diff --git a/lib/elixir/lib/kernel/cli.ex b/lib/elixir/lib/kernel/cli.ex
index 9a55f94197..84c9cb76bc 100644
--- a/lib/elixir/lib/kernel/cli.ex
+++ b/lib/elixir/lib/kernel/cli.ex
@@ -99,9 +99,14 @@ defmodule Kernel.CLI do
   Shared helper for error formatting on CLI tools.
   """
   def format_error(kind, reason, stacktrace) do
+    {banner, rest} = format_error_parts(kind, reason, stacktrace)
+    [banner, rest]
+  end
+
+  defp format_error_parts(kind, reason, stacktrace) do
     {blamed, stacktrace} = Exception.blame(kind, reason, stacktrace)
 
-    iodata =
+    banner =
       case blamed do
         %FunctionClauseError{} ->
           formatted = Exception.format_banner(kind, reason, stacktrace)
@@ -112,7 +117,7 @@ defmodule Kernel.CLI do
           Exception.format_banner(kind, blamed, stacktrace)
       end
 
-    [iodata, ?\n, Exception.format_stacktrace(prune_stacktrace(stacktrace))]
+    {banner, [?\n, Exception.format_stacktrace(prune_stacktrace(stacktrace))]}
   end
 
   @doc """
@@ -179,7 +184,8 @@ defmodule Kernel.CLI do
   ## Error handling
 
   defp print_error(kind, reason, stacktrace) do
-    IO.write(:stderr, format_error(kind, reason, stacktrace))
+    {banner, rest} = format_error_parts(kind, reason, stacktrace)
+    IO.write(:stderr, [IO.ANSI.format([:red, banner]), rest])
   end
 
   defp blame_match(%{match?: true, node: node}), do: blame_ansi(:normal, "+", node)