diff --git a/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Get/T7248/cabal.config b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Get/T7248/cabal.config
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d8c242312f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Get/T7248/cabal.config
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+-- This config file contains a bogus repository by intention.
+
+repository repo.invalid
+  url: http://repo.invalid/
diff --git a/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Get/T7248/cabal.out b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Get/T7248/cabal.out
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..585ec82a6e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Get/T7248/cabal.out
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# cabal get
+Warning: <ROOT>/cabal.config: Unrecognized stanza on line 3
+Warning: The package list for 'repo.invalid' does not exist. Run 'cabal update' to download it.
+Error: cabal: There is no package named 'a-b-s-e-n-t'. 
+You may need to run 'cabal update' to get the latest list of available packages.
diff --git a/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Get/T7248/cabal.test.hs b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Get/T7248/cabal.test.hs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..782742f7ff0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cabal-testsuite/PackageTests/Get/T7248/cabal.test.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+-- 2021-10-06, issue #7248
+--
+-- Purpose of this test:
+-- Make sure that ordinary user communication does not contain 'Show'ed internal structures.
+--
+-- This is a golden value test that reports the produced error message.
+-- Needs to be checked manually whether it meets expectations.
+
+import Test.Cabal.Prelude
+main = cabalTest $
+  fails $
+  cabalG
+    [ "--config-file", "cabal.config" ]
+    "get"
+    [ "a-b-s-e-n-t" ]
diff --git a/cabal-testsuite/src/Test/Cabal/Prelude.hs b/cabal-testsuite/src/Test/Cabal/Prelude.hs
index 7a5245415ed..f2dc8d4562e 100644
--- a/cabal-testsuite/src/Test/Cabal/Prelude.hs
+++ b/cabal-testsuite/src/Test/Cabal/Prelude.hs
@@ -276,7 +276,15 @@ cabalGArgs global_args cmd args input = do
     -- overwritable
     when (cmd == "v1-freeze") requireHasSourceCopy
     let extra_args
-          | cmd `elem` ["v1-update", "outdated", "user-config", "man", "v1-freeze", "check"]
+          | cmd `elem`
+              [ "v1-update"
+              , "outdated"
+              , "user-config"
+              , "man"
+              , "v1-freeze"
+              , "check"
+              , "get", "unpack"
+              ]
           = [ ]
 
           -- new-build commands are affected by testCabalProjectFile