diff --git a/flag.go b/flag.go
index e9ca46e2..afe8d119 100644
--- a/flag.go
+++ b/flag.go
@@ -515,6 +515,25 @@ func (f *FlagSet) Set(name, value string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// MustSetAnnotation sets arbitrary annotations on a flag in the FlagSet. It
+// is similar to [FlagSet.SetAnnotation], but panics if the given flag does
+// not exist or if the given annotation is already set.
+func (f *FlagSet) MustSetAnnotation(name, key string, values []string) {
+	normalName := f.normalizeFlagName(name)
+	flag, ok := f.formal[normalName]
+	if !ok {
+		panic(&NotExistError{name: name, messageType: flagNoSuchFlagMessage})
+	}
+	if flag.Annotations == nil {
+		flag.Annotations = map[string][]string{}
+	}
+	if _, ok := flag.Annotations[key]; ok {
+		panic(fmt.Errorf("annotation %q is already set for flag %q", key, name))
+	}
+
+	flag.Annotations[key] = values
+}
+
 // SetAnnotation allows one to set arbitrary annotations on a flag in the FlagSet.
 // This is sometimes used by spf13/cobra programs which want to generate additional
 // bash completion information.
diff --git a/flag_test.go b/flag_test.go
index c60e344b..dc3f8fd3 100644
--- a/flag_test.go
+++ b/flag_test.go
@@ -175,6 +175,86 @@ func TestAnnotation(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestMustSetAnnotation(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		doc    string
+		run    func(f *FlagSet)
+		expErr string
+	}{
+		{
+			doc: "missing flag",
+			run: func(f *FlagSet) {
+				f.MustSetAnnotation("missing-flag", "key", nil)
+			},
+			expErr: "no such flag -missing-flag",
+		},
+		{
+			doc: "set nil annotation",
+			run: func(f *FlagSet) {
+				f.MustSetAnnotation("stringa", "key", nil)
+				if got := f.Lookup("stringa").Annotations["key"]; got != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("unexpected annotation: %v", got)
+				}
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			doc: "set non-nil annotation",
+			run: func(f *FlagSet) {
+				f.MustSetAnnotation("stringb", "key", []string{"value1"})
+				if got := f.Lookup("stringb").Annotations["key"]; !reflect.DeepEqual(got, []string{"value1"}) {
+					t.Fatalf("unexpected annotation: %v", got)
+				}
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			doc: "panic when annotation already set",
+			run: func(f *FlagSet) {
+				f.MustSetAnnotation("stringc", "key", []string{"value2"})
+			},
+			expErr: `annotation "key" is already set for flag "stringc"`,
+		},
+	}
+
+	f := NewFlagSet("shorthand", ContinueOnError)
+	f.StringP("stringa", "a", "", "string value")
+	f.StringP("stringb", "b", "", "string2 value")
+	f.StringP("stringc", "c", "", "string3 value")
+
+	if err := f.SetAnnotation("stringc", "key", []string{"value1"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.doc, func(t *testing.T) {
+			defer func() {
+				r := recover()
+
+				if tc.expErr == "" {
+					if r != nil {
+						t.Fatalf("unexpected panic: %v", r)
+					}
+					return
+				}
+
+				if r == nil {
+					t.Fatalf("expected panic %q, got none", tc.expErr)
+				}
+
+				err, ok := r.(error)
+				if !ok {
+					t.Fatalf("panic value is not error: %T", r)
+				}
+
+				if err.Error() != tc.expErr {
+					t.Fatalf("expected panic error %q, got %q", tc.expErr, err.Error())
+				}
+			}()
+
+			tc.run(f)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestName(t *testing.T) {
 	flagSetName := "bob"
 	f := NewFlagSet(flagSetName, ContinueOnError)