diff --git a/spacy/cli/_util.py b/spacy/cli/_util.py
index e8f3be995..c67863ef1 100644
--- a/spacy/cli/_util.py
+++ b/spacy/cli/_util.py
@@ -308,6 +308,31 @@ def git_checkout(
         msg.fail("Destination of checkout must not exist", exits=1)
     if not dest.parent.exists():
         raise IOError("Parent of destination of checkout must exist")
+
+    if sparse and git_version >= (2, 22):
+        return git_sparse_checkout(repo, subpath, dest, branch)
+    elif sparse:
+        # Only show warnings if the user explicitly wants sparse checkout but
+        # the Git version doesn't support it
+        err_old = (
+            f"You're running an old version of Git (v{git_version[0]}.{git_version[1]}) "
+            f"that doesn't fully support sparse checkout yet."
+        )
+        err_unk = "You're running an unknown version of Git, so sparse checkout has been disabled."
+        msg.warn(
+            f"{err_unk if git_version == (0, 0) else err_old} "
+            f"This means that more files than necessary may be downloaded "
+            f"temporarily. To only download the files needed, make sure "
+            f"you're using Git v2.22 or above."
+        )
+    with make_tempdir() as tmp_dir:
+        cmd = f"git -C {tmp_dir} clone {repo} . -b {branch}"
+        ret = run_command(cmd, capture=True)
+        # We need Path(name) to make sure we also support subdirectories
+        shutil.copytree(str(tmp_dir / Path(subpath)), str(dest))
+
+
+def git_sparse_checkout(repo, subpath, dest, branch):
     # We're using Git, partial clone and sparse checkout to
     # only clone the files we need
     # This ends up being RIDICULOUS. omg.
@@ -324,47 +349,31 @@ def git_checkout(
     # *that* we can do by path.
     # We're using Git and sparse checkout to only clone the files we need
     with make_tempdir() as tmp_dir:
-        supports_sparse = git_version >= (2, 22)
-        use_sparse = supports_sparse and sparse
         # This is the "clone, but don't download anything" part.
-        cmd = f"git clone {repo} {tmp_dir} --no-checkout --depth 1 " f"-b {branch} "
-        if use_sparse:
-            cmd += f"--filter=blob:none"  # <-- The key bit
-        # Only show warnings if the user explicitly wants sparse checkout but
-        # the Git version doesn't support it
-        elif sparse:
-            err_old = (
-                f"You're running an old version of Git (v{git_version[0]}.{git_version[1]}) "
-                f"that doesn't fully support sparse checkout yet."
-            )
-            err_unk = "You're running an unknown version of Git, so sparse checkout has been disabled."
-            msg.warn(
-                f"{err_unk if git_version == (0, 0) else err_old} "
-                f"This means that more files than necessary may be downloaded "
-                f"temporarily. To only download the files needed, make sure "
-                f"you're using Git v2.22 or above."
-            )
-        try_run_command(cmd)
+        cmd = (
+            f"git clone {repo} {tmp_dir} --no-checkout --depth 1 "
+            f"-b {branch} --filter=blob:none"
+        )
+        run_command(cmd)
         # Now we need to find the missing filenames for the subpath we want.
         # Looking for this 'rev-list' command in the git --help? Hah.
-        cmd = f"git -C {tmp_dir} rev-list --objects --all {'--missing=print ' if use_sparse else ''} -- {subpath}"
-        ret = try_run_command(cmd)
+        cmd = f"git -C {tmp_dir} rev-list --objects --all --missing=print -- {subpath}"
+        ret = run_command(cmd, capture=True)
         git_repo = _from_http_to_git(repo)
         # Now pass those missings into another bit of git internals
         missings = " ".join([x[1:] for x in ret.stdout.split() if x.startswith("?")])
-        if use_sparse and not missings:
+        if not missings:
             err = (
                 f"Could not find any relevant files for '{subpath}'. "
                 f"Did you specify a correct and complete path within repo '{repo}' "
                 f"and branch {branch}?"
             )
             msg.fail(err, exits=1)
-        if use_sparse:
-            cmd = f"git -C {tmp_dir} fetch-pack {git_repo} {missings}"
-            try_run_command(cmd)
+        cmd = f"git -C {tmp_dir} fetch-pack {git_repo} {missings}"
+        run_command(cmd, capture=True)
         # And finally, we can checkout our subpath
         cmd = f"git -C {tmp_dir} checkout {branch} {subpath}"
-        try_run_command(cmd)
+        run_command(cmd, capture=True)
         # We need Path(name) to make sure we also support subdirectories
         shutil.move(str(tmp_dir / Path(subpath)), str(dest))
 
@@ -378,7 +387,7 @@ def get_git_version(
     RETURNS (Tuple[int, int]): The version as a (major, minor) tuple. Returns
         (0, 0) if the version couldn't be determined.
     """
-    ret = try_run_command(["git", "--version"], error=error)
+    ret = run_command("git --version", capture=True)
     stdout = ret.stdout.strip()
     if not stdout or not stdout.startswith("git version"):
         return (0, 0)
@@ -386,23 +395,6 @@ def get_git_version(
     return (int(version[0]), int(version[1]))
 
