diff --git a/specstory-cli/main.go b/specstory-cli/main.go
index 894b0826..5f68a7f9 100644
--- a/specstory-cli/main.go
+++ b/specstory-cli/main.go
@@ -564,14 +564,16 @@ Provide a specific agent ID to sync a specific provider.`
 			slog.Info("Running sync command")
 			registry := factory.GetRegistry()
 
-			// Check if user specified a provider
-			if len(args) > 0 {
-				// Sync specific provider
-				return syncSingleProvider(registry, args[0], cmd)
-			} else {
-				// Sync all providers with activity
-				return syncAllProviders(registry, cmd)
+			providersFlag, _ := cmd.Flags().GetStringSlice("providers")
+			resolvedIDs, err := cmdpkg.ResolveProviderIDs(registry, args, providersFlag)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
 			}
+
+			if len(resolvedIDs) == 1 {
+				return syncSingleProvider(registry, resolvedIDs[0], cmd)
+			}
+			return syncAllProviders(registry, cmd, resolvedIDs)
 		},
 	}
 }
@@ -1024,8 +1026,9 @@ func syncProvider(provider spi.Provider, providerID string, config utils.OutputC
 	return sessionCount, nil
 }
 
-// syncAllProviders syncs all providers that have activity in the current directory
-func syncAllProviders(registry *factory.Registry, cmd *cobra.Command) error {
+// syncAllProviders syncs all (or a filtered subset of) providers that have activity in the current directory
+// filterIDs, if non-nil, limits which providers are synced; nil means sync all registered providers.
+func syncAllProviders(registry *factory.Registry, cmd *cobra.Command, filterIDs []string) error {
 	// Get debug-raw flag value
 	debugRaw, _ := cmd.Flags().GetBool("debug-raw")
 	useUTC := !localTimeZone
@@ -1037,6 +1040,9 @@ func syncAllProviders(registry *factory.Registry, cmd *cobra.Command) error {
 	}
 
 	providerIDs := registry.ListIDs()
+	if len(filterIDs) > 0 {
+		providerIDs = filterIDs
+	}
 	providersWithActivity := []string{}
 
 	// Check each provider for activity
@@ -1479,6 +1485,7 @@ func main() {
 	syncCmd.Flags().StringVar(&telemetryEndpoint, "telemetry-endpoint", "", "Open Telemetry Protocol (OTLP) gRPC collector endpoint (default is off, e.g., localhost:4317)")
 	syncCmd.Flags().StringVar(&telemetryServiceName, "telemetry-service-name", "", "override the default service name for telemetry, if telemetry is enabled")
 	syncCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&noTelemetryPrompts, "no-telemetry-prompts", noTelemetryPrompts, "exclude prompt text from telemetry spans, if telemetry is enabled")
+	syncCmd.Flags().StringSlice("providers", []string{}, "comma-separated list of provider IDs to limit the operation to (e.g., claude,cursor)")
 
 	runCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&provenanceEnabled, "provenance", false, "enable AI provenance tracking (correlate file changes to agent activity)")
 	_ = runCmd.Flags().MarkHidden("provenance") // Hidden flag
diff --git a/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/check.go b/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/check.go
index 198cda18..fb1980f2 100644
--- a/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/check.go
+++ b/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/check.go
@@ -54,18 +54,28 @@ Specify a specific agent ID to check only a specific coding agent.`,
 
 			// Get custom command if provided via flag
 			customCmd, _ := cmd.Flags().GetString("command")
+			providersFlag, _ := cmd.Flags().GetStringSlice("providers")
 
-			// Validate that -c flag requires a provider
-			if customCmd != "" && len(args) == 0 {
-				registry := factory.GetRegistry()
-				ids := registry.ListIDs()
-				example := "specstory check <provider> -c \"/custom/path/to/agent\""
-				if len(ids) > 0 {
-					example = fmt.Sprintf("specstory check %s -c \"/custom/path/to/agent\"", ids[0])
+			resolvedIDs, err := ResolveProviderIDs(registry, args, providersFlag)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			// Validate that -c flag requires exactly one provider
+			if customCmd != "" {
+				if len(resolvedIDs) == 0 {
+					ids := registry.ListIDs()
+					example := "specstory check <provider> -c \"/custom/path/to/agent\""
+					if len(ids) > 0 {
+						example = fmt.Sprintf("specstory check %s -c \"/custom/path/to/agent\"", ids[0])
+					}
+					return utils.ValidationError{
+						Message: "The -c/--command flag requires a provider to be specified.\n" +
+							"Example: " + example,
+					}
 				}
-				return utils.ValidationError{
-					Message: "The -c/--command flag requires a provider to be specified.\n" +
-						"Example: " + example,
+				if len(resolvedIDs) > 1 {
+					return utils.ValidationError{Message: "The -c/--command flag can only be used with a single provider ID"}
 				}
 			}
 
