diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 795d26b9..05cfc610 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@ Feature enhancements:
   When `extra-verbose` mode is enabled in zsh, show extra file type info.
 * [FEATURE #2409](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/pull/2409):
   Added installation instructions for `winget`.
+* [FEATURE #2524](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/issues/2524):
+  The `--debug` flag now indicates whether stdin or `./` is being searched.
 * [FEATURE #2643](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep/issues/2643):
   Make `-d` a short flag for `--max-depth`.
 
diff --git a/crates/core/flags/hiargs.rs b/crates/core/flags/hiargs.rs
index b4e0c096..555c8bd6 100644
--- a/crates/core/flags/hiargs.rs
+++ b/crates/core/flags/hiargs.rs
@@ -1080,12 +1080,24 @@ impl Paths {
         // mode, but there really is no good way to mitigate it. It's just a
         // consequence of letting the user type 'rg foo' and "guessing" that
         // they meant to search the CWD.
-        let use_cwd = !grep::cli::is_readable_stdin()
+        let is_readable_stdin = grep::cli::is_readable_stdin();
+        let use_cwd = !is_readable_stdin
             || state.stdin_consumed
             || !matches!(low.mode, Mode::Search(_));
+        log::debug!(
+            "using heuristics to determine whether to read from \
+             stdin or search ./ (\
+             is_readable_stdin={is_readable_stdin}, \
+             stdin_consumed={stdin_consumed}, \
+             mode={mode:?})",
+            stdin_consumed = state.stdin_consumed,
+            mode = low.mode,
+        );
         let (path, is_one_file) = if use_cwd {
+            log::debug!("heuristic chose to search ./");
             (PathBuf::from("./"), false)
         } else {
+            log::debug!("heuristic chose to search stdin");
             (PathBuf::from("-"), true)
         };
         Ok(Paths { paths: vec![path], has_implicit_path: true, is_one_file })