diff --git a/lib/utils.bash b/lib/utils.bash
index cc716cb..05e434c 100644
--- a/lib/utils.bash
+++ b/lib/utils.bash
@@ -46,9 +46,17 @@ 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 releases_json
+  releases_json="$(curl -s -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
+    https://api.github.com/repos/${GH_REPO}/releases)"
+
+  # Validate that the response is an array (successful), otherwise print and fail
+  if ! echo "$releases_json" | jq -e 'type == "array"' >/dev/null; then
+    echo "$releases_json" | jq '.'  # Optionally print error for debugging
+    fail "GitHub API did not return a valid releases array - likely rate-limited or network error."
+  fi
+
+  echo "$releases_json" | jq -r '.[0].assets[] | "\(.name) \(.browser_download_url)"'
 }
 
 validate_platform() {