diff --git a/cmds/lshal/Android.bp b/cmds/lshal/Android.bp
index 67b5b46..2eed1ce 100644
--- a/cmds/lshal/Android.bp
+++ b/cmds/lshal/Android.bp
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
         "Lshal.cpp",
         "ListCommand.cpp",
         "PipeRelay.cpp",
+        "TextTable.cpp",
         "utils.cpp",
     ],
 }
diff --git a/cmds/lshal/ListCommand.cpp b/cmds/lshal/ListCommand.cpp
index 7c6cfd9..31c42e7 100644
--- a/cmds/lshal/ListCommand.cpp
+++ b/cmds/lshal/ListCommand.cpp
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 
 #include "Lshal.h"
 #include "PipeRelay.h"
+#include "TextTable.h"
 #include "Timeout.h"
 #include "utils.h"
 
@@ -206,42 +207,46 @@
     }
 }
 
-void ListCommand::printLine(
-        const std::string &interfaceName,
-        const std::string &transport,
-        const std::string &arch,
-        const std::string &threadUsage,
-        const std::string &server,
-        const std::string &serverCmdline,
-        const std::string &address,
-        const std::string &clients,
-        const std::string &clientCmdlines) const {
-    if (mSelectedColumns & ENABLE_INTERFACE_NAME)
-        mOut << std::setw(80) << interfaceName << "\t";
-    if (mSelectedColumns & ENABLE_TRANSPORT)
-        mOut << std::setw(10) << transport << "\t";
-    if (mSelectedColumns & ENABLE_ARCH)
-        mOut << std::setw(5) << arch << "\t";
-    if (mSelectedColumns & ENABLE_THREADS) {
-        mOut << std::setw(8) << threadUsage << "\t";
-    }
-    if (mSelectedColumns & ENABLE_SERVER_PID) {
-        if (mEnableCmdlines) {
-            mOut << std::setw(15) << serverCmdline << "\t";
-        } else {
-            mOut << std::setw(5)  << server << "\t";
+void ListCommand::addLine(TextTable *textTable, const std::string &interfaceName,
+                          const std::string &transport, const std::string &arch,
+                          const std::string &threadUsage, const std::string &server,
+                          const std::string &serverCmdline, const std::string &address,
+                          const std::string &clients, const std::string &clientCmdlines) const {
+    std::vector<std::string> columns;
+    for (TableColumnType type : mSelectedColumns) {
+        switch (type) {
+            case TableColumnType::INTERFACE_NAME: {
+                columns.push_back(interfaceName);
+            } break;
+            case TableColumnType::TRANSPORT: {
+                columns.push_back(transport);
+            } break;
+            case TableColumnType::ARCH: {
+                columns.push_back(arch);
+            } break;
+            case TableColumnType::THREADS: {
+                columns.push_back(threadUsage);
+            } break;
+            case TableColumnType::SERVER_ADDR: {
+                columns.push_back(address);
+            } break;
+            case TableColumnType::SERVER_PID: {
+                if (mEnableCmdlines) {
+                    columns.push_back(serverCmdline);
+                } else {
+                    columns.push_back(server);
+                }
+            } break;
+            case TableColumnType::CLIENT_PIDS: {
+                if (mEnableCmdlines) {
+                    columns.push_back(clientCmdlines);
+                } else {
+                    columns.push_back(clients);
+                }
+            } break;
         }
     }
-    if (mSelectedColumns & ENABLE_SERVER_ADDR)
-        mOut << std::setw(16) << address << "\t";
-    if (mSelectedColumns & ENABLE_CLIENT_PIDS) {
-        if (mEnableCmdlines) {
-            mOut << std::setw(0)  << clientCmdlines;
-        } else {
-            mOut << std::setw(0)  << clients;
-        }
-    }
-    mOut << std::endl;
+    textTable->add(std::move(columns));
 }
 
 static inline bool findAndBumpVersion(vintf::ManifestHal* hal, const vintf::Version& version) {
@@ -397,7 +402,25 @@
     }
 }
 
