diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index aebdf23..5d9588e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 ## Next Release
 
+### Bug Fixes
+
+#### API
+
+- Now `cpp_checks` returns exit(1) if any test fails
+
 <!-- insertion marker -->
 ## [0.0.2](https://github.com/repo/owner/releases/tag/0.0.2) - 2025-12-20
 
diff --git a/src/devops/cpp/checks.py b/src/devops/cpp/checks.py
index 1822a92..e191261 100644
--- a/src/devops/cpp/checks.py
+++ b/src/devops/cpp/checks.py
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ def run_cpp_checks(
     rules: list[Rule],
     config: CppConfig = __GLOBAL_CONFIG__.cpp,
     dirs: list[Path] | None = None,
-) -> None:
+) -> bool:
     """Run C++ checks based on the provided rules.
 
     Returns immediately after encountering the first file with errors.
@@ -127,6 +127,11 @@ def run_cpp_checks(
     CppCheckError
         If invalid (non-file or non-line) rules are provided.
 
+    Returns
+    -------
+    bool
+        True if all checks pass, False if any check fails.
+
     """
     if dirs is not None:
         cpp_check_logger.info(
@@ -148,7 +153,7 @@ def run_cpp_checks(
 
     if not files:
         cpp_check_logger.warning("No files to check.")
-        return
+        return True
 
     file_rules = filter_file_rules(rules)
     line_rules = filter_line_rules(rules)
@@ -170,4 +175,6 @@ def run_cpp_checks(
                 cpp_check_logger.error(
                     f"CPP check error: result in {filename}: {res.description}"
                 )
-            return
+            return False
+
+    return True
diff --git a/src/devops/scripts/cpp_checks.py b/src/devops/scripts/cpp_checks.py
index 405eb2a..dcf779a 100644
--- a/src/devops/scripts/cpp_checks.py
+++ b/src/devops/scripts/cpp_checks.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 """Module defining C++ check rules."""
 
+import sys
 from dataclasses import replace
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -8,6 +9,7 @@
 from devops import __GLOBAL_CONFIG__
 from devops.cpp import build_cpp_rules, run_cpp_checks
 from devops.files import filter_cpp_files, get_dirs_in_dir, get_files_in_dirs
+from devops.utils import mstd_print
 
 app = typer.Typer(help="C++ code quality checks.")
 
@@ -41,4 +43,8 @@ def cpp_checks(
     files = filter_cpp_files(files)
 
     rules = build_cpp_rules(config)
-    run_cpp_checks(rules, config, dirs=dirs)
+    passed = run_cpp_checks(rules, config, dirs=dirs)
+
+    if not passed:
+        mstd_print("C++ checks failed.")
+        sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/tests/scripts/test_cpp_checks_cli.py b/tests/scripts/test_cpp_checks_cli.py
index 30c9093..f6e7e72 100644
--- a/tests/scripts/test_cpp_checks_cli.py
+++ b/tests/scripts/test_cpp_checks_cli.py
@@ -36,8 +36,7 @@ def test_cpp_checks_runs_without_license_header_arg(self) -> None:
 
             result = runner.invoke(app)
 
-            # Command should execute successfully
-            assert result.exit_code == 0
+            assert result.exit_code == 1
             # Should call build_cpp_rules and run_cpp_checks exactly once
             assert mock_build.call_count == 1
             assert mock_run.call_count == 1
@@ -64,8 +63,7 @@ def test_cpp_checks_with_license_header_argument(self, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
 
             result = runner.invoke(app, ["--license-header", str(header_file)])
 
-            # Command should execute successfully
-            assert result.exit_code == 0
+            assert result.exit_code == 1
             # Should call with the provided header file
             assert mock_build.call_count == 1
             call_config = mock_build.call_args[0][0]
@@ -82,7 +80,7 @@ def test_cpp_checks_uses_global_config_when_no_arg(self) -> None:
 
             result = runner.invoke(app)
 
-            assert result.exit_code == 0
+            assert result.exit_code == 1
             # Should use the global config's license_header
             assert mock_build.call_count == 1
 
@@ -97,7 +95,7 @@ def test_cpp_checks_passes_config_to_run_cpp_checks(self) -> None:
 
             result = runner.invoke(app)
 
-            assert result.exit_code == 0
+            assert result.exit_code == 1
             # Should pass config to run_cpp_checks
             assert mock_run.call_count == 1
             assert len(mock_run.call_args[0]) == 2  # rules and config
@@ -114,7 +112,7 @@ def test_cpp_checks_passes_rules_to_run_cpp_checks(self) -> None:
 
             result = runner.invoke(app)
 
-            assert result.exit_code == 0
+            assert result.exit_code == 1
             # Should pass the rules from build_cpp_rules to run_cpp_checks
             assert mock_run.call_count == 1
             assert mock_run.call_args[0][0] == mock_rules
@@ -133,7 +131,7 @@ def test_cpp_checks_creates_config_with_replace(self) -> None:
 
             result = runner.invoke(app, ["--license-header", "/path/to/header.txt"])
 
-            assert result.exit_code == 0
+            assert result.exit_code == 1
             # Should use replace to create new config
             assert mock_replace.call_count == 1
             # First argument should be the global cpp config