diff --git a/cli/src/wasm.rs b/cli/src/wasm.rs
index f31ac2d2..467fef71 100644
--- a/cli/src/wasm.rs
+++ b/cli/src/wasm.rs
@@ -65,6 +65,11 @@ pub fn compile_language_to_wasm(language_dir: &Path, force_docker: bool) -> Resu
         // Run `emcc` in a container using the `emscripten-slim` image
         command.args(&[EMSCRIPTEN_TAG, "emcc"]);
     } else {
+        if force_docker {
+            return Err(anyhow!(
+                "You must have docker on your PATH to run this command with --docker"
+            ));
+        }
         return Err(anyhow!(
             "You must have either emcc or docker on your PATH to run this command"
         ));
diff --git a/script/build-wasm b/script/build-wasm
index f95c3f15..dc42895a 100755
--- a/script/build-wasm
+++ b/script/build-wasm
@@ -71,7 +71,11 @@ elif which docker > /dev/null; then
     emscripten/emsdk:$emscripen_version  \
     emcc"
 else
-  echo 'You must have either `docker` or `emcc` on your PATH to run this script'
+  if [[ "$force_docker" == "1" ]]; then
+    echo 'You must have `docker` on your PATH to run this script with --docker'
+  else
+    echo 'You must have either `docker` or `emcc` on your PATH to run this script'
+  fi
   exit 1
 fi