diff --git a/lib/utils.bash b/lib/utils.bash
index cc716cb..d44340a 100644
--- a/lib/utils.bash
+++ b/lib/utils.bash
@@ -46,9 +46,33 @@ sort_versions() {
 }
 
 fetch_all_assets() {
-  curl -s -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
-    https://api.github.com/repos/${GH_REPO}/releases |
-    jq -r '.[0].assets[] | "\(.name) \(.browser_download_url)"'
+  local response
+  response=$(curl -s -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
+    "https://api.github.com/repos/${GH_REPO}/releases")
+  
+  # Check if response is valid JSON
+  if ! echo "$response" | jq empty 2>/dev/null; then
+    fail "Failed to fetch releases from GitHub API. Invalid JSON response."
+  fi
+  
+  # Check if response is an array (releases endpoint returns array)
+  if ! echo "$response" | jq -e 'type == "array"' >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    # Response is not an array, likely an error from GitHub API
+    local error_message
+    error_message=$(echo "$response" | jq -r '.message // "Unknown API error"' 2>/dev/null || echo "API returned unexpected format")
+    fail "GitHub API error: ${error_message}. Please check your network connection and GitHub API status."
+  fi
+  
+  # Check if there are any releases
+  local release_count
+  release_count=$(echo "$response" | jq 'length')
+  if [ "$release_count" -eq 0 ]; then
+    fail "No releases found in repository ${GH_REPO}."
+  fi
+  
+  # Extract assets from the first release safely with built-in type checking
+  # This provides additional protection against edge cases
+  echo "$response" | jq -r 'if type == "array" and length > 0 then .[0].assets[]? | "\(.name) \(.browser_download_url)" else empty end'
 }
 
 validate_platform() {