diff --git a/nostr/commit-signatures.jsonl b/nostr/commit-signatures.jsonl
index 75a629f..2a43279 100644
--- a/nostr/commit-signatures.jsonl
+++ b/nostr/commit-signatures.jsonl
@@ -79,3 +79,4 @@
 {"kind":1640,"pubkey":"573634b648634cbad10f2451776089ea21090d9407f715e83c577b4611ae6edc","created_at":1771999453,"tags":[["author","Silberengel","silberengel7@protonmail.com"],["message","load files from HEAD"]],"content":"Signed commit: load files from HEAD","id":"214fc0597e79b465c0c718a2227de942697409002b6cf5c322c9a6d9b36de333","sig":"713a33e751e0582669e9328bca2ac048585534111984bd6ca938270409f7957178d497c92a981719594e927ca7d301e033306c1d1b261395984b91b2d81762e2"}
 {"kind":1640,"pubkey":"573634b648634cbad10f2451776089ea21090d9407f715e83c577b4611ae6edc","created_at":1771999938,"tags":[["author","Silberengel","silberengel7@protonmail.com"],["message","verify button for cloned repos"]],"content":"Signed commit: verify button for cloned repos","id":"4710ea5de6287e00b5da9a6d7cd6568901e3db45a71476b56dc83ec39b8be73d","sig":"7613ca0847af4eb1fd3f52ef0f59c8f6316ba75605085da8eb0a64ced6fe43897d6af26b84d218155ab61ab8e1b42cbc2a686f2eab9572734fb7d911961d3e85"}
 {"kind":1640,"pubkey":"573634b648634cbad10f2451776089ea21090d9407f715e83c577b4611ae6edc","created_at":1772000347,"tags":[["author","Silberengel","silberengel7@protonmail.com"],["message","added status to patches\nrenamed chat-relay to project-relay"]],"content":"Signed commit: added status to patches\nrenamed chat-relay to project-relay","id":"3c717ed3935bf95a70a0e9ffbe655728d325f72e8cbeb3d38da37b1b6e1304a2","sig":"952584bfe718362864fdf117bb4c4b042dbea9fe2307bca2f94a9004394bb6fdb3f4f4acd6714bcfdb32453a9d09d24e2c97f512bc1b06e1ba3cd50556f67b6e"}
+{"kind":1640,"pubkey":"573634b648634cbad10f2451776089ea21090d9407f715e83c577b4611ae6edc","created_at":1772002202,"tags":[["author","Silberengel","silberengel7@protonmail.com"],["message","improving commit signing and verification"]],"content":"Signed commit: improving commit signing and verification","id":"c149ee64445a63b9a471d1866df86d702fe3fead1049a8e3272ea76a25f11094","sig":"f0745d02cb1b2ac012feb5e38cd4917eb9af48338eb13626aedae6ce73025758b2debe6874c5af3a4e252241405fdaa91042a031fa56c4fe0257c978d23babb2"}
diff --git a/src/routes/api/repos/[npub]/[repo]/branches/+server.ts b/src/routes/api/repos/[npub]/[repo]/branches/+server.ts
index 137e252..97251cf 100644
--- a/src/routes/api/repos/[npub]/[repo]/branches/+server.ts
+++ b/src/routes/api/repos/[npub]/[repo]/branches/+server.ts
@@ -49,11 +49,19 @@ const repoRoot = typeof process !== 'undefined' && process.env?.GIT_REPO_ROOT
   : '/repos';
 
 export const GET: RequestHandler = createRepoGetHandler(
-  async (context: RepoRequestContext) => {
+  async (context: RepoRequestContext, event: RequestEvent) => {
     const repoPath = join(repoRoot, context.npub, `${context.repo}.git`);
+    const skipApiFallback = event.url.searchParams.get('skipApiFallback') === 'true';
     
-    // If repo doesn't exist, try to fetch it on-demand
+    // If repo doesn't exist, try to fetch it on-demand (unless skipApiFallback is true)
     if (!existsSync(repoPath)) {
+      // If skipApiFallback is true, return 404 immediately to indicate repo is not cloned
+      if (skipApiFallback) {
+        throw handleNotFoundError(
+          'Repository is not cloned locally',
+          { operation: 'getBranches', npub: context.npub, repo: context.repo }
+        );
+      }
       try {
         // Fetch repository announcement (case-insensitive) with caching
         let allEvents = await fetchRepoAnnouncementsWithCache(nostrClient, context.repoOwnerPubkey, eventCache);
diff --git a/src/routes/repos/[npub]/[repo]/+page.svelte b/src/routes/repos/[npub]/[repo]/+page.svelte
index 57f0b89..263adb5 100644
--- a/src/routes/repos/[npub]/[repo]/+page.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/repos/[npub]/[repo]/+page.svelte
@@ -1800,8 +1800,9 @@
     checkingCloneStatus = true;
     try {
       // Check if repo exists locally by trying to fetch branches
+      // Use skipApiFallback parameter to ensure we only check local repo, not API fallback
       // 404 = repo not cloned, 403 = repo exists but access denied (cloned), 200 = cloned and accessible
-      const url = `/api/repos/${npub}/${repo}/branches`;
+      const url = `/api/repos/${npub}/${repo}/branches?skipApiFallback=true`;
       console.log(`[Clone Status] Checking clone status for ${npub}/${repo}...`);
       const response = await fetch(url, {
         headers: buildApiHeaders()
@@ -5556,7 +5557,7 @@
       currentBranch={currentBranch || null}
       topics={repoTopics || []}
       defaultBranch={defaultBranch || null}
-      isRepoCloned={isRepoCloned || false}
+      isRepoCloned={isRepoCloned}
       copyingCloneUrl={copyingCloneUrl || false}
       onBranchChange={safeHandleBranchChange}
       onCopyCloneUrl={safeCopyCloneUrl}