diff --git a/pkg/config/tls.go b/pkg/config/tls.go
index 4dd7dd6..58440d7 100644
--- a/pkg/config/tls.go
+++ b/pkg/config/tls.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package config
 
 import (
 	"crypto/tls"
+	"errors"
 	"path/filepath"
 )
 
@@ -12,6 +13,10 @@ func (s *SSLConfig) LoadPrivateKeyPair() (*tls.Certificate, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	if s.PrivateCRT == "" || s.PrivateKey == "" {
+		return nil, errors.New("missing private key or cert. Ensure config.yaml is up to date with the latest changes")
+	}
+
 	pair, err := tls.LoadX509KeyPair(filepath.Join(rootPath, s.PrivateCRT), filepath.Join(rootPath, s.PrivateKey))
 	return &pair, err
 }
@@ -23,6 +28,10 @@ func (s *SSLConfig) LoadPublicKeyPair() (*tls.Certificate, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	if s.PublicCRT == "" || s.PublicKey == "" {
+		return nil, errors.New("missing public key or cert. Ensure config.yaml is up to date with the latest changes")
+	}
+
 	pair, err := tls.LoadX509KeyPair(filepath.Join(rootPath, s.PublicCRT), filepath.Join(rootPath, s.PublicKey))
 	return &pair, err
 }
diff --git a/pkg/httpclient/httpclient.go b/pkg/httpclient/httpclient.go
index cb86806..d21b708 100644
--- a/pkg/httpclient/httpclient.go
+++ b/pkg/httpclient/httpclient.go
@@ -186,27 +186,27 @@ func (c *HTTPClient) initialKeyPairs() error {
 
 	c.nodeKeyPair, err = c.config.FullNode.SSL.LoadPrivateKeyPair()
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("error loading full node config: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	c.farmerKeyPair, err = c.config.Farmer.SSL.LoadPrivateKeyPair()
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("error loading farmer config: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	c.harvesterKeyPair, err = c.config.Harvester.SSL.LoadPrivateKeyPair()
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("error loading harvester config: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	c.walletKeyPair, err = c.config.Wallet.SSL.LoadPrivateKeyPair()
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("error loading wallet config: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	c.crawlerKeyPair, err = c.config.Seeder.CrawlerConfig.SSL.LoadPrivateKeyPair()
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return fmt.Errorf("error loading crawler config: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	return nil