diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/alert/list-utils.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/alert/list-utils.ts
index 23a357aa4..b5dbd7b6e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/alert/list-utils.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/alert/list-utils.ts
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ export function throwAlertListFetchFailure(
     error.status,
     error.detail,
     error.endpoint,
-    error.enriched403,
+    { enriched403: error.enriched403 },
   );
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/issue/list.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/issue/list.ts
index 3c480361b..2a01252e7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/issue/list.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/issue/list.ts
@@ -1124,13 +1124,9 @@ function enrichIssueListError(
       const detail = error.enriched403
         ? appendProjectMembershipHint(error.detail)
         : build403Detail(error.detail);
-      throw new ApiError(
-        error.message,
-        error.status,
-        detail,
-        error.endpoint,
-        true,
-      );
+      throw new ApiError(error.message, error.status, detail, error.endpoint, {
+        enriched403: true,
+      });
     }
   }
   throw error;
@@ -1349,7 +1345,7 @@ async function handleResolvedTargets(
         first.status,
         detail,
         first.endpoint,
-        first.enriched403 || first.status === 403,
+        { enriched403: first.enriched403 || first.status === 403 },
       );
     }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/api/infrastructure.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/api/infrastructure.ts
index 2d0db4fc9..056f9a4fb 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/api/infrastructure.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/api/infrastructure.ts
@@ -230,6 +230,14 @@ export type ApiRequestOptions<T = unknown> = {
   idempotent?: boolean;
 };
 
+/** The string `code` of a JSON error body, e.g. `invalid_search_query`. */
+function readErrorCode(body: unknown): string | undefined {
+  if (body === null || typeof body !== "object" || !("code" in body)) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  return typeof body.code === "string" ? body.code : undefined;
+}
+
 const CONNECT_TIMEOUT_HINT =
   "The connection timed out. Check network access and firewall rules on this machine.";
 
@@ -363,7 +371,7 @@ export function throwApiError(
     status,
     enrichDetail(status, detail, hasUsableDetail),
     undefined,
-    is403,
+    { enriched403: is403, code: readErrorCode(error) },
   );
 }
 
@@ -850,7 +858,7 @@ async function throwRawApiError(
     response.status,
     enrichDetail(response.status, detail, detail !== undefined),
     endpoint,
-    is403,
+    { enriched403: is403, code: readErrorCode(body.json) },
   );
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/errors.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/errors.ts
index 909286f91..c78eb9cc3 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/errors.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/errors.ts
@@ -176,12 +176,19 @@ export class HostScopeError extends CliError {
  * @param status - HTTP status code
  * @param detail - Detailed error message from API response
  * @param endpoint - API endpoint that failed
+ * @param options - `enriched403` and `code`, documented on the fields below
  */
 export class ApiError extends CliError {
   readonly status: number;
   readonly detail?: string;
   readonly endpoint?: string;
 
+  /**
+   * Machine-readable `code` from the error body, when the server sent one
+   * (e.g. `invalid_search_query`).
+   */
+  readonly code?: string;
+
   /**
    * Set by centralized 403 enrichment in `infrastructure.ts`.
    * Command-layer code can check this to avoid double-enriching
@@ -194,7 +201,10 @@ export class ApiError extends CliError {
     status: number,
     detail?: string,
     endpoint?: string,
-    enriched403 = false,
+    {
+      enriched403 = false,
+      code,
+    }: { enriched403?: boolean; code?: string } = {},
   ) {
     super(message, EXIT.API);
     this.name = "ApiError";
@@ -202,6 +212,7 @@ export class ApiError extends CliError {
     this.detail = detail;
     this.endpoint = endpoint;
     this.enriched403 = enriched403;
+    this.code = code;
   }
 
   override format(): string {
@@ -862,19 +873,28 @@ export function getExitCode(error: unknown): number {
 }
 
