diff --git a/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/__test__/exitCode.test.ts b/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/__test__/exitCode.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..550d55d81e59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/__test__/exitCode.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import { CliError, TaskAbortSignal } from "@fern-api/task-context";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import { ExitCode, exitCodeForCliErrorCode, exitCodeForError } from "../errors/exitCode.js";
+
+describe("exitCodeForCliErrorCode", () => {
+    it("maps usage errors to ExitCode.Usage (sysexits-aligned 2)", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.UserError)).toBe(ExitCode.Usage);
+    });
+
+    it("maps validation / parse / IR / reference errors to DataErr (65)", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.ValidationError)).toBe(ExitCode.DataErr);
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.ParseError)).toBe(ExitCode.DataErr);
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.IrConversionError)).toBe(ExitCode.DataErr);
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.ReferenceError)).toBe(ExitCode.DataErr);
+    });
+
+    it("maps resolution errors to NoInput (66)", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.ResolutionError)).toBe(ExitCode.NoInput);
+    });
+
+    it("maps auth errors to NoPerm (77)", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.AuthError)).toBe(ExitCode.NoPerm);
+    });
+
+    it("maps config and version errors to Config (78)", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.ConfigError)).toBe(ExitCode.Config);
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.VersionError)).toBe(ExitCode.Config);
+    });
+
+    it("maps network / container / environment errors to TempFail (75)", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.NetworkError)).toBe(ExitCode.TempFail);
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.ContainerError)).toBe(ExitCode.TempFail);
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.EnvironmentError)).toBe(ExitCode.TempFail);
+    });
+
+    it("maps internal errors to Software (70)", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForCliErrorCode(CliError.Code.InternalError)).toBe(ExitCode.Software);
+    });
+});
+
+describe("exitCodeForError", () => {
+    it("returns Generic for TaskAbortSignal with no code (multi-task failure, error already logged)", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForError(new TaskAbortSignal())).toBe(ExitCode.Generic);
+    });
+
+    it("delegates to exitCodeForCliErrorCode for TaskAbortSignal with a code", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForError(new TaskAbortSignal(CliError.Code.AuthError))).toBe(ExitCode.NoPerm);
+        expect(exitCodeForError(new TaskAbortSignal(CliError.Code.ValidationError))).toBe(ExitCode.DataErr);
+        expect(exitCodeForError(new TaskAbortSignal(CliError.Code.ConfigError))).toBe(ExitCode.Config);
+    });
+
+    it("delegates to exitCodeForCliErrorCode for CliError instances", () => {
+        const authErr = new CliError({ code: CliError.Code.AuthError, message: "not logged in" });
+        expect(exitCodeForError(authErr)).toBe(ExitCode.NoPerm);
+
+        const usageErr = new CliError({ code: CliError.Code.UserError, message: "bad flag" });
+        expect(exitCodeForError(usageErr)).toBe(ExitCode.Usage);
+    });
+
+    it("returns Software for unhandled Error subclasses", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForError(new Error("kaboom"))).toBe(ExitCode.Software);
+        expect(exitCodeForError(new TypeError("nope"))).toBe(ExitCode.Software);
+    });
+
+    it("returns Software for non-Error throwables", () => {
+        expect(exitCodeForError("string thrown")).toBe(ExitCode.Software);
+        expect(exitCodeForError(42)).toBe(ExitCode.Software);
+        expect(exitCodeForError(undefined)).toBe(ExitCode.Software);
+        expect(exitCodeForError(null)).toBe(ExitCode.Software);
+    });
+
+    it("uses canonical signal exit codes (128 + signal number)", () => {
+        expect(ExitCode.Sigint).toBe(130);
+        expect(ExitCode.Sigterm).toBe(143);
+    });
+});
diff --git a/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/commands/_internal/yargsFailHandler.ts b/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/commands/_internal/yargsFailHandler.ts
index 4a1d0d41673c..9dc2279284b4 100644
--- a/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/commands/_internal/yargsFailHandler.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/commands/_internal/yargsFailHandler.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { CliError } from "@fern-api/task-context";
 import type { Argv } from "yargs";
 
 import type { GlobalArgs } from "../../context/GlobalArgs.js";
+import { exitCodeForError } from "../../errors/exitCode.js";
 import { renderError } from "../../errors/renderError.js";
 
 /**
@@ -31,9 +32,9 @@ export function makeYargsFailHandler({
             y.showHelp("error");
         }
         // Yargs runs `.fail` synchronously and we are outside our async
-        // `withContext` lifecycle, so we exit directly. Stick with 1 today
-        // to avoid behavior changes for downstream scripts; the exit-code
-        // mapping ships separately.
