diff --git a/src/speckle_automate/automation_context.py b/src/speckle_automate/automation_context.py
index 32ec0149..5b28f726 100644
--- a/src/speckle_automate/automation_context.py
+++ b/src/speckle_automate/automation_context.py
@@ -290,6 +290,10 @@ def mark_run_failed(self, status_message: str) -> None:
         """Mark the current run a failure."""
         self._mark_run(AutomationStatus.FAILED, status_message)
 
+    def mark_run_exception(self, status_message: str) -> None:
+        """Mark the current run a failure."""
+        self._mark_run(AutomationStatus.EXCEPTION, status_message)
+
     def mark_run_success(self, status_message: Optional[str]) -> None:
         """Mark the current run a success with an optional message."""
         self._mark_run(AutomationStatus.SUCCEEDED, status_message)
diff --git a/src/speckle_automate/runner.py b/src/speckle_automate/runner.py
index 417393c4..71a27aaa 100644
--- a/src/speckle_automate/runner.py
+++ b/src/speckle_automate/runner.py
@@ -132,7 +132,10 @@ def execute_automate_function(
 
         # if we've gotten this far, the execution should technically be completed as expected
         # thus exiting with 0 is the schemantically correct thing to do
-        exit(0)
+        exit_code = (
+            1 if automation_context.run_status == AutomationStatus.EXCEPTION else 0
+        )
+        exit(exit_code)
 
     else:
         raise NotImplementedError(f"Command: '{command}' is not supported.")
@@ -175,6 +178,7 @@ def run_function(
         if automation_context.run_status not in [
             AutomationStatus.FAILED,
             AutomationStatus.SUCCEEDED,
+            AutomationStatus.EXCEPTION,
         ]:
             automation_context.mark_run_success(
                 "WARNING: Automate assumed a success status,"
@@ -183,7 +187,7 @@ def run_function(
     except Exception:
         trace = traceback.format_exc()
         print(trace)
-        automation_context.mark_run_failed(
+        automation_context.mark_run_exception(
             "Function error. Check the automation run logs for details."
         )
     finally:
diff --git a/src/speckle_automate/schema.py b/src/speckle_automate/schema.py
index 95802635..6e0b5649 100644
--- a/src/speckle_automate/schema.py
+++ b/src/speckle_automate/schema.py
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ class AutomationStatus(str, Enum):
     RUNNING = "RUNNING"
     FAILED = "FAILED"
     SUCCEEDED = "SUCCEEDED"
+    EXCEPTION = "EXCEPTION"
 
 
 class ObjectResultLevel(str, Enum):