 /**
- * Sentry's search-query parser emits a 400 whose detail begins with this phrase
- * when the user's `--query` cannot be parsed (e.g. `is:403`, `lastSeen:>=-24h`,
- * an empty `status:`). The server is telling us the user-supplied query is
- * malformed — a user input error, not the CLI constructing a bad request.
+ * Issue search wraps search-query parser failures in this phrase
+ * (e.g. `is:403`, `lastSeen:>=-24h`, an empty `status:`). The server is telling
+ * us the user-supplied query is malformed — a user input error, not the CLI
+ * constructing a bad request.
  */
 const SEARCH_QUERY_PARSE_MARKER = "Error parsing search query";
 
+/**
+ * `code` the Events endpoint (explore, spans, logs, traces) sends next to
+ * `detail` when its search-query parser rejects the `query` parameter
+ * (getsentry/sentry#129957).
+ */
+const SEARCH_QUERY_PARSE_CODE = "invalid_search_query";
+
 /**
  * Whether an {@link ApiError} is a Sentry search-query parse failure (HTTP 400
- * whose detail reports an unparseable query). The CLI preserves the server's
+ * that reports an unparseable query). Events endpoints mark these with
+ * {@link SEARCH_QUERY_PARSE_CODE}; issue search only has the
+ * {@link SEARCH_QUERY_PARSE_MARKER} phrase. The CLI preserves the server's
  * detail when re-wrapping list errors (`enrichIssueListError` in
- * `commands/issue/list.ts` prepends the original detail), so a substring match
- * is robust to that wrapping.
+ * `commands/issue/list.ts` prepends the original detail), so the marker is
+ * matched as a substring.
  *
  * Shared by the three 4xx classifiers so they agree on these 400s:
  * `classifySilenced` (Sentry capture), {@link isUserError} (upgrade nudge), and
@@ -883,7 +903,8 @@ const SEARCH_QUERY_PARSE_MARKER = "Error parsing search query";
 export function isSearchQueryParseError(error: ApiError): boolean {
   return (
     error.status === 400 &&
-    (error.detail?.includes(SEARCH_QUERY_PARSE_MARKER) ?? false)
+    (error.code === SEARCH_QUERY_PARSE_CODE ||
+      (error.detail?.includes(SEARCH_QUERY_PARSE_MARKER) ?? false))
   );
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/commands/explore.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/commands/explore.test.ts
index 239422a87..bdecdcda3 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/commands/explore.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/commands/explore.test.ts
@@ -1434,6 +1434,55 @@ describe("sentry explore", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  describe("search syntax errors", () => {
+    const detail =
+      "Invalid quote at '*\"POST': quotes must enclose text or be escaped.";
+    const flags = {
+      ...DEFAULT_FLAGS,
+      dataset: "spans",
+      query: 'span.description:*"POST',
+    };
+    const parseError = (code?: string) =>
+      new ApiError("Bad request", 400, detail, undefined, { code });
+
+    test("reports an unparseable --query as a query ValidationError", async () => {
+      resolveTargetSpy.mockResolvedValue({ org: "test-org" });
+      queryEventsSpy.mockRejectedValue(parseError("invalid_search_query"));
+      const { context } = createContext();
+
+      const error = await func
+        .call(context, flags, "test-org/")
+        .catch((caught: unknown) => caught);
+
+      expect(error).toBeInstanceOf(ValidationError);
+      expect(error).toMatchObject({ field: "query" });
+      expect((error as Error).message).toContain(detail);
+      expect((error as Error).message).toContain("Check your --query syntax");
+    });
+
+    test("keeps the ApiError when the CLI built the query", async () => {
+      resolveTargetSpy.mockResolvedValue({ org: "test-org" });
+      const original = parseError("invalid_search_query");
+      queryEventsSpy.mockRejectedValue(original);
+      const { context } = createContext();
+
+      await expect(
+        func.call(context, { ...DEFAULT_FLAGS, dataset: "spans" }, "test-org/"),
+      ).rejects.toBe(original);
+    });
+
+    test("keeps the ApiError when the 400 has no code", async () => {
+      resolveTargetSpy.mockResolvedValue({ org: "test-org" });
+      const original = parseError();
+      queryEventsSpy.mockRejectedValue(original);
+      const { context } = createContext();
+
+      await expect(func.call(context, flags, "test-org/")).rejects.toBe(
+        original,
+      );
+    });
+  });
+
   describe("metrics dataset validation", () => {
     test("rejects standard aggregates on metrics dataset", async () => {
       resolveTargetSpy.mockResolvedValue({ org: "test-org" });
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/lib/api-client.coverage.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/lib/api-client.coverage.test.ts
index 1cdcf9919..e384bb440 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/lib/api-client.coverage.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/lib/api-client.coverage.test.ts
@@ -1474,6 +1474,34 @@ describe("infrastructure.ts", () => {
       }
     });
 
