diff --git a/src/tools/sysprof-agent.c b/src/tools/sysprof-agent.c
index 0cb617ae..4e080404 100644
--- a/src/tools/sysprof-agent.c
+++ b/src/tools/sysprof-agent.c
@@ -541,6 +541,8 @@ main (int   argc,
 
       if (directory != NULL)
         sysprof_profiler_set_spawn_cwd (profiler, directory);
+      else
+        sysprof_profiler_set_spawn_cwd (profiler, ".");
     }
 
   /* Now open the writer for our session */