diff --git a/lib/commands/run-script.js b/lib/commands/run-script.js
index dd00c98fc8b6e..3030ba0f7a2c1 100644
--- a/lib/commands/run-script.js
+++ b/lib/commands/run-script.js
@@ -74,11 +74,13 @@ class RunScript extends BaseCommand {
         return
       }
 
-      const didYouMean = require('../utils/did-you-mean.js')
-      const suggestions = await didYouMean(path, event)
-      throw new Error(
-        `Missing script: "${event}"${suggestions}\n\nTo see a list of scripts, run:\n  npm run`
-      )
+      const suggestions = require('../utils/did-you-mean.js')(pkg, event)
+      throw new Error([
+        `Missing script: "${event}"`,
+        suggestions,
+        'To see a list of scripts, run:',
+        '  npm run',
+      ].join('\n'))
     }
 
     // positional args only added to the main event, not pre/post
diff --git a/lib/npm.js b/lib/npm.js
index dcd6bdfc046df..28acdbbdd6fd7 100644
--- a/lib/npm.js
+++ b/lib/npm.js
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ const { log, time, output, META } = require('proc-log')
 const { redactLog: replaceInfo } = require('@npmcli/redact')
 const pkg = require('../package.json')
 const { deref } = require('./utils/cmd-list.js')
+const { jsonError, outputError } = require('./utils/output-error.js')
 
 class Npm {
   static get version () {
@@ -287,7 +288,12 @@ class Npm {
 
   async #handleError (err) {
     if (err) {
-      Object.assign(err, await this.#getError(err))
+      // Get the local package if it exists for a more helpful error message
+      const localPkg = await require('@npmcli/package-json')
+        .normalize(this.localPrefix)
+        .then(p => p.content)
+        .catch(() => null)
+      Object.assign(err, this.#getError(err, { pkg: localPkg }))
     }
 
     // TODO: make this not need to be public
@@ -295,11 +301,7 @@ class Npm {
 
     output.flush({
       [META]: true,
-      jsonError: err && this.loaded && this.config.get('json') ? {
-        code: err.code,
-        summary: (err.summary || []).map(l => l.slice(1).join(' ')).join('\n'),
-        detail: (err.detail || []).map(l => l.slice(1).join(' ')).join('\n'),
-      } : null,
+      jsonError: jsonError(err, this),
     })
 
     if (err) {
@@ -307,60 +309,12 @@ class Npm {
     }
   }
 
-  async #getError (err) {
-    const { errorMessage, getExitCodeFromError } = require('./utils/error-message.js')
-
-    // if we got a command that just shells out to something else, then it
-    // will presumably print its own errors and exit with a proper status
-    // code if there's a problem.  If we got an error with a code=0, then...
-    // something else went wrong along the way, so maybe an npm problem?
-    if (this.#command?.constructor?.isShellout && typeof err.code === 'number' && err.code) {
-      return {
-        exitCode: err.code,
-        suppressError: true,
-      }
-    }
-
-    // XXX: we should stop throwing strings
-    if (typeof err === 'string') {
-      log.error('', err)
-      return {
-        exitCode: 1,
-        suppressError: true,
-      }
-    }
-
-    // XXX: we should stop throwing other non-errors
-    if (!(err instanceof Error)) {
-      log.error('weird error', err)
-      return {
-        exitCode: 1,
-        suppressError: true,
-      }
-    }
-
-    if (err.code === 'EUNKNOWNCOMMAND') {
-      const didYouMean = require('./utils/did-you-mean.js')
-      const suggestions = await didYouMean(this.localPrefix, err.command)
-      output.standard(`Unknown command: "${err.command}"${suggestions}\n`)
-      output.standard('To see a list of supported npm commands, run:\n  npm help')
-      return {
-        exitCode: 1,
-        suppressError: true,
-      }
-    }
-
-    err.code ??= err.message.match(/^(?:Error: )?(E[A-Z]+)/)?.[1]
-
-    for (const k of ['type', 'stack', 'statusCode', 'pkgid']) {
-      const v = err[k]
-      if (v) {
-        log.verbose(k, replaceInfo(v))
-      }
-    }
-
-    const exitCode = getExitCodeFromError(err) || 1
-    const { summary, detail, files } = errorMessage(err, this)
+  #getError (rawErr, opts) {
+    const { files = [], ...error } = require('./utils/error-message.js').getError(rawErr, {
+      npm: this,
+      command: this.#command,
+      ...opts,
+    })
 
     const { writeFileSync } = require('node:fs')
     for (const [file, content] of files) {
@@ -368,29 +322,15 @@ class Npm {
       const fileContent = `'Log files:\n${this.logFiles.join('\n')}\n\n${content.trim()}\n`
       try {
         writeFileSync(filePath, fileContent)
-        detail.push(['', `\n\nFor a full report see:\n${filePath}`])
+        error.detail.push(['', `\n\nFor a full report see:\n${filePath}`])
       } catch (fileErr) {
         log.warn('', `Could not write error message to ${file} due to ${fileErr}`)
       }
     }
 
