diff --git a/internal/commands/builder.go b/internal/commands/builder.go
index c9baed8..03c5b8d 100644
--- a/internal/commands/builder.go
+++ b/internal/commands/builder.go
@@ -427,6 +427,13 @@ func (cb *CommandBuilder) executeCommand(ctx context.Context, command string, ar
 	executor := cmd.GetShellExecutor(ctx)
 	output, err := executor.Exec(ctx, command, args...)
 	if err != nil {
+		// Keep what the command printed, such as kubectl's "Error from server
+		// (Forbidden): ...". The exit status alone does not say why the command
+		// failed, and the error creators below pick their suggestions from it.
+		if commandOutput := strings.TrimSpace(string(output)); commandOutput != "" {
+			err = fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", err, commandOutput)
+		}
+
 		// Create appropriate error based on command type
 		var toolError *errors.ToolError
 		switch command {
diff --git a/internal/commands/builder_errors_test.go b/internal/commands/builder_errors_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3952c15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/commands/builder_errors_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+package commands
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/kagent-dev/tools/internal/cmd"
+	"github.com/kagent-dev/tools/internal/errors"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// TestExecuteKeepsCommandOutputOnFailure checks that a failed command's own
+// message reaches the caller, not only its exit status.
+func TestExecuteKeepsCommandOutputOnFailure(t *testing.T) {
+	exitStatus := fmt.Errorf("exit status 1")
+
+	testCases := []struct {
+		name          string
+		output        string
+		wantInError   string
+		wantErrorCode string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:        "admission webhook denial",
+			output:      "Error from server (Forbidden): admission webhook \"policy.example.com\" denied the request: scaling prod needs approval\n",
+			wantInError: `admission webhook "policy.example.com" denied the request: scaling prod needs approval`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:          "RBAC denial gets the permission suggestions",
+			output:        "Error from server (Forbidden): deployments.apps \"checkout\" is forbidden: User \"system:serviceaccount:kagent:kagent-tools\" cannot patch resource \"deployments\" in API group \"apps\" in the namespace \"prod\"\n",
+			wantInError:   `cannot patch resource "deployments"`,
+			wantErrorCode: "K8S_PERMISSION_ERROR",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "no output keeps the error as it was",
+			output:      "",
+			wantInError: "failed: exit status 1",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, testCase := range testCases {
+		t.Run(testCase.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			mockExecutor := cmd.NewMockShellExecutor()
+			mockExecutor.AddPartialMatcherString("kubectl", []string{"patch"}, testCase.output, exitStatus)
+			ctx := cmd.WithShellExecutor(context.Background(), mockExecutor)
+
+			_, err := NewCommandBuilder("kubectl").
+				WithArgs("patch", "deployment", "checkout", "--type=merge", "-p", `{"spec":{"replicas":6}}`).
+				WithNamespace("prod").
+				Execute(ctx)
+
+			var toolError *errors.ToolError
+			require.ErrorAs(t, err, &toolError)
+			assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), testCase.wantInError)
+			assert.ErrorIs(t, toolError.Cause, exitStatus, "the original error stays wrapped")
+			if testCase.wantErrorCode != "" {
+				assert.Equal(t, testCase.wantErrorCode, toolError.ErrorCode)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}