diff --git a/dev/devicelab/bin/tasks/run_release_test.dart b/dev/devicelab/bin/tasks/run_release_test.dart
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..20bb71e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev/devicelab/bin/tasks/run_release_test.dart
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2017 The Chromium Authors. All rights reserved.
+// Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style license that can be
+// found in the LICENSE file.
+
+import 'dart:async';
+import 'dart:convert';
+import 'dart:io';
+
+import 'package:path/path.dart' as path;
+
+import 'package:flutter_devicelab/framework/adb.dart';
+import 'package:flutter_devicelab/framework/framework.dart';
+import 'package:flutter_devicelab/framework/utils.dart';
+
+void main() {
+  task(() async {
+    final Device device = await devices.workingDevice;
+    await device.unlock();
+    final Directory appDir = dir(path.join(flutterDirectory.path, 'dev/integration_tests/ui'));
+    await inDirectory(appDir, () async {
+      final Completer<Null> ready = new Completer<Null>();
+      print('run: starting...');
+      final Process run = await startProcess(
+        path.join(flutterDirectory.path, 'bin', 'flutter'),
+        <String>['--suppress-analytics', 'run', '--release', '-d', device.deviceId, 'lib/main.dart'],
+        isBot: false, // we just want to test the output, not have any debugging info
+      );
+      final List<String> stdout = <String>[];
+      final List<String> stderr = <String>[];
+      int runExitCode;
+      run.stdout
+        .transform(utf8.decoder)
+        .transform(const LineSplitter())
+        .listen((String line) {
+          print('run:stdout: $line');
+          stdout.add(line);
+          if (line.contains('To quit, press "q".'))
+            ready.complete();
+        });
+      run.stderr
+        .transform(utf8.decoder)
+        .transform(const LineSplitter())
+        .listen((String line) {
+          print('run:stderr: $line');
+          stdout.add(line);
+        });
+      run.exitCode.then((int exitCode) { runExitCode = exitCode; });
+      await Future.any<dynamic>(<Future<dynamic>>[ ready.future, run.exitCode ]);
+      if (runExitCode != null)
+        throw 'Failed to run test app; runner unexpected exited, with exit code $runExitCode.';
+      run.stdin.write('q');
+      await run.exitCode;
+      if (stderr.isNotEmpty)
+        throw 'flutter run --release had output on standard error.';
+      if (stdout.first == 'Building flutter tool...')
+        stdout.removeAt(0);
+      if (stdout.first == 'Running "flutter packages get" in ui...')
+        stdout.removeAt(0);
+      if (stdout.first == 'Initializing gradle...')
+        stdout.removeAt(0);
+      if (!(stdout.first.startsWith('Launching lib/main.dart on ') && stdout.first.endsWith(' in release mode...')))
+        throw 'flutter run --release had unexpected first line: ${stdout.first}';
+      stdout.removeAt(0);
+      if (stdout.first != 'Running \'gradlew assembleRelease\'...')
+        throw 'flutter run --release had unexpected second line: ${stdout.first}';
+      stdout.removeAt(0);
+      if (!(stdout.first.startsWith('Built build/app/outputs/apk/release/app-release.apk (') && stdout.first.endsWith('MB).')))
+        throw 'flutter run --release had unexpected third line: ${stdout.first}';
+      stdout.removeAt(0);
+      if (stdout.first == 'Installing build/app/outputs/apk/app.apk...')
+        stdout.removeAt(0);
+      if (stdout.join('\n') != '\nTo quit, press "q".\n\nApplication finished.')
+        throw 'flutter run --release had unexpected output after third line';
+    });
+    return new TaskResult.success(null);
+  });
+}
diff --git a/dev/devicelab/lib/framework/utils.dart b/dev/devicelab/lib/framework/utils.dart
index b7bbe96..9d9440b 100644
--- a/dev/devicelab/lib/framework/utils.dart
+++ b/dev/devicelab/lib/framework/utils.dart
@@ -183,16 +183,42 @@
   });
 }
 
