diff --git a/src/util/flag.cc b/src/util/flag.cc
index 9a9a8b64..152ce58b 100644
--- a/src/util/flag.cc
+++ b/src/util/flag.cc
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #include "flag.h"
 
+#include <cstdlib>
 #include <iostream>
 
 #include "yaze_config.h"
@@ -7,6 +8,15 @@
 namespace yaze {
 namespace util {
 
+namespace detail {
+
+[[noreturn]] void FlagParseFatal(const std::string& message) {
+  std::cerr << "[Flag Parser] " << message << std::endl;
+  std::exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+}
+
+}  // namespace detail
+
 void FlagParser::Parse(std::vector<std::string>* tokens) {
   std::vector<std::string> leftover;
   leftover.reserve(tokens->size());
@@ -38,7 +48,7 @@ void FlagParser::Parse(std::vector<std::string>* tokens) {
       // Attempt to parse the flag (strip leading dashes in the registry).
       IFlag* flag_ptr = registry_->GetFlag(flag_name);
       if (!flag_ptr) {
-        throw std::runtime_error("Unrecognized flag: " + flag_name);
+        detail::FlagParseFatal("Unrecognized flag: " + flag_name);
       }
 
       // Set the parsed value on the matching flag.
@@ -62,7 +72,7 @@ void FlagParser::Parse(std::vector<std::string>* tokens) {
 
       std::string flag_name;
       if (!ExtractFlag(token, &flag_name)) {
-        throw std::runtime_error("Unrecognized flag: " + token);
+        detail::FlagParseFatal("Unrecognized flag: " + token);
       }
 
     } else {
diff --git a/src/util/flag.h b/src/util/flag.h
index 46bd89b0..1ada1aa0 100644
--- a/src/util/flag.h
+++ b/src/util/flag.h
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 
 #include <memory>
 #include <sstream>
-#include <stdexcept>
 #include <string>
 #include <unordered_map>
 #include <vector>
@@ -11,6 +10,10 @@
 namespace yaze {
 namespace util {
 
+namespace detail {
+[[noreturn]] void FlagParseFatal(const std::string& message);
+}
+
 // Base interface for all flags.
 class IFlag {
  public:
@@ -44,7 +47,7 @@ class Flag : public IFlag {
     std::stringstream ss(text);
     T parsed;
     if (!(ss >> parsed)) {
-      throw std::runtime_error("Failed to parse flag: " + name_);
+      detail::FlagParseFatal("Failed to parse flag: " + name_);
     }
     value_ = parsed;
   }
@@ -70,8 +73,9 @@ inline void Flag<bool>::ParseValue(const std::string& text) {
   } else if (text == "false" || text == "0" || text == "no" || text == "off") {
     SetValue(false);
   } else {
-    throw std::runtime_error("Failed to parse boolean flag: " + name() + 
-                           " (expected true/false/1/0/yes/no/on/off, got: " + text + ")");
+    detail::FlagParseFatal("Failed to parse boolean flag: " + name() +
+                           " (expected true/false/1/0/yes/no/on/off, got: " +
+                           text + ")");
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/util/util.cmake b/src/util/util.cmake
index 60bb28c2..b40ab900 100644
--- a/src/util/util.cmake
+++ b/src/util/util.cmake
@@ -42,7 +42,13 @@ target_link_libraries(yaze_util PUBLIC
 # Add Abseil dependencies if gRPC is enabled
 # We link to grpc++ which transitively provides Abseil and ensures correct build order
 if(YAZE_ENABLE_GRPC)
-  target_link_libraries(yaze_util PUBLIC grpc++)
+  target_link_libraries(yaze_util PUBLIC
+    grpc++
+    absl::status
+    absl::statusor
+    absl::strings
+    absl::str_format
+  )
 endif()
 
 set_target_properties(yaze_util PROPERTIES