diff --git a/packages/core/src/agent/tools/data/finance/api.ts b/packages/core/src/agent/tools/data/finance/api.ts
index 367927a1..ab0a3a22 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/agent/tools/data/finance/api.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/agent/tools/data/finance/api.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ export async function financeFetch<T = Record<string, unknown>>(
   params: Record<string, string | string[] | number | boolean | undefined>,
   signal?: AbortSignal,
 ): Promise<{ data: T; url: string }> {
-  const authHeaders = getAuthHeaders();
+  const authHeaders = getAuthHeaders("to use financial data tools");
 
   const url = new URL(PATH_PREFIX + path, API_BASE_URL);
   for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(params)) {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/agent/tools/web/web-search.ts b/packages/core/src/agent/tools/web/web-search.ts
index 3b508b26..67558acc 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/agent/tools/web/web-search.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/agent/tools/web/web-search.ts
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ async function runDevvSearch(params: {
     snippet: string;
   }>;
 }> {
-  const authHeaders = getAuthHeaders();
+  const authHeaders = getAuthHeaders("to use web search");
 
   const res = await fetch(`${API_BASE_URL}${WEB_SEARCH_PATH}`, {
     method: "POST",
diff --git a/packages/core/src/hub/api-client.ts b/packages/core/src/hub/api-client.ts
index a622c67a..273ec258 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/hub/api-client.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/hub/api-client.ts
@@ -5,12 +5,16 @@ export const API_BASE_URL = "https://api-dev.copilothub.ai";
 /**
  * Return auth headers for the proxy API.
  * Throws if the user is not logged in.
+ *
+ * @param context - Optional feature name appended to the error message
+ *                  (e.g. "to use web search").
  */
-export function getAuthHeaders(): Record<string, string> {
+export function getAuthHeaders(context?: string): Record<string, string> {
   const auth = getLocalAuth();
   if (!auth) {
+    const suffix = context ? ` ${context}` : "";
     throw new Error(
-      "Not logged in. Please sign in via the Desktop app.",
+      `Not logged in. Please sign in via the Desktop app${suffix}.`,
     );
   }
   return {