 
-def try_run_command(
-    cmd: Union[str, List[str]], error: str = "Could not run command"
-) -> subprocess.CompletedProcess:
-    """Try running a command and raise an error if it fails.
-
-    cmd (Union[str, List[str]]): The command to run.
-    error (str): The error message.
-    RETURNS (CompletedProcess): The completed process if the command ran.
-    """
-    try:
-        return run_command(cmd, capture=True)
-    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
-        msg.fail(error)
-        print(cmd)
-        sys.exit(1)
-
-
 def _from_http_to_git(repo: str) -> str:
     if repo.startswith("http://"):
         repo = repo.replace(r"http://", r"https://")
diff --git a/spacy/cli/package.py b/spacy/cli/package.py
index 8d6cd84c1..49a0ab75d 100644
--- a/spacy/cli/package.py
+++ b/spacy/cli/package.py
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ def package(
     msg.good(f"Successfully created package '{model_name_v}'", main_path)
     if create_sdist:
         with util.working_dir(main_path):
-            util.run_command([sys.executable, "setup.py", "sdist"])
+            util.run_command([sys.executable, "setup.py", "sdist"], capture=False)
         zip_file = main_path / "dist" / f"{model_name_v}.tar.gz"
         msg.good(f"Successfully created zipped Python package", zip_file)
 
diff --git a/spacy/cli/project/run.py b/spacy/cli/project/run.py
index eb7b8cc5b..13c28f1da 100644
--- a/spacy/cli/project/run.py
+++ b/spacy/cli/project/run.py
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ def run_commands(
         if not silent:
             print(f"Running command: {join_command(command)}")
         if not dry:
-            run_command(command)
+            run_command(command, capture=False)
 
 
 def validate_subcommand(
diff --git a/spacy/util.py b/spacy/util.py
index 88162b23a..93000ea27 100644
--- a/spacy/util.py
+++ b/spacy/util.py
@@ -254,7 +254,7 @@ def load_vectors_into_model(
 
 
 def load_vocab_data_into_model(
-    nlp: "Language", *, lookups: Optional["Lookups"]=None
+    nlp: "Language", *, lookups: Optional["Lookups"] = None
 ) -> None:
     """Load vocab data."""
     if lookups:
@@ -659,8 +659,8 @@ def join_command(command: List[str]) -> str:
 def run_command(
     command: Union[str, List[str]],
     *,
-    capture: bool = False,
     stdin: Optional[Any] = None,
+    capture: bool = False,
 ) -> Optional[subprocess.CompletedProcess]:
     """Run a command on the command line as a subprocess. If the subprocess
     returns a non-zero exit code, a system exit is performed.
@@ -668,33 +668,46 @@ def run_command(
     command (str / List[str]): The command. If provided as a string, the
         string will be split using shlex.split.
     stdin (Optional[Any]): stdin to read from or None.
-    capture (bool): Whether to capture the output.
+    capture (bool): Whether to capture the output and errors. If False,
+        the stdout and stderr will not be redirected, and if there's an error,
+        sys.exit will be called with the returncode. You should use capture=False
+        when you want to turn over execution to the command, and capture=True
+        when you want to run the command more like a function.
     RETURNS (Optional[CompletedProcess]): The process object.
     """
     if isinstance(command, str):
-        command = split_command(command)
+        cmd_list = split_command(command)
+        cmd_str = command
+    else:
+        cmd_list = command
+        cmd_str = " ".join(command)
     try:
         ret = subprocess.run(
-            command,
+            cmd_list,
             env=os.environ.copy(),
             input=stdin,
             encoding="utf8",
-            check=True,
+            check=False,
             stdout=subprocess.PIPE if capture else None,
-            stderr=subprocess.PIPE if capture else None,
+            stderr=subprocess.STDOUT if capture else None,
         )
     except FileNotFoundError:
+        # Indicates the *command* wasn't found, it's an error before the command
+        # is run.
         raise FileNotFoundError(
-            Errors.E970.format(str_command=" ".join(command), tool=command[0])
+            Errors.E970.format(str_command=cmd_str, tool=cmd_list[0])
         ) from None
-    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
-        # We don't want a duplicate traceback here so we're making sure the
-        # CalledProcessError isn't re-raised. We also print both the string
-        # message and the stderr, in case the error only has one of them.
-        print(e.stderr)
-        print(e)
-        sys.exit(1)
-    if ret.returncode != 0:
+    if ret.returncode != 0 and capture:
+        message = f"Error running command:\n\n{cmd_str}\n\n"
+        message += f"Subprocess exited with status {ret.returncode}"
+        if ret.stdout is not None:
+            message += f"\n\nProcess log (stdout and stderr):\n\n"
+            message += ret.stdout
+        error = subprocess.SubprocessError(message)
+        error.ret = ret
+        error.command = cmd_str
+        raise error
+    elif ret.returncode != 0:
         sys.exit(ret.returncode)
     return ret