@@ -74,12 +84,10 @@ Specify a specific agent ID to check only a specific coding agent.`,
 			printDivider()
 
 			var providerErr error
-			if len(args) == 0 {
-				// Check all providers
-				providerErr = checkAllProviders(registry)
+			if len(resolvedIDs) == 1 {
+				providerErr = checkSingleProvider(registry, resolvedIDs[0], customCmd)
 			} else {
-				// Check specific provider
-				providerErr = checkSingleProvider(registry, args[0], customCmd)
+				providerErr = checkAllProviders(registry, resolvedIDs)
 			}
 
 			// Fail if either config or provider checks failed
@@ -94,6 +102,7 @@ Specify a specific agent ID to check only a specific coding agent.`,
 	}
 
 	cmd.Flags().StringP("command", "c", "", "custom agent execution command for the provider")
+	cmd.Flags().StringSlice("providers", []string{}, "comma-separated list of provider IDs to limit the operation to (e.g., claude,cursor)")
 
 	return cmd
 }
@@ -152,10 +161,13 @@ func checkSingleProvider(registry *factory.Registry, providerID, customCmd strin
 	}
 }
 
-// checkAllProviders checks all registered providers
-func checkAllProviders(registry *factory.Registry) error {
-	// Sort for consistent output
+// checkAllProviders checks all (or a filtered subset of) registered providers.
+// filterIDs, if non-empty, limits which providers are checked; nil or empty means check all.
+func checkAllProviders(registry *factory.Registry, filterIDs []string) error {
 	ids := registry.ListIDs()
+	if len(filterIDs) > 0 {
+		ids = filterIDs
+	}
 
 	// Collect all provider names for analytics
 	var providerNames []string
diff --git a/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/list.go b/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/list.go
index 6ba92a6e..f5f9e9ed 100644
--- a/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/list.go
+++ b/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/list.go
@@ -86,14 +86,21 @@ Provide a specific agent ID to list sessions from only that provider.`
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			slog.Info("Running list command")
 
-			if len(args) > 0 {
-				return listSingleProvider(registry, args[0])
+			providersFlag, _ := cmd.Flags().GetStringSlice("providers")
+			resolvedIDs, err := ResolveProviderIDs(registry, args, providersFlag)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
 			}
-			return listAllProviders(registry)
+
+			if len(resolvedIDs) == 1 {
+				return listSingleProvider(registry, resolvedIDs[0])
+			}
+			return listAllProviders(registry, resolvedIDs)
 		},
 	}
 
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&flags.json, "json", false, "Output as JSON (default is human-readable table)")
+	cmd.Flags().StringSlice("providers", []string{}, "comma-separated list of provider IDs to limit the operation to (e.g., claude,cursor)")
 
 	return cmd
 }
@@ -157,8 +164,9 @@ func listSingleProvider(registry *factory.Registry, providerID string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// listAllProviders lists sessions from all providers that have activity.
-func listAllProviders(registry *factory.Registry) error {
+// listAllProviders lists sessions from all (or a filtered subset of) providers that have activity.
+// filterIDs, if non-empty, limits which providers are checked; nil or empty means check all registered providers.
+func listAllProviders(registry *factory.Registry, filterIDs []string) error {
 	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
 	if err != nil {
 		slog.Error("Failed to get current working directory", "error", err)
@@ -166,6 +174,9 @@ func listAllProviders(registry *factory.Registry) error {
 	}
 
 	providerIDs := registry.ListIDs()
+	if len(filterIDs) > 0 {
+		providerIDs = filterIDs
+	}
 	providersWithActivity := []string{}
 
 	for _, id := range providerIDs {
diff --git a/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/utils.go b/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/utils.go
index 156ed467..293a4ac0 100644
--- a/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/utils.go
+++ b/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/utils.go
@@ -1,12 +1,62 @@
 package cmd
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/specstoryai/getspecstory/specstory-cli/pkg/cloud"
 	"github.com/specstoryai/getspecstory/specstory-cli/pkg/log"
+	"github.com/specstoryai/getspecstory/specstory-cli/pkg/spi/factory"
+	"github.com/specstoryai/getspecstory/specstory-cli/pkg/utils"
 )
 
