diff --git a/include/SZ3/api/impl/SZAlgoLorenzoReg.hpp b/include/SZ3/api/impl/SZAlgoLorenzoReg.hpp
index 5047f95d..12a69343 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/api/impl/SZAlgoLorenzoReg.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/api/impl/SZAlgoLorenzoReg.hpp
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ std::shared_ptr<concepts::CompressorInterface<T>> make_compressor_typetwo_lorenz
     int methodCnt = (conf.lorenzo + conf.lorenzo2 + conf.regression + conf.regression2);
     int use_single_predictor = (methodCnt == 1);
     if (methodCnt == 0) {
-        printf("All lorenzo and regression methods are disabled.\n");
-        exit(0);
+        fprintf(stderr, "All lorenzo and regression methods are disabled.\n");
+        throw std::invalid_argument("All lorenzo and regression methods are disabled.");
     }
     if (conf.lorenzo) {
         if (use_single_predictor) {
diff --git a/include/SZ3/api/impl/SZDispatcher.hpp b/include/SZ3/api/impl/SZDispatcher.hpp
index 8b9c65bd..1e2ccfa3 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/api/impl/SZDispatcher.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/api/impl/SZDispatcher.hpp
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ size_t SZ_compress_dispatcher(Config &conf, const T *data, uchar *cmpData, size_
             } else if (conf.cmprAlgo == ALGO_NOPRED) {
                 cmpSize = SZ_compress_nopred<T, N>(conf, dataCopy.data(), cmpData, cmpCap);
             } else {
-                printf("SZ_compress_dispatcher, Method not supported\n");
-                exit(0);
+                fprintf(stderr, "Unknown compression algorithm\n");
+                throw std::invalid_argument("Unknown compression algorithm");
             }
 
         } catch (std::length_error &e) {
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ size_t SZ_compress_dispatcher(Config &conf, const T *data, uchar *cmpData, size_
             if (zstdCmpSize < cmpSize) {
                 conf.cmprAlgo = ALGO_LOSSLESS;
                 if (zstdCmpSize > cmpCap) {
+                    fprintf(stderr, SZ_ERROR_COMP_BUFFER_NOT_LARGE_ENOUGH);
                     throw std::length_error(SZ_ERROR_COMP_BUFFER_NOT_LARGE_ENOUGH);
                 }
                 memcpy(cmpData, zstdCmpData, zstdCmpSize);
@@ -78,7 +79,8 @@ void SZ_decompress_dispatcher(Config &conf, const uchar *cmpData, size_t cmpSize
         auto decDataPos = reinterpret_cast<uchar *>(decData);
         zstd.decompress(cmpData, cmpSize, decDataPos, decDataSize);
         if (decDataSize != conf.num * sizeof(T)) {
-            throw std::runtime_error("Decompressed data size does not match the original data size\n");
+            fprintf(stderr, "Decompressed data size does not match the original data size\n");
+            throw std::runtime_error("Decompressed data size does not match the original data size");
         }
     } else if (conf.cmprAlgo == ALGO_LORENZO_REG) {
         SZ_decompress_LorenzoReg<T, N>(conf, cmpData, cmpSize, decData);
@@ -87,8 +89,8 @@ void SZ_decompress_dispatcher(Config &conf, const uchar *cmpData, size_t cmpSize
     } else if (conf.cmprAlgo == ALGO_NOPRED) {
         SZ_decompress_nopred<T, N>(conf, cmpData, cmpSize, decData);
     } else {
-        printf("SZ_decompress_dispatcher, Method not supported\n");
-        exit(0);
+        fprintf(stderr, "Unknown compression algorithm\n");
+        throw std::invalid_argument("Unknown compression algorithm");
     }
 }
 }  // namespace SZ3
diff --git a/include/SZ3/api/sz.hpp b/include/SZ3/api/sz.hpp
index 0e20d834..c8370912 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/api/sz.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/api/sz.hpp
@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@ size_t SZ_compress(const SZ3::Config &config, const T *data, char *cmpData, size
     } else if (conf.N == 4) {
         cmpDataLen = SZ_compress_impl<T, 4>(conf, data, cmpDataPos, cmpDataCap);
     } else {
-        printf("Data dimension higher than 4 is not supported.\n");
-        exit(0);
+        fprintf(stderr, "Data dimension higher than 4 is not supported.\n");
+        throw std::invalid_argument("Data dimension higher than 4 is not supported.");
     }
 
