From b223a5ef4ab1d9a722b30f2aef09d2b4002e5842 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: myftija <saadi.myftija@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:37:55 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] fix(cli): show a useful error message when config file is
 missing

---
 packages/cli-v3/src/config.ts | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 18 insertions(+)

diff --git a/packages/cli-v3/src/config.ts b/packages/cli-v3/src/config.ts
index 3e4d27d7a3..5419b2dea6 100644
--- a/packages/cli-v3/src/config.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-v3/src/config.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {
 import { prettyWarning } from "./utilities/cliOutput.js";
 import type { InstrumentationModuleDefinition } from "@opentelemetry/instrumentation";
 import { builtinModules } from "node:module";
+import { OutroCommandError } from "./cli/common.js";
 
 export type ResolveConfigOptions = {
   cwd?: string;
@@ -162,6 +163,23 @@ async function resolveConfig(
     ? dirname(packageJsonPath)
     : cwd;
 
+  // `trigger.config` is the fallback value set by c12
+  const missingConfigFile = !result.configFile || result.configFile === "trigger.config";
+
+  if (missingConfigFile) {
+    const err = new OutroCommandError(
+      [
+        "Couldn't find your trigger.config.ts file.",
+        "",
+        "Make sure you are in the directory of your Trigger.dev project, or specify the path to your config file using the `--config <path>` flag.",
+        "",
+        "Alternatively, you can initialize a new project using `npx trigger.dev@latest init`.",
+      ].join("\n")
+    );
+    err.stack = undefined;
+    throw err;
+  }
+
   const config =
     "config" in result.config ? (result.config.config as TriggerConfig) : result.config;
 

From 1c31d98e29c7479d1aea099de0a4124ca53b0b6b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: myftija <saadi.myftija@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:44:59 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Add changeset

---
 .changeset/warm-eagles-itch.md | 5 +++++
 packages/cli-v3/src/config.ts  | 4 +---
 2 files changed, 6 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 .changeset/warm-eagles-itch.md

diff --git a/.changeset/warm-eagles-itch.md b/.changeset/warm-eagles-itch.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f9947954bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/warm-eagles-itch.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"trigger.dev": patch
+---
+
+Fixed misleading error message in the CLI when config file is missing ("maxDuration" is now required). A useful error message is now shown, including a hint about the `--config` flag.
diff --git a/packages/cli-v3/src/config.ts b/packages/cli-v3/src/config.ts
index 5419b2dea6..af5623e017 100644
--- a/packages/cli-v3/src/config.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-v3/src/config.ts
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ async function resolveConfig(
   const missingConfigFile = !result.configFile || result.configFile === "trigger.config";
 
   if (missingConfigFile) {
-    const err = new OutroCommandError(
+    throw new OutroCommandError(
       [
         "Couldn't find your trigger.config.ts file.",
         "",
@@ -176,8 +176,6 @@ async function resolveConfig(
         "Alternatively, you can initialize a new project using `npx trigger.dev@latest init`.",
       ].join("\n")
     );
-    err.stack = undefined;
-    throw err;
   }
 
   const config =