diff --git a/server/src/web/routes/git.ts b/server/src/web/routes/git.ts
index e548deb4..dea7d69b 100644
--- a/server/src/web/routes/git.ts
+++ b/server/src/web/routes/git.ts
@@ -155,11 +155,12 @@ export function createGitRoutes(getSyncEngine: () => SyncEngine | null): Hono<We
         }
 
         const result = await runRpc(() => engine.runRipgrep(sessionResult.sessionId, args, sessionPath))
-        if (!('success' in result) || !result.success || !result.stdout) {
+        if (!result.success) {
             return c.json({ success: false, error: result.error ?? 'Failed to list files' })
         }
 
-        const files = result.stdout
+        const stdout = result.stdout ?? ''
+        const files = stdout
             .split('\n')
             .map((line) => line.trim())
             .filter((line) => line.length > 0)
diff --git a/web/src/hooks/queries/useGitStatusFiles.ts b/web/src/hooks/queries/useGitStatusFiles.ts
index b150fc70..8622b798 100644
--- a/web/src/hooks/queries/useGitStatusFiles.ts
+++ b/web/src/hooks/queries/useGitStatusFiles.ts
@@ -50,9 +50,15 @@ export function useGitStatusFiles(api: ApiClient | null, sessionId: string | nul
         enabled: Boolean(api && sessionId),
     })
 
+    const queryError = query.error instanceof Error
+        ? query.error.message
+        : query.error
+            ? 'Git status unavailable'
+            : null
+
     return {
         status: query.data?.status ?? null,
-        error: query.data?.error ?? null,
+        error: queryError ?? query.data?.error ?? null,
         isLoading: query.isLoading,
         refetch: query.refetch
     }
diff --git a/web/src/hooks/queries/useSessionFileSearch.ts b/web/src/hooks/queries/useSessionFileSearch.ts
index a794ceff..3809fbbe 100644
--- a/web/src/hooks/queries/useSessionFileSearch.ts
+++ b/web/src/hooks/queries/useSessionFileSearch.ts
@@ -33,9 +33,15 @@ export function useSessionFileSearch(
         enabled,
     })
 
+    const queryError = result.error instanceof Error
+        ? result.error.message
+        : result.error
+            ? 'Failed to search files'
+            : null
+
     return {
         files: result.data?.files ?? [],
-        error: result.data?.error ?? null,
+        error: queryError ?? result.data?.error ?? null,
         isLoading: result.isLoading,
         refetch: result.refetch
     }