diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4ed1c22a..777fc872 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 ### Changes
 
 - Wrap long error messages in response pane
+- Include data path in config/collection deserialization errors
+  - This should make errors much less cryptic and frustrating
 
 ## [2.3.0] - 2024-11-11
 
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 9328a3e0..8ecb71e4 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2230,6 +2230,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn 2.0.87",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "serde_path_to_error"
+version = "0.1.16"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "af99884400da37c88f5e9146b7f1fd0fbcae8f6eec4e9da38b67d05486f814a6"
+dependencies = [
+ "itoa",
+ "serde",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "serde_test"
 version = "1.0.177"
@@ -2412,6 +2422,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "serde_json_path",
+ "serde_path_to_error",
  "serde_test",
  "serde_yaml",
  "strum",
diff --git a/crates/core/Cargo.toml b/crates/core/Cargo.toml
index 588663be..70c908ac 100644
--- a/crates/core/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/core/Cargo.toml
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ rusqlite_migration = "1.2.0"
 serde = {workspace = true, features = ["derive"]}
 serde_json = {workspace = true}
 serde_json_path = {workspace = true}
+serde_path_to_error = "0.1.16"
 serde_yaml = {workspace = true}
 strum = {workspace = true, features = ["derive"]}
 thiserror = {workspace = true}
diff --git a/crates/core/src/collection/models.rs b/crates/core/src/collection/models.rs
index 48851b38..ad78476d 100644
--- a/crates/core/src/collection/models.rs
+++ b/crates/core/src/collection/models.rs
@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ impl crate::test_util::Factory for Profile {
     Serialize,
     Deserialize,
 )]
+#[serde(transparent)]
 pub struct ProfileId(String);
 
 #[cfg(any(test, feature = "test"))]
@@ -235,6 +236,7 @@ pub struct Recipe {
     Serialize,
     Deserialize,
 )]
+#[serde(transparent)]
 pub struct RecipeId(String);
 
 #[cfg(any(test, feature = "test"))]
@@ -412,6 +414,7 @@ pub struct Chain {
     Serialize,
     Deserialize,
 )]
+#[serde(transparent)]
 #[cfg_attr(test, derive(proptest_derive::Arbitrary))]
 pub struct ChainId(#[deref(forward)] Identifier);
 
diff --git a/crates/core/src/template.rs b/crates/core/src/template.rs
index 8c96171d..ce189285 100644
--- a/crates/core/src/template.rs
+++ b/crates/core/src/template.rs
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ impl From<serde_json::Value> for Template {
     Serialize,
     Deserialize,
 )]
+#[serde(transparent)]
 #[cfg_attr(test, derive(proptest_derive::Arbitrary))]
 pub struct Identifier(
     #[cfg_attr(test, proptest(regex = "[a-zA-Z0-9-_]+"))] String,
diff --git a/crates/core/src/util.rs b/crates/core/src/util.rs
index 7ebc0977..1e785c77 100644
--- a/crates/core/src/util.rs
+++ b/crates/core/src/util.rs
@@ -40,13 +40,14 @@ pub fn doc_link(path: &str) -> String {
 }
 
 /// Parse bytes from a reader into YAML. This will merge any anchors/aliases.
-pub fn parse_yaml<T: DeserializeOwned>(
-    reader: impl Read,
-) -> serde_yaml::Result<T> {
+pub fn parse_yaml<T: DeserializeOwned>(reader: impl Read) -> anyhow::Result<T> {
     // Two-step parsing is required for anchor/alias merging
-    let mut yaml_value: serde_yaml::Value = serde_yaml::from_reader(reader)?;
+    let deserializer = serde_yaml::Deserializer::from_reader(reader);
+    let mut yaml_value: serde_yaml::Value =
+        serde_path_to_error::deserialize(deserializer)?;
     yaml_value.apply_merge()?;
-    serde_yaml::from_value(yaml_value)
+    let output = serde_path_to_error::deserialize(yaml_value)?;
+    Ok(output)
 }
 
 /// Format a datetime for the user