diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index f6087fec7d8..3802fe45bc5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -64,9 +64,9 @@ jobs:
         GEN_DIFF=$(git status -s)
 
         if [ -n "$GEN_DIFF" ]; then
-            echo '"make build lint" resulted in the following untracked changes:' 1>&2
+            echo '"make build-go lint-go generate-go" resulted in the following untracked changes:' 1>&2
             git diff
-            echo '"make build lint" resulted in changes not in git' 1>&2
+            echo '"make build-go lint-go generate-go" resulted in changes not in git' 1>&2
             git status
             exit 1
         fi
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ jobs:
         GEN_DIFF=$(git status -s)
 
         if [ -n "$GEN_DIFF" ]; then
-            echo '"make build lint" resulted in changes not in git' 1>&2
+            echo '"make build-go lint-go generate-go" resulted in changes not in git' 1>&2
             git status
             exit 1
         fi
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 7bc5164ef49..1cd3d6515df 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ require (
 	go.uber.org/atomic v1.10.0
 	go.uber.org/multierr v1.11.0
 	go.uber.org/zap v1.24.0
-	go.viam.com/api v0.1.330
+	go.viam.com/api v0.1.331
 	go.viam.com/test v1.1.1-0.20220913152726-5da9916c08a2
 	go.viam.com/utils v0.1.90
 	goji.io v2.0.2+incompatible
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index eacb7e2c790..2c21b2f32e7 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1539,8 +1539,8 @@ go.uber.org/zap v1.18.1/go.mod h1:xg/QME4nWcxGxrpdeYfq7UvYrLh66cuVKdrbD1XF/NI=
 go.uber.org/zap v1.23.0/go.mod h1:D+nX8jyLsMHMYrln8A0rJjFt/T/9/bGgIhAqxv5URuY=
 go.uber.org/zap v1.24.0 h1:FiJd5l1UOLj0wCgbSE0rwwXHzEdAZS6hiiSnxJN/D60=
 go.uber.org/zap v1.24.0/go.mod h1:2kMP+WWQ8aoFoedH3T2sq6iJ2yDWpHbP0f6MQbS9Gkg=
-go.viam.com/api v0.1.330 h1:U0GAFU6SNOtwEYnpONDAhSyeyrQ/4Z2LUeTc0+Kzjp0=
-go.viam.com/api v0.1.330/go.mod h1:msa4TPrMVeRDcG4YzKA/S6wLEUC7GyHQE973JklrQ10=
+go.viam.com/api v0.1.331 h1:79ggmTwRuKn92yi/fhTrw+ehHGb7yw5rrrZRtZ50Ih4=
+go.viam.com/api v0.1.331/go.mod h1:msa4TPrMVeRDcG4YzKA/S6wLEUC7GyHQE973JklrQ10=
 go.viam.com/test v1.1.1-0.20220913152726-5da9916c08a2 h1:oBiK580EnEIzgFLU4lHOXmGAE3MxnVbeR7s1wp/F3Ps=
 go.viam.com/test v1.1.1-0.20220913152726-5da9916c08a2/go.mod h1:XM0tej6riszsiNLT16uoyq1YjuYPWlRBweTPRDanIts=
 go.viam.com/utils v0.1.90 h1:Bja+mtI3Cneu3lFb/7V98YBW828/5+d1oChulQC0FZY=
diff --git a/resource/graph_node.go b/resource/graph_node.go
index eb92593f4fa..501a1411767 100644
--- a/resource/graph_node.go
+++ b/resource/graph_node.go
@@ -2,16 +2,18 @@ package resource
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
-
 	"go.viam.com/rdk/logging"
 )
 
 //go:generate stringer -type NodeState -trimprefix NodeState
+//
+// The directive above configures `go generate ./...` to automatically generate a
+// `String` method for the NodeState type.
 
 // NodeState captures the configuration lifecycle state of a resource node.
 type NodeState uint8
@@ -26,12 +28,14 @@ const (
 	// NodeStateConfiguring denotes a resource is being configured.
 	NodeStateConfiguring
 
-	// NodeStateReady denotes a resource that has been initialized and is not being
-	// configured or removed. A resource in this state may be unhealthy.
+	// NodeStateReady denotes a resource that has been configured and is healthy.
 	NodeStateReady
 
 	// NodeStateRemoving denotes a resource is being removed from the resource graph.
 	NodeStateRemoving
+
+	// NodeStateUnhealthy denotes a resource is unhealthy.
+	NodeStateUnhealthy
 )
 
