diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/actions/BUILD b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/actions/BUILD
index b859a4a..6d292df 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/actions/BUILD
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/actions/BUILD
@@ -101,6 +101,7 @@
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/unsafe:string",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:command",
+        "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:describable_execution_unit",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:detailed_exit_code",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:exit_code",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:filetype",
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/actions/Spawn.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/actions/Spawn.java
index 479a5a8..faa1213 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/actions/Spawn.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/actions/Spawn.java
@@ -18,16 +18,16 @@
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.analysis.platform.PlatformInfo;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.collect.nestedset.NestedSet;
+import com.google.devtools.build.lib.util.DescribableExecutionUnit;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
 /**
- * An object representing a subprocess to be invoked, including its command and
- * arguments, its working directory, its environment, a boolean indicating
- * whether remote execution is appropriate for this command, and if so, the set
- * of files it is expected to read and write.
+ * An object representing a subprocess to be invoked, including its command and arguments, its
+ * working directory, its environment, a boolean indicating whether remote execution is appropriate
+ * for this command, and if so, the set of files it is expected to read and write.
  */
-public interface Spawn {
+public interface Spawn extends DescribableExecutionUnit {
   /**
    * Out-of-band data for this spawn. This can be used to signal hints (hardware requirements, local
    * vs. remote) to the execution subsystem. This data can come from multiple places e.g. tags, hard
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/AbstractSpawnStrategy.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/AbstractSpawnStrategy.java
index a56b839..5b9df88 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/AbstractSpawnStrategy.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/exec/AbstractSpawnStrategy.java
@@ -199,12 +199,7 @@
       String message =
           !Strings.isNullOrEmpty(resultMessage)
               ? resultMessage
-              : CommandFailureUtils.describeCommandFailure(
-                  verboseFailures,
-                  spawn.getArguments(),
-                  spawn.getEnvironment(),
-                  cwd,
-                  spawn.getExecutionPlatform());
+              : CommandFailureUtils.describeCommandFailure(verboseFailures, cwd, spawn);
       throw new SpawnExecException(message, spawnResult, /*forciblyRunRemotely=*/false);
     }
     return ImmutableList.of(spawnResult);
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/AbstractSandboxSpawnRunner.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/AbstractSandboxSpawnRunner.java
index 7272343..1769a81 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/AbstractSandboxSpawnRunner.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/AbstractSandboxSpawnRunner.java
@@ -159,18 +159,10 @@
   private String makeFailureMessage(Spawn originalSpawn, SandboxedSpawn sandbox) {
     if (sandboxOptions.sandboxDebug) {
       return CommandFailureUtils.describeCommandFailure(
-          true,
-          sandbox.getArguments(),
-          sandbox.getEnvironment(),
-          sandbox.getSandboxExecRoot().getPathString(),
-          null);
+          true, sandbox.getSandboxExecRoot().getPathString(), sandbox);
     } else {
       return CommandFailureUtils.describeCommandFailure(
-              verboseFailures,
-              originalSpawn.getArguments(),
-              originalSpawn.getEnvironment(),
-              sandbox.getSandboxExecRoot().getPathString(),
-              originalSpawn.getExecutionPlatform())
+              verboseFailures, sandbox.getSandboxExecRoot().getPathString(), originalSpawn)
           + SANDBOX_DEBUG_SUGGESTION;
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/BUILD b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/BUILD
index 8701c24..4ceba33 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/BUILD
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/BUILD
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:abrupt_exit_exception",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:command",
+        "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:describable_execution_unit",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:detailed_exit_code",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:os",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util:process",
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/SandboxedSpawn.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/SandboxedSpawn.java
index 088924f..8c58418 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/SandboxedSpawn.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/sandbox/SandboxedSpawn.java
@@ -14,8 +14,7 @@
 
 package com.google.devtools.build.lib.sandbox;
 
-import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
-import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
+import com.google.devtools.build.lib.util.DescribableExecutionUnit;
 import com.google.devtools.build.lib.vfs.Path;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
@@ -27,16 +26,10 @@
  * so that a process running inside the directory can access the files. It also handles moving the
  * output files generated by the process out of the directory into a destination directory.
  */
-interface SandboxedSpawn {
+interface SandboxedSpawn extends DescribableExecutionUnit {
   /** The path in which to execute the subprocess. */
   Path getSandboxExecRoot();
 
-  /** The command-line of the subprocess. */
-  ImmutableList<String> getArguments();
-
-  /** The environment variables to be set for the subprocess. */
-  ImmutableMap<String, String> getEnvironment();
-
   /** Returns {@code true}, if the runner should use the Subprocess timeout feature. */
   default boolean useSubprocessTimeout() {
     return false;
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/BUILD b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/BUILD
index 4d26a69..497deb8 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/BUILD
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/BUILD
@@ -77,6 +77,16 @@
 )
 
 java_library(
+    name = "describable_execution_unit",
+    srcs = ["DescribableExecutionUnit.java"],
+    deps = [
+        "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/analysis/platform",
+        "//third_party:guava",
+        "//third_party:jsr305",
+    ],
+)
+
+java_library(
     name = "command",
     srcs = [
         "CommandBuilder.java",
@@ -85,6 +95,7 @@
         "CommandUtils.java",
     ],
     deps = [
+        ":describable_execution_unit",
         ":os",
         ":shell_escaper",
         "//src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/analysis/platform",
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/CommandFailureUtils.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/CommandFailureUtils.java
index 00c4244..18e791b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/CommandFailureUtils.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/CommandFailureUtils.java
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@
       boolean verbose,
       Collection<String> commandLineElements,
       Map<String, String> env,
-      String cwd,
+      @Nullable String cwd,
       @Nullable PlatformInfo executionPlatform) {
 
     String commandName = commandLineElements.iterator().next();
@@ -290,4 +290,14 @@
         + " failed: "
         + describeCommandError(verbose, commandLineElements, env, cwd, executionPlatform);
   }
+
+  public static String describeCommandFailure(
+      boolean verboseFailures, @Nullable String cwd, DescribableExecutionUnit command) {
+    return describeCommandFailure(
+        verboseFailures,
+        command.getArguments(),
+        command.getEnvironment(),
+        cwd,
+        command.getExecutionPlatform());
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/DescribableExecutionUnit.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/DescribableExecutionUnit.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e54cbd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/util/DescribableExecutionUnit.java
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+// Copyright 2021 The Bazel Authors. All rights reserved.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+package com.google.devtools.build.lib.util;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
+import com.google.devtools.build.lib.analysis.platform.PlatformInfo;
+import javax.annotation.Nullable;
+
+/**
+ * Something executable that can be described by {@link CommandFailureUtils#describeCommandFailure}.
+ */
+public interface DescribableExecutionUnit {
+
+  /** Returns the command (the first element) and its arguments. */
+  ImmutableList<String> getArguments();
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the initial environment of the process. If null, the environment is inherited from the
+   * parent process.
+   */
+  ImmutableMap<String, String> getEnvironment();
+
+  /** Returns the execution platform for the command, if any. */
+  @Nullable
+  default PlatformInfo getExecutionPlatform() {
+    return null;
+  }
+}