diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b6010f06b487..0f1e86276a96 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 - Use configured `--letter-spacing` values for custom font size utilities ([#15099](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/15099))
 - Ensure `space-x/y-*` and `divide-x/y-*` with variants can undo `space-x/y-reverse` and `divide-x/y-reverse` ([#15094](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/15094))
+- Don't print minified code when the build fails in the CLI ([#15106](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/15106))
 - _Upgrade (experimental)_: Always add `layer(…)` as the first param to `@import` ([#15102](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/15102))
 
 ### Changed
diff --git a/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/commands/build/index.ts b/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/commands/build/index.ts
index d36a3ab7c949..5c90d8ba3819 100644
--- a/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/commands/build/index.ts
+++ b/packages/@tailwindcss-cli/src/commands/build/index.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,17 @@ export function options() {
   } satisfies Arg
 }
 
+async function handleError<T>(fn: () => T): Promise<T> {
+  try {
+    return await fn()
+  } catch (err) {
+    if (err instanceof Error) {
+      eprintln(err.toString())
+    }
+    process.exit(1)
+  }
+}
+
 export async function handle(args: Result<ReturnType<typeof options>>) {
   let base = path.resolve(args['--cwd'])
 
@@ -159,7 +170,7 @@ export async function handle(args: Result<ReturnType<typeof options>>) {
     return [compiler, scanner] as const
   }
 
-  let [compiler, scanner] = await createCompiler(input)
+  let [compiler, scanner] = await handleError(() => createCompiler(input))
 
   // Watch for changes
   if (args['--watch']) {
@@ -288,7 +299,7 @@ export async function handle(args: Result<ReturnType<typeof options>>) {
   let candidates = scanner.scan()
   env.DEBUG && console.timeEnd('[@tailwindcss/cli] Scan for candidates')
   env.DEBUG && console.time('[@tailwindcss/cli] Build CSS')
-  let output = compiler.build(candidates)
+  let output = await handleError(() => compiler.build(candidates))
   env.DEBUG && console.timeEnd('[@tailwindcss/cli] Build CSS')
   await write(output, args)