-    for (const k of ['code', 'syscall', 'file', 'path', 'dest', 'errno']) {
-      const v = err[k]
-      if (v) {
-        log.error(k, v)
-      }
-    }
+    outputError(error)
 
-    for (const errline of [...summary, ...detail]) {
-      log.error(...errline)
-    }
-
-    return {
-      exitCode,
-      summary,
-      detail,
-      suppressError: false,
-    }
+    return error
   }
 
   get title () {
diff --git a/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js b/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js
index 54c8ff2e35aa6..7428ed5df85e9 100644
--- a/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js
+++ b/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js
@@ -1,39 +1,34 @@
 const Npm = require('../npm')
 const { distance } = require('fastest-levenshtein')
-const pkgJson = require('@npmcli/package-json')
 const { commands } = require('./cmd-list.js')
 
-const didYouMean = async (path, scmd) => {
-  const close = commands.filter(cmd => distance(scmd, cmd) < scmd.length * 0.4 && scmd !== cmd)
-  let best = []
-  for (const str of close) {
-    const cmd = Npm.cmd(str)
-    best.push(`  npm ${str} # ${cmd.description}`)
-  }
-  // We would already be suggesting this in `npm x` so omit them here
-  const runScripts = ['stop', 'start', 'test', 'restart']
-  try {
-    const { content: { scripts, bin } } = await pkgJson.normalize(path)
-    best = best.concat(
-      Object.keys(scripts || {})
-        .filter(cmd => distance(scmd, cmd) < scmd.length * 0.4 && !runScripts.includes(cmd))
-        .map(str => `  npm run ${str} # run the "${str}" package script`),
-      Object.keys(bin || {})
-        .filter(cmd => distance(scmd, cmd) < scmd.length * 0.4)
-        /* eslint-disable-next-line max-len */
-        .map(str => `  npm exec ${str} # run the "${str}" command from either this or a remote npm package`)
-    )
-  } catch {
-    // gracefully ignore not being in a folder w/ a package.json
-  }
+const runScripts = ['stop', 'start', 'test', 'restart']
+
+const isClose = (scmd, cmd) => distance(scmd, cmd) < scmd.length * 0.4
+
+const didYouMean = (pkg, scmd) => {
+  const { scripts = {}, bin = {} } = pkg || {}
+
+  const best = [
+    ...commands
+      .filter(cmd => isClose(scmd, cmd) && scmd !== cmd)
+      .map(str => [str, Npm.cmd(str).description]),
+    ...Object.keys(scripts)
+      // We would already be suggesting this in `npm x` so omit them here
+      .filter(cmd => isClose(scmd, cmd) && !runScripts.includes(cmd))
+      .map(str => [`run ${str}`, `run the "${str}" package script`]),
+    ...Object.keys(bin)
+      .filter(cmd => isClose(scmd, cmd))
+      /* eslint-disable-next-line max-len */
+      .map(str => [`exec ${str}`, `run the "${str}" command from either this or a remote npm package`]),
+  ]
 
   if (best.length === 0) {
     return ''
   }
 
-  return best.length === 1
-    ? `\n\nDid you mean this?\n${best[0]}`
-    : `\n\nDid you mean one of these?\n${best.slice(0, 3).join('\n')}`
+  return `\n\nDid you mean ${best.length === 1 ? 'this' : 'one of these'}?\n` +
+    best.slice(0, 3).map(([msg, comment]) => `  npm ${msg} # ${comment}`).join('\n')
 }
 
 module.exports = didYouMean
diff --git a/lib/utils/display.js b/lib/utils/display.js
index 29a1f7951d506..dbb1834645710 100644
--- a/lib/utils/display.js
+++ b/lib/utils/display.js
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ const tryJsonParse = (value) => {
     try {
       return JSON.parse(value)
     } catch {
-      return {}
+      return
     }
   }
   return value
@@ -86,6 +86,57 @@ const setBlocking = (stream) => {
   return stream
 }
 
