diff --git a/src/libcmd/command.cc b/src/libcmd/command.cc
index 7f8072d75..14bb27936 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/command.cc
+++ b/src/libcmd/command.cc
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ ref<EvalState> EvalCommand::getEvalState()
             ;
 
         if (startReplOnEvalErrors) {
-            evalState->debugRepl = &runRepl;        
+            evalState->debugRepl = &runRepl;
         };
     }
     return ref<EvalState>(evalState);
diff --git a/src/libcmd/command.hh b/src/libcmd/command.hh
index 3df6cd114..6bd38810b 100644
--- a/src/libcmd/command.hh
+++ b/src/libcmd/command.hh
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ struct CopyCommand : virtual StoreCommand
 struct EvalCommand : virtual StoreCommand, MixEvalArgs
 {
     bool startReplOnEvalErrors = false;
+    bool ignoreExceptionsDuringTry = false;
 
     EvalCommand();
 
diff --git a/src/libexpr/eval.cc b/src/libexpr/eval.cc
index 40462afdf..f485e2fed 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/eval.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/eval.cc
@@ -464,9 +464,10 @@ EvalState::EvalState(
     , emptyBindings(0)
     , store(store)
     , buildStore(buildStore ? buildStore : store)
-    , debugRepl(0)
+    , debugRepl(nullptr)
     , debugStop(false)
     , debugQuit(false)
+    , trylevel(0)
     , regexCache(makeRegexCache())
 #if HAVE_BOEHMGC
     , valueAllocCache(std::allocate_shared<void *>(traceable_allocator<void *>(), nullptr))
@@ -832,7 +833,14 @@ void EvalState::runDebugRepl(const Error * error, const Env & env, const Expr &
         : nullptr;
 
     if (error)
-        printError("%s\n\n" ANSI_BOLD "Starting REPL to allow you to inspect the current state of the evaluator.\n" ANSI_NORMAL, error->what());
+    {
+        printError("%s\n\n", error->what());
+
+        if (trylevel > 0 && error->info().level != lvlInfo)
+            printError("This exception occurred in a 'tryEval' call. Use " ANSI_GREEN "--ignore-try" ANSI_NORMAL " to skip these.\n");
+
+        printError(ANSI_BOLD "Starting REPL to allow you to inspect the current state of the evaluator.\n" ANSI_NORMAL);
+    }
 
     auto se = getStaticEnv(expr);
     if (se) {
diff --git a/src/libexpr/eval.hh b/src/libexpr/eval.hh
index 7db954bf4..f07f15d43 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/eval.hh
+++ b/src/libexpr/eval.hh
@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@ public:
     void (* debugRepl)(ref<EvalState> es, const ValMap & extraEnv);
     bool debugStop;
     bool debugQuit;
+    int trylevel;
     std::list<DebugTrace> debugTraces;
     std::map<const Expr*, const std::shared_ptr<const StaticEnv>> exprEnvs;
     const std::shared_ptr<const StaticEnv> getStaticEnv(const Expr & expr) const
@@ -647,6 +648,12 @@ struct EvalSettings : Config
     Setting<bool> useEvalCache{this, true, "eval-cache",
         "Whether to use the flake evaluation cache."};
 
+    Setting<bool> ignoreExceptionsDuringTry{this, false, "ignore-try",
+        R"(
+          If set to true, ignore exceptions inside 'tryEval' calls when evaluating nix expressions in
+          debug mode (using the --debugger flag). By default the debugger will pause on all exceptions.
+        )"};
+
     Setting<bool> traceVerbose{this, false, "trace-verbose",
         "Whether `builtins.traceVerbose` should trace its first argument when evaluated."};
 };
diff --git a/src/libexpr/primops.cc b/src/libexpr/primops.cc
index 5fda9af75..bc253d0a3 100644
--- a/src/libexpr/primops.cc
+++ b/src/libexpr/primops.cc
@@ -851,6 +851,18 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_floor({
 static void prim_tryEval(EvalState & state, const PosIdx pos, Value * * args, Value & v)
 {
     auto attrs = state.buildBindings(2);
+
+    /* increment state.trylevel, and decrement it when this function returns. */
+    MaintainCount trylevel(state.trylevel);
+
+    void (* savedDebugRepl)(ref<EvalState> es, const ValMap & extraEnv) = nullptr;
+    if (state.debugRepl && evalSettings.ignoreExceptionsDuringTry)
+    {
+        /* to prevent starting the repl from exceptions withing a tryEval, null it. */
+        savedDebugRepl = state.debugRepl;
+        state.debugRepl = nullptr;
+    }
+
     try {
         state.forceValue(*args[0], pos);
         attrs.insert(state.sValue, args[0]);
@@ -859,6 +871,11 @@ static void prim_tryEval(EvalState & state, const PosIdx pos, Value * * args, Va
         attrs.alloc(state.sValue).mkBool(false);
         attrs.alloc("success").mkBool(false);
     }
+
+    // restore the debugRepl pointer if we saved it earlier.
+    if (savedDebugRepl)
+        state.debugRepl = savedDebugRepl;
+
     v.mkAttrs(attrs);
 }