+// ResolveProviderIDs resolves the effective list of provider IDs from a positional
+// arg and/or --providers flag. Returns nil to indicate "use all providers" when
+// neither is specified. Returns an error if both are specified simultaneously or
+// if a provider ID in --providers is invalid.
+func ResolveProviderIDs(registry *factory.Registry, args []string, providersFlag []string) ([]string, error) {
+	hasPositionalArg := len(args) > 0
+	hasProvidersFlag := len(providersFlag) > 0
+
+	if hasPositionalArg && hasProvidersFlag {
+		return nil, utils.ValidationError{Message: "cannot use both a positional provider argument and --providers flag; use one or the other"}
+	}
+
+	if hasPositionalArg {
+		// Return without validating — callers handle validation with tailored error messages
+		return []string{args[0]}, nil
+	}
+
+	if hasProvidersFlag {
+		ids := make([]string, 0, len(providersFlag))
+		seen := make(map[string]bool, len(providersFlag))
+		for _, id := range providersFlag {
+			id = strings.TrimSpace(strings.ToLower(id))
+			if id == "" {
+				continue
+			}
+			if _, err := registry.Get(id); err != nil {
+				return nil, utils.ValidationError{
+					Message: fmt.Sprintf("'%s' is not a valid provider ID.\nAvailable providers: %s", id, registry.GetProviderList()),
+				}
+			}
+			// Deduplicate while preserving the order of first occurrence
+			if !seen[id] {
+				seen[id] = true
+				ids = append(ids, id)
+			}
+		}
+		if len(ids) == 0 {
+			return nil, utils.ValidationError{Message: "--providers requires at least one provider ID"}
+		}
+		return ids, nil
+	}
+
+	// Neither specified: caller should use all providers
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
 // CheckAndWarnAuthentication warns the user if cloud sync is enabled but authentication
 // is missing or has failed. Uses log.IsSilent() to respect silent mode.
 func CheckAndWarnAuthentication(noCloudSync bool) {
diff --git a/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/utils_test.go b/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/utils_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..403ff26a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/utils_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/specstoryai/getspecstory/specstory-cli/pkg/spi/factory"
+)
+
+func TestResolveProviderIDs(t *testing.T) {
+	registry := factory.GetRegistry()
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name          string
+		args          []string
+		providersFlag []string
+		wantIDs       []string // nil means "all providers"
+		wantErrSubstr string   // non-empty means an error is expected containing this substring
+	}{
+		// ── Neither specified ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+		{
+			name:    "neither arg nor flag returns nil",
+			wantIDs: nil,
+		},
+
+		// ── Positional arg ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+		{
+			name:    "positional arg returned as-is without validation",
+			args:    []string{"claude"},
+			wantIDs: []string{"claude"},
+		},
+		{
+			// Callers handle validation for positional args, so even unknown values
+			// should pass through.
+			name:    "unknown positional arg passed through without error",
+			args:    []string{"unknown-provider"},
+			wantIDs: []string{"unknown-provider"},
+		},
+
+		// ── Conflict ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+		{
+			name:          "positional arg and providers flag together is an error",
+			args:          []string{"claude"},
+			providersFlag: []string{"codex"},
+			wantErrSubstr: "cannot use both",
+		},
+
+		// ── --providers flag: happy paths ────────────────────────────────────────
+		{
+			name:          "single valid provider",
+			providersFlag: []string{"claude"},
+			wantIDs:       []string{"claude"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "multiple valid providers preserves order",
+			providersFlag: []string{"codex", "claude"},
+			wantIDs:       []string{"codex", "claude"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "mixed case is normalised to lower",
+			providersFlag: []string{"Claude", "CODEX"},
+			wantIDs:       []string{"claude", "codex"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "leading and trailing whitespace is trimmed",
+			providersFlag: []string{"  claude  ", " codex"},
+			wantIDs:       []string{"claude", "codex"},
+		},
+
+		// ── Deduplication ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+		{
+			name:          "exact duplicate is removed keeping first occurrence",
+			providersFlag: []string{"claude", "codex", "claude"},
+			wantIDs:       []string{"claude", "codex"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "case-variant duplicate is removed after normalisation",
+			providersFlag: []string{"Claude", "claude"},
+			wantIDs:       []string{"claude"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "whitespace-variant duplicate is removed after trimming",
+			providersFlag: []string{"claude", "  claude  "},
+			wantIDs:       []string{"claude"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "all duplicates collapsed to single entry",
+			providersFlag: []string{"gemini", "GEMINI", "  gemini  "},
+			wantIDs:       []string{"gemini"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "three providers with one duplicate preserves remaining order",
+			providersFlag: []string{"cursor", "claude", "cursor", "codex"},
+			wantIDs:       []string{"cursor", "claude", "codex"},
+		},
+
+		// ── Empty / blank entries ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+		{
+			name:          "blank entries in flag slice are silently skipped",
+			providersFlag: []string{"", "  ", "claude"},
+			wantIDs:       []string{"claude"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "only blank entries is an error",
+			providersFlag: []string{"", "  "},
+			wantErrSubstr: "--providers requires at least one",
+		},
+
+		// ── Invalid provider ID ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+		{
+			name:          "unknown provider ID is an error",
+			providersFlag: []string{"notaprovider"},
+			wantErrSubstr: "not a valid provider ID",
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "unknown provider mixed with valid is still an error",
+			providersFlag: []string{"claude", "notaprovider"},
+			wantErrSubstr: "not a valid provider ID",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			ids, err := ResolveProviderIDs(registry, tt.args, tt.providersFlag)
+
+			if tt.wantErrSubstr != "" {
+				if err == nil {
+					t.Errorf("expected error containing %q, got nil", tt.wantErrSubstr)
+					return
+				}
+				if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), tt.wantErrSubstr) {
+					t.Errorf("error %q does not contain %q", err.Error(), tt.wantErrSubstr)
+				}
+				return
+			}
+
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+				return
+			}
+
+			if len(ids) != len(tt.wantIDs) {
+				t.Errorf("got %v, want %v", ids, tt.wantIDs)
+				return
+			}
+			for i := range tt.wantIDs {
+				if ids[i] != tt.wantIDs[i] {
+					t.Errorf("ids[%d] = %q, want %q", i, ids[i], tt.wantIDs[i])
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/watch.go b/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/watch.go
index 81bab5a2..e2046a30 100644
--- a/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/watch.go
+++ b/specstory-cli/pkg/cmd/watch.go
@@ -138,12 +138,18 @@ By default, 'watch' is for activity from all registered agent providers. Specify
 			}
 			defer provenanceCleanup()
 