     auto cmpConfPos = reinterpret_cast<uchar *>(cmpData);
@@ -134,8 +134,8 @@ void SZ_decompress(SZ3::Config &config, char *cmpData, size_t cmpSize, T *&decDa
     } else if (config.N == 4) {
         SZ_decompress_impl<T, 4>(config, cmpDataPos, cmpDataSize, decData);
     } else {
-        printf("Data dimension higher than 4 is not supported.\n");
-        exit(0);
+        fprintf(stderr, "Data dimension higher than 4 is not supported.\n");
+        throw std::invalid_argument("Data dimension higher than 4 is not supported.");
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/include/SZ3/compressor/SZGenericCompressor.hpp b/include/SZ3/compressor/SZGenericCompressor.hpp
index f8fe2313..2edf59ba 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/compressor/SZGenericCompressor.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/compressor/SZGenericCompressor.hpp
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ class SZGenericCompressor : public concepts::CompressorInterface<T> {
         std::vector<int> quant_inds = decomposition.compress(conf, data);
 
         if (decomposition.get_out_range().first != 0) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "The output range of the decomposition must start from 0 for this compressor\n");
             throw std::runtime_error("The output range of the decomposition must start from 0 for this compressor");
         }
         encoder.preprocess_encode(quant_inds, decomposition.get_out_range().second);
diff --git a/include/SZ3/compressor/SZIterateCompressor.hpp b/include/SZ3/compressor/SZIterateCompressor.hpp
index 4d9d940b..9b209725 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/compressor/SZIterateCompressor.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/compressor/SZIterateCompressor.hpp
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ class SZIterateCompressor : public concepts::CompressorInterface<T> {
         quantizer.postcompress_data();
 
         if (quantizer.get_out_range().first != 0) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "The output range of the quantizer must start from 0 for this compressor\n");
             throw std::runtime_error("The output range of the quantizer must start from 0 for this compressor");
         }
         encoder.preprocess_encode(quant_inds, quantizer.get_out_range().second);
diff --git a/include/SZ3/compressor/specialized/SZBlockInterpolationCompressor.hpp b/include/SZ3/compressor/specialized/SZBlockInterpolationCompressor.hpp
index d4389d61..279c870e 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/compressor/specialized/SZBlockInterpolationCompressor.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/compressor/specialized/SZBlockInterpolationCompressor.hpp
@@ -135,6 +135,7 @@ class SZBlockInterpolationCompressor {
         //            predictor.print();
 
         if (quantizer.get_out_range().first != 0) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "The output range of the quantizer must start from 0 for this compressor\n");
             throw std::runtime_error("The output range of the quantizer must start from 0 for this compressor");
         }
         encoder.preprocess_encode(quant_inds, quantizer.get_out_range().second);
diff --git a/include/SZ3/compressor/specialized/SZExaaltCompressor.hpp b/include/SZ3/compressor/specialized/SZExaaltCompressor.hpp
index c36ad208..57cabebd 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/compressor/specialized/SZExaaltCompressor.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/compressor/specialized/SZExaaltCompressor.hpp
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ class SZExaaltCompressor : public SZ3::concepts::CompressorInterface<T> {
 
