diff --git a/src/photo_tools/cli.py b/src/photo_tools/cli.py
index 663d31d..ee01e35 100644
--- a/src/photo_tools/cli.py
+++ b/src/photo_tools/cli.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import typer
 
 from photo_tools.clean_unpaired_raws import clean_unpaired_raws
+from photo_tools.cli_errors import handle_cli_errors
 from photo_tools.core.dependencies import validate_feature
 from photo_tools.exceptions import MissingDependencyError
 from photo_tools.logging_config import setup_logging
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ def main() -> None:
 
 
 @app.command("by-date")
+@handle_cli_errors
 def organise_by_date_cmd(
     input_dir: str = typer.Argument(
         ...,
@@ -53,6 +55,7 @@ def organise_by_date_cmd(
     "raws",
     help="Move RAW images into a 'raws' folder",
 )
+@handle_cli_errors
 def separate_raws_cmd(
     input_dir: str = typer.Argument(
         ...,
@@ -72,6 +75,7 @@ def separate_raws_cmd(
     "clean-raws",
     help="Move RAW files without matching JPGs to 'raws-to-delete'.",
 )
+@handle_cli_errors
 def clean_unpaired_raws_cmd(
     raw_dir: str = typer.Argument(
         ...,
@@ -95,6 +99,7 @@ def clean_unpaired_raws_cmd(
     help="Resize JPG images to max 2500px width and compress to ≤500KB using quality "
     "70-100, saving as prefixed copies.",
 )
+@handle_cli_errors
 def optimise_cmd(
     input_dir: str = typer.Argument(
         ...,
diff --git a/src/photo_tools/cli_errors.py b/src/photo_tools/cli_errors.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ca89b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/photo_tools/cli_errors.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import functools
+from typing import Callable, ParamSpec, TypeVar
+
+import typer
+
+P = ParamSpec("P")
+R = TypeVar("R")
+
+
+# Decorator to handle common CLI errors and present clean messages to the user.
+# Keeps core logic free of CLI concerns
+def handle_cli_errors(func: Callable[P, R]) -> Callable[P, R]:
+    # Preserve original function metadata so Typer can correctly parse arguments
+    @functools.wraps(func)
+    def wrapper(*args: P.args, **kwargs: P.kwargs) -> R:
+        try:
+            return func(*args, **kwargs)
+        except (FileNotFoundError, NotADirectoryError) as e:
+            typer.echo(f"Error: {e}")
+            raise typer.Exit(code=1)
+
+    return wrapper