diff --git a/src/commands/helpers.ts b/src/commands/helpers.ts
index 308dd99..fdaba79 100644
--- a/src/commands/helpers.ts
+++ b/src/commands/helpers.ts
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ export async function teardownSession(root: string, branch: string, worktree: st
   await state.removeSession(root, branch)
 }
 
-/** Lock files to skip AI resolution — accept theirs and move on (basename match covers subdirs too). */
+/** Lock files to skip AI resolution — accept theirs and move on (basename match so `packages/foo/bun.lock` is also covered). */
 const SKIP_RESOLVE = new Set(["bun.lock", "Cargo.lock"])
 
 /** Resolve conflict markers in files using Claude, then stage them. */
diff --git a/src/git.ts b/src/git.ts
index 6afb717..810146b 100644
--- a/src/git.ts
+++ b/src/git.ts
@@ -135,7 +135,10 @@ export async function commit(message: string, cwd: string): Promise<void> {
 
 /** Stage a file. */
 export async function stageFile(file: string, cwd: string): Promise<void> {
-  await $`git add ${file}`.cwd(cwd).nothrow().quiet()
+  const result = await $`git add ${file}`.cwd(cwd).nothrow().quiet()
+  if (result.exitCode !== 0) {
+    throw new Error(`Failed to stage ${file}: ${result.stderr.toString().trim()}`)
+  }
 }
 
 /** Finalize a merge commit after resolving conflicts. */