diff --git a/src/codegen/llvm/bindings.zig b/src/codegen/llvm/bindings.zig
index e4f4d6eafefcca250babb49e4a907eba22866d22..a312285db3310ba0fc69dffe55d56e484c293e50 100644
--- a/src/codegen/llvm/bindings.zig
+++ b/src/codegen/llvm/bindings.zig
@@ -331,6 +331,8 @@ extern fn ZigLLVMWriteArchive(
     file_names_ptr: [*]const [*:0]const u8,
     file_names_len: usize,
     archive_kind: ArchiveKind,
+    err_file_index_out: *usize,
+    err_msg_out: *[*:0]u8,
 ) bool;
 
 pub const ParseCommandLineOptions = ZigLLVMParseCommandLineOptions;
diff --git a/src/link/Lld.zig b/src/link/Lld.zig
index 04ffde350e146aa96a338a62aa953c51f501686f..cf64d3fd5bc51817cc86a7554ac65ee7aa53e373 100644
--- a/src/link/Lld.zig
+++ b/src/link/Lld.zig
@@ -269,12 +269,12 @@ pub fn flush(
         .wasm => wasmLink(lld, arena),
     };
     result catch |err| switch (err) {
-        error.OutOfMemory, error.AlreadyReported => |e| return e,
+        error.OutOfMemory, error.AlreadyReported, error.Canceled => |e| return e,
         else => |e| return lld.base.comp.link_diags.fail("failed to link with LLD: {t}", .{e}),
     };
 }
 
-fn linkAsArchive(lld: *Lld, arena: Allocator) !void {
+fn linkAsArchive(lld: *Lld, arena: Allocator) link.Error!void {
     const base = &lld.base;
     const comp = base.comp;
     const directory = base.emit.root_dir; // Just an alias to make it shorter to type.
@@ -338,7 +338,9 @@ fn linkAsArchive(lld: *Lld, arena: Allocator) !void {
     const llvm = @import("../codegen/llvm.zig");
     const target = &comp.root_mod.resolved_target.result;
     llvm.initializeLLVMTarget(target.cpu.arch);
-    const bad = llvm_bindings.WriteArchive(
+    var err_file_index: usize = undefined;
+    var err_msg: [*:0]u8 = undefined;
+    if (llvm_bindings.WriteArchive(
         full_out_path_z,
         object_files.items.ptr,
         object_files.items.len,
@@ -346,8 +348,19 @@ fn linkAsArchive(lld: *Lld, arena: Allocator) !void {
             .windows => .COFF,
             else => if (target.os.tag.isDarwin()) .DARWIN else .GNU,
         },
-    );
-    if (bad) return error.UnableToWriteArchive;
+        &err_file_index,
+        &err_msg,
+    )) {
+        defer std.c.free(err_msg);
+        if (err_file_index < object_files.items.len) {
+            return comp.link_diags.fail("LLD failed to open input file '{s}': {s}", .{
+                object_files.items[err_file_index],
+                err_msg,
+            });
+        } else {
+            return comp.link_diags.fail("LLD failed to write archive: {s}", .{err_msg});
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 fn addCommonArgs(argv: *std.array_list.Managed([]const u8), coff: bool) !void {
diff --git a/src/zig_llvm.cpp b/src/zig_llvm.cpp
index 9bba8e96d5107c6bf20ea2fd7f15e3df243d5bac..6b3ff4a5fbe626b37c0a49f7b734564c6563201e 100644
--- a/src/zig_llvm.cpp
+++ b/src/zig_llvm.cpp
@@ -473,19 +473,32 @@ void ZigLLVMParseCommandLineOptions(size_t argc, const char *const *argv) {
 }
 
 bool ZigLLVMWriteArchive(const char *archive_name, const char **file_names, size_t file_name_count,
-    ZigLLVMArchiveKind archive_kind)
+    ZigLLVMArchiveKind archive_kind, size_t *err_file_index_out, char **err_msg_out)
 {
     SmallVector<NewArchiveMember, 4> new_members;
     for (size_t i = 0; i < file_name_count; i += 1) {
         Expected<NewArchiveMember> new_member = NewArchiveMember::getFile(file_names[i], true);
         Error err = new_member.takeError();
-        if (err) return true;
+        if (err) {
+            *err_file_index_out = i;
+            const std::string msg = toString(std::move(err));
+            *err_msg_out = (char *)malloc(msg.length() + 1);
+            strcpy(*err_msg_out, msg.c_str());
+            return true;
+        }
         new_members.push_back(std::move(*new_member));
     }
     Error err = writeArchive(archive_name, new_members,
         SymtabWritingMode::NormalSymtab, static_cast<object::Archive::Kind>(archive_kind), true, false, nullptr);
 
-    if (err) return true;
+    if (err) {
+        *err_file_index_out = file_name_count;
+        const std::string msg = toString(std::move(err));
+        *err_msg_out = (char *)malloc(msg.length() + 1);
+        strcpy(*err_msg_out, msg.c_str());
+        return true;
+    }
+
     return false;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/zig_llvm.h b/src/zig_llvm.h
index 64da388d477bfed46e0c4ae2e7da1cd16c73ce57..79ba0272df2f73743705ac832f5d508b5099542d 100644
--- a/src/zig_llvm.h
+++ b/src/zig_llvm.h
@@ -121,7 +121,12 @@ ZIG_EXTERN_C bool ZigLLDLinkCOFF(int argc, const char **argv, bool can_exit_earl
 ZIG_EXTERN_C bool ZigLLDLinkELF(int argc, const char **argv, bool can_exit_early, bool disable_output);
 ZIG_EXTERN_C bool ZigLLDLinkWasm(int argc, const char **argv, bool can_exit_early, bool disable_output);
 
+// On error, populates `*err_file_index_out` and `*err_msg_out` and returns `true`. The caller is
+// responsible for freeing `*err_msg_out` using `free`.
+//
+// If an error occurs reading an input file, `*err_file_index_out` is set to the index of that input
+// file in `file_names`. Otherwise, `*err_file_index_out` is set to `file_name_count`.
 ZIG_EXTERN_C bool ZigLLVMWriteArchive(const char *archive_name, const char **file_names, size_t file_name_count,
-    ZigLLVMArchiveKind archive_kind);
+    ZigLLVMArchiveKind archive_kind, size_t *err_file_index_out, char **err_msg_out);
 
 #endif