diff --git a/lib/GHCup/Download.hs b/lib/GHCup/Download.hs
index 9b5e5490..8de0b023 100644
--- a/lib/GHCup/Download.hs
+++ b/lib/GHCup/Download.hs
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ getDownloadInfo' t v = do
       without_distro     = distro_preview (set _Linux UnknownLinux) (const Nothing)
 
   maybe
-    (throwE NoDownload)
+    (throwE $ NoDownload (Just v))
     pure
     (case p of
       -- non-musl won't work on alpine
diff --git a/lib/GHCup/Errors.hs b/lib/GHCup/Errors.hs
index 4fb29b2b..f78d67e4 100644
--- a/lib/GHCup/Errors.hs
+++ b/lib/GHCup/Errors.hs
@@ -206,12 +206,18 @@ instance HFErrorProject NoCompatiblePlatform where
   eDesc _ = "No compatible platform could be found"
 
 -- | Unable to find a download for the requested version/distro.
-data NoDownload = NoDownload
+data NoDownload = NoDownload (Maybe GHCTargetVersion)
   deriving Show
 
 instance Pretty NoDownload where
-  pPrint NoDownload =
+  pPrint (NoDownload Nothing) =
     text (eDesc (Proxy :: Proxy NoDownload))
+  pPrint (NoDownload (Just tver@(GHCTargetVersion mtarget vv)))
+    | (Just target) <- mtarget
+    , target `elem` (T.pack . prettyShow <$> enumFromTo (minBound :: Tool) (maxBound :: Tool))
+    = text $ "Unable to find a download for " <> T.unpack (tVerToText tver) <> "\n"
+             <> "Perhaps you meant: 'ghcup <command> " <> T.unpack target <> " " <> T.unpack (prettyVer vv) <> "'"
+    | otherwise = text $ "Unable to find a download for " <> T.unpack (tVerToText tver)
 
 instance HFErrorProject NoDownload where
   eBase _ = 10
diff --git a/lib/GHCup/GHC.hs b/lib/GHCup/GHC.hs
index 26633704..35fc9025 100644
--- a/lib/GHCup/GHC.hs
+++ b/lib/GHCup/GHC.hs
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ testGHCVer ver addMakeArgs = do
 
   dlInfo <-
     preview (ix GHC % ix ver % viTestDL % _Just) dls
-      ?? NoDownload
+      ?? NoDownload (Just ver)
 
   liftE $ testGHCBindist dlInfo ver addMakeArgs
 
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ fetchGHCSrc v mfp = do
   GHCupInfo { _ghcupDownloads = dls } <- lift getGHCupInfo
   dlInfo <-
     preview (ix GHC % ix v % viSourceDL % _Just) dls
-      ?? NoDownload
+      ?? NoDownload (Just v)
   liftE $ downloadCached' dlInfo Nothing mfp
 
 
@@ -827,9 +827,10 @@ compileGHC targetGhc crossTarget ov bstrap jobs mbuildConfig patches aargs build
         lift $ logDebug $ "Requested to compile: " <> prettyVer ver <> " with " <> either prettyVer T.pack bstrap
 
         -- download source tarball
+        let tver = mkTVer ver
         dlInfo <-
-          preview (ix GHC % ix (mkTVer ver) % viSourceDL % _Just) dls
-            ?? NoDownload
+          preview (ix GHC % ix tver % viSourceDL % _Just) dls
+            ?? NoDownload (Just tver)
         dl <- liftE $ downloadCached dlInfo Nothing
 
         -- unpack
@@ -1303,7 +1304,7 @@ compileGHC targetGhc crossTarget ov bstrap jobs mbuildConfig patches aargs build
 
   bghc = case bstrap of
            Right g    -> g
-           Left  bver -> ("ghc-" <> (T.unpack . prettyVer $ bver) <> exeExt)
+           Left  bver -> "ghc-" <> (T.unpack . prettyVer $ bver) <> exeExt
 
 
 
diff --git a/lib/GHCup/HLS.hs b/lib/GHCup/HLS.hs
index 744ba547..5605a3bd 100644
--- a/lib/GHCup/HLS.hs
+++ b/lib/GHCup/HLS.hs
@@ -370,7 +370,7 @@ compileHLS targetHLS ghcs jobs ov installDir cabalProject cabalProjectLocal upda
       -- download source tarball
       dlInfo <-
         preview (ix HLS % ix (mkTVer tver) % viSourceDL % _Just) dls
-          ?? NoDownload
+          ?? NoDownload (Just (mkTVer tver))
       dl <- liftE $ downloadCached dlInfo Nothing
 
       -- unpack
diff --git a/lib/GHCup/Utils.hs b/lib/GHCup/Utils.hs
index 5f0e7f20..19d32034 100644
--- a/lib/GHCup/Utils.hs
+++ b/lib/GHCup/Utils.hs
@@ -1212,7 +1212,7 @@ ensureGlobalTools
       (GHCupInfo _ _ gTools) <- lift getGHCupInfo
       dirs <- lift getDirs
       shimDownload <- liftE $ lE @_ @'[NoDownload]
-        $ maybe (Left NoDownload) Right $ Map.lookup ShimGen gTools
+        $ maybe (Left (NoDownload Nothing)) Right $ Map.lookup ShimGen gTools
       let dl = downloadCached' shimDownload (Just "gs.exe") Nothing
       void $ (\DigestError{} -> do
           lift $ logWarn "Digest doesn't match, redownloading gs.exe..."