diff --git a/scripts/verify-tarball.js b/scripts/verify-tarball.js
index e91c7f0..f4f8bf3 100644
--- a/scripts/verify-tarball.js
+++ b/scripts/verify-tarball.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-const { execSync } = require("node:child_process");
-const fs = require("node:fs");
-const os = require("node:os");
-const path = require("node:path");
+const { execSync } = require("child_process");
+const fs = require("fs");
+const os = require("os");
+const path = require("path");
 
 function run(cmd, cwd = process.cwd()) {
   console.log(`\n> ${cmd}`);
diff --git a/src/cli/help.ts b/src/cli/help.ts
index 802196c..505a643 100644
--- a/src/cli/help.ts
+++ b/src/cli/help.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ ${colors.bold}Commands:${colors.reset}
   internal <file>         Run intra-file identifier analysis only.
 
 ${colors.bold}General Options:${colors.reset}
+  --cwd <path>            Set the current working directory for analysis (default: process.cwd())
   --help                  Show this help message
   --json                  Machine-readable output
   --silent                Suppress all non-JSON output
diff --git a/src/cli/index.ts b/src/cli/index.ts
index 01bbcbd..1cf0d31 100644
--- a/src/cli/index.ts
+++ b/src/cli/index.ts
@@ -6,21 +6,79 @@ import { logUnusedExports, logUnusedFiles, logUnusedLocals, logVerbose, summary
 import { showHelp } from "./help";
 import { parseArgs } from "./parser";
 
+import { statSync } from "fs";
+import path from "path";
+
+export function isNodeError(error: unknown): error is NodeJS.ErrnoException {
+  return (
+    typeof error === "object" &&
+    error !== null &&
+    "code" in error &&
+    typeof error?.code === "string"
+  );
+}
+
+function resolveAndValidateCwd(rawCwd?: string): string {
+  const resolvedCwd = rawCwd ? path.resolve(process.cwd(), rawCwd) : process.cwd();
+
+  if (!rawCwd) return resolvedCwd;
+
+  let stat;
+
+  try {
+    stat = statSync(resolvedCwd);
+
+    if (!stat.isDirectory()) {
+      log(`Error: --cwd is not a directory: ${resolvedCwd}`);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (isNodeError(error)) {
+      switch (error.code) {
+        case "ENOENT":
+          log(`Error: --cwd path does not exist:\n  ${resolvedCwd}`);
+          break;
+
+        case "ENOTDIR":
+          log(`Error: --cwd contains a non-directory segment:\n  ${resolvedCwd}`);
+          break;
+
+        case "EACCES":
+        case "EPERM":
+          log(`Error: Permission denied accessing --cwd:\n  ${resolvedCwd}`);
+          break;
+
+        default:
+          log(`Error: Unable to access --cwd:\n  ${resolvedCwd}`);
+      }
+    } else {
+      log(`Error: Unable to access --cwd:\n  ${resolvedCwd}`);
+    }
+
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  return resolvedCwd;
+}
+
 (async () => {
   const args = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2));
-  const [command, commandTarget] = args._;
+  const [command, targetPath] = args._;
+
+  const cwd = resolveAndValidateCwd(args.cwd);
 
   // Internal single-file analysis mode
   if (command === "internal") {
     if (args.help) {
       if (!args.silent) {
         log("Usage: devoid internal <file.ts> [options]");
-        log("Run `devoid --help` for full command list.");
+        log("Run `devoid --help` for global options.");
       }
       process.exit(0);
     }
 
-    const filePath = commandTarget;
+    const filePath = targetPath ? path.resolve(cwd, targetPath) : null;
+
     if (!filePath) {
       if (!args.silent) {
         log("Error: No file provided for internal analysis.");
@@ -62,7 +120,8 @@ import { parseArgs } from "./parser";
   }
 
   // Project root path
-  const projectRoot = args._[0];
+  const projectRoot = args._[0] ? path.resolve(cwd, args._[0]) : null;
+
   if (!projectRoot) {
     if (!silent) {
       log("Error: No project path provided.");
diff --git a/src/cli/internalMode.ts b/src/cli/internalMode.ts
index a38f773..60ff8c5 100644
--- a/src/cli/internalMode.ts
+++ b/src/cli/internalMode.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-import fs from "fs";
+import { readFileSync } from "fs";
+
 import { analyzeLocalUsage } from "../core/locals/analyzeLocalUsage";
 import { log } from "../utils";
 import { colors } from "./colors";
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ export async function runInternalMode(filePath: string, args: any): Promise<void
 
