diff --git a/src/cli.js b/src/cli.js
index d8fe9fd..3ed76cb 100644
--- a/src/cli.js
+++ b/src/cli.js
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ function run(argv, { out, err }) {
   }
   const handlers = {
     encode: require('./commands/encode'),
+    decode: require('./commands/decode'),
   };
   const handler = handlers[head];
   if (!handler) {
diff --git a/src/commands/decode.js b/src/commands/decode.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6263460
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/commands/decode.js
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const { decodeGid } = require('../gid');
+
+const USAGE = 'usage: sporel-mapper decode <gid>\n';
+
+function parseGid(s) {
+  let n;
+  if (/^0x[0-9a-fA-F]+$/.test(s)) {
+    n = parseInt(s, 16);
+  } else if (/^\d+$/.test(s)) {
+    n = parseInt(s, 10);
+  } else {
+    throw new RangeError(`gid '${s}' is not a decimal or 0x-hex integer`);
+  }
+  return n;
+}
+
+function run(args, { out, err }) {
+  if (args.length !== 1) {
+    err.write(USAGE);
+    return 1;
+  }
+  try {
+    const gid = parseGid(args[0]);
+    if (gid === 0) {
+      out.write('empty\n');
+      return 0;
+    }
+    const { atlas, tile, rotation } = decodeGid(gid);
+    out.write(`atlas=${atlas} tile=${tile} rotation=${rotation}\n`);
+    return 0;
+  } catch (e) {
+    err.write(`error: ${e.message}\n`);
+    return 1;
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = { run };
diff --git a/tests/decode.test.js b/tests/decode.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..281c058
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/decode.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const test = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const { run } = require('../src/cli');
+
+class Sink {
+  constructor() { this.chunks = []; }
+  write(s) { this.chunks.push(s); }
+  get text() { return this.chunks.join(''); }
+}
+
+test('decode: 196 prints (0,12,1)', () => {
+  const out = new Sink(); const err = new Sink();
+  const code = run(['decode', '196'], { out, err });
+  assert.equal(code, 0);
+  assert.equal(out.text, 'atlas=0 tile=12 rotation=1\n');
+});
+
+test('decode: 0 prints "empty"', () => {
+  const out = new Sink(); const err = new Sink();
+  const code = run(['decode', '0'], { out, err });
+  assert.equal(code, 0);
+  assert.equal(out.text, 'empty\n');
+});
+
+test('decode: hex (0xc4) parses to 196', () => {
+  const out = new Sink(); const err = new Sink();
+  const code = run(['decode', '0xc4'], { out, err });
+  assert.equal(code, 0);
+  assert.equal(out.text, 'atlas=0 tile=12 rotation=1\n');
+});
+
+test('decode: non-zero with tile=0 prints components (not "empty")', () => {
+  // gid=4 = (0<<24) | (0<<4) | (1<<2) → atlas=0 tile=0 rot=1
+  const out = new Sink(); const err = new Sink();
+  const code = run(['decode', '4'], { out, err });
+  assert.equal(code, 0);
+  assert.equal(out.text, 'atlas=0 tile=0 rotation=1\n');
+});
+
+test('decode: 16777232 from demo_v2 wall layer → (1,1,0)', () => {
+  const out = new Sink(); const err = new Sink();
+  const code = run(['decode', '16777232'], { out, err });
+  assert.equal(code, 0);
+  assert.equal(out.text, 'atlas=1 tile=1 rotation=0\n');
+});
+
+test('decode: no args prints usage, exit 1', () => {
+  const out = new Sink(); const err = new Sink();
+  const code = run(['decode'], { out, err });
+  assert.equal(code, 1);
+  assert.match(err.text, /usage: sporel-mapper decode/);
+});
+
+test('decode: bogus arg prints error, exit 1', () => {
+  const out = new Sink(); const err = new Sink();
+  const code = run(['decode', 'xyz'], { out, err });
+  assert.equal(code, 1);
+  assert.match(err.text, /error/i);
+});