+// These are important
+// This is the key that is returned to the user for errors
+const ERROR_KEY = 'error'
+// This is the key producers use to indicate that there
+// is a json error that should be merged into the finished output
+const JSON_ERROR_KEY = 'jsonError'
+
+const mergeJson = (meta, buffer) => {
+  const buffered = buffer.reduce((acc, i) => {
+    // index 2 is the logged argument
+    acc[0].push(tryJsonParse(i[2]))
+    // index 1 is the meta object
+    acc[1].push(i[1][JSON_ERROR_KEY])
+    return acc
+  }, [
+    // meta also contains the meta object passed to flush
+    [], [meta[JSON_ERROR_KEY]],
+  ])
+
+  const items = buffered[0].filter(Boolean)
+  const errors = buffered[1].filter(Boolean)
+
+  // If all items are keyed with array indexes, then we return the
+  // array. This skips any error checking since we cant really set
+  // an error property on an array in a way that can be stringified
+  // XXX(BREAKING_CHANGE): remove this in favor of always returning an object
+  /* istanbul ignore next - premature optimization for a PR that comes next */
+  if (items.length && items.every((o, i) => Object.hasOwn(o, i))) {
+    return Object.assign([], ...items)
+  }
+
+  const res = Object.assign({}, ...items)
+
+  if (errors.length) {
+    // This is not ideal. JSON output has always been keyed at the root with an `error`
+    // key, so we cant change that without it being a breaking change. At the same time
+    // some commands output arbitrary keys at the top level of the output, such as package
+    // names. So the output could already have the same key. The choice here is to overwrite
+    // it with our error since that is (probably?) more important.
+    // XXX(BREAKING_CHANGE): all json output should be keyed under well known keys, eg `result` and `error`
+    /* istanbul ignore next */
+    if (res[ERROR_KEY]) {
+      log.warn('display', `overwriting existing ${ERROR_KEY} on json output`)
+    }
+    res[ERROR_KEY] = Object.assign({}, ...errors)
+  }
+
+  // Only write output if we have some json buffered
+  return Object.keys(res).length ? res : null
+}
+
 const withMeta = (handler) => (level, ...args) => {
   let meta = {}
   const last = args.at(-1)
@@ -240,24 +291,17 @@ class Display {
   // directly as a listener and still reference "this"
   #outputHandler = withMeta((level, meta, ...args) => {
     switch (level) {
-      case output.KEYS.flush:
+      case output.KEYS.flush: {
         this.#outputState.buffering = false
-        if (meta.jsonError && this.#json) {
-          const json = {}
-          for (const item of this.#outputState.buffer) {
-            // index 2 skips the level and meta
-            Object.assign(json, tryJsonParse(item[2]))
-          }
-          this.#writeOutput(
-            output.KEYS.standard,
-            meta,
-            JSON.stringify({ ...json, error: meta.jsonError }, null, 2)
-          )
+        const json = this.#json ? mergeJson(meta, this.#outputState.buffer) : null
+        if (json) {
+          this.#writeOutput(output.KEYS.standard, meta, JSON.stringify(json, null, 2))
         } else {
           this.#outputState.buffer.forEach((item) => this.#writeOutput(...item))
         }
         this.#outputState.buffer.length = 0
         break
+      }
 
       case output.KEYS.buffer:
         this.#outputState.buffer.push([output.KEYS.standard, meta, ...args])
diff --git a/lib/utils/error-message.js b/lib/utils/error-message.js
index 3d1b18f29dab6..c484c1ab9c2b6 100644
--- a/lib/utils/error-message.js
+++ b/lib/utils/error-message.js
@@ -4,21 +4,17 @@ const { redactLog: replaceInfo } = require('@npmcli/redact')
 const { log } = require('proc-log')
 
 const errorMessage = (er, npm) => {
-  const short = []
+  const summary = []
   const detail = []
   const files = []
 
-  if (er.message) {
-    er.message = replaceInfo(er.message)
-  }
-  if (er.stack) {
-    er.stack = replaceInfo(er.stack)
-  }
+  er.message &&= replaceInfo(er.message)
+  er.stack &&= replaceInfo(er.stack)
 
   switch (er.code) {
     case 'ERESOLVE': {
       const { report } = require('./explain-eresolve.js')
-      short.push(['ERESOLVE', er.message])
+      summary.push(['ERESOLVE', er.message])
       detail.push(['', ''])
       // XXX(display): error messages are logged so we use the logColor since that is based
       // on stderr. This should be handled solely by the display layer so it could also be
@@ -31,25 +27,23 @@ const errorMessage = (er, npm) => {
 
     case 'ENOLOCK': {
       const cmd = npm.command || ''
-      short.push([cmd, 'This command requires an existing lockfile.'])
+      summary.push([cmd, 'This command requires an existing lockfile.'])
       detail.push([cmd, 'Try creating one first with: npm i --package-lock-only'])
       detail.push([cmd, `Original error: ${er.message}`])
       break
     }
 
     case 'ENOAUDIT':
-      short.push(['audit', er.message])
+      summary.push(['audit', er.message])
       break
 
