diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/angular.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/angular.ts
index 85c29dd17..75e517a9f 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/angular.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/angular.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import Config from 'webpack-chain';
 import path from 'path';
 
-import { getEntryPath, getProjectRootPath } from '../helpers/project';
+import { getProjectRootPath } from '../helpers/project';
 import { env as _env, IWebpackEnv } from '../index';
+import { getEntryPath } from '../helpers/platform';
 import base from './base';
 
 export default function (config: Config, env: IWebpackEnv = _env): Config {
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/base.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/base.ts
index 53625f69b..22cdb4f7f 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/base.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/base.ts
@@ -11,13 +11,13 @@ import { PlatformSuffixPlugin } from '../plugins/PlatformSuffixPlugin';
 import { addCopyRule, applyCopyRules } from '../helpers/copyRules';
 import { WatchStatePlugin } from '../plugins/WatchStatePlugin';
 import { hasDependency } from '../helpers/dependencies';
-import { getPlatformName } from '../platforms';
 import { IWebpackEnv } from '../index';
 import {
+	getPlatformName,
 	getAbsoluteDistPath,
 	getEntryDirPath,
 	getEntryPath,
-} from '../helpers/project';
+} from '../helpers/platform';
 
 export default function (config: Config, env: IWebpackEnv): Config {
 	const entryPath = getEntryPath();
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/javascript.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/javascript.ts
index 3ac0e6aef..e42d0b5d2 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/javascript.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/javascript.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ import Config from 'webpack-chain';
 import dedent from 'ts-dedent';
 import { join } from 'path';
 
+import { getEntryDirPath } from '../helpers/platform';
 import { env as _env, IWebpackEnv } from '../index';
-import { getEntryDirPath } from '../helpers/project';
 import base from './base';
 
 export default function (config: Config, env: IWebpackEnv = _env): Config {
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/react.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/react.ts
index 5aafabf6a..d0da8cd54 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/react.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/react.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { merge } from 'webpack-merge';
 import Config from 'webpack-chain';
 
 import { env as _env, IWebpackEnv } from '../index';
-import { getPlatformName } from '../platforms';
+import { getPlatformName } from '../helpers/platform';
 import base from './base';
 
 export default function (config: Config, env: IWebpackEnv = _env): Config {
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/svelte.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/svelte.ts
index d674928d0..2199ee56f 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/svelte.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/svelte.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import Config from 'webpack-chain';
 
 import { getProjectRootPath } from '../helpers/project';
 import { env as _env, IWebpackEnv } from '../index';
-import { getPlatformName } from '../platforms';
+import { getPlatformName } from '../helpers/platform';
 import { error } from '../helpers/log';
 import base from './base';
 
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/vue.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/vue.ts
index 29e2fcf23..b9f8a62b9 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/vue.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/configuration/vue.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { merge } from 'webpack-merge';
 import Config from 'webpack-chain';
 
 import { env as _env, IWebpackEnv } from '../index';
-import { getPlatformName } from '../platforms';
+import { getPlatformName } from '../helpers/platform';
 import base from './base';
 
 export default function (config: Config, env: IWebpackEnv = _env): Config {
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/copyRules.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/copyRules.ts
index 0bf7a9a1b..df0be51dc 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/copyRules.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/copyRules.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import CopyWebpackPlugin from 'copy-webpack-plugin';
 
-import { getEntryDirPath } from './project';
+import { getEntryDirPath } from './platform';
 
 /**
  * @internal
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/index.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/index.ts
index 89422d798..11b772059 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/index.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/index.ts
@@ -9,15 +9,16 @@ import {
 	hasDependency,
 	getDependencyPath,
 } from './dependencies';
+import { getPackageJson, getProjectRootPath } from './project';
 import {
+	addPlatform,
 	getAbsoluteDistPath,
 	getDistPath,
-	getEntryPath,
 	getEntryDirPath,
-	getPackageJson,
-	getProjectRootPath,
-} from './project';
-import { getPlatform, getPlatformName, addPlatform } from '../platforms';
+	getEntryPath,
+	getPlatform,
+	getPlatformName,
+} from './platform';
 
