diff --git a/pkg/cli/etcdsnapshot/etcd_snapshot.go b/pkg/cli/etcdsnapshot/etcd_snapshot.go
index 0b738c0e0f..c2d23fff96 100644
--- a/pkg/cli/etcdsnapshot/etcd_snapshot.go
+++ b/pkg/cli/etcdsnapshot/etcd_snapshot.go
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ func run(app *cli.Context, cfg *cmds.Server) error {
 		return err
 	}
 	if !initialized {
-		return errors.New("managed etcd database has not been initialized")
+		return fmt.Errorf("etcd database not found in %s", dataDir)
 	}
 
 	cluster := cluster.New(&serverConfig.ControlConfig)