     case 'ECONNREFUSED':
-      short.push(['', er])
-      detail.push([
+      summary.push(['', er])
+      detail.push(['', [
         '',
-        [
-          '\nIf you are behind a proxy, please make sure that the',
-          "'proxy' config is set properly.  See: 'npm help config'",
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
+        'If you are behind a proxy, please make sure that the',
+        "'proxy' config is set properly.  See: 'npm help config'",
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'EACCES':
@@ -62,48 +56,41 @@ const errorMessage = (er, npm) => {
       if (process.platform !== 'win32' && (isCachePath || isCacheDest)) {
         // user probably doesn't need this, but still add it to the debug log
         log.verbose(er.stack)
-        short.push([
+        summary.push(['', [
           '',
-          [
-            '',
-            'Your cache folder contains root-owned files, due to a bug in',
-            'previous versions of npm which has since been addressed.',
-            '',
-            'To permanently fix this problem, please run:',
-            `  sudo chown -R ${process.getuid()}:${process.getgid()} ${JSON.stringify(
-              npm.config.get('cache')
-            )}`,
-          ].join('\n'),
-        ])
+          'Your cache folder contains root-owned files, due to a bug in',
+          'previous versions of npm which has since been addressed.',
+          '',
+          'To permanently fix this problem, please run:',
+          `  sudo chown -R ${process.getuid()}:${process.getgid()} "${npm.config.get('cache')}"`,
+        ].join('\n')])
       } else {
-        short.push(['', er])
-        detail.push([
+        summary.push(['', er])
+        detail.push(['', [
+          '',
+          'The operation was rejected by your operating system.',
+          ...process.platform === 'win32' ? [
+            "It's possible that the file was already in use (by a text editor or antivirus),",
+            'or that you lack permissions to access it.',
+          ] : [
+            'It is likely you do not have the permissions to access this file as the current user',
+          ],
           '',
-          [
-            '\nThe operation was rejected by your operating system.',
-            process.platform === 'win32'
-              /* eslint-disable-next-line max-len */
-              ? "It's possible that the file was already in use (by a text editor or antivirus),\n" +
-                'or that you lack permissions to access it.'
-              /* eslint-disable-next-line max-len */
-              : 'It is likely you do not have the permissions to access this file as the current user',
-            '\nIf you believe this might be a permissions issue, please double-check the',
-            'permissions of the file and its containing directories, or try running',
-            'the command again as root/Administrator.',
-          ].join('\n'),
-        ])
+          'If you believe this might be a permissions issue, please double-check the',
+          'permissions of the file and its containing directories, or try running',
+          'the command again as root/Administrator.',
+        ].join('\n')])
       }
       break
     }
 
     case 'ENOGIT':
-      short.push(['', er.message])
-      detail.push([
+      summary.push(['', er.message])
+      detail.push(['', [
         '',
-        ['', 'Failed using git.', 'Please check if you have git installed and in your PATH.'].join(
-          '\n'
-        ),
-      ])
+        'Failed using git.',
+        'Please check if you have git installed and in your PATH.',
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'EJSONPARSE':
@@ -112,82 +99,68 @@ const errorMessage = (er, npm) => {
         const { isDiff } = require('parse-conflict-json')
         const txt = require('fs').readFileSync(er.path, 'utf8').replace(/\r\n/g, '\n')
         if (isDiff(txt)) {
-          detail.push([
+          detail.push(['', [
+            'Merge conflict detected in your package.json.',
             '',
-            [
-              'Merge conflict detected in your package.json.',
-              '',
-              'Please resolve the package.json conflict and retry.',
-            ].join('\n'),
-          ])
+            'Please resolve the package.json conflict and retry.',
+          ].join('\n')])
           break
         }
       }
-      short.push(['JSON.parse', er.message])
-      detail.push([
-        'JSON.parse',
-        [
-          'Failed to parse JSON data.',
-          'Note: package.json must be actual JSON, not just JavaScript.',
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['JSON.parse', er.message])
+      detail.push(['JSON.parse', [
+        'Failed to parse JSON data.',
+        'Note: package.json must be actual JSON, not just JavaScript.',
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'EOTP':
     case 'E401':
       // E401 is for places where we accidentally neglect OTP stuff
       if (er.code === 'EOTP' || /one-time pass/.test(er.message)) {
-        short.push(['', 'This operation requires a one-time password from your authenticator.'])
-        detail.push([
-          '',
-          [
-            'You can provide a one-time password by passing --otp=<code> to the command you ran.',
-            'If you already provided a one-time password then it is likely that you either typoed',
-            'it, or it timed out. Please try again.',
-          ].join('\n'),
-        ])
+        summary.push(['', 'This operation requires a one-time password from your authenticator.'])
+        detail.push(['', [
+          'You can provide a one-time password by passing --otp=<code> to the command you ran.',
+          'If you already provided a one-time password then it is likely that you either typoed',
+          'it, or it timed out. Please try again.',
+        ].join('\n')])
       } else {
         // npm ERR! code E401
         // npm ERR! Unable to authenticate, need: Basic
-        const auth =
-          !er.headers || !er.headers['www-authenticate']
-            ? []
-            : er.headers['www-authenticate'].map(au => au.split(/[,\s]+/))[0]
+        const auth = !er.headers || !er.headers['www-authenticate']
+          ? []
+          : er.headers['www-authenticate'].map(au => au.split(/[,\s]+/))[0]
 
