diff --git a/src/_utils/_git_secret_tools.sh b/src/_utils/_git_secret_tools.sh
index 1e1a38b2..c4f91f4c 100644
--- a/src/_utils/_git_secret_tools.sh
+++ b/src/_utils/_git_secret_tools.sh
@@ -424,7 +424,7 @@ function _get_gpg_local {
 function _abort {
   local message="$1" # required
 
-  >&2 echo "$message abort."
+  >&2 echo "git-secret: abort: $message"
   exit 1
 }
 
@@ -484,7 +484,9 @@ function _secrets_dir_exists {
   full_path=$(_get_secrets_dir)
 
   if [[ ! -d "$full_path" ]]; then
-    _abort "$full_path does not exist."
+    local name
+    name=$(basename "$full_path")
+    _abort "directory '$name' does not exist. Use 'git secret init' to initialize git-secret"
   fi
 }
 
@@ -508,7 +510,7 @@ function _secrets_dir_is_not_ignored {
   fi
 
   if [[ ! $ignores -eq 1 ]]; then
-    _abort "'$git_secret_dir' is ignored."
+    _abort "'$git_secret_dir' is in .gitignore"
   fi
 }
 
diff --git a/src/commands/git_secret_add.sh b/src/commands/git_secret_add.sh
index 8e2476fe..450b697a 100644
--- a/src/commands/git_secret_add.sh
+++ b/src/commands/git_secret_add.sh
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ function add {
   if [[ ! "${#not_ignored[@]}" -eq 0 ]]; then
     # And show them all at once.
     local message
-    message="these files are not ignored: $* ;"
+    message="these files are not in .gitignore: $* ;"
 
     if [[ "$auto_ignore" -eq 0 ]]; then
       # This file is not ignored. user don't want it to be added automatically.
diff --git a/src/commands/git_secret_killperson.sh b/src/commands/git_secret_killperson.sh
index f27dcd33..0d637583 100644
--- a/src/commands/git_secret_killperson.sh
+++ b/src/commands/git_secret_killperson.sh
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ function killperson {
   local emails=( "$@" )
 
   if [[ ${#emails[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
-    _abort "at least one email is required."
+    _abort "at least one email is required for killperson."
   fi
 
   # Getting the local `gpg` command:
diff --git a/src/commands/git_secret_remove.sh b/src/commands/git_secret_remove.sh
index 94fc8791..8eada67f 100644
--- a/src/commands/git_secret_remove.sh
+++ b/src/commands/git_secret_remove.sh
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ function remove {
 
     # Checking if file exists:
     if [[ ! -f "$path" ]]; then
-      _abort "$item is not a file."
+      _abort "not a file: $item"
     fi
 
     # Deleting it from path mappings:
diff --git a/src/commands/git_secret_tell.sh b/src/commands/git_secret_tell.sh
index 0dd11b04..bb0e5db1 100644
--- a/src/commands/git_secret_tell.sh
+++ b/src/commands/git_secret_tell.sh
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ function tell {
     fi
 
     if [[ ! -s "$keyfile" ]]; then
-      _abort 'gpg key is empty. check your key name: "gpg --list-keys".'
+      _abort "no keyfile found for '$email'. Check your key name: 'gpg --list-keys'."
     fi
 
     # Importing public key to the local keychain:
diff --git a/src/main.sh b/src/main.sh
index f4f52eaf..2277d1d1 100755
--- a/src/main.sh
+++ b/src/main.sh
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ function _check_setup {
   local is_tree
   is_tree=$(_is_inside_git_tree)
   if [[ "$is_tree" -ne 0 ]]; then
-    _abort "repository is broken. try running 'git init' or 'git clone'."
+    _abort "not in dir with git repo. Use 'git init' or 'git clone', then in repo use 'git secret init'"
   fi
 
   # Checking if the '.gitsecret' is not ignored:
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ function _check_setup {
 
 
 function _incorrect_usage {
-  echo "$1"
+  echo "git-server: abort: $1"
   usage
   exit "$2"
 }
diff --git a/tests/test_init.bats b/tests/test_init.bats
index 2a212731..79d3fad5 100644
--- a/tests/test_init.bats
+++ b/tests/test_init.bats
@@ -71,6 +71,6 @@ function teardown {
   mkdir "$secrets_dir"
 
   run git secret init
-  [ "$output" = "already inited. abort." ]
+  [ "$output" = "git-secret: abort: already inited." ]
   [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
 }