diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d902f0c..ed52c90 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -51,14 +51,18 @@ go build -o slinky ./
 Usage:
 
 ```bash
-slinky check . --patterns "docs/**/*.md" --patterns "**/*.go" --md-out results.md --json-out results.json
+# Headless: provide one or more targets (files, dirs, or globs)
+slinky check **/*
+slinky check ./docs/**/* ./markdown/**/*
+
+# TUI mode: same targets
+slinky run **/*
 ```
 
-TUI mode:
-
-```bash
-slinky run . --patterns "**/*"
-```
+Notes:
+- Targets can be files, directories, or doublestar globs. Multiple targets are allowed.
+- If no targets are provided, the default is `**/*` relative to the current working directory.
+- Legacy flags `--glob` and `--patterns` are still supported, but positional targets are preferred.
 
 ### Notes
 
diff --git a/cmd/check.go b/cmd/check.go
index 35a3989..7f77c1c 100644
--- a/cmd/check.go
+++ b/cmd/check.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -29,24 +30,31 @@ type SerializableResult struct {
 
 func init() {
 	checkCmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "check [path]",
-		Short: "Scan a directory for URLs and validate them (headless)",
-		Args:  cobra.MaximumNArgs(1),
+		Use:   "check [targets...]",
+		Short: "Scan for URLs and validate them (headless)",
+		Args:  cobra.ArbitraryArgs,
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			path := "."
-			if len(args) == 1 {
-				path = args[0]
-			}
 
 			var gl []string
-			if len(patterns) > 0 {
-				gl = append(gl, patterns...)
-			} else if globPat != "" {
-				gl = strings.Split(globPat, ",")
+			if len(args) > 0 {
+				for _, a := range args {
+					for _, part := range strings.Split(a, ",") {
+						p := strings.TrimSpace(part)
+						if p != "" {
+							gl = append(gl, toSlash(p))
+						}
+					}
+				}
 			} else {
 				gl = []string{"**/*"}
 			}
 
+			gl = expandDirectories(path, gl)
+
+			// Emit normalized patterns for debugging
+			fmt.Printf("::debug:: Effective patterns: %s\n", strings.Join(gl, ","))
+
 			timeout := time.Duration(timeoutSeconds) * time.Second
 			cfg := web.Config{MaxConcurrency: maxConcurrency, RequestTimeout: timeout}
 
@@ -149,8 +157,6 @@ func init() {
 		},
 	}
 
-	checkCmd.Flags().StringVar(&globPat, "glob", "", "comma-separated glob patterns for files (doublestar); empty = all files")
-	checkCmd.Flags().StringSliceVar(&patterns, "patterns", nil, "file match patterns (doublestar). Examples: docs/**/*.md,**/*.go; defaults to **/*")
 	checkCmd.Flags().IntVar(&maxConcurrency, "concurrency", 16, "maximum concurrent requests")
 	checkCmd.Flags().StringVar(&jsonOut, "json-out", "", "path to write full JSON results (array)")
 	checkCmd.Flags().StringVar(&mdOut, "md-out", "", "path to write Markdown report for PR comment")
@@ -165,7 +171,43 @@ func init() {
 var (
 	timeoutSeconds   int
 	failOnFailures   bool
-	patterns         []string
 	repoBlobBase     string
 	respectGitignore bool
 )
+
+func toSlash(p string) string {
+	p = strings.TrimSpace(p)
+	if p == "" {
+		return p
+	}
+	p = filepath.ToSlash(p)
+	if after, ok := strings.CutPrefix(p, "./"); ok {
+		p = after
+	}
+	return p
+}
+
+func hasGlobMeta(s string) bool {
+	return strings.ContainsAny(s, "*?[")
+}
+
+func expandDirectories(root string, pats []string) []string {
+	var out []string
+	for _, p := range pats {
+		pp := strings.TrimSpace(p)
+		if pp == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		if hasGlobMeta(pp) {
+			out = append(out, pp)
+			continue
+		}
+		abs := filepath.Join(root, filepath.FromSlash(pp))
+		if fi, err := os.Stat(abs); err == nil && fi.IsDir() {
+			out = append(out, strings.TrimSuffix(pp, "/")+"/**/*")
+		} else {
+			out = append(out, pp)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
diff --git a/cmd/run.go b/cmd/run.go
index 6530c38..ba229d6 100644
--- a/cmd/run.go
+++ b/cmd/run.go
@@ -11,29 +11,28 @@ import (
 
