diff --git a/src/app/api/generate/route.ts b/src/app/api/generate/route.ts
index 3c7f56f..c0afdca 100644
--- a/src/app/api/generate/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/generate/route.ts
@@ -56,12 +56,24 @@ export async function POST(req: Request) {
         { status: 400 },
       );
     }
-
-    const [repoInfo, repoContents] = await Promise.all([
+    let repoInfo, repoContents;
+    [repoInfo, repoContents] = await Promise.all([
       getRepoData(owner, repo),
       getRepoContents(owner, repo),
     ]);
 
+    // If the Octokit helpers swallow errors and return null/empty results,
+    // handle that case explicitly here instead of relying on try/catch.
+    if (!repoInfo) {
+      return NextResponse.json(
+        {
+          error:
+            "Unable to fetch repository from GitHub. Please verify the repository exists, is public, and the URL is correct.",
+        },
+        { status: 400 },
+      );
+    }
+
     const files = Array.isArray(repoContents)
       ? repoContents.map((f: { name: string }) => f.name)
       : [];
@@ -154,7 +166,7 @@ export async function POST(req: Request) {
     console.error("README Generation Failed:", message);
 
     return NextResponse.json(
-      { error: "Failed to generate README. Check your URL and try again." },
+      { error: "AI generation failed. Please try again in a moment." },
       { status: 500 },
     );
   }