         
         if (quantizer.get_out_range().first != 0) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "The output range of the quantizer must start from 0 for this compressor\n");
             throw std::runtime_error("The output range of the quantizer must start from 0 for this compressor");
         }
         encoder.preprocess_encode(quant_inds, quantizer.get_out_range().second);
diff --git a/include/SZ3/decomposition/LorenzoRegressionDecomposition.hpp b/include/SZ3/decomposition/LorenzoRegressionDecomposition.hpp
index e6c30f98..0ef5a892 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/decomposition/LorenzoRegressionDecomposition.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/decomposition/LorenzoRegressionDecomposition.hpp
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ class LorenzoRegressionDecomposition : public concepts::DecompositionInterface<T
           precision(conf.absErrorBound),
           conf(conf) {
         if (N != 1 && N != 3) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "SZMeta Front only support 1D or 3D data\n");
             throw std::invalid_argument("SZMeta Front only support 1D or 3D data");
         }
         static_assert(std::is_base_of<concepts::QuantizerInterface<T, int>, Quantizer>::value,
diff --git a/include/SZ3/encoder/HuffmanEncoder.hpp b/include/SZ3/encoder/HuffmanEncoder.hpp
index 5859de8e..3c30e6ce 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/encoder/HuffmanEncoder.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/encoder/HuffmanEncoder.hpp
@@ -99,8 +99,8 @@ class HuffmanEncoder : public concepts::EncoderInterface<T> {
     void preprocess_encode(const T *bins, size_t num_bin, int stateNum) {
         nodeCount = 0;
         if (num_bin == 0) {
-            printf("Huffman bins should not be empty\n");
-            exit(0);
+            fprintf(stderr, "Huffman bins should not be empty\n");
+            throw std::invalid_argument("Huffman bins should not be empty");
         }
         init(bins, num_bin);
         for (int i = 0; i < huffmanTree->stateNum; i++)
diff --git a/include/SZ3/lossless/Lossless_zstd.hpp b/include/SZ3/lossless/Lossless_zstd.hpp
index 07a92452..d626e60f 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/lossless/Lossless_zstd.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/lossless/Lossless_zstd.hpp
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ class Lossless_zstd : public concepts::LosslessInterface {
     size_t compress(const uchar *src, size_t srcLen, uchar *dst, size_t dstCap) override {
         write(srcLen, dst);
         if (dstCap < ZSTD_compressBound(srcLen)) {
+            fprintf(stderr, SZ_ERROR_COMP_BUFFER_NOT_LARGE_ENOUGH);
             throw std::length_error(SZ_ERROR_COMP_BUFFER_NOT_LARGE_ENOUGH);
         }
         size_t dstLen = ZSTD_compress(dst, dstCap, src, srcLen, compression_level);
diff --git a/include/SZ3/predictor/MetaRegressionPredictor.hpp b/include/SZ3/predictor/MetaRegressionPredictor.hpp
index e1a839b4..9f87a073 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/predictor/MetaRegressionPredictor.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/predictor/MetaRegressionPredictor.hpp
@@ -198,7 +198,6 @@ inline void regression_predict_quantize_3d(const T *data_pos, const float *reg_p
         }
         type_pos += size_y * size_z;
     }
-    //    exit(0);
 }
 
 template <typename T, class Quantizer>
diff --git a/include/SZ3/preprocessor/Wavelet.hpp b/include/SZ3/preprocessor/Wavelet.hpp
index 4c65939e..711b9607 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/preprocessor/Wavelet.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/preprocessor/Wavelet.hpp
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ namespace SZ3 {
             int status = gsl_wavelet_transform_forward(w, dwtdata.data(), 1, m, work);
 
             if (status != GSL_SUCCESS) {
-                printf("Error: wavelets transform failed.\n");
-                exit(0);
+                fprintf(stderr, "Error: wavelets transform failed.\n");
+                throw std::runtime_error("Error: wavelets transform failed.");
             }
 
             for (size_t i = 0; i < n; i++) {
@@ -70,8 +70,8 @@ namespace SZ3 {
             int status = gsl_wavelet_transform_inverse(w, dwtdata.data(), 1, m, work);
 
             if (status != GSL_SUCCESS) {
-                printf("Error: wavelets transform failed.\n");
-                exit(0);
+                fprintf(stderr, "Error: wavelets transform failed.\n");
+                throw std::runtime_error("Error: wavelets transform failed.");
             }
 
             for (size_t i = 0; i < n; i++) {
diff --git a/include/SZ3/utils/Config.hpp b/include/SZ3/utils/Config.hpp
index 12684631..3f7e6a9f 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/utils/Config.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/utils/Config.hpp
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ const char *enum2Str(T e) {
     } else if (std::is_same<T, EB>::value) {
         return EB_STR[e];
     } else {
-        printf("invalid enum type for enum2Str()\n ");
-        exit(0);
+        fprintf(stderr, "invalid enum type for enum2Str()\n ");
+        throw std::invalid_argument("invalid enum type for enum2Str()");
     }
 }
 