 // A GraphNode contains the current state of a resource.
@@ -276,8 +280,8 @@ func (w *GraphNode) MarkedForRemoval() bool {
 // The additional `args` should come in key/value pairs for structured logging.
 func (w *GraphNode) LogAndSetLastError(err error, args ...any) {
 	w.mu.Lock()
-	w.lastErr = err
-	// TODO(RSDK-7903): transition to an "unhealthy" state.
+	w.lastErr = errors.Join(w.lastErr, err)
+	w.transitionTo(NodeStateUnhealthy)
 	w.mu.Unlock()
 
 	if w.logger != nil {
@@ -299,7 +303,10 @@ func (w *GraphNode) Config() Config {
 func (w *GraphNode) NeedsReconfigure() bool {
 	w.mu.RLock()
 	defer w.mu.RUnlock()
-	return w.state == NodeStateConfiguring
+
+	// A resource can only become unhealthy during (re)configuration, so we can
+	// assume that an unhealthy node always need to be reconfigured.
+	return w.state == NodeStateConfiguring || w.state == NodeStateUnhealthy
 }
 
 // hasUnresolvedDependencies returns whether or not this node has any
@@ -471,7 +478,7 @@ func (w *GraphNode) canTransitionTo(state NodeState) bool {
 	case NodeStateConfiguring:
 		//nolint
 		switch state {
-		case NodeStateReady:
+		case NodeStateReady, NodeStateUnhealthy:
 			return true
 		}
 	case NodeStateReady:
@@ -481,6 +488,28 @@ func (w *GraphNode) canTransitionTo(state NodeState) bool {
 			return true
 		}
 	case NodeStateRemoving:
+	case NodeStateUnhealthy:
+		//nolint
+		switch state {
+		case NodeStateRemoving, NodeStateUnhealthy:
+			return true
+		case NodeStateReady:
+			// TODO(NEEDS TICKET): ideally, a node should "recover" by the following transition
+			// steps: "unhealthy" -> "configuring" -> "ready".
+			//
+			// However, once a node becomes "unhealthy" it is filtered out from most
+			// reconfiguration operations, and is not available to be transitioned to
+			// "configuring" when we want it to be.
+			//
+			// We eventually want to change the reconfiguration system to show unhealthy
+			// nodes instead of filtering them out at each step of the process.
+			//
+			// In the meantime, we allow nodes to "recover" by transitioning directly
+			// from "unhealthy" -> "ready".
+			//
+			// See this discussion for more details: https://github.com/viamrobotics/rdk/pull/4257#discussion_r1712173743
+			return true
+		}
 	}
 	return false
 }
@@ -510,6 +539,15 @@ func (w *GraphNode) ResourceStatus() Status {
 	return w.resourceStatus()
 }
 
+func (w *GraphNode) getLoggerOrGlobal() logging.Logger {
+	if w.logger == nil {
+		// This node has not yet been configured with a logger - use the global logger as
+		// a fall-back.
+		return logging.Global()
+	}
+	return w.logger
+}
+
 func (w *GraphNode) resourceStatus() Status {
 	var resName Name
 	if w.current == nil {
@@ -518,11 +556,25 @@ func (w *GraphNode) resourceStatus() Status {
 		resName = w.current.Name()
 	}
 
+	err := w.lastErr
+	logger := w.getLoggerOrGlobal()
+
+	// check invariants between state and error
+	switch {
+	case w.state == NodeStateUnhealthy && w.lastErr == nil:
+		logger.Warnw("an unhealthy node doesn't have an error", "resource", resName)
+	case w.state == NodeStateReady && w.lastErr != nil:
+		logger.Warnw("a ready node still has an error", "resource", resName, "error", err)
+		// do not return leftover error in status if the node is ready
+		err = nil
+	}
+
 	return Status{
 		Name:        resName,
 		State:       w.state,
 		LastUpdated: w.transitionedAt,
 		Revision:    w.revision,
+		Error:       err,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -532,4 +584,8 @@ type Status struct {
 	State       NodeState
 	LastUpdated time.Time
 	Revision    string
+
+	// Error contains any errors on the resource if it currently unhealthy.
+	// This field will be nil if the resource is not in the [NodeStateUnhealthy] state.
+	Error error
 }
diff --git a/resource/graph_node_test.go b/resource/graph_node_test.go
index 6d16632b109..af6b150f4e6 100644
--- a/resource/graph_node_test.go
+++ b/resource/graph_node_test.go
@@ -147,9 +147,9 @@ func lifecycleTest(t *testing.T, node *resource.GraphNode, initialDeps []string)
 	node.LogAndSetLastError(ourErr)
 	_, err = node.Resource()
 	test.That(t, err, test.ShouldNotBeNil)
-	test.That(t, err.Error(), test.ShouldContainSubstring, "pending removal")
+	test.That(t, err.Error(), test.ShouldContainSubstring, "whoops")
 
