diff --git a/R/edit.R b/R/edit.R
index 38895f84d..d5cb6d084 100644
--- a/R/edit.R
+++ b/R/edit.R
@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@ edit_r_profile <- function(scope = c("user", "project")) {
 #' @rdname edit
 edit_r_environ <- function(scope = c("user", "project")) {
   path <- scoped_path_r(scope, ".Renviron", envvar = "R_ENVIRON_USER")
+  challenge_renviron_precedence(path)
   edit_file(path)
   ui_bullets(c("_" = "Restart R for changes to take effect."))
   invisible(path)
@@ -266,3 +267,21 @@ edit_pkgdown_config <- function() {
     invisible(edit_file(path))
   }
 }
+
+
+challenge_renviron_precedence <- function(path) {
+  print(path)
+  if (!is.null(proj_find())) {
+    #checking for project specific .Renviron
+    if (file_exists(path(proj_find(), ".Renviron"))) {
+      ui_bullets(c(
+        "!" = "project-level .Renviron detected."
+      ))
+      if (ui_nah("Do you want to edit user level .Renviron?")) {
+        ui_abort(
+          "Use `edit_r_environ(scope = \"project\")` to  edit project-level .Renviron."
+        )
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-edit.R b/tests/testthat/test-edit.R
index 3017e24fa..24952fcf2 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-edit.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-edit.R
@@ -150,6 +150,7 @@ test_that("edit_r_environ() ensures .Renviron exists in project", {
   expect_proj_file(".Renviron")
 })
 
+
 test_that("edit_r_makevars() ensures .R/Makevars exists in package", {
   create_local_package()
   edit_r_makevars("project")
@@ -175,3 +176,48 @@ test_that("edit_git_ignore() ensures .gitignore exists in project", {
   edit_git_ignore("project")
   expect_proj_file(".gitignore")
 })
+
+library(testthat)
+library(cli)
+
+test_that("challenge_renviron_precedence aborts when project-level .Renviron exists and user rejects editing", {
+  expect_error(
+    with_mocked_bindings(
+      challenge_renviron_precedence(tempdir()),
+      proj_find = function() "/fake/project",
+      file_exists = function(path) TRUE, # pretend .Renviron exists
+      ui_nah = function(msg) TRUE # user rejects editing -> triggers abort
+    ),
+    regexp = "Use `edit_r_environ"
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("challenge_renviron_precedence does nothing when no project", {
+  expect_no_error(
+    with_mocked_bindings(
+      challenge_renviron_precedence(tempdir()),
+      proj_find = function() NULL
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("challenge_renviron_precedence does nothing when no .Renviron file", {
+  expect_no_error(
+    with_mocked_bindings(
+      challenge_renviron_precedence(tempdir()),
+      proj_find = function() "/fake/project",
+      file_exists = function(path) FALSE
+    )
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("challenge_renviron_precedence prints bullet but does not abort when user accepts editing user-level", {
+  expect_no_error(
+    with_mocked_bindings(
+      challenge_renviron_precedence(tempdir()),
+      proj_find = function() "/fake/project",
+      file_exists = function(path) TRUE, # pretend .Renviron exists
+      ui_nah = function(msg) FALSE # user agrees -> no abort
+    )
+  )
+})