diff --git a/src/cli.rs b/src/cli.rs
index 691d5cb..62feacd 100644
--- a/src/cli.rs
+++ b/src/cli.rs
@@ -95,9 +95,10 @@ pub struct CliArgs {
     #[arg(short = 'f', long, value_parser = clap::value_parser!(u8).range(4..=15))]
     pub fps: Option<u8>,
 
-    /// Shell or program to launch. Defaults to $SHELL
-    #[arg()]
-    pub program: Option<String>,
+    /// Shell or program to launch with optional arguments. Defaults to $SHELL.
+    /// Use -- to separate t-rec options from shell arguments (e.g., t-rec -- /bin/bash -l)
+    #[arg(trailing_var_arg = true, allow_hyphen_values = true)]
+    pub program: Vec<String>,
 
     // --- Config-related args (not part of recording settings) ---
     /// Use a named profile from the config file
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index aad9206..53cdd99 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -89,14 +89,16 @@ fn main() -> Result<()> {
 
     let settings = resolve_profiled_settings(&args)?;
 
-    let program: String = {
-        if let Some(prog) = &args.program {
-            prog.to_string()
-        } else {
-            let default = DEFAULT_SHELL.to_owned();
-            env::var("SHELL").unwrap_or(default)
-        }
-    };
+    let (program, program_args): (String, Vec<String>) = args
+        .program
+        .split_first()
+        .map(|(prog, rest)| (prog.clone(), rest.to_vec()))
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| {
+            (
+                env::var("SHELL").unwrap_or_else(|_| DEFAULT_SHELL.to_owned()),
+                vec![],
+            )
+        });
     let (win_id, window_name) = current_win_id(&args)?;
     let mut api = setup()?;
     api.calibrate(win_id)?;
@@ -137,7 +139,9 @@ fn main() -> Result<()> {
         };
         thread::spawn(move || -> Result<()> { capture_thread(&rx, api, ctx) })
     };
-    let interact = thread::spawn(move || -> Result<()> { sub_shell_thread(&program).map(|_| ()) });
+    let interact = thread::spawn(move || -> Result<()> {
+        sub_shell_thread(&program, &program_args).map(|_| ())
+    });
 
     clear_screen();
     io::stdout().flush().unwrap();
diff --git a/src/utils.rs b/src/utils.rs
index da81369..68de970 100644
--- a/src/utils.rs
+++ b/src/utils.rs
@@ -13,8 +13,12 @@ pub fn file_name_for(tc: &u128, ext: &str) -> String {
 
 /// starts the main program and keeps interacting with the user
 /// blocks until termination
-pub fn sub_shell_thread<T: AsRef<OsStr> + Clone>(program: T) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
+pub fn sub_shell_thread<T: AsRef<OsStr> + Clone, A: AsRef<OsStr>>(
+    program: T,
+    args: &[A],
+) -> Result<ExitStatus> {
     Command::new(program.clone())
+        .args(args)
         .spawn()
         .context(format!("failed to start {:?}", program.as_ref()))?
         .wait()