   // Read file
   try {
-    sourceText = fs.readFileSync(filePath, "utf8");
+    sourceText = readFileSync(filePath, "utf8");
   } catch (error) {
     if (!SILENT_MODE) {
       log(`${colors.red}Error: Unable to read file: ${filePath}${colors.reset}`);
diff --git a/tests/cli/cli.basic.test.ts b/tests/cli/cli.basic.test.ts
index 9b8e751..4fd16b9 100644
--- a/tests/cli/cli.basic.test.ts
+++ b/tests/cli/cli.basic.test.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 // tests/cli.basic.test.ts
 
-import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
-import fs from "node:fs";
-import { resolve } from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert/strict";
+import { spawnSync } from "child_process";
+import fs from "fs";
 import { test } from "node:test";
+import { resolve } from "path";
 
 const CLI_PATH = resolve("bin", "devoid.js");
 const PKG_PATH = resolve("package.json");
diff --git a/tests/cli/cli.cwd.test.ts b/tests/cli/cli.cwd.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d848e23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/cli/cli.cwd.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+import assert from "assert/strict";
+import fs from "fs";
+import test from "node:test";
+import os from "os";
+import path from "path";
+
+import { runCLI } from "./utils/runCLI";
+
+function writeFile(filePath: string, contents: string) {
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(filePath), { recursive: true });
+  fs.writeFileSync(filePath, contents, "utf8");
+}
+
+test("--cwd: resolves project root relative to cwd", () => {
+  const tmpRoot = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "devoid-cwd-"));
+  const projectDir = path.join(tmpRoot, "project");
+  const srcDir = path.join(projectDir, "src");
+
+  writeFile(path.join(srcDir, "a.ts"), `export const foo = 123;\n`);
+
+  const { code, stdout } = runCLI(["--cwd", "project", "src", "--exports"], { cwd: tmpRoot });
+
+  assert.equal(code, 0);
+  assert.match(stdout, /Unused Exports/i);
+  assert.match(stdout, /\bfoo\b/);
+});
+
+test("--cwd: resolves internal mode file path relative to cwd", () => {
+  const tmpRoot = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "devoid-cwd-"));
+  const projectDir = path.join(tmpRoot, "project");
+  const srcDir = path.join(projectDir, "src");
+
+  writeFile(
+    path.join(srcDir, "internal.ts"),
+    `
+function unusedFn() {}
+function usedFn() {}
+usedFn();
+`,
+  );
+
+  const { code, stdout } = runCLI(["--cwd", "project", "internal", "src/internal.ts"], {
+    cwd: tmpRoot,
+  });
+
+  assert.equal(code, 0);
+  assert.match(stdout, /Internal Usage Analysis/i);
+  assert.match(stdout, /\bunusedFn\b/);
+});
+
+test("--cwd: errors if directory does not exist", () => {
+  const tmpRoot = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "devoid-cwd-"));
+
+  const { code, stdout } = runCLI(["--cwd", "nope", "src", "--exports"], { cwd: tmpRoot });
+
+  assert.equal(code, 1);
+  assert.match(stdout, /--cwd/i);
+  assert.match(stdout, /does not exist/i);
+});
+
+test("--cwd: errors if path exists but is not a directory", () => {
+  const tmpRoot = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "devoid-cwd-"));
+  const filePath = path.join(tmpRoot, "not-a-dir.txt");
+  fs.writeFileSync(filePath, "hi", "utf8");
+
+  const { code, stdout } = runCLI(["--cwd", "not-a-dir.txt", "src"], { cwd: tmpRoot });
+
+  assert.equal(code, 1);
+  assert.match(stdout, /--cwd/i);
+  assert.match(stdout, /not a directory/i);
+});
+
+test("--cwd: works without --cwd (baseline behavior unchanged)", () => {
+  const tmpRoot = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "devoid-cwd-"));
+  const srcDir = path.join(tmpRoot, "src");
+
+  writeFile(path.join(srcDir, "a.ts"), `export const foo = 123;\n`);
+
+  const { code, stdout } = runCLI(["src", "--exports"], { cwd: tmpRoot });
+
+  assert.equal(code, 0);
+  assert.match(stdout, /\bfoo\b/);
+});
diff --git a/tests/cli/utils/runCLI.ts b/tests/cli/utils/runCLI.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a2098c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/cli/utils/runCLI.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import { spawnSync } from "child_process";
+import path from "path";
+
+const NODE = process.execPath;
+const CLI_ENTRY = path.resolve(__dirname, "../../../bin/devoid.js");
+
+export function runCLI(args: string[], opts?: { cwd?: string }) {
+  const result = spawnSync(NODE, [CLI_ENTRY, ...args], {
+    cwd: opts?.cwd,
+    encoding: "utf8",
+  });
+
+  return {
+    code: result.status ?? 1,
+    stdout: (result.stdout ?? "") + (result.stderr ?? ""),
+  };
+}
diff --git a/tests/exports/conflictingExports.test.ts b/tests/exports/conflictingExports.test.ts
index 631a3ec..2cc2b75 100644
--- a/tests/exports/conflictingExports.test.ts
+++ b/tests/exports/conflictingExports.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+import assert from "assert/strict";
 import fs from "fs";
-import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 import path from "path";
 
