diff --git a/docs/cli.md b/docs/cli.md
index 5b36675..7d5fb6e 100644
--- a/docs/cli.md
+++ b/docs/cli.md
@@ -6,16 +6,25 @@ The following are the command's options and arguments:
 ```
 Usage: xrlint [OPTIONS] [FILES]...
 
-  Lint the given FILES.
+  Lint the given dataset FILES.
+
+  Reads configuration from `./xrlint.config.py` if `--no-default-config` is
+  not set and `--config PATH` is not provided, then validates each dataset in
+  FILES against the configuration. The validation result is dumped to standard
+  output if not otherwise stated by `--output-file PATH`. The output format is
+  `simple`. Other inbuilt formats are `json` and `html` which can by setting
+  the `--format NAME` option.
 
 Options:
-  --no-default-config   Disable use of default configuration from
-                        xrlint.config.*
-  -c, --config PATH     Use this configuration, overriding xrlint.config.*
-                        config options if present
-  -f, --format NAME     Use a specific output format - default: simple
-  --max-warnings COUNT  Number of warnings to trigger nonzero exit code -
-                        default: -1
-  --version             Show the version and exit.
-  --help                Show this message and exit.
+  --no-default-config     Disable use of default configuration from
+                          xrlint.config.*
+  -c, --config PATH       Use this configuration, overriding xrlint.config.*
+                          config options if present
+  -f, --format NAME       Use a specific output format - default: simple
+  -o, --output-file PATH  Specify file to write report to
+  --max-warnings COUNT    Number of warnings to trigger nonzero exit code -
+                          default: -1
+  --version               Show the version and exit.
+  --help                  Show this message and exit.
+
 ```
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_main.py b/tests/cli/test_main.py
index b2a70be..61a0d37 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_main.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_main.py
@@ -58,6 +58,11 @@ def test_default_config(self):
         finally:
             os.remove("xrlint.config.json")
 
+    def test_output_file(self):
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        result = runner.invoke(main, ["-o", "memory://report.txt"] + self.files)
+        self.assertEqual(result.exit_code, 0)
+
     def test_config_missing(self):
         runner = CliRunner()
         result = runner.invoke(main, ["-c", "pippo.py"] + self.files)
diff --git a/xrlint/cli/engine.py b/xrlint/cli/engine.py
index 6dcd003..bbe73a5 100644
--- a/xrlint/cli/engine.py
+++ b/xrlint/cli/engine.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import click
+import fsspec
 
 from xrlint.cli.config import read_config
 from xrlint.cli.constants import CONFIG_DEFAULT_FILENAMES
@@ -20,20 +21,19 @@ def __init__(
         no_default_config: int = False,
         config_path: str | None = None,
         output_format: str = DEFAULT_OUTPUT_FORMAT,
+        output_path: str | None = None,
         files: list[str] | None = None,
         recommended: bool = True,
     ):
-        from xrlint.plugins.core import export_plugin as import_core_plugin
-        from xrlint.plugins.xcube import export_plugin as import_xcube_plugin
-
         self.no_default_config = no_default_config
         self.config_path = config_path
         self.output_format = output_format
+        self.output_path = output_path
         self.files = files
         self.base_config = get_base_config(recommended=recommended)
         self.config_list = ConfigList([self.base_config])
 
-    def load_config(self):
+    def load_config(self) -> None:
         config_list = None
 
         if self.config_path:
@@ -83,3 +83,10 @@ def format_results(self, results: list[Result]) -> str:
             )
         # TODO: pass format-specific args/kwargs
         return formatter.op_class().format(FormatterContext(False), results)
+
+    def write_report(self, report: str):
+        if not self.output_path:
+            print(report)
+        else:
+            with fsspec.open(self.output_path, mode="w") as f:
+                f.write(report)
diff --git a/xrlint/cli/main.py b/xrlint/cli/main.py
index 34dc16f..79a1a4b 100644
--- a/xrlint/cli/main.py
+++ b/xrlint/cli/main.py
@@ -35,12 +35,19 @@
     default=DEFAULT_OUTPUT_FORMAT,
     metavar="NAME",
 )
+@click.option(
+    "-o",
+    "--output-file",
+    "output_file",
+    help=f"Specify file to write report to",
+    metavar="PATH",
+)
 @click.option(
     "--max-warnings",
     "max_warnings",
     help=(
         f"Number of warnings to trigger nonzero exit code"
-        f" - default: {DEFAULT_MAX_WARNINGS})"
+        f" - default: {DEFAULT_MAX_WARNINGS}"
     ),
     type=int,
     default=DEFAULT_MAX_WARNINGS,
@@ -54,9 +61,19 @@ def main(
     config_path: str | None,
     max_warnings: int,
     output_format: str,
+    output_file: str | None,
     files: list[str] | None,
 ):
-    """Lint the given FILES."""
+    """Lint the given dataset FILES.
+
+    Reads configuration from `./xrlint.config.py` if `--no-default-config`
+    is not set and `--config PATH` is not provided, then validates
+    each dataset in FILES against the configuration.
+    The validation result is dumped to standard output if not otherwise
+    stated by `--output-file PATH`. The output format is `simple`. Other
+    inbuilt formats are `json` and `html` which can by setting the
+    `--format NAME` option.
+    """
     from xrlint.cli.engine import CliEngine
 
     cli_engine = CliEngine(
@@ -64,12 +81,13 @@ def main(
         config_path=config_path,
         files=files,
         output_format=output_format,
+        output_path=output_file,
     )
 
     cli_engine.load_config()
     results = cli_engine.verify_datasets()
-    output_text = cli_engine.format_results(results)
-    print(output_text)
+    report = cli_engine.format_results(results)
+    cli_engine.write_report(report)
 
     errors = sum(r.error_count for r in results)
     warnings = sum(r.warning_count for r in results)