         if (auth.includes('Bearer')) {
-          short.push([
-            '',
+          summary.push(['',
             'Unable to authenticate, your authentication token seems to be invalid.',
           ])
-          detail.push([
-            '',
-            ['To correct this please try logging in again with:', '    npm login'].join('\n'),
-          ])
+          detail.push(['', [
+            'To correct this please try logging in again with:',
+            '  npm login',
+          ].join('\n')])
         } else if (auth.includes('Basic')) {
-          short.push(['', 'Incorrect or missing password.'])
-          detail.push([
+          summary.push(['', 'Incorrect or missing password.'])
+          detail.push(['', [
+            'If you were trying to login, change your password, create an',
+            'authentication token or enable two-factor authentication then',
+            'that means you likely typed your password in incorrectly.',
+            'Please try again, or recover your password at:',
+            '  https://www.npmjs.com/forgot',
             '',
-            [
-              'If you were trying to login, change your password, create an',
-              'authentication token or enable two-factor authentication then',
-              'that means you likely typed your password in incorrectly.',
-              'Please try again, or recover your password at:',
-              '    https://www.npmjs.com/forgot',
-              '',
-              'If you were doing some other operation then your saved credentials are',
-              'probably out of date. To correct this please try logging in again with:',
-              '    npm login',
-            ].join('\n'),
-          ])
+            'If you were doing some other operation then your saved credentials are',
+            'probably out of date. To correct this please try logging in again with:',
+            '  npm login',
+          ].join('\n')])
         } else {
-          short.push(['', er.message || er])
+          summary.push(['', er.message || er])
         }
       }
       break
 
     case 'E404':
       // There's no need to have 404 in the message as well.
-      short.push(['404', er.message.replace(/^404\s+/, '')])
+      summary.push(['404', er.message.replace(/^404\s+/, '')])
       if (er.pkgid && er.pkgid !== '-') {
         const pkg = er.pkgid.replace(/(?!^)@.*$/, '')
 
@@ -204,26 +177,27 @@ const errorMessage = (er, npm) => {
           errorsArray.forEach((item, idx) => detail.push(['404', ' ' + (idx + 1) + '. ' + item]))
         }
 
-        detail.push(['404', '\nNote that you can also install from a'])
+        detail.push(['404', ''])
+        detail.push(['404', 'Note that you can also install from a'])
         detail.push(['404', 'tarball, folder, http url, or git url.'])
       }
       break
 
     case 'EPUBLISHCONFLICT':
-      short.push(['publish fail', 'Cannot publish over existing version.'])
+      summary.push(['publish fail', 'Cannot publish over existing version.'])
       detail.push(['publish fail', "Update the 'version' field in package.json and try again."])
       detail.push(['publish fail', ''])
       detail.push(['publish fail', 'To automatically increment version numbers, see:'])
-      detail.push(['publish fail', '    npm help version'])
+      detail.push(['publish fail', '  npm help version'])
       break
 
     case 'EISGIT':
-      short.push(['git', er.message])
-      short.push(['git', '    ' + er.path])
-      detail.push([
-        'git',
-        ['Refusing to remove it. Update manually,', 'or move it out of the way first.'].join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['git', er.message])
+      summary.push(['git', `  ${er.path}`])
+      detail.push(['git', [
+        'Refusing to remove it. Update manually,',
+        'or move it out of the way first.',
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'EBADPLATFORM': {
@@ -255,33 +229,25 @@ const errorMessage = (er, npm) => {
         detailEntry.push(`Actual ${key}:${' '.repeat(padding)}${actual[key]}`)
       }
 
-      short.push([
-        'notsup',
-        [
-          format(
-            'Unsupported platform for %s: wanted %j (current: %j)',
-            er.pkgid,
-            expected,
-            actual
-          ),
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
-      detail.push([
-        'notsup',
-        detailEntry.join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['notsup', format(
+        'Unsupported platform for %s: wanted %j (current: %j)',
+        er.pkgid,
+        expected,
+        actual
+      )])
+      detail.push(['notsup', detailEntry.join('\n')])
       break
     }
 
     case 'EEXIST':
-      short.push(['', er.message])
-      short.push(['', 'File exists: ' + (er.dest || er.path)])
+      summary.push(['', er.message])
+      summary.push(['', 'File exists: ' + (er.dest || er.path)])
       detail.push(['', 'Remove the existing file and try again, or run npm'])
       detail.push(['', 'with --force to overwrite files recklessly.'])
       break
 
     case 'ENEEDAUTH':
-      short.push(['need auth', er.message])
+      summary.push(['need auth', er.message])
       detail.push(['need auth', 'You need to authorize this machine using `npm adduser`'])
       break
 