 func init() {
 	runCmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "run [path]",
+		Use:   "run [targets...]",
 		Short: "Scan a directory/repo for URLs in files and validate them (TUI)",
-		Args:  cobra.MaximumNArgs(1),
+		Args:  cobra.ArbitraryArgs,
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-			path := "."
-			if len(args) == 1 {
-				path = args[0]
-			}
 			cfg := web.Config{MaxConcurrency: maxConcurrency}
 			var gl []string
-			if len(patterns) > 0 {
-				gl = append(gl, patterns...)
-			} else if globPat != "" {
-				gl = strings.Split(globPat, ",")
+			if len(args) > 0 {
+				for _, a := range args {
+					for _, part := range strings.Split(a, ",") {
+						p := strings.TrimSpace(part)
+						if p != "" {
+							gl = append(gl, p)
+						}
+					}
+				}
 			} else {
 				gl = []string{"**/*"}
 			}
-			return tui.Run(path, gl, cfg, jsonOut, mdOut)
+			return tui.Run(".", gl, cfg, jsonOut, mdOut)
 		},
 	}
 
-	runCmd.Flags().StringVar(&globPat, "glob", "", "comma-separated glob patterns for files (doublestar); empty = all files")
-	runCmd.Flags().StringSliceVar(&patterns, "patterns", nil, "file match patterns (doublestar). Examples: docs/**/*.md,**/*.go; defaults to **/*")
 	runCmd.Flags().IntVar(&maxConcurrency, "concurrency", 16, "maximum concurrent requests")
 	runCmd.Flags().StringVar(&jsonOut, "json-out", "", "path to write full JSON results (array)")
 	runCmd.Flags().StringVar(&mdOut, "md-out", "", "path to write Markdown report for PR comment")
@@ -44,6 +43,5 @@ func init() {
 var (
 	maxConcurrency int
 	jsonOut        string
-	globPat        string
 	mdOut          string
 )
diff --git a/entrypoint.sh b/entrypoint.sh
index 6a27256..acd8b56 100644
--- a/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/entrypoint.sh
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ COMMENT_PR_ARG="${INPUT_COMMENT_PR:-true}"
 STEP_SUMMARY_ARG="${INPUT_STEP_SUMMARY:-true}"
 
 # Build argv safely
-set -- check "$PATH_ARG" --concurrency "$CONCURRENCY_ARG" --timeout "$TIMEOUT_ARG"
+set -- check --concurrency "$CONCURRENCY_ARG" --timeout "$TIMEOUT_ARG"
 if [ "${FAIL_ON_FAILURES_ARG}" = "true" ]; then
   set -- "$@" --fail-on-failures=true
 else
@@ -22,12 +22,9 @@ else
 fi
 
 if [ -n "${PATTERNS_ARG}" ]; then
-  NORM_PATTERNS=$(printf "%s" "${PATTERNS_ARG}" | sed 's/,[[:space:]]*/,/g')
-  IFS=','
-  for pat in $NORM_PATTERNS; do
-    set -- "$@" --patterns "$pat"
-  done
-  unset IFS
+  set -- "$@" "$PATTERNS_ARG"
+else
+  set -- "$@" "**/*"
 fi
 
 if [ -n "${JSON_OUT_ARG}" ]; then
@@ -60,8 +57,9 @@ fi
 
 # Emit consolidated config at start (visible with ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG=true)
 EFFECTIVE_REPO_BLOB_BASE="${SLINKY_REPO_BLOB_BASE_URL:-$REPO_BLOB_BASE_ARG}"
-printf "::debug:: Config: path=%s patterns=%s concurrency=%s timeout=%s respect_gitignore=%s json_out=%s md_out=%s fail_on_failures=%s comment_pr=%s step_summary=%s repo_blob_base_url=%s\n" \
-  "$PATH_ARG" "$PATTERNS_ARG" "$CONCURRENCY_ARG" "$TIMEOUT_ARG" "$RESPECT_GITIGNORE_ARG" "$JSON_OUT_ARG" "$MD_OUT_ARG" \
+TARGETS_DEBUG="${PATTERNS_ARG:-**/*}"
+printf "::debug:: Config: targets=%s concurrency=%s timeout=%s respect_gitignore=%s json_out=%s md_out=%s fail_on_failures=%s comment_pr=%s step_summary=%s repo_blob_base_url=%s\n" \
+  "$TARGETS_DEBUG" "$CONCURRENCY_ARG" "$TIMEOUT_ARG" "$RESPECT_GITIGNORE_ARG" "$JSON_OUT_ARG" "$MD_OUT_ARG" \
   "$FAIL_ON_FAILURES_ARG" "$COMMENT_PR_ARG" "$STEP_SUMMARY_ARG" "$EFFECTIVE_REPO_BLOB_BASE"
 printf "::debug:: CLI Args: slinky %s\n" "$*"