diff --git a/src/fastapi_cli/discover.py b/src/fastapi_cli/discover.py
index f442438a..221fb5c0 100644
--- a/src/fastapi_cli/discover.py
+++ b/src/fastapi_cli/discover.py
@@ -17,8 +17,14 @@
 
 try:
     from fastapi import FastAPI
-except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
+except ImportError as err:  # pragma: no cover
     FastAPI = None  # type: ignore[misc, assignment]
+    raise FastAPICLIException(
+        "Could not import FastAPI. Please install it with:\n"
+        "pip install fastapi\n\n"
+        "For full features, install with:\n"
+        "pip install 'fastapi[all]'"
+    ) from err
 
 
 def get_default_path() -> Path:
@@ -37,7 +43,14 @@ def get_default_path() -> Path:
             return path
 
     raise FastAPICLIException(
-        "Could not find a default file to run, please provide an explicit path"
+        "Could not find a default FastAPI app file. Please ensure one of the following files exists:\n"
+        "- main.py\n"
+        "- app.py\n"
+        "- api.py\n"
+        "- app/main.py\n"
+        "- app/app.py\n"
+        "- app/api.py\n\n"
+        "Or provide an explicit path to your FastAPI app file using: fastapi run your_app.py"
     )
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_utils_default_dir.py b/tests/test_utils_default_dir.py
index 26652035..8e005129 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils_default_dir.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils_default_dir.py
@@ -83,6 +83,6 @@ def test_app_dir_non_default() -> None:
         with pytest.raises(FastAPICLIException) as e:
             get_import_string()
         assert (
-            "Could not find a default file to run, please provide an explicit path"
+            "Could not find a default FastAPI app file. Please ensure one of the following files exists"
             in e.value.args[0]
         )
diff --git a/tests/test_utils_default_file.py b/tests/test_utils_default_file.py
index f5c87c8f..d0cf50dc 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils_default_file.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils_default_file.py
@@ -98,6 +98,6 @@ def test_non_default_file(capsys: CaptureFixture[str]) -> None:
         with pytest.raises(FastAPICLIException) as e:
             get_import_string()
         assert (
-            "Could not find a default file to run, please provide an explicit path"
+            "Could not find a default FastAPI app file. Please ensure one of the following files exists"
             in e.value.args[0]
         )