diff --git a/src/instructlab/sdg/generate_data.py b/src/instructlab/sdg/generate_data.py
index 3bfb8be9..7a926a5a 100644
--- a/src/instructlab/sdg/generate_data.py
+++ b/src/instructlab/sdg/generate_data.py
@@ -165,18 +165,31 @@ def _gen_test_data(
 
 
 def _sdg_init(pipeline, client, model_family, model_id, num_instructions_to_generate):
+    pipeline_pkg = None
     if pipeline == "full":
         pipeline_pkg = FULL_PIPELINES_PACKAGE
     elif pipeline == "simple":
         pipeline_pkg = SIMPLE_PIPELINES_PACKAGE
     else:
-        raise utils.GenerateException(f"Error: pipeline ({pipeline}) is not supported.")
+        # Validate that pipeline is a valid directory and that it contains the required files
+        if not os.path.exists(pipeline):
+            raise utils.GenerateException(
+                f"Error: pipeline directory ({pipeline}) does not exist."
+            )
+        for file in ["knowledge.yaml", "freeform_skills.yaml", "grounded_skills.yaml"]:
+            if not os.path.exists(os.path.join(pipeline, file)):
+                raise utils.GenerateException(
+                    f"Error: pipeline directory ({pipeline}) does not contain {file}."
+                )
 
     ctx = PipelineContext(client, model_family, model_id, num_instructions_to_generate)
 
     def load_pipeline(yaml_basename):
-        with resources.path(pipeline_pkg, yaml_basename) as yaml_path:
-            return Pipeline.from_file(ctx, yaml_path)
+        if pipeline_pkg:
+            with resources.path(pipeline_pkg, yaml_basename) as yaml_path:
+                return Pipeline.from_file(ctx, yaml_path)
+        else:
+            return Pipeline.from_file(ctx, os.path.join(pipeline, yaml_basename))
 
     return (
         SDG([load_pipeline("knowledge.yaml")]),
@@ -212,9 +225,21 @@ def generate_data(
     tls_client_cert: Optional[str] = None,
     tls_client_key: Optional[str] = None,
     tls_client_passwd: Optional[str] = None,
-    # TODO need to update the CLI to specify which pipeline to use (simple or full at the moment)
     pipeline: Optional[str] = "simple",
 ):
+    """Generate data for training and testing a model.
+
+    This currently serves as the primary interface from the `ilab` CLI to the `sdg` library.
+    It is somewhat a transitionary measure, as this function existed back when all of the
+    functionality was embedded in the CLI. At some stage, we expect to evolve the CLI to
+    use the SDG library constructs directly, and this function will likely be removed.
+
+    Args:
+        pipeline: This argument may be either an alias defined by the sdg library ("simple", "full"),
+                  or an absolute path to a directory containing the pipeline YAML files.
+                  We expect three files to be present in this directory: "knowledge.yaml",
+                    "freeform_skills.yaml", and "grounded_skills.yaml".
+    """
     generate_start = time.time()
 
     if not os.path.exists(output_dir):