diff --git a/packages/kit/src/exports/vite/dev/index.js b/packages/kit/src/exports/vite/dev/index.js
index 1c6546e90c35..f9c444fba422 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/exports/vite/dev/index.js
+++ b/packages/kit/src/exports/vite/dev/index.js
@@ -470,7 +470,7 @@ export async function dev(vite, vite_config, svelte_config) {
 					res.writeHead(500, {
 						'Content-Type': 'text/html; charset=utf-8'
 					});
-					res.end(error_template({ status: 500, message: 'Invalid routes' }));
+					res.end(error_template({ status: 500, message: manifest_error.message ?? 'Invalid routes' }));
 
 					return;
 				}