diff --git a/main-actions/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/sona/Sona.scala b/main-actions/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/sona/Sona.scala
index 66f62e8d2..3ef4a80aa 100644
--- a/main-actions/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/sona/Sona.scala
+++ b/main-actions/src/main/scala/sbt/internal/sona/Sona.scala
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ class SonaClient(reqTransform: Request => Request, uploadRequestTimeout: FiniteD
           )
         )
         .withRequestTimeout(uploadRequestTimeout)
-      http.run(reqTransform(req), Gigahorse.asString)
+      http.run(reqTransform(req), SonaClient.asStringWithErrorBody)
     }
     awaitWithMessage(res, "uploading...", log, totalAwaitDuration)
   }
@@ -200,6 +200,17 @@ object SonaClient {
     Parser.parseFromByteBuffer(r.bodyAsByteBuffer).get
   def as[A1: JsonFormat]: FullResponse => A1 = asJson.andThen(Converter.fromJsonUnsafe[A1])
   val asPublisherStatus: FullResponse => PublisherStatus = as[PublisherStatus]
+
+  /**
+   * Response handler that returns the body as a String on success (2xx status),
+   * or throws a [[SonaStatusError]] with both the status code and response body on failure.
+   * This provides more detailed error information than [[gigahorse.StatusError]].
+   */
+  val asStringWithErrorBody: FullResponse => String = { response =>
+    val body = response.bodyAsString
+    if (response.status >= 200 && response.status < 300) body
+    else throw new SonaStatusError(response.status, body)
+  }
   def oauthClient(
       userName: String,
       userToken: String,
@@ -270,3 +281,17 @@ object PublishingType {
   case object Automatic extends PublishingType
   case object UserManaged extends PublishingType
 }
+
+/**
+ * Exception thrown when an HTTP request to the Sonatype API fails with a non-2xx status.
+ * Unlike [[gigahorse.StatusError]], this exception includes the response body which
+ * typically contains useful error details from the server.
+ *
+ * @param status the HTTP status code
+ * @param body the response body content
+ */
+class SonaStatusError(val status: Int, val body: String)
+    extends RuntimeException(
+      if (body.nonEmpty) s"Unexpected status: $status\n$body"
+      else s"Unexpected status: $status"
+    )
diff --git a/main-actions/src/test/scala/sbt/internal/sona/SonaClientTest.scala b/main-actions/src/test/scala/sbt/internal/sona/SonaClientTest.scala
index 0e5fa4bf1..a376519b3 100644
--- a/main-actions/src/test/scala/sbt/internal/sona/SonaClientTest.scala
+++ b/main-actions/src/test/scala/sbt/internal/sona/SonaClientTest.scala
@@ -17,6 +17,21 @@ import scala.collection.immutable
 
 object SonaClientTest extends BasicTestSuite:
 
+  test("SonaStatusError should include both status and body in message"):
+    val error = new SonaStatusError(401, "Invalid token")
+    assert(error.status == 401)
+    assert(error.body == "Invalid token")
+    assert(error.getMessage == "Unexpected status: 401\nInvalid token")
+
+  test("SonaStatusError should handle empty body"):
+    val error = new SonaStatusError(500, "")
+    assert(error.getMessage == "Unexpected status: 500")
+
+  test("SonaStatusError should preserve multiline error body"):
+    val body = """{"error": "Unauthorized", "message": "Invalid credentials"}"""
+    val error = new SonaStatusError(401, body)
+    assert(error.getMessage.contains(body))
+
   private def doTest(
       errorsJsonText: Option[String],
       expectedErrorMessage: String,