+/// Starts a subprocess.
+///
+/// The first argument is the full path to the executable to run.
+///
+/// The second argument is the list of arguments to provide on the command line.
+/// This argument can be null, indicating no arguments (same as the empty list).
+///
+/// The `environment` argument can be provided to configure environment variables
+/// that will be made available to the subprocess. The `BOT` environment variable
+/// is always set and overrides any value provided in the `environment` argument.
+/// The `isBot` argument controls the value of the `BOT` variable. It will either
+/// be "true", if `isBot` is true (the default), or "false" if it is false.
+///
+/// The `BOT` variable is in particular used by the `flutter` tool to determine
+/// how verbose to be and whether to enable analytics by default.
+///
+/// The working directory can be provided using the `workingDirectory` argument.
+/// By default it will default to the current working directory (see [cwd]).
+///
+/// Information regarding the execution of the subprocess is printed to the
+/// console.
+///
+/// The actual process executes asynchronously. A handle to the subprocess is
+/// returned in the form of a [Future] that completes to a [Process] object.
 Future<Process> startProcess(
   String executable,
   List<String> arguments, {
   Map<String, String> environment,
+  bool isBot = true, // set to false to pretend not to be on a bot (e.g. to test user-facing outputs)
   String workingDirectory,
 }) async {
+  assert(isBot != null);
   final String command = '$executable ${arguments?.join(" ") ?? ""}';
   print('\nExecuting: $command');
   environment ??= <String, String>{};
-  environment['BOT'] = 'true';
+  environment['BOT'] = isBot ? 'true' : 'false';
   final Process process = await _processManager.start(
     <String>[executable]..addAll(arguments),
     environment: environment,
diff --git a/dev/devicelab/manifest.yaml b/dev/devicelab/manifest.yaml
index b7f18f3..65b82cb 100644
--- a/dev/devicelab/manifest.yaml
+++ b/dev/devicelab/manifest.yaml
@@ -124,6 +124,13 @@
     stage: devicelab
     required_agent_capabilities: ["mac/android"]
 
+  run_release_test:
+    description: >
+      Checks that `flutter run --release` does not crash.
+    stage: devicelab
+    required_agent_capabilities: ["mac/android"]
+    flaky: true
+
   platform_interaction_test:
     description: >
       Checks platform interaction on Android.
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/build.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/build.dart
index 3c48c1f..25a202d 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/build.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/build.dart
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@
       '--causal_async_stacks',
       '--packages=$packagesPath',
       '--dependencies=$depfilePath',
-      '--print_snapshot_sizes',
     ]..addAll(additionalArgs);
 
     final String snapshotterPath = getSnapshotterPath(snapshotType);
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/utils.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/utils.dart
index aa1eaa9..a32eaff 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/utils.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/base/utils.dart
@@ -21,26 +21,26 @@
   const BotDetector();
 
   bool get isRunningOnBot {
-    return
-      platform.environment['BOT'] == 'true' ||
+    return platform.environment['BOT'] != 'false'
+       && (platform.environment['BOT'] == 'true'
 
-          // https://docs.travis-ci.com/user/environment-variables/#Default-Environment-Variables
-          platform.environment['TRAVIS'] == 'true' ||
-          platform.environment['CONTINUOUS_INTEGRATION'] == 'true' ||
-          platform.environment.containsKey('CI') || // Travis and AppVeyor
+           // https://docs.travis-ci.com/user/environment-variables/#Default-Environment-Variables
+        || platform.environment['TRAVIS'] == 'true'
+        || platform.environment['CONTINUOUS_INTEGRATION'] == 'true'
+        || platform.environment.containsKey('CI') // Travis and AppVeyor
 
-          // https://www.appveyor.com/docs/environment-variables/
-          platform.environment.containsKey('APPVEYOR') ||
+           // https://www.appveyor.com/docs/environment-variables/
+        || platform.environment.containsKey('APPVEYOR')
 
-          // https://docs.aws.amazon.com/codebuild/latest/userguide/build-env-ref-env-vars.html
-          (platform.environment.containsKey('AWS_REGION') && platform.environment.containsKey('CODEBUILD_INITIATOR')) ||
+           // https://docs.aws.amazon.com/codebuild/latest/userguide/build-env-ref-env-vars.html
+        || (platform.environment.containsKey('AWS_REGION') && platform.environment.containsKey('CODEBUILD_INITIATOR'))
 
-          // https://wiki.jenkins.io/display/JENKINS/Building+a+software+project#Buildingasoftwareproject-belowJenkinsSetEnvironmentVariables
-          platform.environment.containsKey('JENKINS_URL') ||
+           // https://wiki.jenkins.io/display/JENKINS/Building+a+software+project#Buildingasoftwareproject-belowJenkinsSetEnvironmentVariables
+        || platform.environment.containsKey('JENKINS_URL')
 
