diff --git a/src/specify_cli/integrations/catalog.py b/src/specify_cli/integrations/catalog.py
index e18d30a6fa..e93dab5185 100644
--- a/src/specify_cli/integrations/catalog.py
+++ b/src/specify_cli/integrations/catalog.py
@@ -674,16 +674,37 @@ def __init__(self, descriptor_path: Path) -> None:
     @staticmethod
     def _load(path: Path) -> dict:
         try:
-            with open(path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as fh:
-                return yaml.safe_load(fh) or {}
-        except yaml.YAMLError as exc:
-            raise IntegrationDescriptorError(f"Invalid YAML in {path}: {exc}")
+            text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
         except FileNotFoundError:
             raise IntegrationDescriptorError(f"Descriptor not found: {path}")
         except (OSError, UnicodeError) as exc:
             raise IntegrationDescriptorError(
                 f"Unable to read descriptor {path}: {exc}"
             )
+        try:
+            # ``safe_load`` returns None for BOTH an empty document and an
+            # explicit null scalar (``null``, ``~``, ``Null``, ``NULL``), so it
+            # cannot tell them apart on its own. ``compose`` yields no node
+            # only for a genuinely empty document.
+            node = yaml.compose(text)
+            data = yaml.safe_load(text)
+            is_empty_document = node is None or (
+                data is None
+                and isinstance(node, yaml.nodes.ScalarNode)
+                and node.value == ""
+                and node.start_mark.index == node.end_mark.index
+            )
+        except yaml.YAMLError as exc:
+            raise IntegrationDescriptorError(f"Invalid YAML in {path}: {exc}")
+        # Only a genuinely EMPTY document becomes an empty mapping, so its
+        # missing-field errors are reported. Every non-mapping document --
+        # including an explicit ``null``/``~`` and the falsy shapes ``[]``,
+        # ``false``, ``0``, ``''`` that a plain ``or {}`` would mask -- must
+        # reach ``_validate`` unchanged so it reports the wrong descriptor
+        # shape, like the truthy twins (``- a``, ``hello``) already do.
+        if is_empty_document:
+            data = {}
+        return data
 
     # -- Validation -------------------------------------------------------
 
diff --git a/tests/integrations/test_integration_catalog.py b/tests/integrations/test_integration_catalog.py
index 9b02632992..87ab98a4d0 100644
--- a/tests/integrations/test_integration_catalog.py
+++ b/tests/integrations/test_integration_catalog.py
@@ -700,6 +700,36 @@ def test_scripts_not_a_list(self, tmp_path):
         with pytest.raises(IntegrationDescriptorError, match="expected a list"):
             IntegrationDescriptor(p)
 
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "content", ["[]", "false", "0", "''", "null", "~", "NULL", "- a", "hello"]
+    )
+    def test_falsy_non_mapping_descriptor_reports_shape_error(self, tmp_path, content):
+        """Every non-mapping document reports the mapping-shape error.
+
+        `_validate` opens with an `isinstance(self.data, dict)` check, so a
+        truthy non-mapping (`- a`, `hello`) correctly reported "Descriptor root
+        must be a YAML mapping". `_load`'s plain `yaml.safe_load(fh) or {}`
+        masked that for the falsy shapes `[]`, `false`, `0`, `''` (coerced to
+        an empty mapping) and for an explicit null scalar (`null`, `~`, `NULL`
+        -- indistinguishable from an empty document by `safe_load` alone), so
+        those five reported "Missing required field: schema_version" instead.
+        """
+        p = tmp_path / "integration.yml"
+        p.write_text(content)
+        with pytest.raises(
+            IntegrationDescriptorError,
+            match="Descriptor root must be a YAML mapping",
+        ):
+            IntegrationDescriptor(p)
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("content", ["", "---"])
+    def test_empty_document_still_reports_missing_fields(self, tmp_path, content):
+        """Empty documents are normalized to an empty mapping, so missing fields are reported."""
+        p = tmp_path / "integration.yml"
+        p.write_text(content)
+        with pytest.raises(IntegrationDescriptorError, match="Missing required field: schema_version"):
+            IntegrationDescriptor(p)
+
     def test_file_not_found(self, tmp_path):
         with pytest.raises(IntegrationDescriptorError, match="Descriptor not found"):
             IntegrationDescriptor(tmp_path / "nonexistent.yml")