diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
index 4738e74d7..1dc011c24 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
@@ -44,4 +44,4 @@ jobs:
           EXOSCALE_ZONE: ch-gva-2
         run: |
           cd tests/e2e
-          go test -v -tags=api -timeout 30m -run TestScriptsAPI
+          go test -v -tags=api -timeout 30m -run TestScriptsAPI 2>&1
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 491e16ef5..a86ace7b9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@
 
 - `exo compute eip list` now shows the description & the management type of the EIP #803
 - sks: add `rotate-karpenter-credentials` command #797
+
+### Improvements
+
+- compute instance: enrich "not found" error with the zone searched and a hint to use -z #805
 - sks: add `active-nodepool-templates` command #797
 
 ### Bug fixes
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_console_url.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_console_url.go
index 35f0f234b..df0a726d1 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_console_url.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_console_url.go
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ func (c *instanceConsoleURLCmd) CmdRun(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	foundInstance, err := resp.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	foundInstance, err := findInstance(resp, c.Instance, string(c.Zone))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_delete.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_delete.go
index 01cbbd680..2de9c94bc 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_delete.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_delete.go
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ func (c *instanceDeleteCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 
 	instanceToDelete := []v3.UUID{}
 	for _, i := range c.Instances {
-		instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(i)
+		instance, err := findInstance(instances, i, c.Zone)
 		if err != nil {
 			if !c.Force {
 				return err
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_elastic_ip_attach.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_elastic_ip_attach.go
index 06edf3c76..b0ffb6d0e 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_elastic_ip_attach.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_elastic_ip_attach.go
@@ -54,9 +54,9 @@ func (c *instanceEIPAttachCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instancesList.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instancesList, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error retrieving Instance: %w", err)
+		return err
 	}
 
