diff --git a/packages/opencode/src/cli/cmd/serve.ts b/packages/opencode/src/cli/cmd/serve.ts
index 5b2a867e9..bf9ec8f6a 100644
--- a/packages/opencode/src/cli/cmd/serve.ts
+++ b/packages/opencode/src/cli/cmd/serve.ts
@@ -3,12 +3,29 @@ import { cmd } from "./cmd"
 import { withNetworkOptions, resolveNetworkOptions } from "../network"
 import { Flag } from "../../flag/flag"
 import { Instance } from "../../project/instance" // kilocode_change
+import path from "path"
 
 export const ServeCommand = cmd({
-  command: "serve",
-  builder: (yargs) => withNetworkOptions(yargs),
+  command: "serve [project]",
+  builder: (yargs) =>
+    withNetworkOptions(yargs).positional("project", {
+      type: "string",
+      describe: "path to start kilo server in", // kilocode_change
+    }),
   describe: "starts a headless kilo server", // kilocode_change
   handler: async (args) => {
+    if (args.project) {
+      const cwd = path.resolve(args.project)
+      try {
+        process.chdir(cwd)
+      } catch (error) {
+        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : "unknown error"
+        console.error(`Failed to change directory to ${cwd}: ${message}`)
+        process.exitCode = 1
+        return
+      }
+    }
+
     if (!Flag.KILO_SERVER_PASSWORD) {
       console.log("Warning: KILO_SERVER_PASSWORD is not set; server is unsecured.")
     }