diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8a7e9f3..92a3944 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 - A flag given without a value is refused the same way everywhere, as `--format`, `--db` and `doctor --token` already were: `--tz`, `report --period`, `--token` on `fetch`, `sync` and the `db` commands, and `login --token ""` now say `--<flag> has no value` and name what leaving the flag out falls back to. `--tz` said `Unknown timezone ""`, `--period` said `got ""`, `--token` was dropped for the token file (a `TOKEN_MISSING` naming the file, or silently accepted by `db today`), and `login` fell through to the interactive prompt. (#148)
 - `login --path <directory>` (or `OURA_TOKEN_PATH` naming one) is `BAD_ARGS` saying the path is a directory, with a file path inside it as the example; it printed a raw `EISDIR: illegal operation on a directory` with no hint. (#149)
 - `--db` or `OURA_DB_PATH` naming a directory is a `DB_ERROR` saying so, with `<dir>/oura.db` as the example, and `doctor` shows the same fix; SQLite's `unable to open database file` sent the user to check permissions that were fine. (#151)
+- `TOKEN_MISSING` from `sync` and `fetch` names the token file with `~` for the home directory (`No Oura access token at ~/.oura-token.`), the way `doctor` does; it printed the full home path. The multi-line token error names the file the same way. (#146)
+- The `error:` line is coloured only when stderr is a terminal (and `NO_COLOR` / `--no-color` are not set, or `FORCE_COLOR` asks for it). The decision followed stdout, so `oura-cli sync 2>err.log` on a terminal wrote ANSI codes into the file. (#150)
 
 ## [0.9.1] - 2026-09-15
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 32c8aad..5123472 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ A re-fetched window ends up holding exactly what the API returned for it. A samp
 | What you see | What to run |
 |---|---|
 | `No Oura data is available for this report yet.` | `oura-cli sync` |
-| `No Oura access token at /…/.oura-token` | `oura-cli login` |
+| `No Oura access token at ~/.oura-token` | `oura-cli login` |
 | `Oura API 401` | `oura-cli login` with a fresh PAT |
 | `Oura API 429` after the automatic retries | Wait a few minutes. A long `fetch hr` window is hundreds of requests. |
 | `db today` empty right after a sync | Normal. Oura publishes a day's summary after that night's sleep syncs from the ring. |
diff --git a/src/api/client.test.ts b/src/api/client.test.ts
index ba06362..731ccb3 100644
--- a/src/api/client.test.ts
+++ b/src/api/client.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'bun:test';
 import { OuraClient, retryDelayMs, MAX_RETRY_AFTER_MS, MAX_TOTAL_WAIT_MS, RETRY_LIMIT } from './client.js';
 import { CliError } from '../lib/errors.js';
+import { homedir } from 'os';
+import { join } from 'path';
 
 const realFetch = globalThis.fetch;
 
@@ -78,6 +80,13 @@ describe('OuraClient', () => {
         if (prevToken !== undefined) process.env.OURA_TOKEN = prevToken;
       });
 
+      it('names a token file under the home directory with ~, as doctor does (#146)', () => {
+        const dir = `oura-cli-no-such-dir-${process.pid}`;
+        let err: unknown;
+        try { new OuraClient({ tokenPath: join(homedir(), dir, '.oura-token') }); } catch (e) { err = e; }
+        expect((err as CliError).message).toBe(`No Oura access token at ~/${dir}/.oura-token.`);
+      });
+
       it('throws CliError with code TOKEN_MISSING and a hint to run login', () => {
         expect(() => new OuraClient({ tokenPath: '/nonexistent/path/.oura-token' }))
           .toThrow(/No Oura access token/);
diff --git a/src/api/client.ts b/src/api/client.ts
index 604d5a6..e94a0da 100644
--- a/src/api/client.ts
+++ b/src/api/client.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { CliError, redactSecrets } from '../lib/errors.js';
+import { homePath } from '../lib/home-path.js';
 import { resolveToken } from './token.js';
 import type { OuraEndpoint } from './types.js';
 
