diff --git a/packages/cli/lang/en.lyaml b/packages/cli/lang/en.lyaml
index 42693fe2c..7542e89ca 100644
--- a/packages/cli/lang/en.lyaml
+++ b/packages/cli/lang/en.lyaml
@@ -719,7 +719,7 @@ en:
           addingDependenciesToLocation: "Installing {{dependencies}} in {{directory}}"
           installingDependenciesFailed: "Installing dependencies for {{directory}} failed"
           noProjectConfig: "No project detected. Run this command from a project directory."
-          noPackageJsonInProject: "Could not find any package.json files in the project"
+          noPackageJsonInProject: "No dependencies to install. The project {{ projectName }} folder might be missing component or subcomponent files. {{ link }}"
           packageManagerNotInstalled: "This command depends on {{ packageManager }}, install {{#bold}}{{ link }}{{/bold}}"
     remove:
       describe: "Delete a file or folder from HubSpot."
diff --git a/packages/cli/lib/__tests__/dependencyManagement.test.js b/packages/cli/lib/__tests__/dependencyManagement.test.js
index 7bbe60c37..f77b35d08 100644
--- a/packages/cli/lib/__tests__/dependencyManagement.test.js
+++ b/packages/cli/lib/__tests__/dependencyManagement.test.js
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@ jest.mock('../projects');
 jest.mock('@hubspot/local-dev-lib/logger');
 jest.mock('@hubspot/local-dev-lib/fs');
 jest.mock('../ui/SpinniesManager');
+jest.mock('fs', () => ({
+  ...jest.requireActual('fs'),
+  existsSync: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(true),
+}));
 
 const util = require('util');
 const {
@@ -9,10 +13,11 @@ const {
   installPackages,
   getProjectPackageJsonLocations,
 } = require('../dependencyManagement');
-const fs = require('@hubspot/local-dev-lib/fs');
+const { walk } = require('@hubspot/local-dev-lib/fs');
 const path = require('path');
 const { getProjectConfig } = require('../projects');
 const SpinniesManager = require('../ui/SpinniesManager');
+const { existsSync } = require('fs');
 
 describe('cli/lib/dependencyManagement', () => {
   let execMock;
@@ -120,7 +125,7 @@ describe('cli/lib/dependencyManagement', () => {
         path.join(extensionsDir, 'package.json'),
       ];
 
-      fs.walk.mockResolvedValue(installLocations);
+      walk.mockResolvedValue(installLocations);
 
       getProjectConfig.mockResolvedValue({
         projectDir,
@@ -154,7 +159,7 @@ describe('cli/lib/dependencyManagement', () => {
         path.join(extensionsDir, 'package.json'),
       ];
 
-      fs.walk.mockResolvedValue(installLocations);
+      walk.mockResolvedValue(installLocations);
 
       getProjectConfig.mockResolvedValue({
         projectDir,
@@ -204,6 +209,13 @@ describe('cli/lib/dependencyManagement', () => {
       );
     });
 
+    it('should throw an error if the project directory does not exist', async () => {
+      existsSync.mockReturnValueOnce(false);
+      await expect(() => getProjectPackageJsonLocations()).rejects.toThrowError(
+        'No dependencies to install. The project  folder might be missing component or subcomponent files. Learn how to create a project from scratch.: https://developers.hubspot.com/beta-docs/guides/crm/intro/create-a-project'
+      );
+    });
+
     it('should ignore package.json files in certain directories', async () => {
       const nodeModulesDir = path.join(appDir, 'node_modules');
       const viteDir = path.join(appDir, '.vite');
@@ -214,17 +226,17 @@ describe('cli/lib/dependencyManagement', () => {
         path.join(nodeModulesDir, 'package.json'),
       ];
 
-      fs.walk.mockResolvedValue(installLocations);
+      walk.mockResolvedValue(installLocations);
 
       const actual = await getProjectPackageJsonLocations();
       expect(actual).toEqual([appFunctionsDir, extensionsDir]);
     });
 
     it('should throw an error if no package.json files are found', async () => {
-      fs.walk.mockResolvedValue([]);
+      walk.mockResolvedValue([]);
 
       await expect(() => getProjectPackageJsonLocations()).rejects.toThrowError(
-        'Could not find any package.json files in the project'
+        'No dependencies to install. The project  folder might be missing component or subcomponent files. Learn how to create a project from scratch.: https://developers.hubspot.com/beta-docs/guides/crm/intro/create-a-project'
       );
     });
   });
diff --git a/packages/cli/lib/dependencyManagement.js b/packages/cli/lib/dependencyManagement.js
index 4f89bd932..ee5dcb479 100644
--- a/packages/cli/lib/dependencyManagement.js
+++ b/packages/cli/lib/dependencyManagement.js
@@ -7,11 +7,26 @@ const { uiLink } = require('./ui');
 const util = require('util');
 const { i18n } = require('./lang');
 const SpinniesManager = require('./ui/SpinniesManager');
+const fs = require('fs');
 
 const DEFAULT_PACKAGE_MANAGER = 'npm';
 
 const i18nKey = `commands.project.subcommands.installDeps`;
 
+class NoPackageJsonFilesError extends Error {
+  constructor(projectName) {
+    super(
+      i18n(`${i18nKey}.noPackageJsonInProject`, {
+        projectName,
+        link: uiLink(
+          'Learn how to create a project from scratch.',
+          'https://developers.hubspot.com/beta-docs/guides/crm/intro/create-a-project'
+        ),
+      })
+    );
+  }
+}
+
 async function isGloballyInstalled(command) {
   const exec = util.promisify(execAsync);
   try {
@@ -92,7 +107,7 @@ async function getProjectPackageJsonLocations() {
 
   const {
     projectDir,
-    projectConfig: { srcDir },
+    projectConfig: { srcDir, name },
   } = projectConfig;
 
   if (!(await isGloballyInstalled(DEFAULT_PACKAGE_MANAGER))) {
@@ -107,6 +122,13 @@ async function getProjectPackageJsonLocations() {
     );
   }
 
+  if (
+    !fs.existsSync(projectConfig.projectDir) ||
+    !fs.existsSync(path.join(projectDir, srcDir))
+  ) {
+    throw new NoPackageJsonFilesError(name);
+  }
+
   const packageJsonFiles = (await walk(path.join(projectDir, srcDir))).filter(
     file =>
       file.includes('package.json') &&
@@ -115,7 +137,7 @@ async function getProjectPackageJsonLocations() {
   );
 
   if (packageJsonFiles.length === 0) {
-    throw new Error(i18n(`${i18nKey}.noPackageJsonInProject`));
+    throw new NoPackageJsonFilesError(name);
   }
 
   const packageParentDirs = [];