-        process.exit(1);
+        // `withContext` lifecycle, so we exit directly. Use the same
+        // exit-code mapping as the main error boundary so shell scripts
+        // can branch on USER_ERROR vs the rest.
+        process.exit(exitCodeForError(error));
     };
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/context/adapter/TaskContextAdapter.ts b/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/context/adapter/TaskContextAdapter.ts
index 902350d39c13..00f272e993f6 100644
--- a/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/context/adapter/TaskContextAdapter.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/context/adapter/TaskContextAdapter.ts
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ export class TaskContextAdapter implements TaskContext {
 
     public failAndThrow(message?: string, error?: unknown, options?: { code?: CliError.Code }): never {
         this.failWithoutThrowing(message, error, options);
-        throw new TaskAbortSignal();
+        throw new TaskAbortSignal(options?.code);
     }
 
     public failWithoutThrowing(message?: string, error?: unknown, options?: { code?: CliError.Code }): void {
diff --git a/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/context/withContext.ts b/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/context/withContext.ts
index b8477529c77f..d636b1ac0eac 100644
--- a/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/context/withContext.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/context/withContext.ts
@@ -2,17 +2,12 @@ import { LogLevel } from "@fern-api/logger";
 import { CliError, resolveErrorCode, shouldReportToSentry, TaskAbortSignal } from "@fern-api/task-context";
 
 import chalk from "chalk";
+import { ExitCode, exitCodeForError } from "../errors/exitCode.js";
 import { renderError } from "../errors/renderError.js";
 import { Context } from "./Context.js";
 import type { GlobalArgs } from "./GlobalArgs.js";
 import { loadDotenvFile } from "./loadDotenvFile.js";
 
-// It's standard to use 128 as the base exit code for signals.
-// https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_(IPC)
-const SIGNAL_EXIT_CODE_BASE = 128;
-const SIGINT_EXIT_CODE = SIGNAL_EXIT_CODE_BASE + 2;
-const SIGTERM_EXIT_CODE = SIGNAL_EXIT_CODE_BASE + 15;
-
 /**
  * Wraps a command handler with context creation and error handling.
  *
@@ -35,13 +30,13 @@ export function withContext<T extends GlobalArgs>(
             });
             await context.telemetry.flush();
             context.finish();
-            await exitGracefully(0);
+            await exitGracefully(ExitCode.Success);
         } catch (error) {
             reportError(context, error);
             await context.telemetry.flush();
             handleError(context, error);
             context.finish();
-            await exitGracefully(1);
+            await exitGracefully(exitCodeForError(error));
         }
     };
 }
@@ -127,8 +122,8 @@ function setupSignalHandler(context: Context): void {
         context.printLogFilePath(process.stderr);
         process.exit(exitCode);
     };
-    process.on("SIGINT", () => onSignal(SIGINT_EXIT_CODE));
-    process.on("SIGTERM", () => onSignal(SIGTERM_EXIT_CODE));
+    process.on("SIGINT", () => onSignal(ExitCode.Sigint));
+    process.on("SIGTERM", () => onSignal(ExitCode.Sigterm));
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/errors/exitCode.ts b/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/errors/exitCode.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..05e690483523
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/cli-v2/src/errors/exitCode.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+import { assertNever } from "@fern-api/core-utils";
+import { CliError, TaskAbortSignal } from "@fern-api/task-context";
+
+/**
+ * Process exit codes returned by the CLI on failure.