-          // Properties on Flutter's Chrome Infra bots.
-          platform.environment['CHROME_HEADLESS'] == '1' ||
-          platform.environment.containsKey('BUILDBOT_BUILDERNAME');
+           // Properties on Flutter's Chrome Infra bots.
+        || platform.environment['CHROME_HEADLESS'] == '1'
+        || platform.environment.containsKey('BUILDBOT_BUILDERNAME'));
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/resident_runner.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/resident_runner.dart
index f6da760..3720c59 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/resident_runner.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/resident_runner.dart
@@ -845,8 +845,9 @@
       }
       printStatus('To display the performance overlay (WidgetsApp.showPerformanceOverlay), press "P".');
     }
-    if (flutterDevices.any((FlutterDevice d) => d.device.supportsScreenshot))
+    if (flutterDevices.any((FlutterDevice d) => d.device.supportsScreenshot)) {
       printStatus('To save a screenshot to flutter.png, press "s".');
+    }
   }
 
   /// Called when a signal has requested we exit.
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/run_cold.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/run_cold.dart
index 9e5958e..aafa113 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/run_cold.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/run_cold.dart
@@ -125,22 +125,29 @@
   @override
   void printHelp({ @required bool details }) {
     bool haveDetails = false;
+    bool haveAnything = false;
     for (FlutterDevice device in flutterDevices) {
       final String dname = device.device.name;
       if (device.observatoryUris != null) {
-        for (Uri uri in device.observatoryUris)
+        for (Uri uri in device.observatoryUris) {
           printStatus('An Observatory debugger and profiler on $dname is available at $uri');
+          haveAnything = true;
+        }
       }
     }
     if (supportsServiceProtocol) {
       haveDetails = true;
-      if (details)
+      if (details) {
         printHelpDetails();
+        haveAnything = true;
+      }
     }
     if (haveDetails && !details) {
       printStatus('For a more detailed help message, press "h". To quit, press "q".');
-    } else {
+    } else if (haveAnything) {
       printStatus('To repeat this help message, press "h". To quit, press "q".');
+    } else {
+      printStatus('To quit, press "q".');
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/runner/flutter_command_runner.dart b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/runner/flutter_command_runner.dart
index 26dcd4f..e15b43d 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/runner/flutter_command_runner.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_tools/lib/src/runner/flutter_command_runner.dart
@@ -53,7 +53,8 @@
     argParser.addFlag('verbose',
         abbr: 'v',
         negatable: false,
-        help: 'Noisy logging, including all shell commands executed.');
+        help: 'Noisy logging, including all shell commands executed.\n'
+              'If used with --help, shows hidden options.');
     argParser.addFlag('quiet',
         negatable: false,
         hide: !verboseHelp,
@@ -66,11 +67,12 @@
         help: 'Reports the version of this tool.');
     argParser.addFlag('machine',
         negatable: false,
-        hide: true);
+        hide: !verboseHelp,
+        help: 'When used with the --version flag, outputs the information using JSON.');
     argParser.addFlag('color',
         negatable: true,
         hide: !verboseHelp,
-        help: 'Whether to use terminal colors.');
+        help: 'Whether to use terminal colors (requires support for ANSI escape sequences).');
     argParser.addFlag('version-check',
         negatable: true,
         defaultsTo: true,
@@ -78,61 +80,67 @@
         help: 'Allow Flutter to check for updates when this command runs.');
     argParser.addFlag('suppress-analytics',
         negatable: false,
-        hide: !verboseHelp,
         help: 'Suppress analytics reporting when this command runs.');
     argParser.addFlag('bug-report',
         negatable: false,
-        help:
-            'Captures a bug report file to submit to the Flutter team '
-            '(contains local paths, device\nidentifiers, and log snippets).');
-    argParser.addFlag('show-test-device',
-        negatable: false,
-        hide: !verboseHelp,
-        help: 'List the special \'flutter-tester\' device in device listings. '
-              'This headless device is used to\ntest Flutter tooling.');
+        help: 'Captures a bug report file to submit to the Flutter team.\n'
+              'Contains local paths, device identifiers, and log snippets.');
 
