diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3c134b59..d05d0666 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Added
 - smoother large file download&proxy support (#463)
+- Add GitHub API errors to clarify what failed (#464)
 
 ### Fixed
 - When queriying GitHub for the list of releases, retrieve more items (#462)
diff --git a/src/error.rs b/src/error.rs
index d3452070..e3920b9d 100644
--- a/src/error.rs
+++ b/src/error.rs
@@ -7,8 +7,12 @@ pub enum Error {
     CreateDirectory(String),
 
     #[diagnostic(code(espup::toolchain::rust::query_github))]
-    #[error("Failed to query GitHub API")]
-    GithubQuery,
+    #[error("Failed to query GitHub API: Rate Limiting")]
+    GithubRateLimit,
+
+    #[diagnostic(code(espup::toolchain::rust::query_github))]
+    #[error("Failed to query GitHub API: Invalid Github token")]
+    GithubTokenInvalid,
 
     #[diagnostic(code(espup::toolchain::rust::install_riscv_target))]
     #[error("Failed to Install RISC-V targets for '{0}' toolchain")]
diff --git a/src/toolchain/mod.rs b/src/toolchain/mod.rs
index 69652007..01f030e5 100644
--- a/src/toolchain/mod.rs
+++ b/src/toolchain/mod.rs
@@ -233,7 +233,10 @@ pub async fn install(args: InstallOpts, install_mode: InstallMode) -> Result<()>
             toolchain_version.clone()
         }
     } else {
-        XtensaRust::get_latest_version().await?
+        // Get the latest version of the Xtensa Rust toolchain. If that fails, return an error::GithubTokenInvalid
+        XtensaRust::get_latest_version()
+            .await
+            .map_err(|_| Error::GithubTokenInvalid)?
     };
     let toolchain_dir = get_rustup_home().join("toolchains").join(args.name);
     let llvm: Llvm = Llvm::new(
@@ -364,6 +367,7 @@ pub fn github_query(url: &str) -> Result<serde_json::Value, Error> {
         header::ACCEPT,
         "application/vnd.github+json".parse().unwrap(),
     );
+
     headers.insert("X-GitHub-Api-Version", "2022-11-28".parse().unwrap());
     if let Some(token) = env::var_os("GITHUB_TOKEN") {
         debug!("Auth header added");
@@ -375,23 +379,27 @@ pub fn github_query(url: &str) -> Result<serde_json::Value, Error> {
         );
     }
     let client = build_proxy_blocking_client()?;
-    let json = retry(
+    let json: Result<serde_json::Value, Error> = retry(
         Fixed::from_millis(100).take(5),
         || -> Result<serde_json::Value, Error> {
             let res = client.get(url).headers(headers.clone()).send()?.text()?;
             if res.contains(
                 "https://docs.github.com/rest/overview/resources-in-the-rest-api#rate-limiting",
             ) {
-                warn!("GitHub rate limit exceeded");
-                return Err(Error::GithubQuery);
+                return Err(Error::GithubRateLimit);
             }
+
+            if res.contains("Bad credentials") {
+                return Err(Error::GithubTokenInvalid);
+            }
+
             let json: serde_json::Value =
                 serde_json::from_str(&res).map_err(|_| Error::SerializeJson)?;
             Ok(json)
         },
     )
-    .unwrap();
-    Ok(json)
+    .map_err(|err| err.error);
+    json
 }
 
 /// Checks if the directory exists and deletes it if it does.
diff --git a/src/toolchain/rust.rs b/src/toolchain/rust.rs
index fb5b7678..05c83750 100644
--- a/src/toolchain/rust.rs
+++ b/src/toolchain/rust.rs
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ use tokio::fs::{remove_dir_all, remove_file};
 /// Xtensa Rust Toolchain repository
 const DEFAULT_XTENSA_RUST_REPOSITORY: &str =
     "https://github.com/esp-rs/rust-build/releases/download";
+
 /// Xtensa Rust Toolchain API URL
 const XTENSA_RUST_LATEST_API_URL: &str =
     "https://api.github.com/repos/esp-rs/rust-build/releases/latest";