diff --git a/news/changelog-1.9.md b/news/changelog-1.9.md
index 1a6e122281..886e181b4c 100644
--- a/news/changelog-1.9.md
+++ b/news/changelog-1.9.md
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ All changes included in 1.9:
   - Two-column layout now uses `set page(columns:)` instead of `columns()` function, fixing compatibility with landscape sections.
   - Title block now properly spans both columns in multi-column layouts.
 - ([#13870](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13870)): Add support for `alt` attribute on cross-referenced equations for improved accessibility. (author: @mcanouil)
+- ([#13942](https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-cli/issues/13942)): Fix Typst compilation errors showing confusing internal stack traces. Users now see only the relevant Typst error message.
 
 ### `pdf`
 
diff --git a/src/command/render/output-typst.ts b/src/command/render/output-typst.ts
index 695a144a8f..58352b8212 100644
--- a/src/command/render/output-typst.ts
+++ b/src/command/render/output-typst.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import {
   kVariant,
 } from "../../config/constants.ts";
 import { error, warning } from "../../deno_ral/log.ts";
+import { ErrorEx } from "../../core/lib/error.ts";
 import { Format } from "../../config/types.ts";
 import { writeFileToStdout } from "../../core/console.ts";
 import { dirAndStem, expandPath } from "../../core/path.ts";
@@ -161,11 +162,10 @@ export function typstPdfOutputRecipe(
       typstOptions,
     );
     if (!result.success) {
-      // Log the error so test framework can detect it via shouldError
       if (result.stderr) {
         error(result.stderr);
       }
-      throw new Error("Typst compilation failed");
+      throw new ErrorEx("Error", "Typst compilation failed", false, false);
     }
 
     // Validate PDF against specified standards using verapdf (if available)
diff --git a/tests/smoke/smoke-all.test.ts b/tests/smoke/smoke-all.test.ts
index b209c2a631..9b85314d23 100644
--- a/tests/smoke/smoke-all.test.ts
+++ b/tests/smoke/smoke-all.test.ts
@@ -263,7 +263,11 @@ function resolveTestSpecs(
               verifyFns.push(verifyMap[key](outputFile.outputPath, ...value));
             }
           } else if (key === "printsMessage") {
-            verifyFns.push(verifyMap[key](value));
+            // Support both single object and array of printsMessage checks
+            const messages = Array.isArray(value) ? value : [value];
+            for (const msg of messages) {
+              verifyFns.push(verifyMap[key](msg));
+            }
           } else if (key === "ensureEpubFileRegexMatches") {
             // this ensure function is special because it takes an array of path + regex specifiers,
             // so we should never use the spread operator