diff --git a/Frontend/src/scripts/features/branches.ts b/Frontend/src/scripts/features/branches.ts
index 63c4a2e..5b0bea3 100644
--- a/Frontend/src/scripts/features/branches.ts
+++ b/Frontend/src/scripts/features/branches.ts
@@ -181,8 +181,9 @@ export function bindBranchUI() {
             notify(`Switched to ${name}`);
             await renderList();         // higher-level refresh
             await runHook('postSwitchBranch', hookData);
-        } catch {
-            notify('Checkout failed');
+        } catch (err) {
+            const details = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+            notify(`Checkout failed: ${details}`);
         }
     }
 
@@ -218,7 +219,7 @@ export function bindBranchUI() {
                 notify(`Merged branch '${name}' into '${cur}'`);
                 await Promise.allSettled([renderList(), loadBranches()]);
             } catch (e) {
-                const msg = String(e || '');
+                const msg = String(e);
                 const looksLikeConflict =
                     /CONFLICT/i.test(msg) ||
                     /Automatic merge failed/i.test(msg) ||
@@ -269,7 +270,7 @@ export function bindBranchUI() {
                     await loadBranches();
                     await runHook('postBranchDelete', hookData);
                 } catch (e) {
-                    const msg = String(e || '');
+                    const msg = String(e);
                     if (wantForce) { notify(`Force delete failed${msg ? `: ${msg}` : ''}`); return; }
                     // If not fully merged, offer force delete as a fallback
                     const ok2 = await confirmDeleteBranch({