diff --git a/.changeset/little-rules-relate.md b/.changeset/little-rules-relate.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b0b01a87ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/little-rules-relate.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@astrojs/upgrade': patch
+---
+
+Fixes an issue where running `upgrade` in a directory without `astro` installed shows a false success message
diff --git a/packages/upgrade/src/actions/verify.ts b/packages/upgrade/src/actions/verify.ts
index 193b0477a1..384df5134a 100644
--- a/packages/upgrade/src/actions/verify.ts
+++ b/packages/upgrade/src/actions/verify.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,13 @@ export async function verify(
 		}
 	}
 
-	await verifyAstroProject(ctx);
+	const isAstroProject = await verifyAstroProject(ctx);
+	if (!isAstroProject) {
+		bannerAbort();
+		newline();
+		error('error', `Astro installation not found in the current directory.`);
+		ctx.exit(1);
+	}
 
 	const ok = await verifyVersions(ctx, registry);
 	if (!ok) {