diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 9cd072b51..89fb65583 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ mod develop;
 mod metadata;
 mod module_writer;
 mod new_project;
+mod polyfill;
 mod project_layout;
 mod pyproject_toml;
 mod python_interpreter;
diff --git a/src/polyfill.rs b/src/polyfill.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ace8475d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/polyfill.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+use cargo_metadata::{Metadata, MetadataCommand};
+use std::process::Stdio;
+
+pub trait MetadataCommandExt {
+    /// Runs configured `cargo metadata` and returns parsed `Metadata`.
+    /// Inherits stderr from parent process.
+    fn exec_inherit_stderr(&self) -> Result<Metadata, cargo_metadata::Error>;
+}
+
+impl MetadataCommandExt for MetadataCommand {
+    fn exec_inherit_stderr(&self) -> Result<Metadata, cargo_metadata::Error> {
+        let mut command = self.cargo_command();
+        command.stderr(Stdio::inherit());
+        let output = command.output()?;
+        if !output.status.success() {
+            return Err(cargo_metadata::Error::CargoMetadata {
+                stderr: String::from_utf8(output.stderr)?,
+            });
+        }
+        let stdout = std::str::from_utf8(&output.stdout)?
+            .lines()
+            .find(|line| line.starts_with('{'))
+            .ok_or(cargo_metadata::Error::NoJson)?;
+        Self::parse(stdout)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/project_layout.rs b/src/project_layout.rs
index 1d64328fa..50f52d851 100644
--- a/src/project_layout.rs
+++ b/src/project_layout.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 use crate::build_options::{extract_cargo_metadata_args, CargoOptions};
+use crate::polyfill::MetadataCommandExt;
 use crate::{CargoToml, Metadata21, PyProjectToml};
 use anyhow::{bail, format_err, Context, Result};
 use cargo_metadata::{Metadata, MetadataCommand};
@@ -277,7 +278,7 @@ impl ProjectResolver {
         let result = MetadataCommand::new()
             .manifest_path(manifest_path)
             .other_options(cargo_metadata_extra_args)
-            .exec();
+            .exec_inherit_stderr();
 
         let cargo_metadata = match result {
             Ok(cargo_metadata) => cargo_metadata,
diff --git a/src/source_distribution.rs b/src/source_distribution.rs
index 9ee797152..909d1d27e 100644
--- a/src/source_distribution.rs
+++ b/src/source_distribution.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 use crate::module_writer::{add_data, ModuleWriter};
+use crate::polyfill::MetadataCommandExt;
 use crate::{BuildContext, PyProjectToml, SDistWriter};
 use anyhow::{bail, Context, Result};
 use cargo_metadata::{Metadata, MetadataCommand};
@@ -442,7 +443,7 @@ pub fn source_distribution(
             .manifest_path(path_dep)
             // We don't need to resolve the dependency graph
             .no_deps()
-            .exec()
+            .exec_inherit_stderr()
             .with_context(|| {
                 format!(
                     "Cargo metadata failed for {} at '{}'",
diff --git a/tests/common/errors.rs b/tests/common/errors.rs
index 97896c6fd..d1d095492 100644
--- a/tests/common/errors.rs
+++ b/tests/common/errors.rs
@@ -85,11 +85,7 @@ pub fn locked_doesnt_build_without_cargo_lock() -> Result<()> {
             .source()
             .ok_or_else(|| format_err!("{}", err))?
             .to_string();
-        // Sometimes the first message is "waiting for file lock on package cache",
-        // so we can only check if the lock file is in the message somewhere
-        if !err_string.starts_with("`cargo metadata` exited with an error:")
-            || !err_string.contains("lock file")
-        {
+        if !err_string.starts_with("`cargo metadata` exited with an error:") {
             bail!("{:?}", err_string);
         }
     } else {