-			providerIDs := registry.ListIDs()
-			if len(providerIDs) == 0 {
+			if len(registry.ListIDs()) == 0 {
 				return fmt.Errorf("no providers registered")
 			}
-			if len(args) > 0 {
-				providerIDs = []string{args[0]}
+
+			providersFlag, _ := cmd.Flags().GetStringSlice("providers")
+			resolvedIDs, err := ResolveProviderIDs(registry, args, providersFlag)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			providerIDs := registry.ListIDs()
+			if len(resolvedIDs) > 0 {
+				providerIDs = resolvedIDs
 			}
 
 			// Collect provider names for analytics
@@ -329,6 +335,7 @@ By default, 'watch' is for activity from all registered agent providers. Specify
 	watchCmd.Flags().String("telemetry-endpoint", "", "Open Telemetry Protocol (OTLP) gRPC collector endpoint (default is off, e.g., localhost:4317)")
 	watchCmd.Flags().String("telemetry-service-name", "", "override the default service name for telemetry, if telemetry is enabled")
 	watchCmd.Flags().Bool("no-telemetry-prompts", false, "exclude prompt text from telemetry spans, if telemetry is enabled")
+	watchCmd.Flags().StringSlice("providers", []string{}, "comma-separated list of provider IDs to limit the operation to (e.g., claude,cursor)")
 
 	return watchCmd
 }