diff --git a/meta/lib/patchtest/data.py b/meta/lib/patchtest/data.py
index b661dd6479..12f36aa14d 100644
--- a/meta/lib/patchtest/data.py
+++ b/meta/lib/patchtest/data.py
@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@ import logging
 logger=logging.getLogger('patchtest')
 info=logger.info
 
+default_testdir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__) + "/tests")
+default_repodir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__) + "/../../..")
+
 # Data store commonly used to share values between pre and post-merge tests
 PatchTestDataStore = collections.defaultdict(str)
 
@@ -58,10 +61,12 @@ class PatchTestInput(object):
         target_patch_group.add_argument('--directory', metavar='DIRECTORY', dest='patch_path',
                             help='The directory containing patches to be tested')
 
-        parser.add_argument('repodir', metavar='REPO',
+        parser.add_argument('--repodir', metavar='REPO',
+                            default=default_repodir,
                             help="Name of the repository where patch is merged")
 
-        parser.add_argument('startdir', metavar='TESTDIR',
+        parser.add_argument('--testdir', metavar='TESTDIR',
+                            default=default_testdir,
                             help="Directory where test cases are located")
 
         parser.add_argument('--top-level-directory', '-t',
diff --git a/scripts/patchtest b/scripts/patchtest
index 9525a2be17..b25ef18321 100755
--- a/scripts/patchtest
+++ b/scripts/patchtest
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ def _runner(resultklass, prefix=None):
         loader.testMethodPrefix = prefix
 
     # create the suite with discovered tests and the corresponding runner
-    suite = loader.discover(start_dir=PatchTestInput.startdir, pattern=PatchTestInput.pattern, top_level_dir=PatchTestInput.topdir)
+    suite = loader.discover(start_dir=PatchTestInput.testdir, pattern=PatchTestInput.pattern, top_level_dir=PatchTestInput.topdir)
     ntc = suite.countTestCases()
 
     # if there are no test cases, just quit
@@ -220,9 +220,9 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
     if PatchTestInput.debug:
         logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
 
-    # if topdir not define, default it to startdir
+    # if topdir not define, default it to testdir
     if not PatchTestInput.topdir:
-        PatchTestInput.topdir = PatchTestInput.startdir
+        PatchTestInput.topdir = PatchTestInput.testdir
 
     try:
         ret = main()
diff --git a/scripts/patchtest.README b/scripts/patchtest.README
index 689d513df5..ad46b02ad6 100644
--- a/scripts/patchtest.README
+++ b/scripts/patchtest.README
@@ -79,15 +79,19 @@ To run patchtest on the host, do the following:
    or patchtest-get-series
 3. Run patchtest on a patch file by doing the following:
 
-        patchtest --patch /path/to/patch/file /path/to/target/repo /path/to/tests/directory 
+        patchtest --patch /path/to/patch/file
 
     or, if you have stored the patch files in a directory, do:
 
-        patchtest --directory /path/to/patch/directory /path/to/target/repo /path/to/tests/directory 
+        patchtest --directory /path/to/patch/directory
 
     For example, to test `master-gcc-Fix--fstack-protector-issue-on-aarch64.patch` against the oe-core test suite:
         
-        patchtest --patch master-gcc-Fix--fstack-protector-issue-on-aarch64.patch /path/to/openembedded-core /path/to/openembedded-core/meta/lib/patchtest/tests 
+        patchtest --patch master-gcc-Fix--fstack-protector-issue-on-aarch64.patch
+
+    If you want to use a different test suite or target repository, you can use the --testdir and --repodir flags:
+    
+        patchtest --patch /path/to/patch/file --repodir /path/to/repo --testdir /path/to/test/dir
 
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