diff --git a/src/Psalm/Internal/CliUtils.php b/src/Psalm/Internal/CliUtils.php
index e006a4b3071..0d3160fd465 100644
--- a/src/Psalm/Internal/CliUtils.php
+++ b/src/Psalm/Internal/CliUtils.php
@@ -323,7 +323,8 @@ public static function getPathsToCheck(string|array|false|null $f_paths): ?array
             }
 
             if (!file_exists($path_to_check)) {
-                continue;
+                fwrite(STDERR, 'Cannot locate ' . $path_to_check . PHP_EOL);
+                exit(1);
             }
 
             $path_to_check = realpath($path_to_check);