 	elasticIPs, err := client.ListElasticIPS(ctx)
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_elastic_ip_detach.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_elastic_ip_detach.go
index ce2493f36..234147d7a 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_elastic_ip_detach.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_elastic_ip_detach.go
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ func (c *instanceEIPDetachCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instancesList.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instancesList, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error retrieving Instance: %w", err)
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_enable_tpm.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_enable_tpm.go
index 19cd71d2b..0f98f0a45 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_enable_tpm.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_enable_tpm.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ func (c *instanceEnableTPMCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	instance, err := resp.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(resp, c.Instance, string(c.Zone))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_find.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_find.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..39225448e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_find.go
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+package instance
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+
+	v3 "github.com/exoscale/egoscale/v3"
+)
+
+// findInstance looks up an instance by name or ID from a ListInstancesResponse
+// and enriches the "not found" error with the zone that was searched,
+// reminding the user to use -z to target a different zone.
+func findInstance(resp *v3.ListInstancesResponse, nameOrID, zone string) (v3.ListInstancesResponseInstances, error) {
+	instance, err := resp.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(nameOrID)
+	if err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, v3.ErrNotFound) {
+			return v3.ListInstancesResponseInstances{}, fmt.Errorf(
+				"instance %q not found in zone %s\nHint: use -z <zone> to specify a different zone, or run 'exo compute instance list' to see instances across all zones",
+				nameOrID,
+				zone,
+			)
+		}
+		return v3.ListInstancesResponseInstances{}, err
+	}
+	return instance, nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_attach.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_attach.go
index 6bb4f95dd..d3794dce2 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_attach.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_attach.go
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func (c *instancePrivnetAttachCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_detach.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_detach.go
index 1961c3f4f..aa428410b 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_detach.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_detach.go
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ func (c *instancePrivnetDetachCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_updateip.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_updateip.go
index 3a35d11b3..d6c01e03e 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_updateip.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_private_network_updateip.go
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func (c *instancePrivnetUpdateIPCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reboot.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reboot.go
index f3621df22..c20f053c3 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reboot.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reboot.go
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ func (c *instanceRebootCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reset.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reset.go
index 741eb79b5..5543de80f 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reset.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reset.go
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ func (c *instanceResetCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reset_password.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reset_password.go
index 4b651ed18..9ff1ab4d9 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reset_password.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reset_password.go
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ func (c *instanceResetPasswordCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_resizedisk.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_resizedisk.go
index cc4de84d3..be3591017 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_resizedisk.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_resizedisk.go
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ func (c *instanceResizeDiskCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reveal_password.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reveal_password.go
index 26f10f254..cd299b219 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reveal_password.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_reveal_password.go
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ func (c *instanceRevealCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_scale.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_scale.go
index ed57a37cd..910ebe274 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_scale.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_scale.go
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ func (c *instanceScaleCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_scp.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_scp.go
index 8c2298629..85612efcb 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_scp.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_scp.go
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ func (c *instanceSCPCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_security_group_add.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_security_group_add.go
index df858c996..022cc0161 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_security_group_add.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_security_group_add.go
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func (c *instanceSGAddCmd) CmdRun(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_security_group_remove.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_security_group_remove.go
index e6f0bea85..c71effed9 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_security_group_remove.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_security_group_remove.go
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func (c *instanceSGRemoveCmd) CmdRun(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_show.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_show.go
index c82bc20ad..b17776577 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_show.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_show.go
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ func (c *instanceShowCmd) CmdRun(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	foundInstance, err := resp.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	foundInstance, err := findInstance(resp, c.Instance, string(c.Zone))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_snapshot_create.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_snapshot_create.go
index e0d027469..dfaf60958 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_snapshot_create.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_snapshot_create.go
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ func (c *instanceSnapshotCreateCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_snapshot_revert.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_snapshot_revert.go
index 75b58a273..f2b66d469 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_snapshot_revert.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_snapshot_revert.go
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ func (c *instanceSnapshotRevertCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_ssh.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_ssh.go
index 55470b3d4..85762b1ab 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_ssh.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_ssh.go
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ func (c *instanceSSHCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_start.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_start.go
index 0fab93c62..30e970801 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_start.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_start.go
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ func (c *instanceStartCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_stop.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_stop.go
index d4c8e8bd7..76f114b5d 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_stop.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_stop.go
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ func (c *instanceStopCmd) CmdRun(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_update.go b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_update.go
index c02db9552..b052651d5 100644
--- a/cmd/compute/instance/instance_update.go
+++ b/cmd/compute/instance/instance_update.go
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ func (c *instanceUpdateCmd) CmdRun(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	instance, err := instances.FindListInstancesResponseInstances(c.Instance)
+	instance, err := findInstance(instances, c.Instance, c.Zone)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/tests/e2e/scenarios/with-api/compute/instance_not_found_error.txtar b/tests/e2e/scenarios/with-api/compute/instance_not_found_error.txtar
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..237dd9a86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/scenarios/with-api/compute/instance_not_found_error.txtar
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Test: exo compute instance <action> returns enriched error when instance not found
+# Verifies that when an instance lookup fails, the error message includes the zone
+# that was searched and a hint to use -z.
+# No resources are created so no teardown is required.
+# TEST_ZONE is injected by the API test runner.
+
+# show: instance not found should mention zone and hint
+! exec exo --output-format json compute instance show nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# reboot: same helper, same enriched error
+! exec exo --output-format json compute instance reboot --force nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# stop: same helper, same enriched error
+! exec exo --output-format json compute instance stop --force nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
diff --git a/tests/e2e/scenarios/with-api/compute/instance_not_found_error_extended.txtar b/tests/e2e/scenarios/with-api/compute/instance_not_found_error_extended.txtar
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9a0da9b9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/e2e/scenarios/with-api/compute/instance_not_found_error_extended.txtar
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+# Test: all 24 instance subcommands using findInstance produce enriched not-found errors
+# Companion to instance_not_found_error.txtar which covers show/reboot/stop.
+# This scenario exercises the remaining 21 commands to confirm that every
+# one of them surfaces the zone and the -z hint when the instance does not exist.
+# No resources are created so no teardown is required.
+
+# --- Actions that take only an instance name (+ optional --force) ---
+
+# start
+! exec exo compute instance start --force nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# delete (without --force: findInstance error is returned directly;
+# with --force the command prints a warning and exits 0 by design)
+! exec exo compute instance delete nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# update
+! exec exo compute instance update nonexistent-e2e-instance --name dummy
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# reset
+! exec exo compute instance reset --force nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# reset-password
+! exec exo compute instance reset-password nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# reveal-password
+! exec exo compute instance reveal-password nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# console-url
+! exec exo compute instance console-url nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# enable-tpm
+! exec exo compute instance enable-tpm --force nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# snapshot create
+! exec exo compute instance snapshot create nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# --- Actions that take an instance name + a second positional argument ---
+
+# scale (requires instance + type)
+! exec exo compute instance scale --force nonexistent-e2e-instance standard.small
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# resize-disk (requires instance + size)
+! exec exo compute instance resize-disk --force nonexistent-e2e-instance 20
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# snapshot revert (requires instance + snapshot-id)
+! exec exo compute instance snapshot revert --force nonexistent-e2e-instance 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# security-group add (requires instance + sg name)
+! exec exo compute instance security-group add nonexistent-e2e-instance default
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# security-group remove (requires instance + sg name)
+! exec exo compute instance security-group remove nonexistent-e2e-instance default
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# private-network attach (requires instance + pn name)
+! exec exo compute instance private-network attach nonexistent-e2e-instance dummy-pn
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# private-network detach (requires instance + pn name)
+! exec exo compute instance private-network detach nonexistent-e2e-instance dummy-pn
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# private-network update-ip (requires instance + pn name)
+! exec exo compute instance private-network update-ip nonexistent-e2e-instance dummy-pn
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# elastic-ip attach (requires instance + eip)
+! exec exo compute instance elastic-ip attach nonexistent-e2e-instance 1.2.3.4
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# elastic-ip detach (requires instance + eip)
+! exec exo compute instance elastic-ip detach nonexistent-e2e-instance 1.2.3.4
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# ssh (requires instance; will fail at instance lookup before attempting SSH)
+! exec exo compute instance ssh nonexistent-e2e-instance
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'
+
+# scp (requires instance + source + target)
+! exec exo compute instance scp nonexistent-e2e-instance /dev/null /tmp/dummy
+stderr 'not found in zone'
+stderr 'Hint: use -z'