diff --git a/lib/foreman/cli.rb b/lib/foreman/cli.rb
index cb259c0..55f2d00 100644
--- a/lib/foreman/cli.rb
+++ b/lib/foreman/cli.rb
@@ -7,8 +7,7 @@ require "yaml"
 class Foreman::CLI < Thor
   
   class_option :procfile, :type => :string, :aliases => "-f", :desc => "Default: Procfile"
-  
-  desc "start", "Start the application"
+  class_option :app_root, :type => :string, :aliases => "-d", :desc => "Default: Procfile directory"
 
   method_option :env,         :type => :string,  :aliases => "-e", :desc => "Specify an environment file to load, defaults to .env"
   method_option :port,        :type => :numeric, :aliases => "-p"
diff --git a/lib/foreman/engine.rb b/lib/foreman/engine.rb
index c9191b4..94ac725 100644
--- a/lib/foreman/engine.rb
+++ b/lib/foreman/engine.rb
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ class Foreman::Engine
 
   def initialize(procfile, options={})
     @procfile  = Foreman::Procfile.new(procfile)
-    @directory = File.expand_path(File.dirname(procfile))
+    @directory = options[:app_root] || File.expand_path(File.dirname(procfile))
     @options = options
     @environment = read_environment_files(options[:env])
     @output_mutex = Mutex.new