diff --git a/solc/CommandLineInterface.cpp b/solc/CommandLineInterface.cpp
index 003ad0304..21624b3b6 100644
--- a/solc/CommandLineInterface.cpp
+++ b/solc/CommandLineInterface.cpp
@@ -22,6 +22,13 @@
  */
 #include "CommandLineInterface.h"
 
+#ifdef _WIN32 // windows
+	#include <io.h>
+	#define isatty _isatty
+	#define fileno _fileno
+#else // unix
+	#include <unistd.h>
+#endif
 #include <string>
 #include <iostream>
 #include <fstream>
@@ -478,7 +485,7 @@ Allowed options)",
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	if (m_args.count("help"))
+	if (m_args.count("help") || (isatty(fileno(stdin)) && _argc == 1))
 	{
 		cout << desc;
 		return false;