diff --git a/builder/builder-manifest.c b/builder/builder-manifest.c
index 0aa5d011..34dd4cb2 100644
--- a/builder/builder-manifest.c
+++ b/builder/builder-manifest.c
@@ -1632,8 +1632,14 @@ builder_manifest_finish (BuilderManifest *self,
 
           if (!g_file_query_exists (bin_command, NULL))
             {
+              const char *help = "";
+
+              if (strchr (self->command, ' '))
+                help = ". Use a shell wrapper for passing arguments";
+
               g_set_error (error, G_IO_ERROR, G_IO_ERROR_FAILED,
-                           "Command '%s' not found", self->command);
+                           "Command '%s' not found%s", self->command, help);
+
               return FALSE;
             }
         }
diff --git a/doc/flatpak-builder.xml b/doc/flatpak-builder.xml
index 3c8f91c8..9e397eb5 100644
--- a/doc/flatpak-builder.xml
+++ b/doc/flatpak-builder.xml
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@
                 </varlistentry>
                 <varlistentry>
                     <term><option>command</option> (string)</term>
-                    <listitem><para>The filename or path to the main binary of the application.</para></listitem>
+                    <listitem><para>The filename or path to the main binary of the application. Note that this is really just a single file, not a commandline. If you want to pass arguments, install a shell script wrapper and use that as the command.</para></listitem>
                 </varlistentry>
                 <varlistentry>
                     <term><option>build-runtime</option> (boolean)</term>