+void ListCommand::addLine(TextTable *table, const TableEntry &entry) {
+    addLine(table, entry.interfaceName, entry.transport, getArchString(entry.arch),
+            entry.getThreadUsage(),
+            entry.serverPid == NO_PID ? "N/A" : std::to_string(entry.serverPid),
+            entry.serverCmdline,
+            entry.serverObjectAddress == NO_PTR ? "N/A" : toHexString(entry.serverObjectAddress),
+            join(entry.clientPids, " "), join(entry.clientCmdlines, ";"));
+}
+
 void ListCommand::dumpTable() {
+    if (mNeat) {
+        TextTable textTable;
+        forEachTable([this, &textTable](const Table &table) {
+            for (const auto &entry : table) addLine(&textTable, entry);
+        });
+        textTable.dump(mOut.buf());
+        return;
+    }
+
     mServicesTable.description =
             "All binderized services (registered services through hwservicemanager)";
     mPassthroughRefTable.description =
@@ -409,42 +432,34 @@
             "the library and successfully fetched the passthrough implementation.";
     mImplementationsTable.description =
             "All available passthrough implementations (all -impl.so files)";
-    forEachTable([this] (const Table &table) {
-        if (!mNeat) {
-            mOut << table.description << std::endl;
-        }
-        mOut << std::left;
-        if (!mNeat) {
-            printLine("Interface", "Transport", "Arch", "Thread Use", "Server",
-                      "Server CMD", "PTR", "Clients", "Clients CMD");
-        }
+
+    forEachTable([this](const Table &table) {
+        TextTable textTable;
+
+        textTable.add(table.description);
+        addLine(&textTable, "Interface", "Transport", "Arch", "Thread Use", "Server", "Server CMD",
+                "PTR", "Clients", "Clients CMD");
 
         for (const auto &entry : table) {
-            printLine(entry.interfaceName,
-                    entry.transport,
-                    getArchString(entry.arch),
-                    entry.getThreadUsage(),
-                    entry.serverPid == NO_PID ? "N/A" : std::to_string(entry.serverPid),
-                    entry.serverCmdline,
-                    entry.serverObjectAddress == NO_PTR ? "N/A" : toHexString(entry.serverObjectAddress),
-                    join(entry.clientPids, " "),
-                    join(entry.clientCmdlines, ";"));
-
+            addLine(&textTable, entry);
             // We're only interested in dumping debug info for already
             // instantiated services. There's little value in dumping the
             // debug info for a service we create on the fly, so we only operate
             // on the "mServicesTable".
             if (mEmitDebugInfo && &table == &mServicesTable) {
+                std::stringstream out;
                 auto pair = splitFirst(entry.interfaceName, '/');
-                mLshal.emitDebugInfo(pair.first, pair.second, {}, mOut.buf(),
-                        NullableOStream<std::ostream>(nullptr));
+                mLshal.emitDebugInfo(pair.first, pair.second, {}, out,
+                                     NullableOStream<std::ostream>(nullptr));
+                textTable.add(out.str());
             }
         }
-        if (!mNeat) {
-            mOut << std::endl;
-        }
-    });
 
+        // Add empty line after each table
+        textTable.add();
+
+        textTable.dump(mOut.buf());
+    });
 }
 
 void ListCommand::dump() {
@@ -713,31 +728,31 @@
             mVintf = true;
         }
         case 'i': {
-            mSelectedColumns |= ENABLE_INTERFACE_NAME;
+            mSelectedColumns.push_back(TableColumnType::INTERFACE_NAME);
             break;
         }
         case 't': {
-            mSelectedColumns |= ENABLE_TRANSPORT;
+            mSelectedColumns.push_back(TableColumnType::TRANSPORT);
             break;
         }
         case 'r': {
-            mSelectedColumns |= ENABLE_ARCH;
+            mSelectedColumns.push_back(TableColumnType::ARCH);
             break;
         }
         case 'p': {
-            mSelectedColumns |= ENABLE_SERVER_PID;
+            mSelectedColumns.push_back(TableColumnType::SERVER_PID);
             break;
         }
         case 'a': {
-            mSelectedColumns |= ENABLE_SERVER_ADDR;
+            mSelectedColumns.push_back(TableColumnType::SERVER_ADDR);
             break;
         }
         case 'c': {
-            mSelectedColumns |= ENABLE_CLIENT_PIDS;
+            mSelectedColumns.push_back(TableColumnType::CLIENT_PIDS);
             break;
         }
         case 'e': {
-            mSelectedColumns |= ENABLE_THREADS;
+            mSelectedColumns.push_back(TableColumnType::THREADS);
             break;
         }
         case 'm': {
@@ -771,10 +786,19 @@
     if (optind < arg.argc) {
         // see non option
         mErr << "Unrecognized option `" << arg.argv[optind] << "`" << std::endl;
+        mLshal.usage(command);
+        return USAGE;
     }
 
