diff --git a/scripts/upContainers.sh b/scripts/upContainers.sh
index 00d2afe..b709db8 100755
--- a/scripts/upContainers.sh
+++ b/scripts/upContainers.sh
@@ -1,19 +1,23 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -euo pipefail
 
-if [[ $# > 0 ]]; then
-   DOCKER_ROOT=$1;
-else
-   DOCKER_ROOT=$(pwd);
-fi
-# echo $DOCKER_ROOT;
+# evaluate options through given arguments
+docker_root=
+while [[ $# > 0 ]]; do
+   case $1 in
+      -d | --dir) docker_root=$2; shift 2;;
+      *         )                 break ;; # Anything else stops command line processing.
+   esac
+done
 
-for subdir in $DOCKER_ROOT/*; do
-   if [[ !(-d $subdir) || ${subdir##*/} == "matrix_synapse" || ${subdir##*/} == "pydio_cells" || ${subdir##*/} == "mattermost" ]]; then
+if [[ -z $docker_root ]]; then
+   docker_root=~/docker;
+fi
+
+for subdir in $docker_root/*; do
+   if [[ !(-d $subdir) ]]; then
       continue;
    fi
-   # echo $subdir;
    cd $subdir;
-   # echo $(pwd);
    docker-compose up -d;
 done