diff --git a/pkg/lint/context.go b/pkg/lint/context.go
index 48faaa12d322..22c95e08af86 100644
--- a/pkg/lint/context.go
+++ b/pkg/lint/context.go
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ func (cl *ContextBuilder) Build(ctx context.Context, log logutils.Log, linters [
 	}
 
 	if len(deduplicatedPkgs) == 0 {
-		return nil, exitcodes.ErrNoGoFiles
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w: running `go mod tidy` may solve the problem", exitcodes.ErrNoGoFiles)
 	}
 
 	ret := &linter.Context{