 // intentionally populated manually
 // as this generates nicer typings
@@ -46,15 +47,15 @@ export default {
 	},
 	project: {
 		getProjectRootPath,
-		getAbsoluteDistPath,
-		getEntryPath,
-		getEntryDirPath,
-		getDistPath,
 		getPackageJson,
 	},
 	platform: {
+		addPlatform,
+		getAbsoluteDistPath,
+		getDistPath,
+		getEntryDirPath,
+		getEntryPath,
 		getPlatform,
 		getPlatformName,
-		addPlatform,
 	},
 };
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/log.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/log.ts
index 3fe9783e8..f2dedb64f 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/log.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/log.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ export function error(...data: any): Error {
 
 	// we return the error - the caller can throw or ignore
 	if (typeof data[0] === 'string') {
-		return new Error(data[0]);
+		return new Error(
+			'\n\n[@nativescript/webpack]\n---\n\n' + dedent(data[0]) + '\n\n---\n'
+		);
 	}
 
 	return new Error('@nativescript/webpack ran into a problem...');
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/platform.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/platform.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..271d40b34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/platform.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+import { dirname, resolve } from 'path';
+
+import { getPackageJson, getProjectRootPath } from './project';
+import { error } from './log';
+import { env } from '../';
+
+import AndroidPlatform from '../platforms/android';
+import iOSPlatform from '../platforms/ios';
+
+export interface INativeScriptPlatform {
+	getEntryPath?(): string;
+
+	getDistPath?(): string;
+}
+
+export type Platform = Extract<keyof typeof platforms, string>;
+
+const platforms: {
+	[name: string]: INativeScriptPlatform;
+} = {
+	android: AndroidPlatform,
+	ios: iOSPlatform,
+};
+
+export function addPlatform(name: string, platform: INativeScriptPlatform) {
+	console.log('adding platform', name, platform);
+	platforms[name] = platform;
+}
+
+export function getPlatform(): INativeScriptPlatform {
+	return platforms[getPlatformName()];
+}
+
+export function getPlatformName(): Platform {
+	if (env?.android) {
+		return 'android';
+	}
+
+	if (env?.ios) {
+		return 'ios';
+	}
+
+	// support custom platforms
+	if (env?.platform) {
+		if (platforms[env.platform]) {
+			return env.platform;
+		}
+
+		throw error(`
+			Invalid platform: ${env.platform}
+
+			Valid platforms: ${Object.keys(platforms).join(', ')}
+		`);
+	}
+
+	throw error(`
+		You need to provide a target platform!
+
+		Available platforms: ${Object.keys(platforms).join(', ')}
+
+		Use --env=platform=<platform> or --env=android, --env=ios to specify the target platform.
+	`);
+}
+
+export function getEntryPath() {
+	const platform = getPlatform();
+
+	// use platform specific entry path
+	if (platform.getEntryPath) {
+		return platform.getEntryPath();
+	}
+
+	// fallback to main field in package.json
+	const packageJson = getPackageJson();
+
+	return resolve(getProjectRootPath(), packageJson.main);
+}
+
+export function getEntryDirPath() {
+	return dirname(getEntryPath());
+}
+
+export function getDistPath() {
+	const platform = getPlatform();
+
+	// use platform specific entry path
+	if (platform.getDistPath) {
+		return platform.getDistPath();
+	}
+
+	// fallback to a generic platforms/<platform>/dist folder
+	return `platforms/${getPlatformName()}/dist`;
+}
+
+export function getAbsoluteDistPath() {
+	return resolve(getProjectRootPath(), getDistPath());
+}
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/project.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/project.ts
index 680f5db6d..e2f5e1cd7 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/project.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/helpers/project.ts
@@ -1,45 +1,9 @@
-import { resolve, dirname } from 'path';
-
-import { getPlatform } from '../platforms';
+import { resolve } from 'path';
 
