diff --git a/src/app/api/v1/sprint/attachment-counts/route.ts b/src/app/api/v1/sprint/attachment-counts/route.ts
index 9b34937..9f12907 100644
--- a/src/app/api/v1/sprint/attachment-counts/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/v1/sprint/attachment-counts/route.ts
@@ -42,9 +42,14 @@ export async function GET(req: NextRequest) {
   let adminPb;
   try {
     adminPb = await getAdminPocketBase();
-  } catch {
+  } catch (err) {
+    // Surface the real reason — the generic "PB admin unavailable"
+    // message was hiding the actual cause (missing env var, wrong
+    // password, PB unreachable from the prod container, etc.).
+    const reason =
+      err instanceof Error ? err.message : "unknown admin error";
     return NextResponse.json(
-      { error: "PB admin unavailable" },
+      { error: `PB admin unavailable: ${reason}` },
       { status: 500 },
     );
   }