diff --git a/crates/aura-cli/src/research_docs.rs b/crates/aura-cli/src/research_docs.rs
index 4338930..44b4912 100644
--- a/crates/aura-cli/src/research_docs.rs
+++ b/crates/aura-cli/src/research_docs.rs
@@ -263,6 +263,15 @@ fn register_process(file: &PathBuf, env: &Env) -> Result<(), String> {
 }
 
 fn show_process(id: &str, env: &Env) -> Result<(), String> {
+    if env.provenance().is_none() {
+        let cwd = std::env::current_dir()
+            .map(|d| d.display().to_string())
+            .unwrap_or_default();
+        return Err(format!(
+            "process show needs a project: the document store lives under the \
+             project store root (no Aura.toml found up from {cwd})"
+        ));
+    }
     let registry = env.registry();
     match registry.get_process(id).map_err(|e| e.to_string())? {
         Some(bytes) => {
@@ -584,6 +593,15 @@ fn register_campaign(file: &PathBuf, env: &Env) -> Result<(), String> {
 }
 
 fn show_campaign(id: &str, env: &Env) -> Result<(), String> {
+    if env.provenance().is_none() {
+        let cwd = std::env::current_dir()
+            .map(|d| d.display().to_string())
+            .unwrap_or_default();
+        return Err(format!(
+            "campaign show needs a project: the document store lives under the \
+             project store root (no Aura.toml found up from {cwd})"
+        ));
+    }
     let registry = env.registry();
     match registry.get_campaign(id).map_err(|e| e.to_string())? {
         Some(bytes) => {