diff --git a/redshift.1 b/redshift.1
index c9667aa8..965d0fd7 100644
--- a/redshift.1
+++ b/redshift.1
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 redshift \- Set color temperature of display according to time of day.
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .B redshift
-\fI[\-l LAT:LON | \-l PROVIDER:OPTIONS] [\-t DAY:NIGHT] \fR[\fIOPTIONS\fR...]
+\fI[\-l LAT:LON | \-l PROVIDER OPTIONS] [\-t DAY:NIGHT] \fR[\fIOPTIONS\fR...]
 .SH DESCRIPTION
 .B redshift
 adjusts the color temperature of your screen according to your
@@ -46,11 +46,11 @@ Your current location, in degrees, given as floating point numbers,
 towards north and east, with negative numbers representing south and
 west, respectively.
 .TP
-\fB\-l\fR PROVIDER[:OPTIONS]
+\fB\-l\fR PROVIDER [OPTIONS]
 Select provider for automatic location updates
 (Use `-l list' to see available providers)
 .TP
-\fB\-m\fR METHOD[:OPTIONS]
+\fB\-m\fR METHOD [OPTIONS]
 Method to use to set color temperature
 (Use `-m list' to see available methods)
 .TP
diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index c7a5444e..b5d22710 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ redshift_SOURCES = \
 	location-manual.c location-manual.h \
 	solar.c solar.h \
 	systemtime.c systemtime.h \
+	opt-parser.c opt-parser.h \
 	hooks.c hooks.h \
 	gamma-dummy.c gamma-dummy.h
 
diff --git a/src/opt-parser.c b/src/opt-parser.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7277bd3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/opt-parser.c
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+/* opt-parser.c -- getopt wrapper source
+   This file is part of Redshift.
+
+   Redshift is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   Redshift is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with Redshift.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+   Copyright (c) 2014  Mattias Andrée <maandree@member.fsf.org>
+*/
+#include "opt-parser.h"
+
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+
+int
+parseopt(int argc, char *const *argv, const char *shortopts, const char **args, int *args_count)
+{
+	int opt;
+	char *p;
+
+	*args_count = 0;
+	opt = getopt(argc, argv, shortopts);
+	if (opt < 0)
+		return opt;
+
+	p = strchr(shortopts, opt);
+	if ((p == NULL) || (p[1] != ':'))
+		return opt;
+
+	args[(*args_count)++] = optarg;
+	while (optind < argc && argv[optind][0] != '-') {
+		args[(*args_count)++] = argv[optind++];
+	}
+
+	return opt;
+}
+
+
+char *
+coalesce_args(const char *const *args, int args_count, char delimiter, char final)
+{
+	size_t n = args_count ? (args_count + 1) : 2;
+	size_t i;
+	char *rc;
+	char *rc_;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < args_count; i++)
+		n += strlen(args[i]);
+
+	rc = rc_ = malloc(n * sizeof(char));
+	if (rc == NULL)
+		return NULL;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < args_count; i++) {
+		n = strlen(args[i]);
+		memcpy(rc_, args[i], n * sizeof(char));
+		rc_ += n;
+		*rc_++ = delimiter;
+	}
+	if (args_count > 0)
+		rc_--;
+
+	*rc_++ = final;
+	*rc_++ = '\0';
+
+	return rc;
+}
+
diff --git a/src/opt-parser.h b/src/opt-parser.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ec681584
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/opt-parser.h
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/* opt-parser.h -- getopt wrapper header
+   This file is part of Redshift.
+
+   Redshift is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   Redshift is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with Redshift.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+   Copyright (c) 2014  Mattias Andrée <maandree@member.fsf.org>
+*/
+#ifndef REDSHIFT_OPT_PARSER_H
+#define REDSHIFT_OPT_PARSER_H
+
+
+int parseopt(int argc, char *const *argv, const char *shortopts, const char **args, int *args_count);
+
+char *coalesce_args(const char *const *args, int args_count, char delimiter, char final);
+
+
+#endif /* ! REDSHIFT_OPT_PARSER_H */
diff --git a/src/redshift.c b/src/redshift.c
index 0fcb0bad..2a909576 100644
--- a/src/redshift.c
+++ b/src/redshift.c
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 # include "config.h"
 #endif
 
