diff --git a/src/libcmd/repl.cc b/src/libcmd/repl.cc
index 940b16dfd..cd5315f59 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/repl.cc
+++ b/src/libcmd/repl.cc
@@ -826,7 +826,7 @@ void NixRepl::runNix(Path program, const Strings & args, const std::optional<std
     if (runNixPtr)
         (*runNixPtr)(program, args, input);
     else
-        throw Error("Cannot run '%s', no method of calling the Nix CLI provided", program);
+        throw Error("Cannot run '%s' because no method of calling the Nix CLI was provided. This is a configuration problem pertaining to how this program was built. See Nix 2.25 release notes", program);
 }