every other invocation — including --help — keeps the logo.
+func TestVersionFlagRequested(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name string
+		args []string
+		want bool
+	}{
+		{"bare", nil, false},
+		{"version only", []string{"--version"}, true},
+		{"version after subcommand", []string{"diff", "--version"}, true},
+		{"version with other flags", []string{"--json", "--version"}, true},
+		{"help is not version", []string{"--help"}, false},
+		{"staged review", []string{"--staged"}, false},
+		// A "--" terminator hands the rest to positional args (e.g. a git
+		// pathspec for `diff`), so a later --version is not our flag.
+		{"version after terminator", []string{"diff", "--", "--version"}, false},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if got := versionFlagRequested(tc.args); got != tc.want {
+				t.Errorf("versionFlagRequested(%q) = %v, want %v", tc.args, got, tc.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}