diff --git a/examples/databricks/serverless/stackql_manifest.yml b/examples/databricks/serverless/stackql_manifest.yml
index 9d220ea..108c646 100644
--- a/examples/databricks/serverless/stackql_manifest.yml
+++ b/examples/databricks/serverless/stackql_manifest.yml
@@ -61,6 +61,16 @@ resources:
                 - file(aws/iam/policy_statements/iam_service_linked_role.json)
               Version: '2012-10-17'
             PolicyName: "{{ stack_name }}-{{ stack_env }}-policy"
+      - name: managed_policy_arns
+        value: []
+      - name: max_session_duration
+        value: 3600
+      - name: permissions_boundary
+        value: ""
+      - name: tags
+        value: []
+        merge:
+          - global_tags
     exports:
       - aws_iam_role_name: aws_iam_cross_account_role_name
       - aws_iam_role_arn: aws_iam_cross_account_role_arn
diff --git a/src/core/templating.rs b/src/core/templating.rs
index 6a72390..d7a33c1 100644
--- a/src/core/templating.rs
+++ b/src/core/templating.rs
@@ -288,6 +288,37 @@ pub fn render_query(
                 "Error rendering query for [{}] [{}]: {}",
                 res_name, anchor, e
             );
+
+            // Extract template variable references for diagnostics
+            let re = Regex::new(r"\{\{\s*(\w+)").unwrap();
+            let referenced_vars: Vec<&str> = re
+                .captures_iter(&processed_query)
+                .filter_map(|c| c.get(1).map(|m| m.as_str()))
+                .collect();
+            let missing: Vec<&&str> = referenced_vars
+                .iter()
+                .filter(|v| !ctx.contains_key(**v))
+                .collect();
+
+            if !missing.is_empty() {
+                error!(
+                    "Missing variables in context for [{}] [{}]: {:?}",
+                    res_name, anchor, missing
+                );
+                error!(
+                    "Hint: ensure these properties are defined in the manifest for resource [{}], \
+                     or that the .iql template only references variables provided by the manifest.",
+                    res_name
+                );
+            }
+
+            debug!(
+                "[{}] [{}] available context keys: {:?}",
+                res_name,
+                anchor,
+                ctx.keys().collect::<Vec<_>>()
+            );
+
             process::exit(1);
         }
     }
@@ -383,6 +414,35 @@ pub fn render_inline_template(
                 "Error rendering inline template for [{}]: {}",
                 resource_name, e
             );
+
+            let re = Regex::new(r"\{\{\s*(\w+)").unwrap();
+            let referenced_vars: Vec<&str> = re
+                .captures_iter(&processed)
+                .filter_map(|c| c.get(1).map(|m| m.as_str()))
+                .collect();
+            let missing: Vec<&&str> = referenced_vars
+                .iter()
+                .filter(|v| !temp_context.contains_key(**v))
+                .collect();
+
+            if !missing.is_empty() {
+                error!(
+                    "Missing variables in context for [{}]: {:?}",
+                    resource_name, missing
+                );
+                error!(
+                    "Hint: ensure these properties are defined in the manifest for resource [{}], \
+                     or that the inline SQL only references variables provided by the manifest.",
+                    resource_name
+                );
+            }
+
+            debug!(
+                "[{}] available context keys: {:?}",
+                resource_name,
+                temp_context.keys().collect::<Vec<_>>()
+            );
+
             process::exit(1);
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/template/engine.rs b/src/template/engine.rs
index 628773d..a29281a 100644
--- a/src/template/engine.rs
+++ b/src/template/engine.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 //! `generate_patch_document`, `sql_list`, `sql_escape`.
 
 use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::error::Error as StdError;
 
 use base64::Engine as Base64Engine;
 use serde_json::Value as JsonValue;
@@ -122,7 +123,7 @@ impl TemplateEngine {
         register_custom_filters(&mut tera);
 
         tera.add_raw_template(template_name, template)
-            .map_err(|e| TemplateError::SyntaxError(e.to_string()))?;
+            .map_err(|e| TemplateError::SyntaxError(full_error_chain(&e)))?;
 
         let mut tera_context = TeraContext::new();
         for (key, value) in context {
@@ -133,11 +134,30 @@ impl TemplateEngine {
         let uuid_val = uuid::Uuid::new_v4().to_string();
         tera_context.insert("uuid", &uuid_val);
 
-        tera.render(template_name, &tera_context)
-            .map_err(|e| TemplateError::RenderError(e.to_string()))
+        tera.render(template_name, &tera_context).map_err(|e| {
+            let full_msg = full_error_chain(&e);
+            if full_msg.contains("not found in context") {
+                TemplateError::VariableNotFound(full_msg)
+            } else {
+                TemplateError::RenderError(full_msg)
+            }
+        })
     }
 }
 
+/// Walk the full error source chain and concatenate all messages.
+/// Tera's top-level `Display` often only shows "Failed to render 'name'" while
+/// the root cause (e.g., missing variable) is buried in `source()`.
+fn full_error_chain(err: &dyn StdError) -> String {
+    let mut parts = vec![err.to_string()];
+    let mut current = err.source();
+    while let Some(cause) = current {
+        parts.push(cause.to_string());
+        current = cause.source();
+    }
+    parts.join(": ")
+}
+
 /// Register all custom Jinja2 filters matching the Python implementation.
 fn register_custom_filters(tera: &mut Tera) {
     tera.register_filter("from_json", filter_from_json);
@@ -371,4 +391,37 @@ mod tests {
         let result = engine.render("JSON: {{ json }}", &context).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(result, r#"JSON: {"key": "value"}"#);
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_render_with_filters_missing_var_shows_name() {
+        let engine = TemplateEngine::new();
+        let context = HashMap::new();
+
+        let result = engine.render_with_filters("test_tpl", "Hello {{ missing_var }}!", &context);
+        assert!(result.is_err());
+        let err_msg = result.unwrap_err().to_string();
+        assert!(
+            err_msg.contains("missing_var"),
+            "Error should mention the missing variable name, got: {}",
+            err_msg
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_render_with_filters_missing_var_is_variable_not_found() {
+        let engine = TemplateEngine::new();
+        let context = HashMap::new();
+
+        let result = engine.render_with_filters("test_tpl", "{{ no_such_var }}", &context);
+        match result {
+            Err(TemplateError::VariableNotFound(msg)) => {
+                assert!(
+                    msg.contains("no_such_var"),
+                    "VariableNotFound error should contain variable name, got: {}",
+                    msg
+                );
+            }
+            other => panic!("Expected VariableNotFound error, got: {:?}", other),
+        }
+    }
 }