fix: resolve --profile relative to active config directory

Profiles are now resolved relative to the parent of REELN_CONFIG (when
set) instead of the platform default config dir.  This ensures profiles
stored alongside a custom config file are found correctly.

Also gives --profile and --path CLI arguments strict priority over
REELN_CONFIG / REELN_PROFILE env vars.

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: JRemitz

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+- `--profile` now resolves relative to the active config directory (parent of `REELN_CONFIG`) instead of the platform default, so profiles stored alongside a custom config file are found correctly
+- `--profile` and `--path` CLI arguments now take strict priority over `REELN_CONFIG` and `REELN_PROFILE` environment variables
+
 ## [0.0.31] - 2026-03-13
 
 ### Added

reeln/core/config.py

@@ -68,6 +68,19 @@ def data_dir() -> Path:
     return Path.home() / ".local" / "share" / _APP_NAME
 
 
+def _config_base_dir() -> Path:
+    """Return the directory where config files live.
+
+    Uses the parent directory of ``REELN_CONFIG`` when set, otherwise
+    falls back to ``config_dir()``.  This ensures ``--profile`` resolves
+    relative to the active config location.
+    """
+    env_config = os.environ.get("REELN_CONFIG")
+    if env_config:
+        return Path(env_config).expanduser().parent
+    return config_dir()
+
+
 def default_config_path(profile: str | None = None) -> Path:
     """Return the path to the config file, optionally for a named profile."""
     if profile:
@@ -375,15 +388,18 @@ def resolve_config_path(
     if path is not None:
         return path
     if profile is not None:
-        return default_config_path(profile)
+        # Resolve profile relative to the active config directory
+        base_dir = _config_base_dir()
+        return base_dir / f"config.{profile}.json"
 
     # Fall through to env vars
     env_config = os.environ.get("REELN_CONFIG")
     if env_config:
         return Path(env_config).expanduser()
     env_profile = os.environ.get("REELN_PROFILE")
     if env_profile:
-        return default_config_path(env_profile)
+        base_dir = _config_base_dir()
+        return base_dir / f"config.{env_profile}.json"
 
     return default_config_path()
 

tests/integration/test_cli_lifecycle.py

@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@ def test_segment_with_no_videos(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
                 ],
             )
         assert result.exit_code == 1
-        assert "No video files" in result.output
+        assert "No files matching" in result.output
 
     def test_highlights_with_no_segments(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
         """No segment highlight files → "No segment highlight files" error."""

tests/unit/core/test_config.py

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 import pytest
 
 from reeln.core.config import (
+    _config_base_dir,
     apply_env_overrides,
     config_dir,
     config_to_dict,
@@ -106,6 +107,24 @@ def test_default_config_path_with_profile() -> None:
     assert result == Path("/cfg/reeln/config.tournament.json")
 
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# _config_base_dir
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_config_base_dir_with_reeln_config(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    """When REELN_CONFIG is set, _config_base_dir returns its parent directory."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv("REELN_CONFIG", "/custom/path/config.json")
+    assert _config_base_dir() == Path("/custom/path")
+
+
+def test_config_base_dir_without_reeln_config(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    """When REELN_CONFIG is not set, _config_base_dir falls back to config_dir()."""
+    monkeypatch.delenv("REELN_CONFIG", raising=False)
+    with patch("reeln.core.config.config_dir", return_value=Path("/default/cfg")):
+        assert _config_base_dir() == Path("/default/cfg")
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Defaults
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -803,7 +822,7 @@ def test_load_config_reeln_profile_env(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.Monke
     profile_file = tmp_path / "config.tourney.json"
     profile_file.write_text(json.dumps({"config_version": 1, "sport": "lacrosse"}))
     monkeypatch.setenv("REELN_PROFILE", "tourney")
-    with patch("reeln.core.config.default_config_path", return_value=profile_file):
+    with patch("reeln.core.config._config_base_dir", return_value=tmp_path):
         cfg = load_config()
     assert cfg.sport == "lacrosse"
 
@@ -814,7 +833,7 @@ def test_load_config_explicit_profile_overrides_env(tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch:
     monkeypatch.setenv("REELN_PROFILE", "ignored")
     profile_file = tmp_path / "config.explicit.json"
     profile_file.write_text(json.dumps({"config_version": 1, "sport": "rugby"}))
-    with patch("reeln.core.config.default_config_path", return_value=profile_file):
+    with patch("reeln.core.config._config_base_dir", return_value=tmp_path):
         cfg = load_config(profile="explicit")
     assert cfg.sport == "rugby"