diff --git a/.changeset/wild-bobcats-carry.md b/.changeset/wild-bobcats-carry.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ef66ca9524
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/wild-bobcats-carry.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'astro': minor
+---
+
+Add a new `astro/errors` module. Developers can import `AstroUserError`, and provide a `message` and an optional `hint` 
diff --git a/packages/astro/package.json b/packages/astro/package.json
index 8e505e8b09..c52c93ea3d 100644
--- a/packages/astro/package.json
+++ b/packages/astro/package.json
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@
       "types": "./zod.d.ts",
       "default": "./zod.mjs"
     },
+    "./errors": "./dist/core/errors/userError.js",
     "./middleware": {
       "types": "./dist/core/middleware/index.d.ts",
       "default": "./dist/core/middleware/index.js"
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/errors/errors.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/errors/errors.ts
index 1960bac4a8..faf3656869 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/errors/errors.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/errors/errors.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ export interface ErrorLocation {
 
 type ErrorTypes =
 	| 'AstroError'
+	| 'AstroUserError'
 	| 'CompilerError'
 	| 'CSSError'
 	| 'MarkdownError'
@@ -171,3 +172,25 @@ export interface ErrorWithMetadata {
 	};
 	cause?: any;
 }
+
+/**
+ * Special error that is exposed to users.
+ * Compared to AstroError, it contains a subset of information.
+ */
+export class AstroUserError extends Error {
+	type: ErrorTypes = 'AstroUserError';
+	/**
+	 * A message that explains to the user how they can fix the error.
+	 */
+	hint: string | undefined;
+	name = 'AstroUserError';
+	constructor(message: string, hint?: string) {
+		super();
+		this.message = message;
+		this.hint = hint;
+	}
+
+	static is(err: unknown): err is AstroUserError {
+		return (err as AstroUserError).type === 'AstroUserError';
+	}
+}
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/errors/index.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/errors/index.ts
index e09225af42..5a796a0b3f 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/errors/index.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/errors/index.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ export {
 	CompilerError,
 	MarkdownError,
 	isAstroError,
+	AstroUserError,
 } from './errors.js';
 export { codeFrame } from './printer.js';
 export { createSafeError, positionAt } from './utils.js';
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/errors/userError.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/errors/userError.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6635493145
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/errors/userError.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export { AstroUserError as AstroError } from './errors.js';
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/messages.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/messages.ts
index 51ec39ad92..4fc3ca02a4 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/messages.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/messages.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,12 @@ import {
 import type { ResolvedServerUrls } from 'vite';
 import type { ZodError } from 'zod';
 import { renderErrorMarkdown } from './errors/dev/utils.js';
-import { AstroError, CompilerError, type ErrorWithMetadata } from './errors/index.js';
+import {
+	AstroError,
+	CompilerError,
+	type ErrorWithMetadata,
+	AstroUserError,
+} from './errors/index.js';
 import { emoji, padMultilineString } from './util.js';
 
 const PREFIX_PADDING = 6;
@@ -198,7 +203,7 @@ export function formatConfigErrorMessage(err: ZodError) {
 }
 
 export function formatErrorMessage(err: ErrorWithMetadata, args: string[] = []): string {
-	const isOurError = AstroError.is(err) || CompilerError.is(err);
+	const isOurError = AstroError.is(err) || CompilerError.is(err) || AstroUserError.is(err);
 
 	args.push(
 		`${bgRed(black(` error `))}${red(