diff --git a/.changeset/tiny-plums-change.md b/.changeset/tiny-plums-change.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ce813c16e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/tiny-plums-change.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@redocly/cli": patch
+---
+
+Fixed hard crash that happened when no API was provided either via the command argument or in the config.
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/commands/lint.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/commands/lint.test.ts
index 1106f38f0a..3a2c03e39a 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/commands/lint.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/commands/lint.test.ts
@@ -124,12 +124,6 @@ describe('handleLint', () => {
       await commandWrapper(handleLint)(argvMock);
       expect(checkIfRulesetExist).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
     });
-
-    it('should fail if apis not provided', async () => {
-      await commandWrapper(handleLint)({ ...argvMock, apis: [] });
-      expect(getFallbackApisOrExit).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-      expect(exitWithError).toHaveBeenCalledWith('No APIs were provided.');
-    });
   });
 
   describe('loop through entrypoints and lint stage', () => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/utils.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/utils.test.ts
index 06b4385999..1a036aa0fa 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/__tests__/utils.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/__tests__/utils.test.ts
@@ -142,6 +142,18 @@ describe('getFallbackApisOrExit', async () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it('should exit with error when no APIs are provided and config has no apis', async () => {
+    const apisConfig = await openapiCore.createConfig({ apis: {} });
+    expect.assertions(1);
+    try {
+      await getFallbackApisOrExit([], apisConfig);
+    } catch (e) {
+      expect(e.message).toEqual(
+        'No APIs were provided. Specify an API via the command argument or define one in your config.'
+      );
+    }
+  });
+
   it('should error if file from config do not exist', async () => {
     vi.spyOn(errorHandling, 'exitWithError');
     vi.mocked(fs.existsSync).mockImplementationOnce(() => false);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/lint.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/lint.ts
index d0dc4a5c63..0f8250faba 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/lint.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/lint.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ import { performance } from 'perf_hooks';
 import type { Arguments } from 'yargs';
 
 import type { CommandArgv, Totals, VerifyConfigOptions } from '../types.js';
-import { AbortFlowError, exitWithError } from '../utils/error.js';
+import { AbortFlowError } from '../utils/error.js';
 import { getCommandNameFromArgs } from '../utils/get-command-name-from-args.js';
 import {
   checkIfRulesetExist,
@@ -47,10 +47,6 @@ export async function handleLint({
 }: CommandArgs<LintArgv>) {
   const apis = await getFallbackApisOrExit(argv.apis, config);
 
-  if (!apis.length) {
-    exitWithError('No APIs were provided.');
-  }
-
   const totals: Totals = { errors: 0, warnings: 0, ignored: 0 };
   let totalIgnored = 0;
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/scorecard-classic/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/scorecard-classic/index.ts
index 742d371583..8a6499ce8e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/scorecard-classic/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/scorecard-classic/index.ts
@@ -34,9 +34,6 @@ export async function handleScorecardClassic({
 }: CommandArgs<ScorecardClassicArgv>) {
   const startedAt = performance.now();
   const apis = await getFallbackApisOrExit(argv.api ? [argv.api] : [], config);
-  if (!apis.length) {
-    exitWithError('No APIs were provided.');
-  }
 
   const projectUrl =
     argv['project-url'] ||
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/miscellaneous.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/miscellaneous.ts
index 55cc135dfd..1061bd02fc 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/utils/miscellaneous.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/miscellaneous.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,11 @@ export async function getFallbackApisOrExit(
     }
     exitWithError('Please provide a valid path.');
   }
+  if (res.length === 0) {
+    exitWithError(
+      'No APIs were provided. Specify an API via the command argument or define one in your config.'
+    );
+  }
   return res;
 }