diff --git a/doc/manual/rl-next/check-warn-about-missing-paths.md b/doc/manual/rl-next/check-warn-about-missing-paths.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ac3e85bda
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/manual/rl-next/check-warn-about-missing-paths.md
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+---
+synopsis: "`--check` or `--rebuild` is clearer about a missing path"
+cls: []
+issues: [fj#485]
+category: "Improvements"
+credits: [raito]
+---
+
+Previously, when running Lix with --check or --rebuild, failures often surfaced
+as an unhelpful error:
+
+> "some outputs of '...' are not valid, so checking is not possible"
+
+This message could mean two different things:
+
+- The requested output paths don't exist at all, or,
+- Some outputs exist but are not known to Lix
+
+Lix cannot reliably distinguish these cases, so it treated them the same.
+
+We've updated the error messages to clarify what Lix can determine: whether any
+valid outputs (> 0) are present or whether no outputs are available.
+
+When no valid outputs can be found, Lix will now suggest building the derivation
+normally (without --check or --rebuild) before trying again.
+
+When some valid outputs are present, Lix now reports which ones are valid,
+shows the full list of known outputs, and also suggests building the derivation
+normally.
+
+In the future, Lix may automate this recovery step when it knows how to rebuild
+the paths, but implementing that safely requires more extensive changes to the
+codebase.
diff --git a/lix/libstore/build/derivation-goal.cc b/lix/libstore/build/derivation-goal.cc
index 7359f8c67..e9b5baf2f 100644
--- a/lix/libstore/build/derivation-goal.cc
+++ b/lix/libstore/build/derivation-goal.cc
@@ -353,9 +353,25 @@ try {
     if (buildMode == bmRepair && allValid) {
         co_return TRY_AWAIT(repairClosure());
     }
-    if (buildMode == bmCheck && !allValid)
-        throw Error("some outputs of '%s' are not valid, so checking is not possible",
-            worker.store.printStorePath(drvPath));
+
+    if (buildMode == bmCheck && validOutputs.empty()) {
+        throw Error(
+            "'%s' has no valid outputs registered in the store, build it first and re-run the "
+            "check command after that",
+            worker.store.printStorePath(drvPath)
+        );
+    } else if (buildMode == bmCheck && !allValid) {
+        auto wantedOutputsStr = wantedOutputs.to_string();
+        auto validOutputsNames = concatStringsSep(", ", std::views::keys(validOutputs));
+        throw Error(
+            "Not all outputs of '%s' are registered and valid in this store ('%s' are available, "
+            "'%s' are missing). "
+            "Rebuild the derivation normally and re-run the check command after that",
+            worker.store.printStorePath(drvPath),
+            validOutputsNames == "" ? "none" : validOutputsNames,
+            wantedOutputsStr == "*" ? "all" : wantedOutputsStr
+        );
+    }
 
     /* Nothing to wait for; tail call */
     co_return TRY_AWAIT(gaveUpOnSubstitution());
diff --git a/tests/functional2/build/test_fixed.py b/tests/functional2/build/test_fixed.py
index 3581df49c..f7ca44b5c 100644
--- a/tests/functional2/build/test_fixed.py
+++ b/tests/functional2/build/test_fixed.py
@@ -46,8 +46,7 @@ def test_good(nix: Nix):
 @with_files(get_global_asset_pack("fixed"))
 def test_check(nix: Nix):
     res = nix.nix_build(["fixed.nix", "-A", "check", "--check"]).run().expect(1)
-    assert "some outputs of " in res.stderr_plain
-    assert "are not valid, so checking is not possible" in res.stderr_plain
+    assert "has no valid outputs registered in the store" in res.stderr_plain
 
 
 @with_files(get_global_asset_pack("fixed"))