-	verifySameState(t, node)
+	verifyStateTransition(t, node, resource.NodeStateUnhealthy)
 
 	test.That(t, node.UnresolvedDependencies(), test.ShouldResemble, initialDeps)
 
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ func lifecycleTest(t *testing.T, node *resource.GraphNode, initialDeps []string)
 	test.That(t, res, test.ShouldEqual, ourRes)
 	test.That(t, node.IsUninitialized(), test.ShouldBeFalse)
 
-	verifySameState(t, node)
+	verifyStateTransition(t, node, resource.NodeStateUnhealthy)
 
 	// it reconfigured
 	ourRes2 := &someResource{Resource: testutils.NewUnimplementedResource(generic.Named("foo"))}
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ func lifecycleTest(t *testing.T, node *resource.GraphNode, initialDeps []string)
 	res, err = node.UnsafeResource()
 	test.That(t, err, test.ShouldBeNil)
 	test.That(t, res, test.ShouldEqual, ourRes2)
-	verifySameState(t, node)
+	verifyStateTransition(t, node, resource.NodeStateUnhealthy)
 
 	// it reconfigured
 	ourRes3 := &someResource{Resource: testutils.NewUnimplementedResource(generic.Named("fooa"))}
diff --git a/resource/nodestate_string.go b/resource/nodestate_string.go
index 4955d45e628..24502c6aa9c 100644
--- a/resource/nodestate_string.go
+++ b/resource/nodestate_string.go
@@ -13,11 +13,12 @@ func _() {
 	_ = x[NodeStateConfiguring-2]
 	_ = x[NodeStateReady-3]
 	_ = x[NodeStateRemoving-4]
+	_ = x[NodeStateUnhealthy-5]
 }
 
-const _NodeState_name = "UnknownUnconfiguredConfiguringReadyRemoving"
+const _NodeState_name = "UnknownUnconfiguredConfiguringReadyRemovingUnhealthy"
 
-var _NodeState_index = [...]uint8{0, 7, 19, 30, 35, 43}
+var _NodeState_index = [...]uint8{0, 7, 19, 30, 35, 43, 52}
 
 func (i NodeState) String() string {
 	if i >= NodeState(len(_NodeState_index)-1) {
diff --git a/robot/client/client.go b/robot/client/client.go
index 29327028b5d..e9848af5e13 100644
--- a/robot/client/client.go
+++ b/robot/client/client.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package client
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
@@ -15,7 +16,6 @@ import (
 	grpc_retry "github.com/grpc-ecosystem/go-grpc-middleware/retry"
 	"github.com/jhump/protoreflect/desc"
 	"github.com/jhump/protoreflect/grpcreflect"
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"go.uber.org/multierr"
 	"go.uber.org/zap"
 	"go.uber.org/zap/zapcore"
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ func isClosedPipeError(err error) bool {
 }
 
 func (rc *RobotClient) notConnectedToRemoteError() error {
-	return errors.Errorf("not connected to remote robot at %s", rc.address)
+	return fmt.Errorf("not connected to remote robot at %s", rc.address)
 }
 
 func (rc *RobotClient) handleUnaryDisconnect(
@@ -624,7 +624,7 @@ func (rc *RobotClient) resources(ctx context.Context) ([]resource.Name, []resour
 			}
 			svcDesc, ok := symDesc.(*desc.ServiceDescriptor)
 			if !ok {
-				return nil, nil, errors.Errorf("expected descriptor to be service descriptor but got %T", symDesc)
+				return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("expected descriptor to be service descriptor but got %T", symDesc)
 			}
 			resTypes = append(resTypes, resource.RPCAPI{
 				API:  rprotoutils.ResourceNameFromProto(resAPI.Subtype).API,
@@ -1063,6 +1063,11 @@ func (rc *RobotClient) MachineStatus(ctx context.Context) (robot.MachineStatus,
 			resStatus.State = resource.NodeStateReady
 		case pb.ResourceStatus_STATE_REMOVING:
 			resStatus.State = resource.NodeStateRemoving
+		case pb.ResourceStatus_STATE_UNHEALTHY:
+			resStatus.State = resource.NodeStateUnhealthy
+			if pbResStatus.Error != "" {
+				resStatus.Error = errors.New(pbResStatus.Error)
+			}
 		}
 