+ *
+ * Modeled on BSD `sysexits.h` (which is what most well-behaved Unix tools
+ * follow) so callers — shell scripts, CI pipelines, parent processes — can
+ * distinguish failure modes without parsing stderr.
+ *
+ * https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=sysexits
+ *
+ * Stability: these values are part of the CLI's public contract. Changing
+ * one is a breaking change for downstream scripts.
+ */
+export const ExitCode = {
+    Success: 0,
+    /** Catch-all for anything we don't have a more specific code for. */
+    Generic: 1,
+    /** Usage error (bad flag, unknown command, missing required arg). */
+    Usage: 2,
+    /** Input data was syntactically invalid (validation, parse, IR). */
+    DataErr: 65,
+    /** A referenced input file or resource could not be found. */
+    NoInput: 66,
+    /** Unhandled internal error / unexpected exception. */
+    Software: 70,
+    /**
+     * Transient failure (network, container, environment).
+     * The operation failed for an external reason and may succeed on retry.
+     * Maps to EX_TEMPFAIL from sysexits.h.
+     */
+    TempFail: 75,
+    /** Authentication or authorization failure. */
+    NoPerm: 77,
+    /** The CLI's configuration is invalid. */
+    Config: 78,
+    /** Command was interrupted by Ctrl-C (128 + SIGINT). */
+    Sigint: 130,
+    /** Command was terminated by SIGTERM (128 + SIGTERM). */
+    Sigterm: 143
+} as const;
+
+export type ExitCode = (typeof ExitCode)[keyof typeof ExitCode];
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the process exit code for a thrown error.
+ *
+ * - {@link TaskAbortSignal} → mapped from `signal.code` if present (the
+ *   originating {@link CliError.Code} stored by `failAndThrow`), otherwise
+ *   {@link ExitCode.Generic}. Real SIGINT/SIGTERM are handled separately by
+ *   `setupSignalHandler` which calls `process.exit` directly.
+ * - {@link CliError} → mapped from `error.code` via {@link exitCodeForCliErrorCode}.
+ * - Anything else (`Error`, thrown strings, etc.) → {@link ExitCode.Software}
+ *   so it's distinguishable from a real `CliError` whose code maps to 1.
+ */
+export function exitCodeForError(error: unknown): ExitCode {
+    if (error instanceof TaskAbortSignal) {
+        return error.code != null ? exitCodeForCliErrorCode(error.code) : ExitCode.Generic;
+    }
+    if (error instanceof CliError) {
+        return exitCodeForCliErrorCode(error.code);
+    }
+    return ExitCode.Software;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Map a {@link CliError.Code} to its process exit code.
+ *
+ * Every {@link CliError.Code} variant must be handled — `assertNever` at the
+ * end of the switch guarantees a compile error if a new variant is added
+ * without picking an exit code, so we never silently fall through to a
+ * generic 1.
+ */
+export function exitCodeForCliErrorCode(code: CliError.Code): ExitCode {
+    switch (code) {
+        case CliError.Code.UserError:
+            return ExitCode.Usage;
+        case CliError.Code.ValidationError:
+        case CliError.Code.ParseError:
+        case CliError.Code.IrConversionError:
+        case CliError.Code.ReferenceError:
+            return ExitCode.DataErr;
+        case CliError.Code.ResolutionError:
+            return ExitCode.NoInput;
+        case CliError.Code.AuthError:
+            return ExitCode.NoPerm;
+        case CliError.Code.ConfigError:
+        case CliError.Code.VersionError:
+            return ExitCode.Config;
+        case CliError.Code.NetworkError:
+        case CliError.Code.ContainerError:
+        case CliError.Code.EnvironmentError:
+            return ExitCode.TempFail;
+        case CliError.Code.InternalError:
+            return ExitCode.Software;
+        default:
+            assertNever(code);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/packages/cli/cli/changes/unreleased/cli-v2-exit-codes.yml b/packages/cli/cli/changes/unreleased/cli-v2-exit-codes.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f66c92a9f288
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/cli/changes/unreleased/cli-v2-exit-codes.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+- summary: |
+    Map `CliError.Code` to distinct sysexits-style process exit codes so shell scripts and CI pipelines can branch on failure type without parsing stderr:
+      - `USER_ERROR` → 2 (usage)
+      - `VALIDATION_ERROR` / `PARSE_ERROR` / `IR_CONVERSION_ERROR` / `REFERENCE_ERROR` → 65 (data err)
+      - `RESOLUTION_ERROR` → 66 (no input)
+      - `INTERNAL_ERROR` → 70 (software)
+      - `AUTH_ERROR` → 77 (no perm)
+      - `CONFIG_ERROR` / `VERSION_ERROR` → 78 (config)
+      - `NETWORK_ERROR` / `CONTAINER_ERROR` / `ENVIRONMENT_ERROR` → 75 (temp fail — transient, may succeed on retry)
+      - SIGINT → 130, SIGTERM → 143
+    Both the central error boundary and the shared yargs `.fail` handler go through the same mapping.
