diff --git a/src/commands/documents.ts b/src/commands/documents.ts
index 55f8bd43..ae544a21 100644
--- a/src/commands/documents.ts
+++ b/src/commands/documents.ts
@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ export const DOCUMENTS_META: DomainMeta = {
   name: "documents",
   summary: "long-form markdown docs attached to projects or issues",
   context: [
-    "a document is a markdown page. it can belong to a project and/or be",
-    "attached to an issue. documents support icons and colors.",
+    "a document is a markdown page. it must belong to exactly one project,",
+    "team, or issue. documents support icons and colors.",
   ].join("\n"),
   arguments: {
     document: "document identifier (UUID)",
@@ -190,8 +190,17 @@ export function setupDocumentsCommands(program: Command): void {
             "cannot be combined with --issue",
           );
         }
-
         const issueIdentifier = options.issue ?? options.attachTo;
+        const scopes = [options.project, options.team, issueIdentifier].filter(
+          Boolean,
+        );
+        if (scopes.length !== 1) {
+          throw invalidParameterError(
+            "--project|--team|--issue",
+            "a document needs exactly one scope: --project, --team, or --issue",
+          );
+        }
+
         const rootOpts = getRootOpts(command);
         const ctx = createContext(rootOpts);
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/commands/documents.test.ts b/tests/unit/commands/documents.test.ts
index 06508f32..63b16520 100644
--- a/tests/unit/commands/documents.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/commands/documents.test.ts
@@ -59,7 +59,6 @@ vi.mock("../../../src/services/document-service.js", async (importOriginal) => {
 
 import { setupDocumentsCommands } from "../../../src/commands/documents.js";
 import { resolveIssueId } from "../../../src/resolvers/issue-resolver.js";
-import { resolveTeamId } from "../../../src/resolvers/team-resolver.js";
 import { listAttachments } from "../../../src/services/attachment-service.js";
 import {
   createDocument,
@@ -167,6 +166,33 @@ describe("documents create", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it("rejects creating without a document scope", async () => {
+    const exitSpy = vi
+      .spyOn(process, "exit")
+      .mockImplementation(() => undefined as never);
+    vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => {});
+
+    const program = createProgram();
+    await program.parseAsync([
+      "node",
+      "test",
+      "documents",
+      "create",
+      "--title",
+      "Runbook",
+    ]);
+
+    expect(console.error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining(
+        "Invalid --project|--team|--issue: a document needs exactly one scope: --project, --team, or --issue",
+      ),
+    );
+    expect(createDocument).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(exitSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(1);
+
+    exitSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
+
   it("accepts --attach-to as an alias for --issue", async () => {
     const program = createProgram();
     await program.parseAsync([
@@ -176,23 +202,55 @@ describe("documents create", () => {
       "create",
       "--title",
       "Runbook",
-      "--team",
-      "ENG",
       "--attach-to",
       "ENG-42",
     ]);
 
-    expect(resolveTeamId).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.anything(), "ENG");
     expect(resolveIssueId).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.anything(), "ENG-42");
     expect(createDocument).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       expect.anything(),
       expect.objectContaining({
-        teamId: "resolved-team-uuid",
         issueId: "resolved-issue-uuid",
       }),
     );
   });
 
+  it.each([
+    ["--project", "PROJ", "--team", "ENG"],
+    ["--project", "PROJ", "--issue", "ENG-42"],
+    ["--team", "ENG", "--issue", "ENG-42"],
+  ])(
+    "rejects combining %s and %s",
+    async (firstFlag, firstValue, secondFlag, secondValue) => {
+      const exitSpy = vi
+        .spyOn(process, "exit")
+        .mockImplementation(() => undefined as never);
+      vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => {});
+
+      const program = createProgram();
+      await program.parseAsync([
+        "node",
+        "test",
+        "documents",
+        "create",
+        "--title",
+        "Runbook",
+        firstFlag,
+        firstValue,
+        secondFlag,
+        secondValue,
+      ]);
+
+      expect(console.error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.stringContaining("a document needs exactly one scope"),
+      );
+      expect(createDocument).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(exitSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(1);
+
+      exitSpy.mockRestore();
+    },
+  );
+
   it("rejects combining --issue and --attach-to before creating", async () => {
     const exitSpy = vi
       .spyOn(process, "exit")