diff --git a/tests/exports/exportChains.test.ts b/tests/exports/exportChains.test.ts
index 00fbb99..636e2de 100644
--- a/tests/exports/exportChains.test.ts
+++ b/tests/exports/exportChains.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import fs from "node:fs";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert";
+import fs from "fs";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { analyzeExportUsage } from "../../src/core/exports/exportUsage";
 import { scanExports } from "../../src/core/exports/scanExports";
diff --git a/tests/exports/exportGraphResolver.test.ts b/tests/exports/exportGraphResolver.test.ts
index d5e5086..90cc3d1 100644
--- a/tests/exports/exportGraphResolver.test.ts
+++ b/tests/exports/exportGraphResolver.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+import assert from "assert/strict";
 import fs from "fs";
-import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 import path from "path";
 
diff --git a/tests/exports/exportUsage.test.ts b/tests/exports/exportUsage.test.ts
index e743cbe..7c9f78e 100644
--- a/tests/exports/exportUsage.test.ts
+++ b/tests/exports/exportUsage.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import fs from "node:fs";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert";
+import fs from "fs";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { analyzeExportUsage } from "../../src/core/exports/exportUsage";
 import { scanExports } from "../../src/core/exports/scanExports.js";
diff --git a/tests/exports/localPriority.test.ts b/tests/exports/localPriority.test.ts
index 28232bd..c97eeed 100644
--- a/tests/exports/localPriority.test.ts
+++ b/tests/exports/localPriority.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+import assert from "assert/strict";
 import fs from "fs";
-import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 import path from "path";
 
diff --git a/tests/exports/multiHop.test.ts b/tests/exports/multiHop.test.ts
index 5dc75e4..8d845fa 100644
--- a/tests/exports/multiHop.test.ts
+++ b/tests/exports/multiHop.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+import assert from "assert/strict";
 import fs from "fs";
-import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 import path from "path";
 
diff --git a/tests/exports/namedReexports.test.ts b/tests/exports/namedReexports.test.ts
index 9401456..dd82624 100644
--- a/tests/exports/namedReexports.test.ts
+++ b/tests/exports/namedReexports.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+import assert from "assert/strict";
 import fs from "fs";
-import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 import path from "path";
 
diff --git a/tests/exports/unresolvedReexports.test.ts b/tests/exports/unresolvedReexports.test.ts
index 4d60568..ee0c39d 100644
--- a/tests/exports/unresolvedReexports.test.ts
+++ b/tests/exports/unresolvedReexports.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+import assert from "assert/strict";
 import fs from "fs";
-import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 import path from "path";
 
diff --git a/tests/exports/wildcardExportChains.test.ts b/tests/exports/wildcardExportChains.test.ts
index 172e0a5..76a7660 100644
--- a/tests/exports/wildcardExportChains.test.ts
+++ b/tests/exports/wildcardExportChains.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import fs from "node:fs";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert";
+import fs from "fs";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { analyzeExportUsage } from "../../src/core/exports/exportUsage";
 import { scanExports } from "../../src/core/exports/scanExports.js";
diff --git a/tests/exports/wildcardReexport.test.ts b/tests/exports/wildcardReexport.test.ts
index b2c63b3..77c6427 100644
--- a/tests/exports/wildcardReexport.test.ts
+++ b/tests/exports/wildcardReexport.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+import assert from "assert/strict";
 import fs from "fs";
-import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 import path from "path";
 