-    if (mSelectedColumns == 0) {
-        mSelectedColumns = ENABLE_INTERFACE_NAME | ENABLE_SERVER_PID | ENABLE_CLIENT_PIDS | ENABLE_THREADS;
+    if (mNeat && mEmitDebugInfo) {
+        mErr << "Error: --neat should not be used with --debug." << std::endl;
+        mLshal.usage(command);
+        return USAGE;
+    }
+
+    if (mSelectedColumns.empty()) {
+        mSelectedColumns = {TableColumnType::INTERFACE_NAME, TableColumnType::THREADS,
+                            TableColumnType::SERVER_PID, TableColumnType::CLIENT_PIDS};
     }
     return OK;
 }
diff --git a/cmds/lshal/ListCommand.h b/cmds/lshal/ListCommand.h
index a75db04..176d5b9 100644
--- a/cmds/lshal/ListCommand.h
+++ b/cmds/lshal/ListCommand.h
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 
 #include "NullableOStream.h"
 #include "TableEntry.h"
+#include "TextTable.h"
 #include "utils.h"
 
 namespace android {
@@ -58,16 +59,11 @@
 
     void dumpTable();
     void dumpVintf() const;
-    void printLine(
-            const std::string &interfaceName,
-            const std::string &transport,
-            const std::string &arch,
-            const std::string &threadUsage,
-            const std::string &server,
-            const std::string &serverCmdline,
-            const std::string &address,
-            const std::string &clients,
-            const std::string &clientCmdlines) const;
+    void addLine(TextTable *table, const std::string &interfaceName, const std::string &transport,
+                 const std::string &arch, const std::string &threadUsage, const std::string &server,
+                 const std::string &serverCmdline, const std::string &address,
+                 const std::string &clients, const std::string &clientCmdlines) const;
+    void addLine(TextTable *table, const TableEntry &entry);
     // Return /proc/{pid}/cmdline if it exists, else empty string.
     const std::string &getCmdline(pid_t pid);
     // Call getCmdline on all pid in pids. If it returns empty string, the process might
@@ -86,7 +82,7 @@
     NullableOStream<std::ostream> mOut;
     NullableOStream<std::ofstream> mFileOutput = nullptr;
     TableEntryCompare mSortColumn = nullptr;
-    TableEntrySelect mSelectedColumns = 0;
+    std::vector<TableColumnType> mSelectedColumns;
     // If true, cmdlines will be printed instead of pid.
     bool mEnableCmdlines = false;
 
diff --git a/cmds/lshal/Lshal.cpp b/cmds/lshal/Lshal.cpp
index 0d4a1d1..ac74775 100644
--- a/cmds/lshal/Lshal.cpp
+++ b/cmds/lshal/Lshal.cpp
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
             "list:\n"
             "    lshal\n"
             "    lshal list\n"
-            "        List all hals with default ordering and columns (`lshal list -ipc`)\n"
+            "        List all hals with default ordering and columns (`lshal list -iepc`)\n"
             "    lshal list [-h|--help]\n"
             "        -h, --help: Print help message for list (`lshal help list`)\n"
             "    lshal [list] [--interface|-i] [--transport|-t] [-r|--arch] [-e|--threads]\n"
@@ -81,10 +81,11 @@
             "        -c, --clients: print the client PIDs, or client cmdlines if -m is set\n"
             "        -m, --cmdline: print cmdline instead of PIDs\n"
             "        -d[=<output file>], --debug[=<output file>]: emit debug info from \n"
-            "                IBase::debug with empty options\n"
+            "                IBase::debug with empty options. Cannot be used with --neat.\n"
             "        --sort=i, --sort=interface: sort by interface name\n"
             "        --sort=p, --sort=pid: sort by server pid\n"
             "        --neat: output is machine parsable (no explanatory text)\n"
+            "                Cannot be used with --debug.\n"
             "        --init-vintf[=<output file>]: form a skeleton HAL manifest to specified\n"
             "                      file, or stdout if no file specified.\n";
 
diff --git a/cmds/lshal/TableEntry.h b/cmds/lshal/TableEntry.h
index e04c3ca..f18f38a 100644
--- a/cmds/lshal/TableEntry.h
+++ b/cmds/lshal/TableEntry.h
@@ -84,18 +84,16 @@
 
 using TableEntryCompare = std::function<bool(const TableEntry &, const TableEntry &)>;
 
