diff --git a/radicle-cli/examples/rad-auth-errors.md b/radicle-cli/examples/rad-auth-errors.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c723dec1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/radicle-cli/examples/rad-auth-errors.md
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+Note that aliases must not be longer than 32 bytes, or you will get an error.
+There are other rules as well:
+
+``` (fail)
+$ rad auth --alias "5fad63fe6b339fa92c588d926121bea6240773a7"
+✗ Error: rad auth: alias cannot be greater than 32 bytes
+```
+
+``` (fail)
+$ rad auth --alias "john doe"
+✗ Error: rad auth: alias cannot contain whitespace or control characters
+```
+
+``` (fail)
+$ rad auth --alias ""
+✗ Error: rad auth: alias cannot be empty
+```
diff --git a/radicle-cli/examples/rad-auth.md b/radicle-cli/examples/rad-auth.md
index dd657c14..8dc0e588 100644
--- a/radicle-cli/examples/rad-auth.md
+++ b/radicle-cli/examples/rad-auth.md
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ did:key:z6MknSLrJoTcukLrE435hVNQT4JUhbvWLX4kUzqkEStBU8Vi
 ```
 
 You can also show your alias:
+
 ```
 $ rad self --alias
 alice
diff --git a/radicle-cli/tests/commands.rs b/radicle-cli/tests/commands.rs
index 80bb85f3..246d0286 100644
--- a/radicle-cli/tests/commands.rs
+++ b/radicle-cli/tests/commands.rs
@@ -128,6 +128,11 @@ fn rad_auth() {
     test("examples/rad-auth.md", Path::new("."), None, []).unwrap();
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn rad_auth_errors() {
+    test("examples/rad-auth-errors.md", Path::new("."), None, []).unwrap();
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn rad_issue() {
     let mut environment = Environment::new();
diff --git a/radicle/src/node.rs b/radicle/src/node.rs
index a018cd0f..7b0e15f3 100644
--- a/radicle/src/node.rs
+++ b/radicle/src/node.rs
@@ -206,6 +206,7 @@ impl PartialOrd for SyncStatus {
 
 /// Node alias.
 #[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord, Clone, serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
+#[serde(try_from = "String", into = "String")]
 pub struct Alias(String);
 
 impl Alias {
@@ -288,6 +289,14 @@ impl FromStr for Alias {
     }
 }
 
+impl TryFrom<String> for Alias {
+    type Error = AliasError;
+
+    fn try_from(value: String) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
+        Alias::from_str(&value)
+    }
+}
+
 /// Options passed to the "connect" node command.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
 pub struct ConnectOptions {