diff --git a/cmds/updatemgr/main.go b/cmds/updatemgr/main.go
index dc8487a3..a0f969f4 100644
--- a/cmds/updatemgr/main.go
+++ b/cmds/updatemgr/main.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 
@@ -10,20 +11,27 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
-var registry *updater.ResourceRegistry
+var (
+	registry *updater.ResourceRegistry
+	distDir  string
+)
 
 var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "updatemgr",
 	Short: "A simple tool to assist in the update and release process",
-	Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(1),
 	PersistentPreRunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-		absPath, err := filepath.Abs(args[0])
+		// Check if the distribution directory exists.
+		absDistPath, err := filepath.Abs(distDir)
 		if err != nil {
-			return err
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to get absolute path of distribution directory: %w", err)
+		}
+		_, err = os.Stat(absDistPath)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to access distribution directory: %w", err)
 		}
 
 		registry = &updater.ResourceRegistry{}
-		err = registry.Initialize(utils.NewDirStructure(absPath, 0o755))
+		err = registry.Initialize(utils.NewDirStructure(absDistPath, 0o755))
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -55,6 +63,11 @@ var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	SilenceUsage: true,
 }
 
+func init() {
+	flags := rootCmd.PersistentFlags()
+	flags.StringVar(&distDir, "dist-dir", "dist", "Set the distribution directory. Falls back to ./dist if available.")
+}
+
 func main() {
 	if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
 		os.Exit(1)
diff --git a/cmds/updatemgr/purge.go b/cmds/updatemgr/purge.go
index 6548adb7..cfdf3711 100644
--- a/cmds/updatemgr/purge.go
+++ b/cmds/updatemgr/purge.go
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ func init() {
 var purgeCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "purge",
 	Short: "Remove old resource versions that are superseded by at least three versions",
-	Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(1),
 	RunE:  purge,
 }
 
diff --git a/cmds/updatemgr/update.go b/cmds/updatemgr/release.go
similarity index 87%
rename from cmds/updatemgr/update.go
rename to cmds/updatemgr/release.go
index 47a6429f..32a296a8 100644
--- a/cmds/updatemgr/update.go
+++ b/cmds/updatemgr/release.go
@@ -11,17 +11,16 @@ import (
 )
 
 func init() {
-	rootCmd.AddCommand(updateCmd)
+	rootCmd.AddCommand(releaseCmd)
 }
 
-var updateCmd = &cobra.Command{
-	Use:   "update",
-	Short: "Update scans the specified directory and registry the index and symlink structure",
-	Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(1),
-	RunE:  update,
+var releaseCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "release",
+	Short: "Release scans the distribution directory and creates registry indexes and the symlink structure",
+	RunE:  release,
 }
 
-func update(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+func release(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	// Set stable and beta to latest version.
 	updateToLatestVersion(true, true)
 
diff --git a/cmds/updatemgr/scan.go b/cmds/updatemgr/scan.go
index 47ef40cd..afcd489c 100644
--- a/cmds/updatemgr/scan.go
+++ b/cmds/updatemgr/scan.go
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ func init() {
 var scanCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "scan",
 	Short: "Scan the specified directory and print the result",
-	Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(1),
 	RunE:  scan,
 }
 
diff --git a/cmds/updatemgr/staging.go b/cmds/updatemgr/staging.go
index 24b7a8a7..63398b9b 100644
--- a/cmds/updatemgr/staging.go
+++ b/cmds/updatemgr/staging.go
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ func init() {
 var stageCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "stage",
 	Short: "Stage scans the specified directory and loads the indexes - it then creates a staging index with all files newer than the stable and beta indexes",
-	Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(1),
 	RunE:  stage,
 }