diff --git a/tests/imports/importGraph.test.ts b/tests/imports/importGraph.test.ts
index 10bb803..22defd6 100644
--- a/tests/imports/importGraph.test.ts
+++ b/tests/imports/importGraph.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import fs from "node:fs";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert";
+import fs from "fs";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { buildImportGraph } from "../../src/core/imports/buildImportGraph";
 import { loadTSConfig } from "../../src/core/tsconfig/tsconfigLoader";
diff --git a/tests/imports/mixedImports.test.ts b/tests/imports/mixedImports.test.ts
index e9b100b..8618d12 100644
--- a/tests/imports/mixedImports.test.ts
+++ b/tests/imports/mixedImports.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+import assert from "assert";
 import fs from "fs";
-import assert from "node:assert";
 import test from "node:test";
 import path from "path";
 
diff --git a/tests/imports/typeOnlyImports.test.ts b/tests/imports/typeOnlyImports.test.ts
index d3c15df..52508c4 100644
--- a/tests/imports/typeOnlyImports.test.ts
+++ b/tests/imports/typeOnlyImports.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+import assert from "assert";
 import fs from "fs";
-import assert from "node:assert";
 import test from "node:test";
 import path from "path";
 
diff --git a/tests/imports/unresolvedImports.test.ts b/tests/imports/unresolvedImports.test.ts
index 52cd317..deaa88b 100644
--- a/tests/imports/unresolvedImports.test.ts
+++ b/tests/imports/unresolvedImports.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import fs from "node:fs";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert";
+import fs from "fs";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { analyzeExportUsage } from "../../src/core/exports/exportUsage";
 import { scanExports } from "../../src/core/exports/scanExports.js";
diff --git a/tests/integrate/barrel.test.ts b/tests/integrate/barrel.test.ts
index a5da526..050c35c 100644
--- a/tests/integrate/barrel.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integrate/barrel.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+import assert from "assert/strict";
 import fs from "fs";
-import assert from "node:assert/strict";
 import test from "node:test";
 import path from "path";
 
diff --git a/tests/integrate/endToEnd.test.ts b/tests/integrate/endToEnd.test.ts
index 7c1f660..e7bebda 100644
--- a/tests/integrate/endToEnd.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integrate/endToEnd.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { analyzeProject } from "../../src/core/analyzer";
 
diff --git a/tests/integrate/realistic.test.ts b/tests/integrate/realistic.test.ts
index 6f6a886..0686dee 100644
--- a/tests/integrate/realistic.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integrate/realistic.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import fs from "node:fs";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert/strict";
+import fs from "fs";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { analyzeProject } from "../../src/core/analyzer.js";
 
diff --git a/tests/internal/basicInternalUsage.test.ts b/tests/internal/basicInternalUsage.test.ts
index 40068e2..51866e5 100644
--- a/tests/internal/basicInternalUsage.test.ts
+++ b/tests/internal/basicInternalUsage.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import fs from "node:fs";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert";
+import fs from "fs";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { analyzeLocalUsage } from "../../src/core/locals/analyzeLocalUsage";
 
diff --git a/tests/internal/strictInternalUsage.test.ts b/tests/internal/strictInternalUsage.test.ts
index 96496cd..809c28e 100644
--- a/tests/internal/strictInternalUsage.test.ts
+++ b/tests/internal/strictInternalUsage.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import fs from "node:fs";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert";
+import fs from "fs";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { analyzeLocalUsage } from "../../src/core/locals/analyzeLocalUsage";
 
diff --git a/tests/utils/fileWalker.test.ts b/tests/utils/fileWalker.test.ts
index c3304b8..0503021 100644
--- a/tests/utils/fileWalker.test.ts
+++ b/tests/utils/fileWalker.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { walkFiles } from "../../src/core/fileSystem/walkFiles";
 
diff --git a/tests/utils/pathNormalization.test.ts b/tests/utils/pathNormalization.test.ts
index 928941b..58f198e 100644
--- a/tests/utils/pathNormalization.test.ts
+++ b/tests/utils/pathNormalization.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-import assert from "node:assert";
-import path from "node:path";
+import assert from "assert";
 import test from "node:test";
+import path from "path";
 
 import { normalizeFilePath } from "../../src/core/fileSystem/normalizePath";