diff --git a/src/tts/lucylab-client.test.ts b/src/tts/lucylab-client.test.ts
index 8a6e8ed..ca7d324 100644
--- a/src/tts/lucylab-client.test.ts
+++ b/src/tts/lucylab-client.test.ts
@@ -80,6 +80,47 @@ describe("LucylabClient", () => {
       .rejects.toThrow(/timeout|exp-3/);
   });
 
+  it("timeout error includes job id, last status, and attempt count", async () => {
+    nock("https://api.lucylab.io")
+      .post("/json-rpc").reply(200, { jsonrpc: "2.0", id: "1", result: { projectExportId: "exp-timeout", characterCount: 2, blockCount: 1 } });
+
+    nock("https://api.lucylab.io")
+      .post("/json-rpc").times(200).reply(200, { jsonrpc: "2.0", id: "x", result: { jobId: "exp-timeout", state: "pending" } });
+
+    const fastCfg = { ...cfg, pollTimeoutMs: 200, pollIntervalMs: 50 };
+    const client = new LucylabClient(fastCfg);
+    let errorMsg = "";
+    try {
+      await client.generate("hi", join(tmpDir, "out.mp3"));
+    } catch (e) {
+      errorMsg = (e as Error).message;
+    }
+    expect(errorMsg).toMatch(/exp-timeout/);
+    expect(errorMsg).toMatch(/pending/);
+    expect(errorMsg).toMatch(/Attempts=\d+/);
+    expect(errorMsg).toMatch(/timeout/i);
+  });
+
+  it("timeout error exposes HTTP status when all polls fail with 401", async () => {
+    nock("https://api.lucylab.io")
+      .post("/json-rpc").reply(200, { jsonrpc: "2.0", id: "1", result: { projectExportId: "exp-auth", characterCount: 2, blockCount: 1 } });
+
+    nock("https://api.lucylab.io")
+      .post("/json-rpc").times(200).reply(401, { error: "Unauthorized" });
+
+    const fastCfg = { ...cfg, pollTimeoutMs: 200, pollIntervalMs: 50 };
+    const client = new LucylabClient(fastCfg);
+    let errorMsg = "";
+    try {
+      await client.generate("hi", join(tmpDir, "out.mp3"));
+    } catch (e) {
+      errorMsg = (e as Error).message;
+    }
+    expect(errorMsg).toMatch(/exp-auth/);
+    expect(errorMsg).toMatch(/401/);
+    expect(errorMsg).toMatch(/no successful poll/);
+  });
+
   it("throws if state=failed", async () => {
     nock("https://api.lucylab.io")
       .post("/json-rpc").reply(200, { jsonrpc: "2.0", id: "1", result: { projectExportId: "exp-4", characterCount: 2, blockCount: 1 } });
diff --git a/src/tts/lucylab-client.ts b/src/tts/lucylab-client.ts
index 4b5ebce..75c7914 100644
--- a/src/tts/lucylab-client.ts
+++ b/src/tts/lucylab-client.ts
@@ -85,22 +85,64 @@ export class LucylabClient implements TtsClient {
 
   private async pollUntilDone(projectExportId: string): Promise<{ url: string; srtUrl?: string }> {
     const start = Date.now();
+    let lastStatus: string = "unknown";
+    let lastError: string | undefined;
+    let lastHttpStatus: number | undefined;
+    let lastHttpSnippet: string | undefined;
+    let pollAttempts = 0;
+    let hadSuccessfulPoll = false;
+
     while (Date.now() - start < this.cfg.pollTimeoutMs) {
-      const status = await this.rpc<ExportStatus>(
-        "getExportStatus",
-        { projectExportId },
-        `poll-${Date.now()}`,
-      );
-      if (status.state === "completed") {
-        if (!status.url) throw new Error(`LucyLab returned state=completed without url for ${projectExportId}`);
-        return { url: status.url, srtUrl: status.srtUrl };
-      }
-      if (status.state === "failed") {
-        throw new Error(`LucyLab export ${projectExportId} failed: ${status.error ?? "unknown"}`);
+      try {
+        const status = await this.rpc<ExportStatus>(
+          "getExportStatus",
+          { projectExportId },
+          `poll-${Date.now()}`,
+        );
+        pollAttempts++;
+        hadSuccessfulPoll = true;
+        lastStatus = status.state;
+        lastError = status.error;
+        lastHttpStatus = undefined;
+        lastHttpSnippet = undefined;
+
+        if (status.state === "completed") {
+          if (!status.url) throw new Error(`LucyLab returned state=completed without url for ${projectExportId}`);
+          return { url: status.url, srtUrl: status.srtUrl };
+        }
+        if (status.state === "failed") {
+          throw new Error(`LucyLab export ${projectExportId} failed: ${status.error ?? "unknown"}`);
+        }
+      } catch (e) {
+        // Re-throw non-timeout errors from completed/failed states (they won't be AxiosErrors)
+        const axiosErr = e as AxiosError;
+        if (!axiosErr.isAxiosError && !(e instanceof Error && (e.message.includes("state=completed") || e.message.includes("failed:")))) {
+          throw e;
+        }
+        if (e instanceof Error && (e.message.includes("state=completed") || e.message.includes("failed:"))) {
+          throw e;
+        }
+        if (axiosErr.isAxiosError) {
+          pollAttempts++;
+          lastHttpStatus = axiosErr.response?.status;
+          const rawData = axiosErr.response?.data;
+          lastHttpSnippet = rawData
+            ? String(typeof rawData === "object" ? JSON.stringify(rawData) : rawData).slice(0, 120)
+            : axiosErr.message;
+        }
       }
       await sleep(this.cfg.pollIntervalMs);
     }
-    throw new Error(`LucyLab export ${projectExportId} polling timeout after ${this.cfg.pollTimeoutMs}ms`);
+
+    const elapsed = Math.round((Date.now() - start) / 1000);
+    const pollInfo = hadSuccessfulPoll
+      ? `last status="${lastStatus}"${lastError ? `, error="${lastError}"` : ""}, HTTP=ok`
+      : `no successful poll, last HTTP=${lastHttpStatus ?? "none"}, response="${lastHttpSnippet ?? "none"}"`;
+    throw new Error(
+      `LucyLab export ${projectExportId} polling timeout after ${elapsed}s (${this.cfg.pollTimeoutMs}ms limit). ` +
+      `Attempts=${pollAttempts}. ${pollInfo}. ` +
+      `Check: (a) API key valid? (b) job status on LucyLab dashboard? (c) network connectivity?`,
+    );
   }
 
   private async download(url: string, outPath: string): Promise<void> {