Improve error messages in core

**Problem**
When working with helpers, the error messages could be more descriptive.

**Suggestion**
Improve error handling and add detailed error messages.

**Context**
This would help with debugging and maintenance.

Start by locating the core helper code responsible for the current error messages and read the surrounding error-handling flow. Clarify which helper failures need more detail, then verify that the resulting messages improve debugging without breaking the existing behavior or tests.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.