+#include <alloca.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@
 #include "config-ini.h"
 #include "solar.h"
 #include "systemtime.h"
+#include "opt-parser.h"
 #include "hooks.h"
 
 
@@ -519,10 +521,10 @@ print_method_list()
 	}
 
 	fputs("\n", stdout);
-	fputs(_("Specify colon-separated options with"
-		" `-m METHOD:OPTIONS'.\n"), stdout);
+	fputs(_("Specify space-separated options with"
+		" `-m METHOD OPTIONS'.\n"), stdout);
 	/* TRANSLATORS: `help' must not be translated. */
-	fputs(_("Try `-m METHOD:help' for help.\n"), stdout);
+	fputs(_("Try `-m METHOD help' for help.\n"), stdout);
 }
 
 static void
@@ -534,10 +536,10 @@ print_provider_list()
 	}
 
 	fputs("\n", stdout);
-	fputs(_("Specify colon-separated options with"
-		"`-l PROVIDER:OPTIONS'.\n"), stdout);
+	fputs(_("Specify space-separated options with"
+		"`-l PROVIDER OPTIONS'.\n"), stdout);
 	/* TRANSLATORS: `help' must not be translated. */
-	fputs(_("Try `-l PROVIDER:help' for help.\n"), stdout);
+	fputs(_("Try `-l PROVIDER help' for help.\n"), stdout);
 }
 
 
@@ -570,7 +572,7 @@ provider_try_start(const location_provider_t *provider,
 					provider->name);
 				/* TRANSLATORS: `help' must not be
 				   translated. */
-				fprintf(stderr, _("Try `-l %s:help' for more"
+				fprintf(stderr, _("Try `-l %s help' for more"
 						  " information.\n"),
 					provider->name);
 				return -1;
@@ -582,43 +584,42 @@ provider_try_start(const location_provider_t *provider,
 	/* Set provider options from command line. */
 	const char *manual_keys[] = { "lat", "lon" };
 	int i = 0;
-	while (args != NULL) {
-		char *next_arg = strchr(args, ':');
-		if (next_arg != NULL) *(next_arg++) = '\0';
-
-		const char *key = args;
-		char *value = strchr(args, '=');
-		if (value == NULL) {
-			/* The options for the "manual" method can be set
-			   without keys on the command line for convencience
-			   and for backwards compatability. We add the proper
-			   keys here before calling set_option(). */
-			if (strcmp(provider->name, "manual") == 0 &&
-			    i < sizeof(manual_keys)/sizeof(manual_keys[0])) {
-				key = manual_keys[i];
-				value = args;
+	if (args != NULL) {
+		while (*args != '\0') {
+			const char *key = args;
+			char *value = strchr(args, '=');
+			if (value == NULL) {
+				/* The options for the "manual" method can be set
+				   without keys on the command line for convencience
+				   and for backwards compatability. We add the proper
+				   keys here before calling set_option(). */
+				if (strcmp(provider->name, "manual") == 0 &&
+				    i < sizeof(manual_keys)/sizeof(manual_keys[0])) {
+					key = manual_keys[i];
+					value = args;
+				} else {
+					fprintf(stderr, _("Failed to parse option `%s'.\n"),
+						args);
+					return -1;
+				}
 			} else {
-				fprintf(stderr, _("Failed to parse option `%s'.\n"),
-					args);
+				*(value++) = '\0';
+			}
+
+			r = provider->set_option(state, key, value);
+			if (r < 0) {
+				provider->free(state);
+				fprintf(stderr, _("Failed to set %s option.\n"),
+					provider->name);
+				/* TRANSLATORS: `help' must not be translated. */
+				fprintf(stderr, _("Try `-l %s help' for more"
+						  " information.\n"), provider->name);
 				return -1;
 			}
-		} else {
-			*(value++) = '\0';
-		}
 