@@ -290,107 +256,81 @@ const errorMessage = (er, npm) => {
     case 'ETIMEDOUT':
     case 'ERR_SOCKET_TIMEOUT':
     case 'EAI_FAIL':
-      short.push(['network', er.message])
-      detail.push([
-        'network',
-        [
-          'This is a problem related to network connectivity.',
-          'In most cases you are behind a proxy or have bad network settings.',
-          '\nIf you are behind a proxy, please make sure that the',
-          "'proxy' config is set properly.  See: 'npm help config'",
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['network', er.message])
+      detail.push(['network', [
+        'This is a problem related to network connectivity.',
+        'In most cases you are behind a proxy or have bad network settings.',
+        '',
+        'If you are behind a proxy, please make sure that the',
+        "'proxy' config is set properly.  See: 'npm help config'",
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'ETARGET':
-      short.push(['notarget', er.message])
-      detail.push([
-        'notarget',
-        [
-          'In most cases you or one of your dependencies are requesting',
-          "a package version that doesn't exist.",
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['notarget', er.message])
+      detail.push(['notarget', [
+        'In most cases you or one of your dependencies are requesting',
+        "a package version that doesn't exist.",
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'E403':
-      short.push(['403', er.message])
-      detail.push([
-        '403',
-        [
-          'In most cases, you or one of your dependencies are requesting',
-          'a package version that is forbidden by your security policy, or',
-          'on a server you do not have access to.',
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['403', er.message])
+      detail.push(['403', [
+        'In most cases, you or one of your dependencies are requesting',
+        'a package version that is forbidden by your security policy, or',
+        'on a server you do not have access to.',
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'EBADENGINE':
-      short.push(['engine', er.message])
-      short.push(['engine', 'Not compatible with your version of node/npm: ' + er.pkgid])
-      detail.push([
-        'notsup',
-        [
-          'Not compatible with your version of node/npm: ' + er.pkgid,
-          'Required: ' + JSON.stringify(er.required),
-          'Actual:   ' +
-            JSON.stringify({
-              npm: npm.version,
-              node: process.version,
-            }),
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['engine', er.message])
+      summary.push(['engine', 'Not compatible with your version of node/npm: ' + er.pkgid])
+      detail.push(['notsup', [
+        'Not compatible with your version of node/npm: ' + er.pkgid,
+        'Required: ' + JSON.stringify(er.required),
+        'Actual:   ' +
+        JSON.stringify({ npm: npm.version, node: process.version }),
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'ENOSPC':
-      short.push(['nospc', er.message])
-      detail.push([
-        'nospc',
-        [
-          'There appears to be insufficient space on your system to finish.',
-          'Clear up some disk space and try again.',
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['nospc', er.message])
+      detail.push(['nospc', [
+        'There appears to be insufficient space on your system to finish.',
+        'Clear up some disk space and try again.',
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'EROFS':
-      short.push(['rofs', er.message])
-      detail.push([
-        'rofs',
-        [
-          'Often virtualized file systems, or other file systems',
-          "that don't support symlinks, give this error.",
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['rofs', er.message])
+      detail.push(['rofs', [
+        'Often virtualized file systems, or other file systems',
+        "that don't support symlinks, give this error.",
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'ENOENT':
-      short.push(['enoent', er.message])
-      detail.push([
-        'enoent',
-        [
-          'This is related to npm not being able to find a file.',
-          er.file ? "\nCheck if the file '" + er.file + "' is present." : '',
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['enoent', er.message])
+      detail.push(['enoent', [
+        'This is related to npm not being able to find a file.',
+        er.file ? `\nCheck if the file '${er.file}' is present.` : '',
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     case 'EMISSINGARG':
     case 'EUNKNOWNTYPE':
     case 'EINVALIDTYPE':
     case 'ETOOMANYARGS':
-      short.push(['typeerror', er.stack])
-      detail.push([
-        'typeerror',
-        [
-          'This is an error with npm itself. Please report this error at:',
-          '    https://github.com/npm/cli/issues',
-        ].join('\n'),
-      ])
+      summary.push(['typeerror', er.stack])
+      detail.push(['typeerror', [
+        'This is an error with npm itself. Please report this error at:',
+        '  https://github.com/npm/cli/issues',
+      ].join('\n')])
       break
 
     default:
-      short.push(['', er.message || er])
+      summary.push(['', er.message || er])
       if (er.cause) {
         detail.push(['cause', er.cause.message])
       }
@@ -408,7 +348,12 @@ const errorMessage = (er, npm) => {
       }
       break
   }
-  return { summary: short, detail, files }
+
+  return {
+    summary,
+    detail,
+    files,
+  }
 }
 
 const getExitCodeFromError = (err) => {
@@ -419,7 +364,77 @@ const getExitCodeFromError = (err) => {
   }
 }
 
