Scanning a Subdirectory with --cwd

Sometimes you want to scan a project that is not your current working directory. This guide explains how to target a specific folder with the Vibgrate CLI using the --cwd flag. It is aimed at developers running scans across multiple projects from one terminal.

Overview

The Vibgrate CLI scans the current directory by default. When you need to scan a different folder without first cd-ing into it, pass --cwd with the target path. This keeps your shell where it is and is convenient in scripts.

Step-by-step

Scan a subdirectory of your current location:

vg scan --cwd services/api

Scan a sibling project by absolute or relative path:

vg scan --cwd ../billing-service

The scan runs as though it had started inside the named folder, resolving that project's lockfiles and configuration.

When to use it

• Driving scans for several projects from a single shell or script.
• Scanning a generated or checked-out path in CI without a directory change step.
• Wrapping the CLI in tooling where changing the process working directory is awkward.

Notes

Remember the command rules: bare vg scans the current directory, and you never append a trailing path argument to scan. To target another location, use --cwd rather than a positional path.

For scanning the directory you are already in, the simpler form is just vg.

Related

See the scanning the current directory guide, the scan command reference, and the monorepo scanning guide for scanning multiple packages.