diff --git a/tools/shell/src/shellEngine.c b/tools/shell/src/shellEngine.c
index 0ccbd683dc..6fd5f7402f 100644
--- a/tools/shell/src/shellEngine.c
+++ b/tools/shell/src/shellEngine.c
@@ -164,11 +164,13 @@ int32_t shellRunCommand(char *command, bool recordHistory) {
   }
 
   // add help or help;
-  if (strncasecmp(command, "help;", 5) == 0) {
-    showHelp();
-    return 0;
+  if (strncasecmp(command, "help", 4) == 0) {
+    if(command[4] == ';' || command[4] == ' ' || command[4] == 0) {
+       showHelp();
+       return 0;
+    }
   }
-
+  
   if (recordHistory) shellRecordCommandToHistory(command);
 
   char quote = 0, *cmd = command;