diff --git a/cli/helpers.go b/cli/helpers.go
index d5c06d3..2ce9a46 100644
--- a/cli/helpers.go
+++ b/cli/helpers.go
@@ -465,13 +465,19 @@ func discoverAvailableProfiles(tag, benchmarkName string) ([]string, error) {
 }
 
 func runTUI(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
-	benchNames, err := benchmark.DiscoverBenchmarks()
+	// Get current working directory for scope-aware benchmark discovery
+	currentDir, err := os.Getwd()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to get current working directory: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	benchNames, err := benchmark.DiscoverBenchmarks(currentDir)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to discover benchmarks: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	if len(benchNames) == 0 {
-		return errors.New("no benchmarks found in this module (look for func BenchmarkXxx(b *testing.B) in *_test.go)")
+		return errors.New("no benchmarks found in this directory or its subdirectories (look for func BenchmarkXxx(b *testing.B) in *_test.go)")
 	}
 
 	var selectedBenches []string
diff --git a/engine/benchmark/api.go b/engine/benchmark/api.go
index 685b837..051d4c6 100644
--- a/engine/benchmark/api.go
+++ b/engine/benchmark/api.go
@@ -48,11 +48,23 @@ func RunBenchmarks(benchmarks, profiles []string, tag string, count int) error {
 // A benchmark is identified by functions matching:
 //
 //	func BenchmarkXxx(b *testing.B) { ... }
-func DiscoverBenchmarks() ([]string, error) {
-	root, err := internal.FindGoModuleRoot()
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to locate module root: %w", err)
+//
+// If scope is provided, only searches within that directory and its subdirectories.
+// If scope is empty, searches the entire module from the root.
+func DiscoverBenchmarks(scope string) ([]string, error) {
+	var searchRoot string
+	var err error
+
+	if scope != "" {
+		// Use the provided scope directory
+		searchRoot = scope
+	} else {
+		// Fall back to searching from module root
+		searchRoot, err = internal.FindGoModuleRoot()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to locate module root: %w", err)
+		}
 	}
 
-	return scanForBenchmarks(root)
+	return scanForBenchmarks(searchRoot)
 }