diff --git a/hermes_cli/session_recovery.py b/hermes_cli/session_recovery.py
index c75f8552fd0dd..8cf50f8548f06 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/session_recovery.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/session_recovery.py
@@ -1238,7 +1238,10 @@ def recover_session_database(
         output_path=output_path,
         work_dir=work_dir,
     )
-    assert output is not None
+    if output is None:
+        raise SessionRecoverySafetyError(
+            "output_path is required for session recovery"
+        )
     disk_space = _disk_space_preflight(source, work_root, output.parent)
 
     temp_dir, snapshot_source, inspection = _snapshot_and_inspect(source, work_root)