 		mStatus.Resources = append(mStatus.Resources, resStatus)
diff --git a/robot/client/client_test.go b/robot/client/client_test.go
index 8a18c898f81..99f025b2be4 100644
--- a/robot/client/client_test.go
+++ b/robot/client/client_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package client
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"image"
 	"image/png"
@@ -19,7 +20,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/golang/geo/r3"
 	"github.com/google/uuid"
 	"github.com/jhump/protoreflect/grpcreflect"
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"go.uber.org/zap/zapcore"
 	commonpb "go.viam.com/api/common/v1"
 	armpb "go.viam.com/api/component/arm/v1"
@@ -1325,12 +1325,12 @@ func TestClientDiscovery(t *testing.T) {
 
 func ensurePartsAreEqual(part, otherPart *referenceframe.FrameSystemPart) error {
 	if part.FrameConfig.Name() != otherPart.FrameConfig.Name() {
-		return errors.Errorf("part had name %s while other part had name %s", part.FrameConfig.Name(), otherPart.FrameConfig.Name())
+		return fmt.Errorf("part had name %s while other part had name %s", part.FrameConfig.Name(), otherPart.FrameConfig.Name())
 	}
 	frameConfig := part.FrameConfig
 	otherFrameConfig := otherPart.FrameConfig
 	if frameConfig.Parent() != otherFrameConfig.Parent() {
-		return errors.Errorf("part had parent %s while other part had parent %s", frameConfig.Parent(), otherFrameConfig.Parent())
+		return fmt.Errorf("part had parent %s while other part had parent %s", frameConfig.Parent(), otherFrameConfig.Parent())
 	}
 	if !spatialmath.R3VectorAlmostEqual(frameConfig.Pose().Point(), otherFrameConfig.Pose().Point(), 1e-8) {
 		return errors.New("translations of parts not equal")
@@ -2158,6 +2158,21 @@ func TestMachineStatus(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			2,
 		},
+		{
+			"unhealthy status",
+			robot.MachineStatus{
+				Config: config.Revision{Revision: "rev1"},
+				Resources: []resource.Status{
+					{
+						Name:     arm.Named("brokenArm"),
+						State:    resource.NodeStateUnhealthy,
+						Error:    errors.New("bad configuration"),
+						Revision: "rev1",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			0,
+		},
 	} {
 		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			logger, logs := logging.NewObservedTestLogger(t)
diff --git a/robot/impl/local_robot_test.go b/robot/impl/local_robot_test.go
index 42ea460fe23..29ab1c10a69 100644
--- a/robot/impl/local_robot_test.go
+++ b/robot/impl/local_robot_test.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"crypto/tls"
 	"crypto/x509"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"math"
 	"net"
@@ -16,7 +17,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/go-viper/mapstructure/v2"
 	"github.com/golang/geo/r3"
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"go.mongodb.org/mongo-driver/bson/primitive"
 	"go.uber.org/zap"
 	// registers all components.
@@ -986,7 +986,10 @@ func TestStatus(t *testing.T) {
 		test.That(t, err, test.ShouldBeNil)
 
 		_, err = r.Status(context.Background(), []resource.Name{fail1})
-		test.That(t, err, test.ShouldBeError, errors.Wrapf(errFailed, "failed to get status from %q", fail1))
+		// TODO(RSDK-6875): compare errors directly instead by string after
+		// `github.com/pkg/errors` is removed entirely.
+		expectedErr := fmt.Errorf("failed to get status from %q: %w", fail1, errFailed)
+		test.That(t, err.Error(), test.ShouldEqual, expectedErr.Error())
 	})
 
 	t.Run("many status", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -1024,7 +1027,10 @@ func TestStatus(t *testing.T) {
 		test.That(t, resp[1].Status, test.ShouldResemble, expected[resp[1].Name])
 