+const getError = (err, { npm, command, pkg }) => {
+  // if we got a command that just shells out to something else, then it
+  // will presumably print its own errors and exit with a proper status
+  // code if there's a problem.  If we got an error with a code=0, then...
+  // something else went wrong along the way, so maybe an npm problem?
+  if (command?.constructor?.isShellout && typeof err.code === 'number' && err.code) {
+    return {
+      exitCode: err.code,
+      suppressError: true,
+    }
+  }
+
+  // XXX: we should stop throwing strings
+  if (typeof err === 'string') {
+    return {
+      exitCode: 1,
+      suppressError: true,
+      summary: [['', err]],
+    }
+  }
+
+  // XXX: we should stop throwing other non-errors
+  if (!(err instanceof Error)) {
+    return {
+      exitCode: 1,
+      suppressError: true,
+      summary: [['weird error', err]],
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (err.code === 'EUNKNOWNCOMMAND') {
+    const suggestions = require('./did-you-mean.js')(pkg, err.command)
+    return {
+      exitCode: 1,
+      suppressError: true,
+      standard: [
+        `Unknown command: "${err.command}"`,
+        suggestions,
+        'To see a list of supported npm commands, run:',
+        '  npm help',
+      ],
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Anything after this is not suppressed and get more logged information
+
+  // add a code to the error if it doesnt have one and mutate some properties
+  // so they have redacted information
+  err.code ??= err.message.match(/^(?:Error: )?(E[A-Z]+)/)?.[1]
+  // this mutates the error and redacts stack/message
+  const { summary, detail, files } = errorMessage(err, npm)
+
+  return {
+    err,
+    code: err.code,
+    exitCode: getExitCodeFromError(err) || 1,
+    suppressError: false,
+    summary,
+    detail,
+    files,
+    verbose: ['type', 'stack', 'statusCode', 'pkgid']
+      .filter(k => err[k])
+      .map(k => [k, replaceInfo(err[k])]),
+    error: ['code', 'syscall', 'file', 'path', 'dest', 'errno']
+      .filter(k => err[k])
+      .map(k => [k, err[k]]),
+  }
+}
+
 module.exports = {
   getExitCodeFromError,
   errorMessage,
+  getError,
 }
diff --git a/lib/utils/output-error.js b/lib/utils/output-error.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..27128e9f03a8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/utils/output-error.js
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+const { log, output } = require('proc-log')
+
+const outputError = ({ standard = [], verbose = [], error = [], summary = [], detail = [] }) => {
+  for (const line of standard) {
+    // Each output line is just a single string
+    output.standard(line)
+  }
+  for (const line of verbose) {
+    log.verbose(...line)
+  }
+  for (const line of [...error, ...summary, ...detail]) {
+    log.error(...line)
+  }
+}
+
+const jsonError = (error, npm) => {
+  if (error && npm?.loaded && npm?.config.get('json')) {
+    return {
+      code: error.code,
+      summary: (error.summary || []).map(l => l.slice(1).join(' ')).join('\n').trim(),
+      detail: (error.detail || []).map(l => l.slice(1).join(' ')).join('\n').trim(),
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  outputError,
+  jsonError,
+}
diff --git a/tap-snapshots/test/lib/utils/error-message.js.test.cjs b/tap-snapshots/test/lib/utils/error-message.js.test.cjs
index ab0f5501deb62..4cfd91fd278cd 100644
--- a/tap-snapshots/test/lib/utils/error-message.js.test.cjs
+++ b/tap-snapshots/test/lib/utils/error-message.js.test.cjs
@@ -28,10 +28,11 @@ Object {
     ],
     Array [
       "404",
-      String(
-        
-        Note that you can also install from a
-      ),
+      "",
+    ],
+    Array [
+      "404",
+      "Note that you can also install from a",
     ],
     Array [
       "404",
@@ -70,10 +71,11 @@ Object {
     ],
     Array [
       "404",
-      String(
-        
-        Note that you can also install from a
-      ),
+      "",
+    ],
+    Array [
+      "404",
+      "Note that you can also install from a",
     ],
     Array [
       "404",
@@ -112,10 +114,11 @@ Object {
     ],
     Array [
       "404",
-      String(
-        
-        Note that you can also install from a
-      ),
+      "",
+    ],
+    Array [
+      "404",
+      "Note that you can also install from a",
     ],
     Array [
       "404",
@@ -157,10 +160,11 @@ Object {
     ],
     Array [
       "404",
-      String(
-        
-        Note that you can also install from a
-      ),
+      "",
+    ],
+    Array [
+      "404",
+      "Note that you can also install from a",
     ],
     Array [
       "404",
@@ -1021,11 +1025,11 @@ Object {
         authentication token or enable two-factor authentication then
         that means you likely typed your password in incorrectly.
         Please try again, or recover your password at:
-            https://www.npmjs.com/forgot
+          https://www.npmjs.com/forgot
         
         If you were doing some other operation then your saved credentials are
         probably out of date. To correct this please try logging in again with:
-            npm login
+          npm login
       ),
     ],
   ],
@@ -1045,7 +1049,7 @@ Object {
       "",
       String(
         To correct this please try logging in again with:
-            npm login
+          npm login
       ),
     ],
   ],
@@ -1283,7 +1287,7 @@ Object {
       "typeerror",
       String(
         This is an error with npm itself. Please report this error at:
-            https://github.com/npm/cli/issues
+          https://github.com/npm/cli/issues
       ),
     ],
   ],
@@ -1303,7 +1307,7 @@ Object {
       "typeerror",
       String(
         This is an error with npm itself. Please report this error at:
-            https://github.com/npm/cli/issues
+          https://github.com/npm/cli/issues
       ),
     ],
   ],
@@ -1323,7 +1327,7 @@ Object {
       "typeerror",
       String(
         This is an error with npm itself. Please report this error at:
-            https://github.com/npm/cli/issues
+          https://github.com/npm/cli/issues
       ),
     ],
   ],
@@ -1364,7 +1368,7 @@ Object {
       "typeerror",
       String(
         This is an error with npm itself. Please report this error at:
-            https://github.com/npm/cli/issues
+          https://github.com/npm/cli/issues
       ),
     ],
   ],
@@ -1505,7 +1509,7 @@ Object {
     ],
     Array [
       "publish fail",
-      "    npm help version",
+      "  npm help version",
     ],
   ],
   "summary": Array [
@@ -1535,7 +1539,7 @@ Object {
     ],
     Array [
       "git",
-      "    /some/path",
+      "  /some/path",
     ],
   ],
 }
diff --git a/test/lib/cli/exit-handler.js b/test/lib/cli/exit-handler.js
index a95ac75e56c14..0077596fab642 100644
--- a/test/lib/cli/exit-handler.js
+++ b/test/lib/cli/exit-handler.js
@@ -74,6 +74,10 @@ const mockExitHandler = async (t, {
       ...errorMessage.errorMessage(err),
       ...(files ? { files } : {}),
     }),
+    getError: (...args) => ({
+      ...errorMessage.getError(...args),
+      ...(files ? { files } : {}),
+    }),
   }
 
