diff --git a/apps/sync.c b/apps/sync.c
index dcebe7a1..1b73a250 100644
--- a/apps/sync.c
+++ b/apps/sync.c
@@ -1,9 +1,27 @@
+#include <errno.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
+#include <string.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <sys/ioctl.h>
 
 int main(int argc, char * argv[]) {
-	int fd = open(".",O_RDONLY|O_DIRECTORY);
-	return ioctl(fd, IOCTLSYNC, NULL);
+	char * file = ".";
+	if (argc > 1) {
+		file = argv[1];
+	}
+	int fd = open(file,O_RDONLY|O_DIRECTORY);
+	if (fd < 0) {
+		fd = open(file,O_RDONLY);
+	}
+	if (fd < 0) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "sync: open: %s: %s (%d)\n", file, strerror(errno), fd);
+		return 1;
+	}
+	int res = ioctl(fd, IOCTLSYNC, NULL);
+	if (res < 0) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "sync: ioctl: %s (%d)\n", strerror(errno), fd);
+		return 1;
+	}
+	return 0;
 }