 		_, err = r.Status(context.Background(), resourceNames)
-		test.That(t, err, test.ShouldBeError, errors.Wrapf(errFailed, "failed to get status from %q", fail1))
+		// TODO(RSDK-6875): compare errors directly instead by string after
+		// `github.com/pkg/errors` is removed entirely.
+		expectedErr := fmt.Errorf("failed to get status from %q: %w", fail1, errFailed)
+		test.That(t, err.Error(), test.ShouldEqual, expectedErr.Error())
 	})
 
 	t.Run("get all status", func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -2639,13 +2645,13 @@ func TestDependentAndOrphanedResources(t *testing.T) {
 				if rName.API == gizmoapi.API {
 					gizmo, ok := res.(gizmoapi.Gizmo)
 					if !ok {
-						return nil, errors.Errorf("resource %s is not a gizmo", rName.Name)
+						return nil, fmt.Errorf("resource %s is not a gizmo", rName.Name)
 					}
 					newDoodad.gizmo = gizmo
 				}
 			}
 			if newDoodad.gizmo == nil {
-				return nil, errors.Errorf("doodad %s must depend on a gizmo", conf.Name)
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("doodad %s must depend on a gizmo", conf.Name)
 			}
 			return newDoodad, nil
 		},
@@ -3555,9 +3561,11 @@ type mockConfig struct {
 	Fail  bool `json:"fail"`
 }
 
+var errMockValidation = errors.New("whoops")
+
 func (cfg *mockConfig) Validate(path string) ([]string, error) {
 	if cfg.Fail {
-		return nil, errors.New("whoops")
+		return nil, errMockValidation
 	}
 	return []string{}, nil
 }
@@ -3669,6 +3677,8 @@ func TestMachineStatus(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("reconfigure", func(t *testing.T) {
 		lr := setupLocalRobot(t, ctx, &config.Config{Revision: rev1}, logger)
 
+		expectedConfigError := fmt.Errorf("resource config validation error: %w", errMockValidation)
+
 		// Add a fake resource to the robot.
 		rev2 := "rev2"
 		builtinRev = rev2
@@ -3724,8 +3734,9 @@ func TestMachineStatus(t *testing.T) {
 			[]resource.Status{
 				{
 					Name:     mockNamed("m"),
-					State:    resource.NodeStateConfiguring,
+					State:    resource.NodeStateUnhealthy,
 					Revision: rev2,
+					Error:    errors.Join(expectedConfigError),
 				},
 			},
 		)
diff --git a/robot/server/server.go b/robot/server/server.go
index ae86ce6ca6d..411c2da6d9b 100644
--- a/robot/server/server.go
+++ b/robot/server/server.go
@@ -523,6 +523,11 @@ func (s *Server) GetMachineStatus(ctx context.Context, _ *pb.GetMachineStatusReq
 			pbResStatus.State = pb.ResourceStatus_STATE_READY
 		case resource.NodeStateRemoving:
 			pbResStatus.State = pb.ResourceStatus_STATE_REMOVING
+		case resource.NodeStateUnhealthy:
+			pbResStatus.State = pb.ResourceStatus_STATE_UNHEALTHY
+			if resStatus.Error != nil {
+				pbResStatus.Error = resStatus.Error.Error()
+			}
 		}
 
 		result.Resources = append(result.Resources, pbResStatus)
diff --git a/robot/server/server_test.go b/robot/server/server_test.go
index 565778fe4fd..6e464a2f97d 100644
--- a/robot/server/server_test.go
+++ b/robot/server/server_test.go
@@ -177,6 +177,30 @@ func TestServer(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 				2,
 			},
+			{
+				"unhealthy status",
+				robot.MachineStatus{
+					Config: config.Revision{Revision: "rev1"},
+					Resources: []resource.Status{
+						{
+							Name:     arm.Named("brokenArm"),
+							Revision: "rev1",
+							State:    resource.NodeStateUnhealthy,
+							Error:    errors.New("bad configuration"),
+						},
+					},
+				},
+				&pb.ConfigStatus{Revision: "rev1"},
+				[]*pb.ResourceStatus{
+					{
+						Name:     protoutils.ResourceNameToProto(arm.Named("brokenArm")),
+						State:    pb.ResourceStatus_STATE_UNHEALTHY,
+						Revision: "rev1",
+						Error:    "bad configuration",
+					},
+				},
+				0,
+			},
 		} {
 			logger, logs := logging.NewObservedTestLogger(t)
 			injectRobot := &inject.Robot{}
diff --git a/tools/tools.go b/tools/tools.go
index bdfea358e73..a2a40d1c478 100644
--- a/tools/tools.go
+++ b/tools/tools.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import (
 	_ "github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint"
 	_ "github.com/rhysd/actionlint"
 	_ "golang.org/x/mobile/cmd/gomobile"
-	_ "golang.org/x/tools/cmd/stringer"
+	_ "golang.org/x/tools/cmd/stringer" // generates `String` methods for enums
 	_ "gotest.tools/gotestsum"
 
 	// only needed for proto building in examples/customresources/apis/proto