-		r = provider->set_option(state, key, value);
-		if (r < 0) {
-			provider->free(state);
-			fprintf(stderr, _("Failed to set %s option.\n"),
-				provider->name);
-			/* TRANSLATORS: `help' must not be translated. */
-			fprintf(stderr, _("Try `-l %s:help' for more"
-					  " information.\n"), provider->name);
-			return -1;
+			args = value + strlen(value) + 1;
+			i += 1;
 		}
-
-		args = next_arg;
-		i += 1;
 	}
 
 	/* Start provider. */
@@ -662,7 +663,7 @@ method_try_start(const gamma_method_t *method,
 					method->name);
 				/* TRANSLATORS: `help' must not be
 				   translated. */
-				fprintf(stderr, _("Try `-m %s:help' for more"
+				fprintf(stderr, _("Try `-m %s help' for more"
 						  " information.\n"),
 					method->name);
 				return -1;
@@ -672,32 +673,31 @@ method_try_start(const gamma_method_t *method,
 	}
 
 	/* Set method options from command line. */
-	while (args != NULL) {
-		char *next_arg = strchr(args, ':');
-		if (next_arg != NULL) *(next_arg++) = '\0';
-
-		const char *key = args;
-		char *value = strchr(args, '=');
-		if (value == NULL) {
-			fprintf(stderr, _("Failed to parse option `%s'.\n"),
-				args);
-			return -1;
-		} else {
-			*(value++) = '\0';
-		}
+	if (args != NULL) {
+		while (*args != '\0') {
+			const char *key = args;
+			char *value = strchr(args, '=');
+			if (value == NULL) {
+				fprintf(stderr, _("Failed to parse option `%s'.\n"),
+					args);
+				return -1;
+			} else {
+				*(value++) = '\0';
+			}
 
-		r = method->set_option(state, key, value);
-		if (r < 0) {
-			method->free(state);
-			fprintf(stderr, _("Failed to set %s option.\n"),
-				method->name);
-			/* TRANSLATORS: `help' must not be translated. */
-			fprintf(stderr, _("Try -m %s:help' for more"
-					  " information.\n"), method->name);
-			return -1;
-		}
+			r = method->set_option(state, key, value);
+			if (r < 0) {
+				method->free(state);
+				fprintf(stderr, _("Failed to set %s option.\n"),
+					method->name);
+				/* TRANSLATORS: `help' must not be translated. */
+				fprintf(stderr, _("Try -m %s help' for more"
+						  " information.\n"), method->name);
+				return -1;
+			}
 
-		args = next_arg;
+			args = value + strlen(value) + 1;
+		}
 	}
 
 	/* Start method. */
@@ -1088,7 +1088,9 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
 	/* Parse command line arguments. */
 	int opt;
-	while ((opt = getopt(argc, argv, "b:c:g:hl:m:oO:prt:vVx")) != -1) {
+	const char **args = alloca(argc * sizeof(char*));
+	int args_count;
+	while ((opt = parseopt(argc, argv, "b:c:g:hl:m:oO:prt:vVx", args, &args_count)) != -1) {
 		switch (opt) {
 		case 'b':
 			parse_brightness_string(optarg,
@@ -1121,38 +1123,47 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			break;
 		case 'l':
 			/* Print list of providers if argument is `list' */
-			if (strcasecmp(optarg, "list") == 0) {
+			if (strcasecmp(*args, "list") == 0) {
 				print_provider_list();
 				exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
 			}
 
-			char *provider_name = NULL;
+			provider_args = coalesce_args(args, args_count, '\0', '\0');
+			if (provider_args == NULL) {
+				perror("coalesce_args");
+				exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+			}
 