@@ -90,8 +90,8 @@ class Config {
         INIReader cfg(cfgpath);
 
         if (cfg.ParseError() != 0) {
-            std::cout << "Can't load cfg file " << cfgpath << std::endl;
-            exit(0);
+            std::cerr << "Can't load cfg file " << cfgpath << std::endl;
+            throw std::invalid_argument("Can't load cfg file");
         }
 
         auto cmprAlgoStr = cfg.Get("GlobalSettings", "CmprAlgo", "");
@@ -107,8 +107,8 @@ class Config {
             } else if (cmprAlgoStr == ALGO_STR[ALGO_LOSSLESS]) {
                 cmprAlgo = ALGO_LOSSLESS;
             } else {
-                printf("Unknown compression algorithm %s\n", cmprAlgoStr.data());
-                exit(0);
+                fprintf(stderr, "Unknown compression algorithm %s\n", cmprAlgoStr.data());
+                throw std::invalid_argument("Unknown compression algorithm");
             }
         }
         auto ebModeStr = cfg.Get("GlobalSettings", "ErrorBoundMode", "");
@@ -126,8 +126,8 @@ class Config {
             } else if (ebModeStr == EB_STR[EB_ABS_OR_REL]) {
                 errorBoundMode = EB_ABS_OR_REL;
             } else {
-                printf("Unknown error bound mode %s\n", ebModeStr.data());
-                exit(0);
+                fprintf(stderr, "Unknown error bound mode %s\n", ebModeStr.data());
+                throw std::invalid_argument("Unknown error bound mode");
             }
         }
         absErrorBound = cfg.GetReal("GlobalSettings", "AbsErrorBound", absErrorBound);
@@ -205,6 +205,7 @@ class Config {
         // auto c0 = c;
         read(sz3MagicNumber, c);
         if (sz3MagicNumber != SZ3_MAGIC_NUMBER) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "magic number mismatch, the input data is not compressed by SZ3\n");
             throw std::invalid_argument("magic number mismatch, the input data is not compressed by SZ3");
         }
         read(sz3DataVer, c);
@@ -213,6 +214,7 @@ class Config {
             printf("program v%s , program-data %s , input data v%s\n", SZ3_VER, SZ3_DATA_VER,
                    versionStr(sz3DataVer).data());
             ss << "Please use SZ3 v" << versionStr(sz3DataVer) << " to decompress the data" << std::endl;
+            std::cerr<< ss.str();
             throw std::invalid_argument(ss.str());
         }
 
