diff --git a/runtags b/runtags
index 2c85103d2..70f60aa03 100755
--- a/runtags
+++ b/runtags
@@ -22,6 +22,15 @@ fi
 
 tags=$(echo $1 | tr "," "\n")
 
+if [ "$tags" == "" ]
+then
+  echo " usage: ./runtags <tagname>"
+  echo " Can take a single value or a comma separated list"
+  echo " Retrieving a list of possible values"
+  ansible-playbook -i ansible_hosts iiab.yml --connection=local --list-tag
+  exit 0
+fi
+
 found="N"
 
 for tag in $tags
@@ -30,7 +39,6 @@ do
   then
     found="Y"
   fi
-
 done
 
 # echo $found
@@ -42,12 +50,5 @@ then
   taglist="prep,"$taglist
 fi
 
-# script to run a specific tag in the current playbook
-if [ $# -ne 1 ]; then
-	echo "usage: $0 <tagname>"
-	echo
-	echo " If you would like a list of possible values, enter $0 XXX"
-	exit 1
-fi
 export ANSIBLE_LOG_PATH="$XSCE_DIR/iiab-debug.log"
 ansible-playbook -i ansible_hosts iiab.yml --connection=local --tags="""$taglist"""