+    test("keeps the error body's code next to its detail", async () => {
+      globalThis.fetch = mockFetch(
+        async () =>
+          new Response(
+            JSON.stringify({
+              detail: "Invalid quote at '*\"POST'",
+              code: "invalid_search_query",
+            }),
+            {
+              status: 400,
+              statusText: "Bad Request",
+              headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+            },
+          ),
+      );
+
+      const error = await apiRequestToRegion(
+        "https://sentry.io",
+        "/test/",
+      ).catch((caught: unknown) => caught);
+
+      expect(error).toBeInstanceOf(ApiError);
+      expect(error).toMatchObject({
+        detail: "Invalid quote at '*\"POST'",
+        code: "invalid_search_query",
+      });
+    });
+
     test("JSON-stringifies error body without detail field", async () => {
       globalThis.fetch = mockFetch(
         async () =>
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/lib/api/infrastructure.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/lib/api/infrastructure.test.ts
index c51e1831b..dc29c4818 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/lib/api/infrastructure.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/lib/api/infrastructure.test.ts
@@ -306,6 +306,23 @@ describe("throwApiError", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  test("HTTP error keeps the body's code", () => {
+    const mockResponse = new Response("", {
+      status: 400,
+      statusText: "Bad Request",
+    });
+
+    expect(() =>
+      throwApiError(
+        { detail: "Invalid query syntax", code: "invalid_search_query" },
+        mockResponse,
+        "Failed to list events",
+      ),
+    ).toThrow(
+      expect.objectContaining({ status: 400, code: "invalid_search_query" }),
+    );
+  });
+
   test("HTTP error without detail uses stringified error", () => {
     const mockResponse = new Response("", {
       status: 500,
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/lib/errors.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/lib/errors.test.ts
index 6806cc158..984bddf64 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/lib/errors.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/lib/errors.test.ts
@@ -624,6 +624,26 @@ describe("isSearchQueryParseError", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  test("true for a 400 with the invalid_search_query code", () => {
+    const error = new ApiError(
+      "bad",
+      400,
+      "Invalid quote at '*\"POST': quotes must enclose text or be escaped.",
+      "/organizations/my-org/events/",
+      { code: "invalid_search_query" },
+    );
+    expect(isSearchQueryParseError(error)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test("false for a parser-looking Events 400 without the code", () => {
+    const error = new ApiError(
+      "bad",
+      400,
+      "Invalid quote at '*\"POST': quotes must enclose text or be escaped.",
+    );
+    expect(isSearchQueryParseError(error)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
   test("false for a 400 without a query parse detail", () => {
     expect(
       isSearchQueryParseError(new ApiError("bad", 400, "Other failure")),
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/lib/init/tools/create-sentry-project.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/lib/init/tools/create-sentry-project.test.ts
index 5c921a938..91aee5cf7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/lib/init/tools/create-sentry-project.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/lib/init/tools/create-sentry-project.test.ts
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ describe("createSentryProject", () => {
         403,
         "Your organization has disabled this feature for members.",
         undefined,
-        true,
+        { enriched403: true },
       ),
     );