diff --git a/crates/cargo-oxide/src/commands.rs b/crates/cargo-oxide/src/commands.rs
index a8ce3841be..3a94cab7c4 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-oxide/src/commands.rs
+++ b/crates/cargo-oxide/src/commands.rs
@@ -454,7 +454,7 @@ fn run_host_cargo(
 /// Same as [`codegen_run`] but uses `cargo build --release` instead of
 /// `cargo run`. Useful for cross-compilation or when the target hardware
 /// (e.g., Blackwell tensor cores) isn't available on the build machine.
-pub fn codegen_build_example(
+pub fn codegen_build(
     ctx: &Context,
     example: &str,
     verbose: bool,
@@ -541,7 +541,11 @@ pub fn codegen_build_example(
 /// module, textual LLVM IR, and the final PTX or NVVM IR. After the build,
 /// generated artifacts are printed to stdout.
 pub fn codegen_show_pipeline(ctx: &Context, example: &str, emit_nvvm_ir: bool, arch: Option<&str>) {
-    let example_dir = resolve_example_dir(ctx, example);
+    let example_dir = if ctx.is_workspace {
+        resolve_example_dir(ctx, example)
+    } else {
+        ctx.workspace_root.clone()
+    };
 
     clean_generated_files(&example_dir, example);
 
@@ -635,7 +639,11 @@ pub fn codegen_debug(ctx: &Context, example: &str, use_cgdb: bool, use_tui: bool
         None
     };
 
-    let example_dir = resolve_example_dir(ctx, example);
+    let example_dir = if ctx.is_workspace {
+        resolve_example_dir(ctx, example)
+    } else {
+        ctx.workspace_root.clone()
+    };
 
     println!("Building {} with debug info...", example);
 
diff --git a/crates/cargo-oxide/src/main.rs b/crates/cargo-oxide/src/main.rs
index 47dcd91553..229f60f70f 100644
--- a/crates/cargo-oxide/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/cargo-oxide/src/main.rs
@@ -91,8 +91,8 @@ enum Commands {
     },
     /// Show the full compilation pipeline (MIR -> PTX/NVVM IR) with verbose output
     Pipeline {
-        /// Example name (from crates/rustc-codegen-cuda/examples/)
-        example: String,
+        /// Example name (required in workspace, optional for standalone projects)
+        example: Option<String>,
         /// Generate NVVM IR (use with libNVVM -gen-lto)
         #[arg(long)]
         emit_nvvm_ir: bool,
@@ -102,8 +102,8 @@ enum Commands {
     },
     /// Build with debug info and launch cuda-gdb
     Debug {
-        /// Example name (from crates/rustc-codegen-cuda/examples/)
-        example: String,
+        /// Example name (required in workspace, optional for standalone projects)
+        example: Option<String>,
         /// Use cgdb frontend (better source view, vim keys)
         #[arg(long)]
         cgdb: bool,
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ fn main() {
             verbose,
         } => {
             let ctx = commands::resolve_context();
-            let example = resolve_example_name(example, &ctx);
+            let example = resolve_example_name(example, &ctx, "run");
             validate_nvvm_ir_arch(&example, emit_nvvm_ir, &arch);
             commands::codegen_run(
                 &ctx,
@@ -176,9 +176,9 @@ fn main() {
             verbose,
         } => {
             let ctx = commands::resolve_context();
-            let example = resolve_example_name(example, &ctx);
+            let example = resolve_example_name(example, &ctx, "build");
             validate_nvvm_ir_arch(&example, emit_nvvm_ir, &arch);
-            commands::codegen_build_example(
+            commands::codegen_build(
                 &ctx,
                 &example,
                 verbose,
@@ -192,12 +192,14 @@ fn main() {
             emit_nvvm_ir,
             arch,
         } => {
-            validate_nvvm_ir_arch(&example, emit_nvvm_ir, &arch);
             let ctx = commands::resolve_context();
+            let example = resolve_example_name(example, &ctx, "pipeline");
+            validate_nvvm_ir_arch(&example, emit_nvvm_ir, &arch);
             commands::codegen_show_pipeline(&ctx, &example, emit_nvvm_ir, arch.as_deref());
         }
         Commands::Debug { example, cgdb, tui } => {
             let ctx = commands::resolve_context();
+            let example = resolve_example_name(example, &ctx, "debug");
             commands::codegen_debug(&ctx, &example, cgdb, tui);
         }
         Commands::Fmt { check } => {
@@ -223,7 +225,7 @@ fn main() {
 /// In workspace mode the name is required; in standalone mode it defaults
 /// to the current directory name (which matches the package name from
 /// `cargo oxide new`).
-fn resolve_example_name(name: Option<String>, ctx: &commands::Context) -> String {
+fn resolve_example_name(name: Option<String>, ctx: &commands::Context, subcommand: &str) -> String {
     if let Some(n) = name {
         return n;
     }
@@ -238,7 +240,7 @@ fn resolve_example_name(name: Option<String>, ctx: &commands::Context) -> String
     }
     eprintln!("Error: <EXAMPLE> is required when running inside the cuda-oxide workspace.");
     eprintln!();
-    eprintln!("Usage: cargo oxide run <EXAMPLE>");
+    eprintln!("Usage: cargo oxide {subcommand} <EXAMPLE>");
     eprintln!();
     eprintln!("Available examples are in crates/rustc-codegen-cuda/examples/");
     std::process::exit(1);