diff --git a/internal/secret/debug.go b/internal/secret/debug.go
index e85b8dc..c38d4ad 100644
--- a/internal/secret/debug.go
+++ b/internal/secret/debug.go
@@ -58,6 +58,16 @@ func IsDebugEnabled() bool {
 	return debugEnabled
 }
 
+// Warn logs a warning message to stderr unconditionally (visible without --verbose or debug flags)
+func Warn(msg string, args ...any) {
+	output := fmt.Sprintf("WARNING: %s", msg)
+	for i := 0; i+1 < len(args); i += 2 {
+		output += fmt.Sprintf(" %s=%v", args[i], args[i+1])
+	}
+	output += "\n"
+	fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, output)
+}
+
 // Debug logs a debug message with optional attributes
 func Debug(msg string, args ...any) {
 	if !debugEnabled {
diff --git a/internal/vault/unlockers.go b/internal/vault/unlockers.go
index c0f501a..a20ce41 100644
--- a/internal/vault/unlockers.go
+++ b/internal/vault/unlockers.go
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ func (v *Vault) ListUnlockers() ([]UnlockerMetadata, error) {
 				return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to check if metadata exists for unlocker %s: %w", file.Name(), err)
 			}
 			if !exists {
-				secret.Debug("Skipping unlocker directory with missing metadata file", "directory", file.Name())
+				secret.Warn("Skipping unlocker directory with missing metadata file", "directory", file.Name())
 
 				continue
 			}