diff --git a/apps/expert/lib/expert/application.ex b/apps/expert/lib/expert/application.ex
index fd41bf96..b1e0d711 100644
--- a/apps/expert/lib/expert/application.ex
+++ b/apps/expert/lib/expert/application.ex
@@ -59,9 +59,15 @@ defmodule Expert.Application do
           [communication: {GenLSP.Communication.TCP, [port: opts[:port]]}]
 
         true ->
+          IO.puts(
+            :stderr,
+            "FATAL: A transport argument (--stdio|--port <port>) must be provided, expert won't initialize."
+          )
+
           IO.puts(help_text)
 
-          System.halt(1)
+          # Status code 2 is often used for invalid CLI argument
+          System.halt(2)
       end
 
     ensure_epmd_module!()