diff --git a/src/include/OpenImageIO/imageio.h b/src/include/OpenImageIO/imageio.h
index ba92cba15d..c414d1d345 100644
--- a/src/include/OpenImageIO/imageio.h
+++ b/src/include/OpenImageIO/imageio.h
@@ -2980,6 +2980,21 @@ OIIO_API std::string geterror(bool clear = true);
 ///    the log information. When the `log_times` attribute is disabled,
 ///    there is no additional performance cost.
 ///
+/// - `oiio:print_uncaught_errors` (1)
+///
+///   If nonzero, upon program exit, any error messages that would have been
+///   retrieved by a call to `OIIO::geterror()`, but never were, will be
+///   printed to stdout. While this may seem chaotic, we are presuming that
+///   any well-written library or application will proactively check error
+///   codes and retrieve errors, so this will never print anything upon exit.
+///   But for less sophisticated applications (or users), this is very useful
+///   for forcing display of error messages so that users can see relevant
+///   errors even if they never check them explicitly, thus self-diagnose
+///   their troubles before asking the project dev deam for help. Advanced
+///   users who for some reason desire to neither retrieve errors themselves
+///   nor have them printed in this manner can disable the behavior by setting
+///   this attribute to 0.
+///
 /// - `imagebuf:print_uncaught_errors` (1)
 ///
 ///   If nonzero, an `ImageBuf` upon destruction will print any error messages
diff --git a/src/libOpenImageIO/imageio.cpp b/src/libOpenImageIO/imageio.cpp
index 09d11bf523..260da6b5bd 100644
--- a/src/libOpenImageIO/imageio.cpp
+++ b/src/libOpenImageIO/imageio.cpp
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ std::string output_format_list;  // comma-separated list of writable formats
 std::string extension_list;      // list of all extensions for all formats
 std::string library_list;        // list of all libraries for all formats
 int oiio_log_times = Strutil::stoi(Sysutil::getenv("OPENIMAGEIO_LOG_TIMES"));
+int oiio_print_uncaught_errors(1);
 std::vector<float> oiio_missingcolor;
 }  // namespace pvt
 
@@ -225,9 +226,29 @@ openimageio_version()
 
 
 
+// ErrorHolder houses a string, with the addition that when it is destroyed,
+// it will disgorge any un-retrieved error messages, in an effort to help
+// beginning users diagnose their problems if they have forgotten to call
+// geterror().
+struct ErrorHolder {
+    std::string error_msg;
+
+    ~ErrorHolder()
+    {
+        if (!error_msg.empty() && pvt::oiio_print_uncaught_errors) {
+            OIIO::print(
+                "OpenImageIO exited with a pending error message that was never\n"
+                "retrieved via OIIO::geterror(). This was the error message:\n{}\n",
+                error_msg);
+        }
+    }
+};
+
+
+
 // To avoid thread oddities, we have the storage area buffering error
 // messages for append_error()/geterror() be thread-specific.
-static thread_local std::string error_msg;
+static thread_local ErrorHolder error_msg_holder;
 
 
 void
@@ -236,6 +257,7 @@ pvt::append_error(string_view message)
     // Remove a single trailing newline
     if (message.size() && message.back() == '\n')
         message.remove_suffix(1);
+    std::string& error_msg(error_msg_holder.error_msg);
     OIIO_ASSERT(
         error_msg.size() < 1024 * 1024 * 16
         && "Accumulated error messages > 16MB. Try checking return codes!");
@@ -256,6 +278,7 @@ pvt::append_error(string_view message)
 bool
 has_error()
 {
+    std::string& error_msg(error_msg_holder.error_msg);
     return !error_msg.empty();
 }
 
@@ -264,6 +287,7 @@ has_error()
 std::string
 geterror(bool clear)
 {
+    std::string& error_msg(error_msg_holder.error_msg);
     std::string e = error_msg;
     if (clear)
         error_msg.clear();
@@ -344,6 +368,10 @@ attribute(string_view name, TypeDesc type, const void* val)
         limit_imagesize_MB = *(const int*)val;
         return true;
     }
+    if (name == "oiio:print_uncaught_errors" && type == TypeInt) {
+        oiio_print_uncaught_errors = *(const int*)val;
+        return true;
+    }
     if (name == "imagebuf:print_uncaught_errors" && type == TypeInt) {
         imagebuf_print_uncaught_errors = *(const int*)val;
         return true;
@@ -480,6 +508,10 @@ getattribute(string_view name, TypeDesc type, void* val)
         *(int*)val = dds_bc5normal;
         return true;
     }
+    if (name == "oiio:print_uncaught_errors" && type == TypeInt) {
+        *(int*)val = oiio_print_uncaught_errors;
+        return true;
+    }
     if (name == "imagebuf:print_uncaught_errors" && type == TypeInt) {
         *(int*)val = imagebuf_print_uncaught_errors;
         return true;
diff --git a/src/libtexture/imagecache.cpp b/src/libtexture/imagecache.cpp
index 29f3ee405d..927dbd7fa9 100644
--- a/src/libtexture/imagecache.cpp
+++ b/src/libtexture/imagecache.cpp
@@ -2721,6 +2721,7 @@ ImageCacheImpl::get_image_info(ImageCacheFile* file,
             std::string* errptr = m_errormessage.get();
             if (errptr)
                 errptr->clear();
+            (void)OIIO::geterror(true);  // Suppress global errors
         }
         return true;
     }
diff --git a/src/oiiotool/oiiotool.cpp b/src/oiiotool/oiiotool.cpp
index 9cd6851ec1..2e543176ac 100644
--- a/src/oiiotool/oiiotool.cpp
+++ b/src/oiiotool/oiiotool.cpp
@@ -5285,6 +5285,11 @@ input_file(Oiiotool& ot, cspan<const char*> argv)
             auto input = ImageInput::create(filename);
             if (input && input->supports("procedural"))
                 exists = 1;
+            if (!input) {
+                // If the create call failed, eat any stray global errors it
+                // may have issued.
+                (void)OIIO::geterror();
+            }
         }
         ImageBufRef substitute;  // possible substitute for missing image
         if (!exists) {