 			/* Don't save the result of strtof(); we simply want
 			   to know if optarg can be parsed as a float. */
 			errno = 0;
 			char *end;
-			strtof(optarg, &end);
-			if (errno == 0 && *end == ':') {
-				/* Use instead as arguments to `manual'. */
-				provider_name = "manual";
-				provider_args = optarg;
-			} else {
-				/* Split off provider arguments. */
-				s = strchr(optarg, ':');
-				if (s != NULL) {
-					*(s++) = '\0';
-					provider_args = s;
+			strtof(provider_args, &end);
+			if (errno == 0 && (end[0] == ':' || end[0] == '\0') && end[1] != '\0') {
+				/* Set delimiter to `\0'. */
+				end[0] = '\0';
+				/* Set provider method to `manual'. */
+				char *old_buf = provider_args;
+				size_t n = 0;
+				while (provider_args[n] != '\0' || provider_args[n + 1] != '\0')
+					n++;
+				n += 2;
+				provider_args = realloc(old_buf, (strlen("manual") + 1 + n) * sizeof(char));
+				if (provider_args == NULL) {
+					perror("realloc");
+					free(old_buf);
+					exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 				}
-
-				provider_name = optarg;
+				memmove(provider_args + strlen("manual") + 1, provider_args, n * sizeof(char));
+				strcpy(provider_args, "manual");
 			}
 
 			/* Lookup provider from name. */
-			provider = find_location_provider(provider_name);
+			provider = find_location_provider(provider_args);
 			if (provider == NULL) {
 				fprintf(stderr, _("Unknown location provider"
-						  " `%s'.\n"), provider_name);
+						  " `%s'.\n"), provider_args);
+				free(provider_args);
 				exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 			}
 
@@ -1160,6 +1171,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			if (provider_args != NULL &&
 			    strcasecmp(provider_args, "help") == 0) {
 				provider->print_help(stdout);
+				free(provider_args);
 				exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
 			}
 			break;
@@ -1170,20 +1182,20 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 				exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
 			}
 
-			/* Split off method arguments. */
-			s = strchr(optarg, ':');
-			if (s != NULL) {
-				*(s++) = '\0';
-				method_args = s;
+			method_args = coalesce_args(args, args_count, '\0', '\0');
+			if (method_args == NULL) {
+				perror("coalesce_args");
+				exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 			}
 
 			/* Find adjustment method by name. */
-			method = find_gamma_method(optarg);
+			method = find_gamma_method(method_args);
 			if (method == NULL) {
 				/* TRANSLATORS: This refers to the method
 				   used to adjust colors e.g VidMode */
 				fprintf(stderr, _("Unknown adjustment method"
 						  " `%s'.\n"), optarg);
+				free(method_args);
 				exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 			}
 
@@ -1191,6 +1203,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			if (method_args != NULL &&
 			    strcasecmp(method_args, "help") == 0) {
 				method->print_help(stdout);
+				free(method_args);
 				exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
 			}
 			break;
@@ -1409,8 +1422,9 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	    mode != PROGRAM_MODE_MANUAL) {
 		if (provider != NULL) {
 			/* Use provider specified on command line. */
-			r = provider_try_start(provider, &location_state,
-					       &config_state, provider_args);
+			r = provider_try_start(provider, &location_state, &config_state,
+					       provider_args == NULL ? NULL :
+					       provider_args + strlen(provider_args) + 1);
 			if (r < 0) exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 		} else {
 			/* Try all providers, use the first that works. */
@@ -1559,7 +1573,8 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		if (method != NULL) {
 			/* Use method specified on command line. */
 			r = method_try_start(method, &state, &config_state,
-					     method_args);
+					     method_args == NULL ? NULL :
+					     method_args + strlen(method_args) + 1);
 			if (r < 0) exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
 		} else {
 			/* Try all methods, use the first that works. */
@@ -1704,5 +1719,11 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	/* Clean up gamma adjustment state */
 	method->free(&state);
 
+	/* Free memory */
+	if (method_args != NULL)
+		free(method_args);
+	if (provider_args != NULL)
+		free(provider_args);
+
 	return EXIT_SUCCESS;
 }