@@ -90,11 +91,11 @@ export class OuraClient {
     this.sleep = options.sleep ?? (ms => new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms)));
     const { token, source } = resolveToken(options.token, options.tokenPath);
     if (!token) {
-      throw new CliError('TOKEN_MISSING', `No Oura access token at ${source}.`, 'Run `oura-cli login` or set OURA_TOKEN.');
+      throw new CliError('TOKEN_MISSING', `No Oura access token at ${homePath(source)}.`, 'Run `oura-cli login` or set OURA_TOKEN.');
     }
     if (/\s/.test(token)) {
       // A multi-line token file would otherwise reach fetch() and come back as a header error quoting the token.
-      throw new CliError('TOKEN_INVALID', `The token from ${source} contains whitespace or a line break; a token is a single line.`, 'Fix the file or variable, or run `oura-cli login` again.');
+      throw new CliError('TOKEN_INVALID', `The token from ${homePath(source)} contains whitespace or a line break; a token is a single line.`, 'Fix the file or variable, or run `oura-cli login` again.');
     }
     this.token = token;
   }
diff --git a/src/lib/errors.test.ts b/src/lib/errors.test.ts
index 170636e..730f622 100644
--- a/src/lib/errors.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/errors.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import chalk from 'chalk';
 import { CliError, exitCodeFor, formatError, redactSecrets, type ErrorEnvelope } from './errors.js';
 
 describe('CliError', () => {
@@ -115,6 +116,17 @@ describe('formatError wraps the hint at the terminal width (#130)', () => {
     expect(lines.slice(1).map(l => l.trim()).join(' ')).toBe(`hint: ${hint}`);
   });
 
+  it('colours the error line by stderr, not stdout (#150)', () => {
+    const level = chalk.level;
+    chalk.level = 1;
+    try {
+      expect(formatError(new CliError('BAD_ARGS', 'boom'), 'table', undefined, false).text).toBe('error: boom');
+      expect(formatError(new CliError('BAD_ARGS', 'boom'), 'table', undefined, true).text).toBe('\u001b[31merror: boom\u001b[39m');
+    } finally {
+      chalk.level = level;
+    }
+  });
+
   it('keeps the hint on one line when stderr is a pipe', () => {
     const lines = formatError(new CliError('BAD_ARGS', 'boom', hint), 'table', undefined).text.split('\n');
     expect(lines).toHaveLength(2);
diff --git a/src/lib/errors.ts b/src/lib/errors.ts
index 4267e64..c64ed7d 100644
--- a/src/lib/errors.ts
+++ b/src/lib/errors.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import chalk from 'chalk';
+import { shouldDisableColor } from './color-mode.js';
 import { screenWidth } from './terminal.js';
 import { wrap } from './wrap.js';
 
@@ -35,7 +36,10 @@ export function redactSecrets(s: string): string {
     .replace(/"token"\s*:\s*"[^"]{8,}"/g, '"token":"[REDACTED]"');
 }
 
-export function formatError(err: unknown, format: 'json' | 'table', width = screenWidth(process.stderr)): ErrorEnvelope {
+export function formatError(
+  err: unknown, format: 'json' | 'table', width = screenWidth(process.stderr),
+  colour = !shouldDisableColor(process.argv, process.env, process.stderr.isTTY === true),
+): ErrorEnvelope {
   const code = err instanceof CliError ? err.code : 'UNKNOWN';
   // Redact here as well as at the API boundary: an unexpected error (e.g. from fetch) may quote a header.
   const message = redactSecrets(err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err));
@@ -48,7 +52,7 @@ export function formatError(err: unknown, format: 'json' | 'table', width = scre
     };
   }
 
-  const head = chalk.red(`error: ${message}`);
+  const head = colour ? chalk.red(`error: ${message}`) : `error: ${message}`;
   // A hint is prose, often a full sentence with a command in it: on a terminal it breaks between
   // words at the screen width and continues under its own text (#130).
   return { kind: 'text', text: hint ? [head, ...wrap(hint, width, ' '.repeat('  hint: '.length), '  hint: ')].join('\n') : head };