diff --git a/tools/installer/lib/installer.js b/tools/installer/lib/installer.js
index d04830d7..f988575b 100644
--- a/tools/installer/lib/installer.js
+++ b/tools/installer/lib/installer.js
@@ -1963,7 +1963,7 @@ class Installer {
 
   async findInstallation() {
     // Look for .bmad-core in current directory or parent directories
-    let currentDir = process.cwd();
+    let currentDir = process.env.INIT_CWD || process.cwd();
 
     while (currentDir !== path.dirname(currentDir)) {
       const bmadDir = path.join(currentDir, '.bmad-core');
@@ -1977,10 +1977,13 @@ class Installer {
     }
 
     // Also check if we're inside a .bmad-core directory
-    if (path.basename(process.cwd()) === '.bmad-core') {
-      const manifestPath = path.join(process.cwd(), 'install-manifest.yaml');
+    if (path.basename(process.env.INIT_CWD || process.cwd()) === '.bmad-core') {
+      const manifestPath = path.join(
+        process.env.INIT_CWD || process.cwd(),
+        'install-manifest.yaml',
+      );
       if (await fileManager.pathExists(manifestPath)) {
-        return path.dirname(process.cwd()); // Return parent directory
+        return path.dirname(process.env.INIT_CWD || process.cwd()); // Return parent directory
       }
     }
 
@@ -2001,7 +2004,7 @@ class Installer {
 
     const child = spawn('node', [flattenerPath, ...arguments_], {
       stdio: 'inherit',
-      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      cwd: process.env.INIT_CWD || process.cwd(),
     });
 
     child.on('exit', (code) => {