diff --git a/doc/rocks.txt b/doc/rocks.txt
index e7e3a0d4..eb268874 100644
--- a/doc/rocks.txt
+++ b/doc/rocks.txt
@@ -34,9 +34,10 @@ rocks.nvim commands                                             *rocks.commands*
                                   The rock must be installed by luarocks.
                                   It is added to the 'runtimepath' if it wasn't there yet.
                                   If `Rocks` is called with the optional `!`, the rock is added
-                                  to the 'runtimepath' and no 'plugin' or 'ftdetect' scripts are
+                                  to the |runtimepath| and no |plugin| or |ftdetect| scripts are
                                   sourced.
-                                  This command aims to behave similarly to the builtin 'packadd'.
+                                  This command aims to behave similarly to the builtin |packadd|,
+                                  and will fall back to it if no rock is found.
                                   To make a rock optional, set `opt = true` in `rocks.toml`.
  log                              Open the log file.
 
diff --git a/lua/rocks/commands.lua b/lua/rocks/commands.lua
index 3f3cce8e..6a39fa1f 100644
--- a/lua/rocks/commands.lua
+++ b/lua/rocks/commands.lua
@@ -18,9 +18,10 @@
 ---                                  The rock must be installed by luarocks.
 ---                                  It is added to the 'runtimepath' if it wasn't there yet.
 ---                                  If `Rocks` is called with the optional `!`, the rock is added
----                                  to the 'runtimepath' and no 'plugin' or 'ftdetect' scripts are
+---                                  to the |runtimepath| and no |plugin| or |ftdetect| scripts are
 ---                                  sourced.
----                                  This command aims to behave similarly to the builtin 'packadd'.
+---                                  This command aims to behave similarly to the builtin |packadd|,
+---                                  and will fall back to it if no rock is found.
 ---                                  To make a rock optional, set `opt = true` in `rocks.toml`.
 --- log                              Open the log file.
 ---
diff --git a/lua/rocks/runtime.lua b/lua/rocks/runtime.lua
index 796404a7..a630c11b 100644
--- a/lua/rocks/runtime.lua
+++ b/lua/rocks/runtime.lua
@@ -111,7 +111,8 @@ end
 
 ---@class (exact) PackaddOpts
 ---@field bang? boolean
----@field error_on_not_found? boolean
+---@field packadd_fallback? boolean Fall back to the builtin |packadd|? Default `true`.
+---@field error_on_not_found? boolean Notify with an error message if no plugin could be found. Ignored if `packadd_fallback` is set to `true`.
 
 ---@param rock_name rock_name
 ---@param opts? PackaddOpts
@@ -120,7 +121,8 @@ function runtime.packadd(rock_name, opts)
     ---@cast opts table
     opts = vim.tbl_deep_extend("force", {
         bang = false,
-        error_on_not_found = true,
+        packadd_fallback = true,
+        error_on_not_found = false,
     }, opts or {})
     local rtp_glob = mk_rtp_glob(rock_name)
     rtp_append(rtp_glob)
@@ -129,7 +131,9 @@ function runtime.packadd(rock_name, opts)
     end
     local paths = vim.fn.glob(rtp_glob, nil, true)
     if #paths == 0 then
-        if opts.error_on_not_found then
+        if opts.packadd_fallback then
+            vim.cmd.packadd({ rock_name, bang = opts.bang })
+        elseif opts.error_on_not_found then
             vim.notify(("No path found for %s"):format(rock_name), vim.log.levels.ERROR)
         end
         return