diff --git a/cvs/cli_plugins/base.py b/cvs/cli_plugins/base.py
index fafe1ad17..7bd32f01c 100644
--- a/cvs/cli_plugins/base.py
+++ b/cvs/cli_plugins/base.py
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+import sys
+
+
 class SubcommandPlugin:
     """Base class for CLI subcommand plugins."""
 
@@ -6,6 +9,10 @@ class SubcommandPlugin:
         "exec": 1000,  # High number to ensure exec appears last
     }
 
+    def _emit_error(self, msg, json_mode):
+        """Print an error message. In JSON mode, writes to stderr so stdout stays valid JSON."""
+        print(msg, file=sys.stderr if json_mode else sys.stdout)
+
     def get_name(self):
         raise NotImplementedError
 
diff --git a/cvs/cli_plugins/exec_plugin.py b/cvs/cli_plugins/exec_plugin.py
index b1ac79fcb..226aeb133 100644
--- a/cvs/cli_plugins/exec_plugin.py
+++ b/cvs/cli_plugins/exec_plugin.py
@@ -160,10 +160,6 @@ def _run_on_hosts(
 
         return True, output
 
-    def _emit_error(self, msg, json_mode):
-        """Print an error message. In JSON mode, writes to stderr so stdout stays valid JSON."""
-        print(msg, file=sys.stderr if json_mode else sys.stdout)
-
     def _print_text_output(self, label, host_output):
         """Print host results in human-readable format."""
         for host, out in host_output.items():