diff --git a/.changeset/nice-tools-cheat.md b/.changeset/nice-tools-cheat.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c4f0e162bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/nice-tools-cheat.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/cli': patch
+---
+
+Make `ExitCodeError` call `super` early to avoid compiler warnings
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/errors.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/errors.ts
index c0b4c45b6c..dd3955a10a 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/errors.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/errors.ts
@@ -26,11 +26,11 @@ export class ExitCodeError extends CustomError {
   readonly code: number;
 
   constructor(code: number, command?: string) {
-    if (command) {
-      super(`Command '${command}' exited with code ${code}`);
-    } else {
-      super(`Child exited with code ${code}`);
-    }
+    super(
+      command
+        ? `Command '${command}' exited with code ${code}`
+        : `Child exited with code ${code}`,
+    );
     this.code = code;
   }
 }