diff --git a/src/runtime/cli/Arguments.rs b/src/runtime/cli/Arguments.rs
index 14e20c0e7b5a..5403fbbfd98a 100644
--- a/src/runtime/cli/Arguments.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/cli/Arguments.rs
@@ -1345,7 +1345,7 @@ pub fn parse(cmd: CommandTag, ctx: Context<'_>) -> crate::Result<api::TransformO
     ctx.bundler_options.ignore_dce_annotations = args.flag(b"--ignore-dce-annotations");
 
     if cmd == CommandTag::BuildCommand {
-        parse_build_command_options(cmd, &args, &mut opts, ctx, &mut diag);
+        parse_build_command_options(cmd, &args, &mut opts, ctx);
     }
 
     if opts.entry_points.is_empty() {
@@ -1853,7 +1853,6 @@ fn parse_build_command_options(
     args: &clap::Args<clap::Help>,
     opts: &mut api::TransformOptions,
     ctx: Context<'_>,
-    diag: &mut clap::Diagnostic,
 ) {
     ctx.bundler_options.transform_only = args.flag(b"--no-bundle");
     ctx.bundler_options.bytecode = args.flag(b"--bytecode");
@@ -1994,7 +1993,7 @@ fn parse_build_command_options(
                     }
                 }
                 b"bun" => api::Target::Bun,
-                _ => cli::invalid_target(diag, target),
+                _ => cli::invalid_target(target),
             }));
 
             if opts.target.unwrap() == api::Target::Bun {
@@ -2003,12 +2002,7 @@ fn parse_build_command_options(
                 if ctx.bundler_options.bytecode {
                     Output::err_generic(
                         "target must be 'bun' when bytecode is true. Received: {}",
-                        format_args!(
-                            "{:?}",
-                            <bun_ast::Target as bun_options_types::TargetExt>::from_api(
-                                opts.target
-                            )
-                        ),
+                        format_args!("{}", BStr::new(target)),
                     );
                     Global::exit(1);
                 }
@@ -2016,12 +2010,7 @@ fn parse_build_command_options(
                 if ctx.bundler_options.bake {
                     Output::err_generic(
                         "target must be 'bun' when using --app. Received: {}",
-                        format_args!(
-                            "{:?}",
-                            <bun_ast::Target as bun_options_types::TargetExt>::from_api(
-                                opts.target
-                            )
-                        ),
+                        format_args!("{}", BStr::new(target)),
                     );
                 }
             }
@@ -2383,8 +2372,8 @@ fn parse_build_command_options(
                 Output::err_generic(
                     "Cannot use client-side --target={} with --server-components",
                     format_args!(
-                        "{:?}",
-                        <bun_ast::Target as bun_options_types::TargetExt>::from_api(Some(target))
+                        "{}",
+                        BStr::new(args.option(b"--target").unwrap_or_default())
                     ),
                 );
                 Global::crash();
diff --git a/src/runtime/cli/mod.rs b/src/runtime/cli/mod.rs
index d1ab71efe869..6ab0ade0f5c9 100644
--- a/src/runtime/cli/mod.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/cli/mod.rs
@@ -524,8 +524,11 @@ impl colon_list_type::ColonListValue for &'static [u8] {
 }
 
 #[cold]
-pub(crate) fn invalid_target(diag: &mut bun_clap::Diagnostic, _target: &[u8]) -> ! {
-    let _ = diag.report(Output::error_writer(), bun_clap::Error::InvalidArgument);
+pub(crate) fn invalid_target(target: &[u8]) -> ! {
+    Output::err_generic(
+        "Invalid value for --target: {}. Must be 'browser', 'node', 'macro', or 'bun'.",
+        (bun::fmt::quote(target),),
+    );
     Global::exit(1);
 }
 
diff --git a/test/bundler/cli.test.ts b/test/bundler/cli.test.ts
index 350841445132..190f589ce049 100644
--- a/test/bundler/cli.test.ts
+++ b/test/bundler/cli.test.ts
@@ -516,4 +516,43 @@ describe("CLI argument error messages", () => {
     expect(stderr).toContain("key=value");
     expect(exitCode).toBe(1);
   });
+
+  test.each(["nodejs", "web", "deno", ""])(
+    "--target with an unrecognized value names the flag and echoes %j back",
+    async value => {
+      using dir = tempDir("build-target-err", { "in.js": "console.log(1)" });
+      await using proc = Bun.spawn({
+        cmd: [bunExe(), "build", `--target=${value}`, "in.js"],
+        env: bunEnv,
+        cwd: String(dir),
+        stdout: "pipe",
+        stderr: "pipe",
+      });
+      const [stdout, stderr, exitCode] = await Promise.all([proc.stdout.text(), proc.stderr.text(), proc.exited]);
+      expect({ stdout, stderr }).toEqual({
+        stdout: "",
+        stderr: expect.stringContaining(`--target: "${value}"`),
+      });
+      expect(stderr).toContain("'browser', 'node', 'macro', or 'bun'");
+      expect(exitCode).toBe(1);
+    },
+  );
+
+  test("--bytecode with a non-bun --target echoes the value in its user-facing spelling", async () => {
+    using dir = tempDir("build-bytecode-target-err", { "in.js": "console.log(1)" });
+    await using proc = Bun.spawn({
+      cmd: [bunExe(), "build", "--bytecode", "--target=browser", "in.js"],
+      env: bunEnv,
+      cwd: String(dir),
+      stdout: "pipe",
+      stderr: "pipe",
+    });
+    const [stdout, stderr, exitCode] = await Promise.all([proc.stdout.text(), proc.stderr.text(), proc.exited]);
+    expect({ stdout, stderr }).toEqual({
+      stdout: "",
+      stderr: expect.stringContaining("Received: browser"),
+    });
+    expect(stderr).not.toContain("Browser");
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(1);
+  });
 });