diff --git a/robot/actor_configuration.robot b/robot/actor_configuration.robot
index 8fa6b50bf..c35096af2 100644
--- a/robot/actor_configuration.robot
+++ b/robot/actor_configuration.robot
@@ -40,3 +40,9 @@ V2 Actor Config Produces Provider And Graph Descriptor
     List Should Contain Value    ${payload['graph_keys']}    agents
     List Should Contain Value    ${payload['graph_keys']}    routes
     Should Be Equal As Numbers    ${payload['options']['temperature']}    0.5
+
+Missing Config File Exits With Non-Zero Code And Stderr Message
+    ${missing}=    Set Variable    ${OUTPUT DIR}/does_not_exist_actor.yaml
+    ${result}=    Run Process    ${PYTHON}    robot/helper_actor_config.py    ${missing}
+    Should Not Be Equal As Integers    ${result.rc}    0
+    Should Contain    ${result.stderr}    Error: Config file not found at '${missing}'
diff --git a/robot/helper_actor_config.py b/robot/helper_actor_config.py
index 3531c0e93..ed54dd24d 100644
--- a/robot/helper_actor_config.py
+++ b/robot/helper_actor_config.py
@@ -12,7 +12,11 @@ def main() -> None:
         raise SystemExit("config path required")
 
     config_path = Path(sys.argv[1])
-    config = ActorConfiguration.from_file(path=config_path)
+    try:
+        config = ActorConfiguration.from_file(path=config_path)
+    except FileNotFoundError:
+        print(f"Error: Config file not found at '{config_path}'", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
     payload = {
         "provider": config.provider,
         "model": config.model,