diff --git a/swift/cli/manage_shard_ranges.py b/swift/cli/manage_shard_ranges.py
index 591b46ac1c..34556b0dfe 100644
--- a/swift/cli/manage_shard_ranges.py
+++ b/swift/cli/manage_shard_ranges.py
@@ -728,11 +728,12 @@ def _add_enable_args(parser):
 
 
 def _add_prompt_args(parser):
-    parser.add_argument(
+    group = parser.add_mutually_exclusive_group()
+    group.add_argument(
         '--yes', '-y', action='store_true', default=False,
         help='Apply shard range changes to broker without prompting. '
              'Cannot be used with --dry-run option.')
-    parser.add_argument(
+    group.add_argument(
         '--dry-run', '-n', action='store_true', default=False,
         help='Do not apply any shard range changes to broker. '
              'Cannot be used with --yes option.')
@@ -890,10 +891,6 @@ def main(args=None):
         print('\nA sub-command is required.', file=sys.stderr)
         return EXIT_INVALID_ARGS
 
-    if getattr(args, 'yes', False) and getattr(args, 'dry_run', False):
-        print('--yes and --dry-run cannot both be set.', file=sys.stderr)
-        return EXIT_INVALID_ARGS
-
     conf = {}
     rows_per_shard = DEFAULT_ROWS_PER_SHARD
     shrink_threshold = DEFAULT_SHRINK_THRESHOLD
diff --git a/test/unit/cli/test_manage_shard_ranges.py b/test/unit/cli/test_manage_shard_ranges.py
index 47a83277ce..9e3fcb01b2 100644
--- a/test/unit/cli/test_manage_shard_ranges.py
+++ b/test/unit/cli/test_manage_shard_ranges.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 
 import json
 import os
+import sys
 import unittest
 from argparse import Namespace
 from textwrap import dedent
@@ -1776,8 +1777,15 @@ class TestManageShardRanges(unittest.TestCase):
         out = StringIO()
         err = StringIO()
         with mock.patch('sys.stdout', out), \
-                mock.patch('sys.stderr', err):
-            ret = main(['db file', 'repair', '--dry-run', '--yes'])
-        self.assertEqual(2, ret)
+                mock.patch('sys.stderr', err), \
+                self.assertRaises(SystemExit) as cm:
+            main(['db file', 'repair', '--dry-run', '--yes'])
+        self.assertEqual(2, cm.exception.code)
         err_lines = err.getvalue().split('\n')
-        self.assertIn('--yes and --dry-run cannot both be set.', err_lines)
+        runner = os.path.basename(sys.argv[0])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            'usage: %s path_to_file repair [-h] [--yes | --dry-run]' % runner,
+            err_lines[0])
+        self.assertIn(
+            "argument --yes/-y: not allowed with argument --dry-run/-n",
+            err_lines[1])