-enum : unsigned int {
-    ENABLE_INTERFACE_NAME = 1 << 0,
-    ENABLE_TRANSPORT      = 1 << 1,
-    ENABLE_SERVER_PID     = 1 << 2,
-    ENABLE_SERVER_ADDR    = 1 << 3,
-    ENABLE_CLIENT_PIDS    = 1 << 4,
-    ENABLE_ARCH           = 1 << 5,
-    ENABLE_THREADS        = 1 << 6,
+enum class TableColumnType : unsigned int {
+    INTERFACE_NAME,
+    TRANSPORT,
+    SERVER_PID,
+    SERVER_ADDR,
+    CLIENT_PIDS,
+    ARCH,
+    THREADS,
 };
 
-using TableEntrySelect = unsigned int;
-
 enum {
     NO_PID = -1,
     NO_PTR = 0
diff --git a/cmds/lshal/TextTable.cpp b/cmds/lshal/TextTable.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a721e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmds/lshal/TextTable.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#include <algorithm>
+#include <iomanip>
+
+#include "TextTable.h"
+
+namespace android {
+namespace lshal {
+
+void TextTable::computeWidth(const std::vector<std::string>& v) {
+    if (mWidths.size() < v.size()) {
+        mWidths.resize(v.size());
+    }
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < v.size() - 1; ++i) {
+        mWidths[i] = std::max(mWidths[i], v[i].length());
+    }
+    // last column has std::setw(0) to avoid printing unnecessary spaces.
+    mWidths[v.size() - 1] = 0;
+}
+
+void TextTable::dump(std::ostream& out) const {
+    out << std::left;
+    for (const auto& row : mTable) {
+        if (!row.isRow()) {
+            out << row.line() << std::endl;
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        for (size_t i = 0; i < row.fields().size(); ++i) {
+            if (i != 0) {
+                out << " ";
+            }
+            if (i < mWidths.size()) {
+                out << std::setw(mWidths[i]);
+            }
+            out << row.fields()[i];
+        }
+        out << std::endl;
+    }
+}
+
+} // namespace lshal
+} // namespace android
diff --git a/cmds/lshal/TextTable.h b/cmds/lshal/TextTable.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4636f15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmds/lshal/TextTable.h
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#ifndef FRAMEWORK_NATIVE_CMDS_LSHAL_TEXT_TABLE_H_
+#define FRAMEWORK_NATIVE_CMDS_LSHAL_TEXT_TABLE_H_
+
+#include <iostream>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+#include "TableEntry.h"
+
+namespace android {
+namespace lshal {
+
+// An element in TextTable. This is either an actual row (an array of cells
+// in this row), or a string of explanatory text.
+// To see if this is an actual row, test fields().empty().
+class TextTableRow {
+public:
+    // An empty line.
+    TextTableRow() {}
+
+    // A row of cells.
+    TextTableRow(std::vector<std::string>&& v) : mFields(std::move(v)) {}
+
+    // A single comment string.
+    TextTableRow(std::string&& s) : mLine(std::move(s)) {}
+    TextTableRow(const std::string& s) : mLine(s) {}
+
+    // Whether this row is an actual row of cells.
+    bool isRow() const { return !fields().empty(); }
+
+    // Get all cells.
+    const std::vector<std::string>& fields() const { return mFields; }
+
+    // Get the single comment string.
+    const std::string& line() const { return mLine; }
+
+private:
+    std::vector<std::string> mFields;
+    std::string mLine;
+};
+
+// A TextTable is a 2D array of strings.
+class TextTable {
+public:
+
+    // Add a TextTableRow.
+    void add() { mTable.emplace_back(); }
+    void add(std::vector<std::string>&& v) {
+        computeWidth(v);
+        mTable.emplace_back(std::move(v));
+    }
+    void add(const std::string& s) { mTable.emplace_back(s); }
+    void add(std::string&& s) { mTable.emplace_back(std::move(s)); }
+
+    // Prints the table to out, with column widths adjusted appropriately according
+    // to the content.
+    void dump(std::ostream& out) const;
+
+private:
+    void computeWidth(const std::vector<std::string>& v);
+    std::vector<size_t> mWidths;
+    std::vector<TextTableRow> mTable;
+};
+
+} // namespace lshal
+} // namespace android
+
+#endif // FRAMEWORK_NATIVE_CMDS_LSHAL_TEXT_TABLE_H_