diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d150311b..897f555d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 - Auto-discover coverage paths from test file names when `BASHUNIT_COVERAGE_PATHS` is not set
     - `tests/unit/assert_test.sh` automatically tracks `src/assert.sh`
     - Removes need for manual `--coverage-paths` configuration in most cases
+- `--coverage-report-html` now defaults to `coverage/html` when no directory is specified
 
 ### Fixed
 - Coverage now excludes control flow keywords (`then`, `else`, `fi`, `do`, `done`, `esac`, `;;`, case patterns) from line tracking
diff --git a/docs/command-line.md b/docs/command-line.md
index e417f948..6e16cbcc 100644
--- a/docs/command-line.md
+++ b/docs/command-line.md
@@ -15,6 +15,13 @@ bashunit --help                   # Show help
 bashunit --version                # Show version
 ```
 
+## Argument Notation
+
+| Syntax   | Meaning                                  |
+|----------|------------------------------------------|
+| `<arg>`  | Required - must be provided              |
+| `[arg]`  | Optional - can be omitted (uses default) |
+
 ## test
 
 > `bashunit test [path] [options]`
@@ -69,8 +76,8 @@ bashunit test tests/ --parallel --simple
 | `--coverage`                   | Enable code coverage tracking                    |
 | `--coverage-paths <paths>`     | Paths to track (default: auto-discover)          |
 | `--coverage-exclude <pat>`     | Exclusion patterns                               |
-| `--coverage-report <file>`     | LCOV output path (default: `coverage/lcov.info`) |
-| `--coverage-report-html <dir>` | Generate HTML report with line highlighting      |
+| `--coverage-report [file]`     | LCOV output path (default: `coverage/lcov.info`) |
+| `--coverage-report-html [dir]` | Generate HTML report (default: `coverage/html`)  |
 | `--coverage-min <percent>`     | Minimum coverage threshold                       |
 | `--no-coverage-report`         | Console output only, no LCOV file                |
 
@@ -313,8 +320,8 @@ bashunit test tests/ --coverage --coverage-paths src/,lib/ --coverage-min 80
 | `--coverage`                    | Enable coverage tracking                                                    |
 | `--coverage-paths <paths>`      | Comma-separated paths to track (default: auto-discover from test files)     |
 | `--coverage-exclude <patterns>` | Comma-separated patterns to exclude (default: `tests/*,vendor/*,*_test.sh`) |
-| `--coverage-report <file>`      | LCOV output file path (default: `coverage/lcov.info`)                       |
-| `--coverage-report-html <dir>`  | Generate HTML coverage report with line-by-line highlighting                |
+| `--coverage-report [file]`      | LCOV output file path (default: `coverage/lcov.info`)                       |
+| `--coverage-report-html [dir]`  | Generate HTML report (default: `coverage/html`)                             |
 | `--coverage-min <percent>`      | Minimum coverage percentage; fails if below                                 |
 | `--no-coverage-report`          | Show console report only, don't generate LCOV file                          |
 
diff --git a/docs/coverage.md b/docs/coverage.md
index 70481883..909f3193 100644
--- a/docs/coverage.md
+++ b/docs/coverage.md
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ The DEBUG trap adds overhead to test execution. For large test suites, consider
 | `--coverage-paths <paths>` | Comma-separated paths to track (default: auto-discover from test files) |
 | `--coverage-exclude <patterns>` | Comma-separated exclusion patterns |
 | `--coverage-report <file>` | LCOV report output path (default: `coverage/lcov.info`) |
-| `--coverage-report-html <dir>` | Generate HTML coverage report with line-by-line details |
+| `--coverage-report-html [dir]` | Generate HTML report (default: `coverage/html`) |
 | `--coverage-min <percent>` | Minimum coverage threshold (fails if below) |
 | `--no-coverage-report` | Disable LCOV file generation (console only) |
 
diff --git a/src/console_header.sh b/src/console_header.sh
index a19799e8..75b0302d 100644
--- a/src/console_header.sh
+++ b/src/console_header.sh
@@ -124,13 +124,13 @@ Options:
   -h, --help                  Show this help message
 
 Coverage:
-  --coverage                  Enable code coverage tracking
-  --coverage-paths <paths>    Source paths to track (comma-separated, default: src/)
-  --coverage-exclude <pats>   Patterns to exclude (comma-separated)
-  --coverage-report <file>    Output file (default: coverage/lcov.info)
-  --coverage-report-html <dir> Generate HTML coverage report
-  --coverage-min <pct>        Fail if coverage below percentage
-  --no-coverage-report        Disable file output, console only
+  --coverage                   Enable code coverage tracking
+  --coverage-paths <paths>     Source paths to track (default: auto-discover)
+  --coverage-exclude <pats>    Patterns to exclude (comma-separated)
+  --coverage-report [file]     Output file (default: coverage/lcov.info)
+  --coverage-report-html [dir] HTML report (default: coverage/html)
+  --coverage-min <pct>         Fail if coverage below percentage
+  --no-coverage-report         Disable file output, console only
 
 Examples:
   bashunit test tests/
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ Examples:
   bashunit test -a equals "foo" "foo"
   bashunit test tests/ --coverage
   bashunit test tests/ --coverage --coverage-min 80
-  bashunit test tests/ --coverage --coverage-report-html coverage/html
+  bashunit test tests/ --coverage-report-html
 EOF
 }
 
diff --git a/src/main.sh b/src/main.sh
index c644f253..7b43f3b7 100644
--- a/src/main.sh
+++ b/src/main.sh
@@ -131,9 +131,14 @@ function bashunit::main::cmd_test() {
         ;;
       --coverage-report-html)
         # shellcheck disable=SC2034
-        BASHUNIT_COVERAGE_REPORT_HTML="$2"
+        # Use default if no value provided or next arg is a flag
+        if [[ -z "${2:-}" || "${2:-}" == -* ]]; then
+          BASHUNIT_COVERAGE_REPORT_HTML="coverage/html"
+        else
+          BASHUNIT_COVERAGE_REPORT_HTML="$2"
+          shift
+        fi
         _bashunit_coverage_opt_set=true
-        shift
         ;;
       *)
         raw_args+=("$1")