diff --git a/source/dub/commandline.d b/source/dub/commandline.d
index 0356c00..71e66c3 100644
--- a/source/dub/commandline.d
+++ b/source/dub/commandline.d
@@ -126,7 +126,6 @@
 	// parse general options
 	CommonOptions options;
 	LogLevel loglevel = LogLevel.info;
-	options.root_path = getcwd();
 
 	auto common_args = new CommandArgs(args);
 	try {
@@ -144,6 +143,15 @@
 		return 1;
 	}
 
+	if (options.root_path.empty)
+		options.root_path = getcwd();
+	else
+	{
+		import std.path : absolutePath, buildNormalizedPath;
+
+		options.root_path = options.root_path.absolutePath.buildNormalizedPath;
+	}
+
 	// create the list of all supported commands
 	CommandGroup[] commands = getCommands();