diff --git a/src/specify_cli/authentication/config.py b/src/specify_cli/authentication/config.py
index 829940d6f7..94429f3c9f 100644
--- a/src/specify_cli/authentication/config.py
+++ b/src/specify_cli/authentication/config.py
@@ -102,7 +102,10 @@ def load_auth_config(
         except OSError:
             pass  # stat failed — skip permission check
 
-    raw = json.loads(config_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    try:
+        raw = json.loads(config_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    except json.JSONDecodeError as exc:
+        raise ValueError(f"{config_path} contains invalid JSON: {exc}") from exc
 
     if not isinstance(raw, dict):
         raise ValueError(f"auth.json must be a JSON object, got {type(raw).__name__}")
diff --git a/tests/test_authentication.py b/tests/test_authentication.py
index 523b0c4f30..4f924ad20e 100644
--- a/tests/test_authentication.py
+++ b/tests/test_authentication.py
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ def test_multiple_entries(self, tmp_path):
     def test_invalid_json_raises(self, tmp_path):
         cfg = tmp_path / "auth.json"
         cfg.write_text("not json")
-        with pytest.raises(json.JSONDecodeError):
+        with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="invalid JSON"):
             load_auth_config(cfg)
 
     def test_not_object_raises(self, tmp_path):