diff --git a/include/SZ3/utils/FileUtil.hpp b/include/SZ3/utils/FileUtil.hpp
index c5dca42c..5306c549 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/utils/FileUtil.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/utils/FileUtil.hpp
@@ -26,11 +26,12 @@ template <typename Type>
 void readfile(const char *file, const size_t num, Type *data) {
     std::ifstream fin(file, std::ios::binary);
     if (!fin) {
-        std::cout << " Error, Couldn't find the file: " << file << "\n";
-        exit(0);
+        std::cerr << " Error, Couldn't find the file: " << file << "\n";
+        throw std::invalid_argument("Couldn't find the file");
     }
     fin.seekg(0, std::ios::end);
     if (fin.tellg() / sizeof(Type) != num) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "File size is not equal to the input setting\n");
         throw std::invalid_argument("File size is not equal to the input setting");
     }
     fin.seekg(0, std::ios::beg);
@@ -49,8 +50,8 @@ template <typename Type>
 std::unique_ptr<Type[]> readfile(const char *file, size_t &num) {
     std::ifstream fin(file, std::ios::binary);
     if (!fin) {
-        std::cout << " Error, Couldn't find the file: " << file << std::endl;
-        exit(0);
+        std::cerr << " Error, Couldn't find the file: " << file << std::endl;
+        throw std::invalid_argument("Couldn't find the file");
     }
     fin.seekg(0, std::ios::end);
     num = fin.tellg() / sizeof(Type);
@@ -78,8 +79,8 @@ void writeTextFile(const char *file, Type *data, size_t num_elements) {
         }
         fout.close();
     } else {
-        std::cout << "Error, unable to open file for output: " << file << std::endl;
-        exit(0);
+        std::cerr << "Error, unable to open file for output: " << file << std::endl;
+        throw std::invalid_argument("Couldn't open the file for output");
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/include/SZ3/utils/Iterator.hpp b/include/SZ3/utils/Iterator.hpp
index 32ef50e3..de806b8a 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/utils/Iterator.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/utils/Iterator.hpp
@@ -198,8 +198,8 @@ class multi_dimensional_range : public std::enable_shared_from_this<multi_dimens
                       "ForwardIt1 must be convertible to std::size_t");
         if (global_dims_end - global_dims_begin != N) {
             std::cout << global_dims_end - global_dims_begin << " " << N << std::endl;
-            std::cerr << "#dimensions does not match!\n";
-            exit(0);
+            std::cerr << "#dimensions does not match\n";
+            throw std::invalid_argument("#dimensions does not match");
         }
         set_access_stride(stride_);
         // set global dimensions
diff --git a/include/SZ3/utils/KmeansUtil.hpp b/include/SZ3/utils/KmeansUtil.hpp
index 33469e8e..de99ab83 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/utils/KmeansUtil.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/utils/KmeansUtil.hpp
@@ -335,7 +335,6 @@ void get_cluster(T *data, size_t num, float &level_start, float &level_offset, i
         //            std::cout << "No clusters are found." << std::endl;
         level_num = 0;
         return;
-        //            exit(0);
     }
 
     //        std::cout << "centers : ";
diff --git a/include/SZ3/utils/Statistic.hpp b/include/SZ3/utils/Statistic.hpp
index c848f623..422bb493 100644
--- a/include/SZ3/utils/Statistic.hpp
+++ b/include/SZ3/utils/Statistic.hpp
@@ -50,8 +50,8 @@ void calAbsErrorBound(Config &conf, const T *data, T range = 0) {
             conf.absErrorBound =
                 std::max(conf.absErrorBound, conf.relErrorBound * ((range > 0) ? range : data_range(data, conf.num)));
         } else {
-            printf("Error, error bound mode not supported\n");
-            exit(0);
+            fprintf(stderr, "Error bound mode not supported\n");
+            throw std::invalid_argument("Error bound mode not supported");
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/tools/mdz/include/mdz.hpp b/tools/mdz/include/mdz.hpp
index 58c41501..6bcc6fcc 100644
--- a/tools/mdz/include/mdz.hpp
+++ b/tools/mdz/include/mdz.hpp
@@ -125,8 +125,8 @@ template <typename T, uint N>
 float *VQ(Config conf, size_t ts, T *data, size_t &compressed_size, bool decom, int method, float level_start,
           float level_offset, int level_num) {
     if (level_num == 0) {
-        printf("VQ/VQT not availble on current dataset, please use ADP or MT\n");
-        exit(0);
+        fprintf(stderr, "VQ/VQT not availble on current dataset, please use ADP or MT\n");
+        throw std::runtime_error("VQ/VQT not availble on current dataset, please use ADP or MT");
     }
 
     auto sz = make_compressor_exaalt<T, N>(LinearQuantizer<float>(conf.absErrorBound, conf.quantbinCnt / 2),
@@ -284,8 +284,8 @@ template <typename T, uint N>
 uchar *LAMMPS_compress(Config conf, T *data, int method, size_t &compressed_size, float level_start, float level_offset,
                        int level_num, T *ts0) {
     if ((method == 0 || method == 1) && level_num == 0) {
-        printf("VQ/VQT not available on current dataset, please use ADP or MT\n");
-        exit(0);
+        fprintf(stderr, "VQ/VQT not available on current dataset, please use ADP or MT\n");
+        throw std::runtime_error("VQ/VQT not available on current dataset, please use ADP or MT");
     }
     compressed_size = conf.num * sizeof(T);
     auto compressed_data = new uchar[compressed_size];