diff --git a/.github/workflows/vsc-conformance.yml b/.github/workflows/vsc-conformance.yml
index 5bd704b..424b714 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/vsc-conformance.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/vsc-conformance.yml
@@ -36,8 +36,9 @@ jobs:
       - name: Validate fixture comparison JSON
         shell: bash
         run: |
-          npm run vsc -- compare:fixtures --json > comparison-result.json
-          cat comparison-result.json
+          node src/vscCli.js compare:fixtures --json > comparison-result.json
+          head -n 5 comparison-result.json
+          node -e "const fs=require('fs'); JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('comparison-result.json','utf8')); console.log('comparison-result.json is valid JSON')"
           node -e "const fs = require('fs'); const data = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('comparison-result.json', 'utf8')); if (data.result !== 'COMPARE_PASS') { console.error(data); process.exit(1); } console.log('COMPARE_JSON_PASS');"
 
       - name: Run full VSC verification
diff --git a/src/vscCli.js b/src/vscCli.js
index d30df3b..57f5cc7 100644
--- a/src/vscCli.js
+++ b/src/vscCli.js
@@ -370,7 +370,8 @@ Use: npm run vsc -- restore-delta <base-token.json> <delta-token.json>
   case "compare:fixtures": {
     // v2.8.1 conformance comparison runner.
     // Reads v2.7 fixture index and compares Go verifier --json output against expected results.
-    run("scripts/compareConformanceResults.js");
+    // Forward remaining args (e.g. --json) so the runner can switch output mode.
+    run("scripts/compareConformanceResults.js", args.slice(1));
     break;
   }