diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index de81be3..a68379d 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -52,12 +52,42 @@ impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for SourceFile {
 /// e.g. gcc @compile_flags.txt. Because the `CompileCommand` struct is used to
 /// represent both file types, we utilize a tagged union here to differentitate
 /// between the two files
-#[derive(Debug, Clone, Deserialize)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Hash, Eq, PartialEq)]
 pub enum CompileArgs {
     Arguments(Vec<String>),
     Flags(Vec<String>),
 }
 
+impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for CompileArgs {
+    fn deserialize<D>(deserializer: D) -> Result<Self, D::Error>
+    where
+        D: Deserializer<'de>,
+    {
+        #[allow(dead_code)]
+        struct CompileArgVisitor;
+
+        impl<'de> Visitor<'de> for CompileArgVisitor {
+            type Value = CompileArgs;
+
+            fn expecting(&self, formatter: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+                formatter.write_str("a string representing a file path")
+            }
+
+            fn visit_str<E>(self, value: &str) -> Result<Self::Value, E>
+            where
+                E: SerdeError,
+            {
+                Ok(CompileArgs::Arguments(()))
+            }
+        }
+
+        match serde_json::Value::deserialize(deserializer)? {
+            serde_json::Value::String(s) => Ok(SourceFile::File(PathBuf::from(s))),
+            _ => Err(SerdeError::custom("expected a string")),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Represents a single entry within a `compile_commands.json` file, or a compile_flags.txt file
 /// Either `arguments` or `command` is required. `arguments` is preferred, as shell (un)escaping
 /// is a possible source of errors.