   if (error) {
diff --git a/test/lib/npm.js b/test/lib/npm.js
index 6525708dc5795..a4f12f01c500a 100644
--- a/test/lib/npm.js
+++ b/test/lib/npm.js
@@ -561,9 +561,9 @@ t.test('usage', async t => {
 })
 
 t.test('print usage if non-command param provided', async t => {
-  const { npm, outputs } = await loadMockNpm(t)
+  const { npm, joinedOutput } = await loadMockNpm(t)
 
   await t.rejects(npm.exec('tset'), { command: 'tset', exitCode: 1 })
-  t.match(outputs[0], 'Unknown command: "tset"')
-  t.match(outputs[0], 'Did you mean this?')
+  t.match(joinedOutput(), 'Unknown command: "tset"')
+  t.match(joinedOutput(), 'Did you mean this?')
 })
diff --git a/test/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js b/test/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js
index d111c2f002960..752999bf9c143 100644
--- a/test/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js
+++ b/test/lib/utils/did-you-mean.js
@@ -1,54 +1,47 @@
 const t = require('tap')
-
 const dym = require('../../../lib/utils/did-you-mean.js')
 
 t.test('did-you-mean', async t => {
   t.test('with package.json', async t => {
-    const testdir = t.testdir({
-      'package.json': JSON.stringify({
-        bin: {
-          npx: 'exists',
-        },
-        scripts: {
-          install: 'exists',
-          posttest: 'exists',
-        },
-      }),
-    })
+    const pkg = {
+      bin: {
+        npx: 'exists',
+      },
+      scripts: {
+        install: 'exists',
+        posttest: 'exists',
+      },
+    }
     t.test('nistall', async t => {
-      const result = await dym(testdir, 'nistall')
+      const result = dym(pkg, 'nistall')
       t.match(result, 'npm install')
     })
     t.test('sttest', async t => {
-      const result = await dym(testdir, 'sttest')
+      const result = dym(pkg, 'sttest')
       t.match(result, 'npm test')
       t.match(result, 'npm run posttest')
     })
     t.test('npz', async t => {
-      const result = await dym(testdir, 'npxx')
+      const result = dym(pkg, 'npxx')
       t.match(result, 'npm exec npx')
     })
     t.test('qwuijbo', async t => {
-      const result = await dym(testdir, 'qwuijbo')
+      const result = dym(pkg, 'qwuijbo')
       t.match(result, '')
     })
   })
   t.test('with no package.json', t => {
-    const testdir = t.testdir({})
     t.test('nistall', async t => {
-      const result = await dym(testdir, 'nistall')
+      const result = dym(null, 'nistall')
       t.match(result, 'npm install')
     })
     t.end()
   })
   t.test('missing bin and script properties', async t => {
-    const testdir = t.testdir({
-      'package.json': JSON.stringify({
-        name: 'missing-bin',
-      }),
-    })
-
-    const result = await dym(testdir, 'nistall')
+    const pkg = {
+      name: 'missing-bin',
+    }
+    const result = dym(pkg, 'nistall')
     t.match(result, 'npm install')
   })
 })
diff --git a/test/lib/utils/error-message.js b/test/lib/utils/error-message.js
index 55b6053985a8c..c99971fd41233 100644
--- a/test/lib/utils/error-message.js
+++ b/test/lib/utils/error-message.js
@@ -93,17 +93,12 @@ t.test('just simple messages', async t => {
 
 t.test('replace message/stack sensistive info', async t => {
   const { errorMessage } = await loadMockNpm(t, { command: 'audit' })
-  const path = '/some/path'
-  const pkgid = 'some@package'
-  const file = '/some/file'
-  const stack = 'dummy stack trace at https://user:pass@registry.npmjs.org/'
-  const message = 'Error at registry: https://user:pass@registry.npmjs.org/'
-  const er = Object.assign(new Error(message), {
+  const er = Object.assign(new Error('Error at registry: https://user:pass@registry.npmjs.org/'), {
     code: 'ENOAUDIT',
-    path,
-    pkgid,
-    file,
-    stack,
+    path: '/some/path',
+    pkgid: 'some@package',
+    file: '/some/file',
+    stack: 'dummy stack trace at https://user:pass@registry.npmjs.org/',
   })
   t.matchSnapshot(errorMessage(er))
 })