+  type: feat
diff --git a/packages/cli/ete-tests/src/tests/v2/generate.test.ts b/packages/cli/ete-tests/src/tests/v2/generate.test.ts
index 25f0243a0ccf..77cb4bd8bf50 100644
--- a/packages/cli/ete-tests/src/tests/v2/generate.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/ete-tests/src/tests/v2/generate.test.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ describe("fern sdk generate", () => {
                 expectError: true,
                 timeout: 60_000
             });
-            expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+            // sysexits-style: user-config failures exit with EX_CONFIG=78.
+            expect(result.exitCode).toBe(78);
         });
     });
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/ete-tests/src/tests/v2/v2.test.ts b/packages/cli/ete-tests/src/tests/v2/v2.test.ts
index 1b495ff5bd14..5a7a0d81492a 100644
--- a/packages/cli/ete-tests/src/tests/v2/v2.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/ete-tests/src/tests/v2/v2.test.ts
@@ -67,7 +67,8 @@ describe("fern check", () => {
                 cwd: fixture.path,
                 expectError: true
             });
-            expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+            // sysexits-style: validation failures exit with EX_DATAERR=65.
+            expect(result.exitCode).toBe(65);
             expect(result.stdout).toBe("");
             expect(result.stderr).toContain("fern.yml:1:6: org must be a string");
         } finally {
@@ -105,7 +106,8 @@ describe("fern check", () => {
                 cwd: fixture.path,
                 expectError: true
             });
-            expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+            // sysexits-style: user-config failures (unknown API) exit with EX_CONFIG=78.
+            expect(result.exitCode).toBe(78);
             expect(result.stderr).toContain("API 'nonexistent' not found");
             expect(result.stderr).toContain("Available APIs:");
             expect(result.stderr).toContain("api");
diff --git a/packages/cli/task-context/src/TaskAbortSignal.ts b/packages/cli/task-context/src/TaskAbortSignal.ts
index 1a5c4927ac95..ed4e62ac86ac 100644
--- a/packages/cli/task-context/src/TaskAbortSignal.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/task-context/src/TaskAbortSignal.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,21 @@
+import { type CliError } from "./CliError.js";
+
 /**
  * Thrown by `failAndThrow` to unwind the call stack after an error has
  * already been logged and (if applicable) reported to Sentry.
  *
- * This is NOT a real error — it carries no message, code, or stack trace.
+ * This is NOT a real error — it carries no message or stack trace.
  * Catch sites should silently swallow it or re-throw without logging.
+ *
+ * The optional `code` field carries the originating {@link CliError.Code}
+ * so the top-level exit-code mapper can produce a semantically correct
+ * exit code even when the error itself has already been consumed.
  */
 export class TaskAbortSignal {
     readonly __brand = "TaskAbortSignal" as const;
+    readonly code: CliError.Code | undefined;
+
+    constructor(code?: CliError.Code) {
+        this.code = code;
+    }
 }