diff --git a/tools/apply.py b/tools/apply.py
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index dce5895..f4c25d4
--- a/tools/apply.py
+++ b/tools/apply.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+
 import argparse
 import logging
 import pathlib
@@ -6,7 +8,7 @@
 
 SUCCESS = 0
 FAILURE = 1
-ROOT = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent.parent
+ROOT = pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
 FILES_TO_COPY = [
     ".github/workflows/tests.yaml",
     ".gitignore",
@@ -19,12 +21,16 @@
 def _copy_file_to_target(
     source: pathlib.Path,
     destination: pathlib.Path,
+    dry_run: bool,
 ) -> None:
-    destination.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    shutil.copy(source, destination)
+    if dry_run:
+        print(f"Copying '{source}' to '{destination}")
+    else:
+        destination.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        shutil.copy(source, destination)
 
 
-def copy_files_to_target(target: pathlib.Path) -> int:
+def copy_files_to_target(target: pathlib.Path, dry_run: bool) -> int:
     if not target.exists():
         logging.error(f"target {target} does not exist")
         return FAILURE
@@ -35,7 +41,11 @@ def copy_files_to_target(target: pathlib.Path) -> int:
     ret = SUCCESS
     for file in FILES_TO_COPY:
         try:
-            _copy_file_to_target(source=ROOT / file, destination=target / file)
+            _copy_file_to_target(
+                source=ROOT / file,
+                destination=target / file,
+                dry_run=dry_run,
+            )
         except Exception as e:
             logging.error(str(e))
             ret = FAILURE
@@ -50,13 +60,21 @@ def main(argv: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> int:
 
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
     parser.add_argument("targets", nargs="*")
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--dry-run",
+        action=argparse.BooleanOptionalAction,
+        default=False,
+    )
 
     args = parser.parse_args(argv)
     ret = SUCCESS
     if not args.targets:
         parser.print_help()
     for target in args.targets:
-        ret |= copy_files_to_target(target=pathlib.Path(target).resolve())
+        ret |= copy_files_to_target(
+            target=pathlib.Path(target).resolve(),
+            dry_run=args.dry_run,
+        )
 
     return ret