diff --git a/src/compiler/commandLineParser.ts b/src/compiler/commandLineParser.ts
index 029388b5380..a41038c5e4d 100644
--- a/src/compiler/commandLineParser.ts
+++ b/src/compiler/commandLineParser.ts
@@ -532,7 +532,7 @@ namespace ts {
                 }
                 else {
                     // by default exclude node_modules, and any specificied output directory
-                    exclude = ["./node_modules"]
+                    exclude = ["node_modules"]
                     let outDir = json["compilerOptions"] && json["compilerOptions"]["outDir"];
                     if(outDir) {
                         exclude.push(outDir);