 export function getProjectRootPath(): string {
 	return process.cwd();
 }
 
-export function getEntryPath() {
-	const platform = getPlatform();
-
-	// use platform specific entry path
-	if (platform.getEntryPath) {
-		return platform.getEntryPath();
-	}
-
-	// fallback to main field in package.json
-	const packageJson = getPackageJson();
-
-	return resolve(getProjectRootPath(), packageJson.main);
-}
-
-export function getEntryDirPath() {
-	return dirname(getEntryPath());
-}
-
-export function getDistPath() {
-	const platform = getPlatform();
-
-	// use platform specific entry path
-	if (platform.getDistPath) {
-		return platform.getDistPath();
-	}
-
-	// fallback to a generic dist folder
-	return 'dist';
-}
-
-export function getAbsoluteDistPath() {
-	return resolve(getProjectRootPath(), getDistPath());
-}
-
 interface IPackageJson {
 	main?: string;
 	dependencies?: {
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/index.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/index.ts
index 07bb71957..d027d6308 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/index.ts
@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@ import { error, info } from './helpers/log';
 import { configs } from './configuration';
 import helpers from './helpers';
 
-export type Platform = 'android' | 'ios' | string;
-
 export interface IWebpackEnv {
 	[name: string]: any;
 
@@ -125,12 +123,16 @@ export function resolveChainableConfig(): Config {
 				chainFn(config, env);
 			} catch (err) {
 				if (plugin) {
-					// print error with plugin name that causes it
-					error(`
-					Unable to apply chain function from: ${plugin}.
-					Error is: ${err}
-				`);
+					// catch and print errors from plugins
+					return error(`
+						Unable to apply chain function from: ${plugin}.
+						Error is: ${err}
+					`);
 				}
+
+				// otherwise throw - as the error is likely from the user config
+				// or missing env flags (eg. missing platform)
+				throw err;
 			}
 		});
 
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/android.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/android.ts
index 8fbc59f85..c83f9db8f 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/android.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/android.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { INativeScriptPlatform } from '.';
+import { INativeScriptPlatform } from "../helpers/platform";
 
 function getDistPath() {
 	return `platforms/android/app/src/main/assets/app`;
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/index.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/index.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 6f995cd8f..000000000
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/index.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,47 +0,0 @@
-import { error } from "../helpers/log";
-import { env, Platform } from "../";
-
-import AndroidPlatform from "./android";
-import iOSPlatform from "./ios";
-
-export interface INativeScriptPlatform {
-	getEntryPath?(): string;
-	getDistPath?(): string
-}
-
-const platforms = {
-	android: AndroidPlatform,
-	ios: iOSPlatform,
-}
-
-export function addPlatform(name: string, platform: INativeScriptPlatform) {
-	console.log('adding platform', name, platform)
-	platforms[name] = platform;
-}
-
-export function getPlatform(): INativeScriptPlatform {
-	return platforms[getPlatformName()]
-}
-
-export function getPlatformName(): Platform {
-	if (env?.android) {
-		return 'android';
-	}
-
-	if (env?.ios) {
-		return 'ios';
-	}
-
-	// support custom platforms
-	if(env?.platform) {
-		return env.platform;
-	}
-
-	throw error(`
-		You need to provide a target platform!
-
-		Available platforms: ${Object.keys(platforms).join(', ')}
-
-		Use --env=platform=<platform> or --env=android, --env=ios to specify the target platform.
-	`);
-}
diff --git a/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/ios.ts b/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/ios.ts
index 3cbb4402a..7fc648c38 100644
--- a/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/ios.ts
+++ b/packages/webpack5/src/platforms/ios.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { basename } from "path";
 
+import { INativeScriptPlatform } from "../helpers/platform";
 import { getProjectRootPath } from "../helpers/project";
-import { INativeScriptPlatform } from '.';
 
 function getDistPath() {
 	const appName = basename(getProjectRootPath());