diff --git a/.changeset/fix-issue-493-token-dir-error.md b/.changeset/fix-issue-493-token-dir-error.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7909f9b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-issue-493-token-dir-error.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+---\n"@googleworkspace/cli": patch\n---\n\nfix(auth): propagate error when token directory cannot be created
diff --git a/src/token_storage.rs b/src/token_storage.rs
index 1cfa5bf1..59694199 100644
--- a/src/token_storage.rs
+++ b/src/token_storage.rs
@@ -82,7 +82,13 @@ impl EncryptedTokenStorage {
         let encrypted = crate::credential_store::encrypt(json.as_bytes())?;
 
         if let Some(parent) = self.file_path.parent() {
-            let _ = tokio::fs::create_dir_all(parent).await;
+            tokio::fs::create_dir_all(parent).await.map_err(|e| {
+                anyhow::anyhow!(
+                    "Failed to create token directory '{}': {}",
+                    parent.display(),
+                    e
+                )
+            })?;
             #[cfg(unix)]
             {
                 use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt;