diff --git a/desktopApp/src/jvmMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/desktop/ui/SearchScreen.kt b/desktopApp/src/jvmMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/desktop/ui/SearchScreen.kt
index d06860e1a..d60b53446 100644
--- a/desktopApp/src/jvmMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/desktop/ui/SearchScreen.kt
+++ b/desktopApp/src/jvmMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/amethyst/desktop/ui/SearchScreen.kt
@@ -201,6 +201,13 @@ fun SearchScreen(
                     NamecoinResolveState.Error("Name exists but has no Nostr pubkey")
                 }
 
+                is NamecoinResolveOutcome.MalformedRecord -> {
+                    // Surface the parser detail verbatim so the publisher
+                    // of the broken record can locate the bad byte
+                    // (kotlinx.serialization includes a column number).
+                    NamecoinResolveState.Error("Namecoin record JSON is malformed: ${outcome.error}")
+                }
+
                 is NamecoinResolveOutcome.ServersUnreachable -> {
                     NamecoinResolveState.Error("ElectrumX servers unreachable — check your connection or try again")
                 }
diff --git a/quartz/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/quartz/nip05DnsIdentifiers/namecoin/NamecoinNameResolver.kt b/quartz/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/quartz/nip05DnsIdentifiers/namecoin/NamecoinNameResolver.kt
index 537ee9cb8..f55f4f28f 100644
--- a/quartz/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/quartz/nip05DnsIdentifiers/namecoin/NamecoinNameResolver.kt
+++ b/quartz/src/commonMain/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/quartz/nip05DnsIdentifiers/namecoin/NamecoinNameResolver.kt
@@ -43,6 +43,20 @@ sealed class NamecoinResolveOutcome {
         val name: String,
     ) : NamecoinResolveOutcome()
 
+    /**
+     * The name exists but its value is not parseable as a Namecoin Domain
+     * Name Object (i.e. valid JSON of the right shape). Distinct from
+     * [NoNostrField], which means valid JSON but no `nostr` data.
+     *
+     * `error` is the underlying parser message (kotlinx.serialization);
+     * useful for surfacing back to the publisher of the broken record
+     * (e.g. "Unfinished JSON term at EOF at line 1, column 474").
+     */
+    data class MalformedRecord(
+        val name: String,
+        val error: String,
+    ) : NamecoinResolveOutcome()
+
     /** All ElectrumX servers were unreachable. */
     data class ServersUnreachable(
         val message: String,
@@ -234,9 +248,23 @@ class NamecoinNameResolver(
             )
         }
 
+        // Distinguish "valid JSON, no `nostr` field" from "value is
+        // unparseable JSON". Both used to collapse into NoNostrField, which
+        // sent operators chasing a missing field that wasn't actually the
+        // problem (the Namecoin record itself was malformed). Surfacing
+        // the parser's column number lets a publisher see WHERE the value
+        // is bad without spelunking through the whole serialised form.
         val valueJson =
-            tryParseJson(nameResult.value)
-                ?: return NamecoinResolveOutcome.NoNostrField(parsed.namecoinName)
+            parseValueOrError(nameResult.value)
+                .fold(
+                    onSuccess = { it },
+                    onFailure = { err ->
+                        return NamecoinResolveOutcome.MalformedRecord(
+                            name = parsed.namecoinName,
+                            error = err.message ?: "unparseable JSON value",
+                        )
+                    },
+                )
         val merged = expandImportsIfPresent(valueJson)
 
         val nostrResult =
@@ -473,5 +501,25 @@ class NamecoinNameResolver(
             null
         }
 
+    /**
+     * Parse [raw] into a [JsonObject], surfacing the underlying parser
+     * error message instead of swallowing it. The result is used by
+     * [performLookupDetailed] to distinguish [NamecoinResolveOutcome.MalformedRecord]
+     * (the value itself is broken) from [NamecoinResolveOutcome.NoNostrField]
+     * (valid JSON, just missing the `nostr` block).
+     *
+     * Returns [Result.failure] with the parser's diagnostic message; the
+     * caller is expected to forward that text into a UI / log surface so
+     * the publisher of the broken record can fix it.
+     */
+    private fun parseValueOrError(raw: String): Result<JsonObject> =
+        runCatching {
+            val element = json.parseToJsonElement(raw)
+            element as? JsonObject
+                ?: throw IllegalArgumentException(
+                    "top-level value is ${element::class.simpleName}, expected JSON object",
+                )
+        }
+
     private fun isValidPubkey(s: String): Boolean = HEX_PUBKEY_REGEX.matches(s)
 }
diff --git a/quartz/src/jvmTest/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/quartz/nip05/namecoin/NamecoinImportTest.kt b/quartz/src/jvmTest/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/quartz/nip05/namecoin/NamecoinImportTest.kt
index 0edfb8723..0bdfb4c4f 100644
--- a/quartz/src/jvmTest/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/quartz/nip05/namecoin/NamecoinImportTest.kt
+++ b/quartz/src/jvmTest/kotlin/com/vitorpamplona/quartz/nip05/namecoin/NamecoinImportTest.kt
@@ -502,6 +502,62 @@ class NamecoinImportTest {
             )
         }
 
+    @Test
+    fun `NIP-05 lookup surfaces MalformedRecord with parser detail when value is broken JSON`() =
+        runTest {
+            // Real-world failure mode: a hand-built `name_update` with one
+            // closing brace short of balanced ends up published as broken
+            // JSON. The publisher then sees "name not found / no nostr
+            // field" and chases a phantom bug. Surface the parser's
+            // diagnostic so they know the value itself is the problem.
+            val truncated =
+                """{"ip":"1.2.3.4","nostr":{"names":{"_":"460c25e682fda7832b52d1f22d3d22b3176d972f60dcdc3212ed8c92ef85065c"}}""".trimIndent()
+            val client =
+                FakeElectrumXClient().apply {
+                    register("d/broken", truncated)
+                }
+            val resolver = NamecoinNameResolver(client, lookupTimeoutMs = 1_000L)
+            val outcome = resolver.resolveDetailed("_@broken.bit")
+            assertTrue(
+                "expected MalformedRecord, got $outcome",
+                outcome is NamecoinResolveOutcome.MalformedRecord,
+            )
+            outcome as NamecoinResolveOutcome.MalformedRecord
+            assertEquals("d/broken", outcome.name)
+            // Don't pin the exact parser text — different kotlinx.serialization
+            // versions phrase it differently. Just require it's a non-empty
+            // diagnostic.
+            assertTrue(
+                "error must be a non-empty diagnostic: ${outcome.error}",
+                outcome.error.isNotBlank(),
+            )
+        }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `NIP-05 lookup surfaces MalformedRecord when top-level value is a JSON array`() =
+        runTest {
+            // Top-level non-object values (arrays, primitives, null) are
+            // not valid Domain Name Objects per ifa-0001. They should be
+            // rejected with a useful diagnostic, not collapsed into
+            // NoNostrField (which implies the JSON parsed fine).
+            val client =
+                FakeElectrumXClient().apply {
+                    register("d/arr", """["not","an","object"]""")
+                }
+            val resolver = NamecoinNameResolver(client, lookupTimeoutMs = 1_000L)
+            val outcome = resolver.resolveDetailed("_@arr.bit")
+            assertTrue(
+                "expected MalformedRecord, got $outcome",
+                outcome is NamecoinResolveOutcome.MalformedRecord,
+            )
+            outcome as NamecoinResolveOutcome.MalformedRecord
+            assertEquals("d/arr", outcome.name)
+            assertTrue(
+                "error must mention the unexpected top-level shape: ${outcome.error}",
+                outcome.error.contains("expected JSON object", ignoreCase = true),
+            )
+        }
+
     // ── Helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     private fun parse(s: String): JsonObject = json.parseToJsonElement(s).jsonObject