diff --git a/src/commands/install.ts b/src/commands/install.ts
index 89b91d6f9a..4445882814 100644
--- a/src/commands/install.ts
+++ b/src/commands/install.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import {EnvVarReplacements, SnowpackConfig} from '../config.js';
 import {resolveTargetsFromRemoteCDN} from '../resolve-remote.js';
 import {rollupPluginCss} from '../rollup-plugin-css';
 import {rollupPluginEntrypointAlias} from '../rollup-plugin-entrypoint-alias.js';
+import {rollupPluginCatchUnresolved} from '../rollup-plugin-catch-unresolved.js';
 import {rollupPluginWrapInstallTargets} from '../rollup-plugin-wrap-install-targets';
 import {rollupPluginDependencyCache} from '../rollup-plugin-remote-cdn.js';
 import {DependencyStatsOutput, rollupPluginDependencyStats} from '../rollup-plugin-stats.js';
@@ -337,6 +338,7 @@ export async function install(
       rollupPluginWrapInstallTargets(!!isTreeshake, CJS_PACKAGES_TO_AUTO_DETECT, installTargets),
       rollupPluginDependencyStats((info) => (dependencyStats = info)),
       ...userDefinedRollup.plugins, // load user-defined plugins last
+      rollupPluginCatchUnresolved(),
     ].filter(Boolean) as Plugin[],
     onwarn(warning, warn) {
       if (warning.code === 'CIRCULAR_DEPENDENCY') {
@@ -346,35 +348,6 @@ export async function install(
         }
         return;
       }
-      if (warning.code === 'UNRESOLVED_IMPORT') {
-        logError(
-          `'${warning.source}' is imported by '${warning.importer}', but could not be resolved.`,
-        );
-        if (isNodeBuiltin(warning.source)) {
-          console.log(
-            chalk.dim(
-              `  '${warning.source}' is a Node.js builtin module that won't exist in the browser.`,
-            ),
-          );
-          console.log(
-            chalk.dim(
-              `  Search pika.dev for a web-friendly alternative to ${chalk.bold(warning.importer)}`,
-            ),
-          );
-          console.log(
-            chalk.dim(
-              `  Or, add ${chalk.bold(
-                '"rollup-plugin-node-polyfills"',
-              )} to installOptions.rollup.plugins in your Snowpack config file.`,
-            ),
-          );
-        } else {
-          console.log(
-            chalk.dim(`  Make sure that the package is installed and that the file exists.`),
-          );
-        }
-        return;
-      }
       warn(warning);
     },
   };
diff --git a/src/rollup-plugin-catch-unresolved.ts b/src/rollup-plugin-catch-unresolved.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0a52274768
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rollup-plugin-catch-unresolved.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import chalk from 'chalk';
+import isNodeBuiltin from 'is-builtin-module';
+import {Plugin} from 'rollup';
+
+/**
+ * rollup-plugin-catch-unresolved
+ *
+ * Catch any unresolved imports to give proper warnings (Rollup default is to ignore).
+ */
+export function rollupPluginCatchUnresolved(): Plugin {
+  return {
+    name: 'snowpack:rollup-plugin-catch-unresolved',
+    resolveId(id, importer) {
+      if (!isNodeBuiltin(id)) {
+        console.error(
+          chalk.red(
+            chalk.bold(`! ${id}`) + ` is imported by '${importer}', but could not be resolved.`,
+          ),
+        );
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      console.error(
+        chalk.red(
+          chalk.bold(`! ${id}`) +
+            ` is a Node.js built-in module that does not exist in the browser.\n`,
+        ),
+      );
+      console.error(
+        `  1. Search pika.dev for a more web-friendly package alternative${
+          importer ? ` to ${chalk.bold(importer)}.` : '.'
+        }`,
+      );
+      console.error(
+        `  2. Or, add this rollup plugin to your installer to polyfill Node.js packages:\n\n` +
+          chalk.dim(
+            `      // snowpack.config.js\n` +
+              `      module.exports = {\n` +
+              `        installOptions: {\n` +
+              `          rollup: {plugins: [require("rollup-plugin-node-polyfills")()]}\n` +
+              `        }\n` +
+              `      };\n`,
+          ),
+      );
+      return false;
+    },
+  };
+}