diff --git a/extensions/codestory/src/sidecar/client.ts b/extensions/codestory/src/sidecar/client.ts
index 7769ad0b613..342fc884bbf 100644
--- a/extensions/codestory/src/sidecar/client.ts
+++ b/extensions/codestory/src/sidecar/client.ts
@@ -141,9 +141,23 @@ export class SideCarClient {
 	}
 
 	async getRepoStatus(): Promise<RepoStatus> {
-		const response = await fetch(this.getRepoListUrl());
-		const repoList = (await response.json()) as RepoStatus;
-		return repoList;
+		try {
+			const response = await fetch(this.getRepoListUrl());
+			if (!response.ok) {
+				return { 
+					repo_map: {}, 
+					error: `Failed to fetch repository status: ${response.statusText}` 
+				};
+			}
+			const repoList = (await response.json()) as RepoStatus;
+			return repoList;
+		} catch (error) {
+			console.error('Error fetching repository status:', error);
+			return { 
+				repo_map: {}, 
+				error: `Internal server error: Tool error: Repo map error: Tree generation error: No tree generated. ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}` 
+			};
+		}
 	}
 
 
@@ -2227,4 +2241,4 @@ function getCurrentActiveWindow(): {
 		end_line: endPosition.line + 1,
 		language: activeWindow.document.languageId,
 	};
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/extensions/codestory/src/sidecar/types.ts b/extensions/codestory/src/sidecar/types.ts
index 61520df4195..a4cd6c11543 100644
--- a/extensions/codestory/src/sidecar/types.ts
+++ b/extensions/codestory/src/sidecar/types.ts
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ export type SyncStatus =
 export interface RepoStatus {
 	// The string here is generated from RepoRef.to_string()
 	repo_map: { [key: string]: Repository };
+	error?: string; // Optional error property to store error information when tree generation fails
 }
 
 
@@ -732,4 +733,4 @@ function getModelProviderConfiguration(providerConfiguration: ProviderSpecificCo
 		return 'OpenRouter';
 	}
 	return null;
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file