diff --git a/lightrag/exceptions.py b/lightrag/exceptions.py
index ae756f85..190d0c18 100644
--- a/lightrag/exceptions.py
+++ b/lightrag/exceptions.py
@@ -58,3 +58,41 @@ class RateLimitError(APIStatusError):
 class APITimeoutError(APIConnectionError):
     def __init__(self, request: httpx.Request) -> None:
         super().__init__(message="Request timed out.", request=request)
+
+
+class StorageNotInitializedError(RuntimeError):
+    """Raised when storage operations are attempted before initialization."""
+    
+    def __init__(self, storage_type: str = "Storage"):
+        super().__init__(
+            f"{storage_type} not initialized. Please ensure proper initialization:\n"
+            f"\n"
+            f"  rag = LightRAG(...)\n"
+            f"  await rag.initialize_storages()  # Required\n"
+            f"  \n"
+            f"  from lightrag.kg.shared_storage import initialize_pipeline_status\n"
+            f"  await initialize_pipeline_status()  # Required for pipeline operations\n"
+            f"\n"
+            f"See: https://github.com/HKUDS/LightRAG#important-initialization-requirements"
+        )
+
+
+class PipelineNotInitializedError(KeyError):
+    """Raised when pipeline status is accessed before initialization."""
+    
+    def __init__(self, namespace: str = ""):
+        msg = (
+            f"Pipeline namespace '{namespace}' not found. "
+            f"This usually means pipeline status was not initialized.\n"
+            f"\n"
+            f"Please call 'await initialize_pipeline_status()' after initializing storages:\n"
+            f"\n"
+            f"  from lightrag.kg.shared_storage import initialize_pipeline_status\n"
+            f"  await initialize_pipeline_status()\n"
+            f"\n"
+            f"Full initialization sequence:\n"
+            f"  rag = LightRAG(...)\n"
+            f"  await rag.initialize_storages()\n"
+            f"  await initialize_pipeline_status()"
+        )
+        super().__init__(msg)
diff --git a/lightrag/kg/json_doc_status_impl.py b/lightrag/kg/json_doc_status_impl.py
index 09af3ef1..5ba9d9d3 100644
--- a/lightrag/kg/json_doc_status_impl.py
+++ b/lightrag/kg/json_doc_status_impl.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ from lightrag.utils import (
     logger,
     write_json,
 )
+from lightrag.exceptions import StorageNotInitializedError
 from .shared_storage import (
     get_namespace_data,
     get_storage_lock,
@@ -65,11 +66,15 @@ class JsonDocStatusStorage(DocStatusStorage):
 
     async def filter_keys(self, keys: set[str]) -> set[str]:
         """Return keys that should be processed (not in storage or not successfully processed)"""
+        if self._storage_lock is None:
+            raise StorageNotInitializedError("JsonDocStatusStorage")
         async with self._storage_lock:
             return set(keys) - set(self._data.keys())
 
     async def get_by_ids(self, ids: list[str]) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
         result: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
+        if self._storage_lock is None:
+            raise StorageNotInitializedError("JsonDocStatusStorage")
         async with self._storage_lock:
             for id in ids:
                 data = self._data.get(id, None)
@@ -80,6 +85,8 @@ class JsonDocStatusStorage(DocStatusStorage):
     async def get_status_counts(self) -> dict[str, int]:
         """Get counts of documents in each status"""
         counts = {status.value: 0 for status in DocStatus}
+        if self._storage_lock is None:
+            raise StorageNotInitializedError("JsonDocStatusStorage")
         async with self._storage_lock:
             for doc in self._data.values():
                 counts[doc["status"]] += 1
@@ -160,6 +167,8 @@ class JsonDocStatusStorage(DocStatusStorage):
         if not data:
             return
         logger.debug(f"Inserting {len(data)} records to {self.final_namespace}")
+        if self._storage_lock is None:
+            raise StorageNotInitializedError("JsonDocStatusStorage")
         async with self._storage_lock:
             # Ensure chunks_list field exists for new documents
             for doc_id, doc_data in data.items():
diff --git a/lightrag/kg/json_kv_impl.py b/lightrag/kg/json_kv_impl.py
index d6d80079..9bb8b3f2 100644
--- a/lightrag/kg/json_kv_impl.py
+++ b/lightrag/kg/json_kv_impl.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from lightrag.utils import (
     logger,
     write_json,
 )
+from lightrag.exceptions import StorageNotInitializedError
 from .shared_storage import (
     get_namespace_data,
     get_storage_lock,
@@ -152,6 +153,8 @@ class JsonKVStorage(BaseKVStorage):
         current_time = int(time.time())  # Get current Unix timestamp
 
         logger.debug(f"Inserting {len(data)} records to {self.final_namespace}")
+        if self._storage_lock is None:
+            raise StorageNotInitializedError("JsonKVStorage")
         async with self._storage_lock:
             # Add timestamps to data based on whether key exists
             for k, v in data.items():