diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 3a97878d..fd3d41fe 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ test = [
 ]
 
 [project.scripts]
-flash = "runpod_flash.cli.main:app"
+flash = "runpod_flash.cli.entrypoint:main"
 
 [build-system]
 requires = ["setuptools>=42", "wheel"]
diff --git a/src/runpod_flash/cli/entrypoint.py b/src/runpod_flash/cli/entrypoint.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..55f7b498
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/runpod_flash/cli/entrypoint.py
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+"""Thin CLI entrypoint that catches corrupted credentials at import time.
+
+The runpod package reads ~/.runpod/config.toml at import time (in its
+__init__.py). If that file contains invalid TOML, the import raises a
+TOMLDecodeError before any Flash error handling can run. This wrapper
+catches that and surfaces a clean error message.
+"""
+
+import sys
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    """Entry point for the ``flash`` console script."""
+    try:
+        from runpod_flash.cli.main import app
+    except ValueError as exc:
+        # TOML decode errors from toml/tomli/tomllib are ValueError subclasses.
+        # The runpod package calls a TOML loader at import time; a corrupted
+        # ~/.runpod/config.toml triggers this before Flash code executes.
+        exc_type = type(exc)
+        exc_module = getattr(exc_type, "__module__", "").lower()
+        is_toml_decode_error = exc_type.__name__ == "TOMLDecodeError" and (
+            exc_module.startswith("toml")
+            or exc_module.startswith("tomli")
+            or exc_module.startswith("tomllib")
+        )
+        if is_toml_decode_error:
+            print(
+                "Error: ~/.runpod/config.toml is corrupted and cannot be parsed.\n"
+                "Run 'flash login' to re-authenticate, or delete the file and retry.",
+                file=sys.stderr,
+            )
+            raise SystemExit(1) from None
+        raise
+
+    app()
diff --git a/tests/unit/cli/test_entrypoint.py b/tests/unit/cli/test_entrypoint.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0cf599c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/cli/test_entrypoint.py
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+"""Tests for the CLI entrypoint wrapper that catches corrupted credentials."""
+
+import sys
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from runpod_flash.cli.entrypoint import main
+
+
+class TestEntrypoint:
+    """Tests for runpod_flash.cli.entrypoint.main."""
+
+    def test_normal_import_runs_app(self):
+        """When import succeeds, the Typer app is invoked."""
+        mock_app = MagicMock()
+        mock_module = MagicMock()
+        mock_module.app = mock_app
+
+        with patch.dict(sys.modules, {"runpod_flash.cli.main": mock_module}):
+            main()
+
+        mock_app.assert_called_once()
+
+    def test_corrupted_toml_shows_clean_error(self, capsys):
+        """Import-time TOMLDecodeError surfaces a clean message, not a traceback."""
+        # Create a ValueError whose class looks like a TOML decode error.
+        # tomli.TOMLDecodeError is a ValueError subclass with module "tomli._parser".
+        toml_exc_cls = type(
+            "TOMLDecodeError", (ValueError,), {"__module__": "tomli._parser"}
+        )
+        toml_error = toml_exc_cls("Invalid value at line 1 col 9")
+
+        # Remove the module from cache so the import inside main() re-executes
+        saved = sys.modules.pop("runpod_flash.cli.main", None)
+        try:
+            with patch.dict(sys.modules, {"runpod_flash.cli.main": None}):
+                # Patch __import__ to raise when the entrypoint tries to import main
+                real_import = __import__
+
+                def patched_import(name, *args, **kwargs):
+                    if name == "runpod_flash.cli.main":
+                        raise toml_error
+                    return real_import(name, *args, **kwargs)
+
+                with patch("builtins.__import__", side_effect=patched_import):
+                    with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc_info:
+                        main()
+
+            assert exc_info.value.code == 1
+            captured = capsys.readouterr()
+            assert "corrupted" in captured.err
+            assert "flash login" in captured.err
+        finally:
+            if saved is not None:
+                sys.modules["runpod_flash.cli.main"] = saved
+
+    def test_non_toml_value_error_propagates(self):
+        """A ValueError unrelated to TOML is not caught."""
+        saved = sys.modules.pop("runpod_flash.cli.main", None)
+        try:
+            with patch.dict(sys.modules, {"runpod_flash.cli.main": None}):
+                real_import = __import__
+
+                def patched_import(name, *args, **kwargs):
+                    if name == "runpod_flash.cli.main":
+                        raise ValueError("something completely different")
+                    return real_import(name, *args, **kwargs)
+
+                with patch("builtins.__import__", side_effect=patched_import):
+                    with pytest.raises(
+                        ValueError, match="something completely different"
+                    ):
+                        main()
+        finally:
+            if saved is not None:
+                sys.modules["runpod_flash.cli.main"] = saved