diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 5ede2e4b49e..8526adb35bc 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@
 
 - The compiler will now raise warning for inefficient use of `list.length()`
   when trying to check is list empty via `0 < list.length(list)` or
-`list.length(list) > 0` as well as in other cases. For example, the following
+  `list.length(list) > 0` as well as in other cases. For example, the following
   code:
 
   ```gleam
@@ -343,3 +343,7 @@
 - Fixed a bug where adding `echo` to the subject of a `case` expression would
   prevent variant inference from working correctly.
   ([Surya Rose](https://github.com/GearsDatapacks))
+
+- Added an error message when attempting to update packages that are not dependencies
+  of the project, instead of failing silently.
+  ([Etienne Boutet](https://github.com/EtienneBoutet))
diff --git a/compiler-cli/src/dependencies.rs b/compiler-cli/src/dependencies.rs
index 4c44a6b1071..60ee48d70e0 100644
--- a/compiler-cli/src/dependencies.rs
+++ b/compiler-cli/src/dependencies.rs
@@ -225,6 +225,9 @@ pub fn update(paths: &ProjectPaths, packages: Vec<String>) -> Result<()> {
         UseManifest::Yes
     };
 
+    let manifest = read_manifest_from_disc(paths)?;
+    assert_packages_exist_locally(&manifest, packages.clone())?;
+
     // Update specific packages
     _ = download(
         paths,
@@ -240,6 +243,24 @@ pub fn update(paths: &ProjectPaths, packages: Vec<String>) -> Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+pub fn assert_packages_exist_locally(manifest: &Manifest, packages: Vec<String>) -> Result<()> {
+    let missing_packages: Vec<String> = packages
+        .iter()
+        .filter(|package_name| {
+            let package_name_eco = EcoString::from(package_name.as_str());
+            !manifest.packages.iter().any(|p| p.name == package_name_eco)
+        })
+        .cloned()
+        .collect();
+
+    if !missing_packages.is_empty() {
+        return Err(Error::PackagesToUpdateNotExist {
+            packages: missing_packages,
+        });
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 /// Edit the manifest.toml file in this proejct, removing all extra requirements and packages
 /// that are no longer present in the gleam.toml config.
 pub fn cleanup<Telem: Telemetry>(paths: &ProjectPaths, telemetry: Telem) -> Result<Manifest> {
diff --git a/compiler-cli/src/dependencies/tests.rs b/compiler-cli/src/dependencies/tests.rs
index 8ec847c6393..312c840305a 100644
--- a/compiler-cli/src/dependencies/tests.rs
+++ b/compiler-cli/src/dependencies/tests.rs
@@ -1347,3 +1347,32 @@ fn test_pretty_print_major_versions_available() {
 
     insta::assert_snapshot!(output);
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn test_assert_packages_exist_locally() {
+    let manifest = Manifest {
+        requirements: HashMap::from([
+            (
+                "existing_package".into(),
+                Requirement::hex("~>1.0").unwrap(),
+            ),
+            ("dev_package".into(), Requirement::hex("~>2.0").unwrap()),
+        ]),
+        packages: vec![
+            manifest_package("existing_package", "1.0.0", vec![]),
+            manifest_package("dev_package", "2.0.0", vec![]),
+        ],
+    };
+
+    assert!(assert_packages_exist_locally(&manifest, vec!["existing_package".to_string()]).is_ok());
+    assert!(assert_packages_exist_locally(&manifest, vec!["dev_package".to_string()]).is_ok());
+
+    let result = assert_packages_exist_locally(&manifest, vec!["nonexisting_package".to_string()]);
+    assert!(result.is_err());
+    match result {
+        Err(Error::PackagesToUpdateNotExist { packages }) => {
+            assert_eq!(packages, vec!["nonexisting_package".to_string()]);
+        }
+        _ => panic!("Expected PackagesToUpdateNotExist error"),
+    }
+}
diff --git a/compiler-core/src/error.rs b/compiler-core/src/error.rs
index d2e3e7f308b..751a5fae979 100644
--- a/compiler-core/src/error.rs
+++ b/compiler-core/src/error.rs
@@ -205,6 +205,9 @@ file_names.iter().map(|x| x.as_str()).join(", "))]
     #[error("Packages not exist: {}", packages.iter().join(", "))]
     RemovedPackagesNotExist { packages: Vec<String> },
 
+    #[error("Packages to update not exist: {}", packages.iter().join(", "))]
+    PackagesToUpdateNotExist { packages: Vec<String> },
+
     #[error("unable to find project root")]
     UnableToFindProjectRoot { path: String },
 
@@ -958,6 +961,24 @@ If you want to overwrite these files, delete them and run the command again.
                     "These packages are not dependencies of your package so they could not
 be removed.
 
+{}
+",
+                    packages
+                        .iter()
+                        .map(|p| format!("  - {}", p.as_str()))
+                        .join("\n")
+                ),
+                level: Level::Error,
+                hint: None,
+                location: None,
+            }],
+
+            Error::PackagesToUpdateNotExist { packages } => vec![Diagnostic {
+                title: "Packages not found".into(),
+                text: format!(
+                    "These packages are not dependencies of your package so they could not
+be updated.
+
 {}
 ",
                     packages