diff --git a/apache-maven/src/assembly/maven/bin/mvn b/apache-maven/src/assembly/maven/bin/mvn
index fe04dacb0bcb..6cfcf37deb35 100755
--- a/apache-maven/src/assembly/maven/bin/mvn
+++ b/apache-maven/src/assembly/maven/bin/mvn
@@ -355,14 +355,11 @@ find_file_argument_basedir() {
       elif [ -f "${arg}" ]; then
         basedir=`dirname "${arg}"`
         basedir=`cd "$basedir" && pwd -P`
-        if [ ! -d "$basedir" ]; then
-          echo "Directory $basedir extracted from the -f/--file command-line argument ${arg} does not exist" >&2
-          exit 1
-        fi
-      else
-        echo "POM file ${arg} specified with the -f/--file command line argument does not exist" >&2
-        exit 1
       fi
+      # If the argument does not exist (e.g. a Cygwin/MSYS path that will be
+      # converted later, or a genuinely missing file), fall back to the current
+      # directory.  The Java layer validates the path and produces the proper
+      # error message when the file is truly absent.
       break
     fi
     if [ "$arg" = "-f" -o "$arg" = "--file" ]; then
diff --git a/impl/maven-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/cling/invoker/BaseParser.java b/impl/maven-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/cling/invoker/BaseParser.java
index 9a740753bb0f..c10c300d046c 100644
--- a/impl/maven-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/cling/invoker/BaseParser.java
+++ b/impl/maven-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/cling/invoker/BaseParser.java
@@ -137,6 +137,12 @@ public InvokerRequest parseInvocation(ParserRequest parserRequest) {
         // top/root
         try {
             context.topDirectory = getTopDirectory(context);
+        } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            // User-facing error (e.g. -f points to a non-existent file): report the message directly,
+            // without wrapping it in an internal "Error determining top directory" prefix.
+            context.parsingFailed = true;
+            context.topDirectory = context.cwd;
+            parserRequest.logger().error(e.getMessage());
         } catch (Exception e) {
             context.parsingFailed = true;
             context.topDirectory = context.cwd;
@@ -144,6 +150,10 @@ public InvokerRequest parseInvocation(ParserRequest parserRequest) {
         }
         try {
             context.rootDirectory = getRootDirectory(context);
+        } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            context.parsingFailed = true;
+            context.rootDirectory = context.cwd;
+            parserRequest.logger().error(e.getMessage());
         } catch (Exception e) {
             context.parsingFailed = true;
             context.rootDirectory = context.cwd;
diff --git a/impl/maven-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/cling/invoker/mvn/MavenInvoker.java b/impl/maven-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/cling/invoker/mvn/MavenInvoker.java
index e6372ccfd818..03357c5f09bb 100644
--- a/impl/maven-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/cling/invoker/mvn/MavenInvoker.java
+++ b/impl/maven-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/cling/invoker/mvn/MavenInvoker.java
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 import org.apache.maven.api.Constants;
 import org.apache.maven.api.MonotonicClock;
 import org.apache.maven.api.annotations.Nullable;
+import org.apache.maven.api.cli.InvokerException;
 import org.apache.maven.api.cli.InvokerRequest;
 import org.apache.maven.api.cli.Logger;
 import org.apache.maven.api.cli.mvn.MavenOptions;
@@ -132,6 +133,15 @@ protected void postCommands(MavenContext context) throws Exception {
         } else if (context.options().strictChecksums().orElse(false)) {
             logger.info("Enabling strict checksum verification on all artifact downloads.");
         }
+
+        // If no goals/phases were specified and there is no POM in the current directory,
+        // print usage (like `mvn -h`) and exit successfully instead of failing with
+        // "No goals have been specified for this build."
+        // When a POM is present the default goal (if any) may apply, so let Maven proceed normally.
+        if (context.options().goals().orElse(List.of()).isEmpty() && determinePom(context, context.lookup) == null) {
+            context.options().displayHelp(context.invokerRequest.parserRequest(), determineWriter(context));
+            throw new InvokerException.ExitException(0);
+        }
     }
 
     protected void toolchains(MavenContext context, MavenExecutionRequest request) throws Exception {