     String packagesHelp;
-    if (fs.isFileSync(kPackagesFileName))
-      packagesHelp = '\n(defaults to "$kPackagesFileName")';
-    else
-      packagesHelp = '\n(required, since the current directory does not contain a "$kPackagesFileName" file)';
+    bool showPackagesCommand;
+    if (fs.isFileSync(kPackagesFileName)) {
+      packagesHelp = '(defaults to "$kPackagesFileName")';
+      showPackagesCommand = verboseHelp;
+    } else {
+      packagesHelp = '(required, since the current directory does not contain a "$kPackagesFileName" file)';
+      showPackagesCommand = true;
+    }
     argParser.addOption('packages',
-        hide: !verboseHelp,
-        help: 'Path to your ".packages" file.$packagesHelp');
+        hide: !showPackagesCommand,
+        help: 'Path to your ".packages" file.\n$packagesHelp');
+
     argParser.addOption('flutter-root',
-        help: 'The root directory of the Flutter repository (uses \$$kFlutterRootEnvironmentVariableName if set).');
+        hide: !verboseHelp,
+        help: 'The root directory of the Flutter repository.\n'
+              'Defaults to \$$kFlutterRootEnvironmentVariableName if set, otherwise uses the parent of the\n'
+              'directory that the "flutter" script itself is in.');
 
     if (verboseHelp)
       argParser.addSeparator('Local build selection options (not normally required):');
 
     argParser.addOption('local-engine-src-path',
         hide: !verboseHelp,
-        help:
-            'Path to your engine src directory, if you are building Flutter locally.\n'
-            'Defaults to \$$kFlutterEngineEnvironmentVariableName if set, otherwise defaults to the path given in your pubspec.yaml\n'
-            'dependency_overrides for $kFlutterEnginePackageName, if any, or, failing that, tries to guess at the location\n'
-            'based on the value of the --flutter-root option.');
+        help: 'Path to your engine src directory, if you are building Flutter locally.\n'
+              'Defaults to \$$kFlutterEngineEnvironmentVariableName if set, otherwise defaults to the path given in your pubspec.yaml\n'
+              'dependency_overrides for $kFlutterEnginePackageName, if any, or, failing that, tries to guess at the location\n'
+              'based on the value of the --flutter-root option.');
 
     argParser.addOption('local-engine',
         hide: !verboseHelp,
-        help:
-            'Name of a build output within the engine out directory, if you are building Flutter locally.\n'
-            'Use this to select a specific version of the engine if you have built multiple engine targets.\n'
-            'This path is relative to --local-engine-src-path/out.');
+        help: 'Name of a build output within the engine out directory, if you are building Flutter locally.\n'
+              'Use this to select a specific version of the engine if you have built multiple engine targets.\n'
+              'This path is relative to --local-engine-src-path/out.');
+
+    if (verboseHelp)
+      argParser.addSeparator('Options for testing the "flutter" tool itself:');
+
     argParser.addOption('record-to',
-        hide: true,
-        help:
-            'Enables recording of process invocations (including stdout and stderr of all such invocations),\n'
-            'and file system access (reads and writes).\n'
-            'Serializes that recording to a directory with the path specified in this flag. If the\n'
-            'directory does not already exist, it will be created.');
+        hide: !verboseHelp,
+        help: 'Enables recording of process invocations (including stdout and stderr of all such invocations),\n'
+              'and file system access (reads and writes).\n'
+              'Serializes that recording to a directory with the path specified in this flag. If the\n'
+              'directory does not already exist, it will be created.');
     argParser.addOption('replay-from',
-        hide: true,
-        help:
-            'Enables mocking of process invocations by replaying their stdout, stderr, and exit code from\n'
-            'the specified recording (obtained via --record-to). The path specified in this flag must refer\n'
-            'to a directory that holds serialized process invocations structured according to the output of\n'
-            '--record-to.');
+        hide: !verboseHelp,
+        help: 'Enables mocking of process invocations by replaying their stdout, stderr, and exit code from\n'
+              'the specified recording (obtained via --record-to). The path specified in this flag must refer\n'
+              'to a directory that holds serialized process invocations structured according to the output of\n'
+              '--record-to.');
+    argParser.addFlag('show-test-device',
+        negatable: false,
+        hide: !verboseHelp,
+        help: 'List the special \'flutter-tester\' device in device listings. '
+              'This headless device is used to\ntest Flutter tooling.');
   }
 
   @override