diff --git a/app/routes/api.github-template.ts b/app/routes/api.github-template.ts
index 8f1679d0..09ab49da 100644
--- a/app/routes/api.github-template.ts
+++ b/app/routes/api.github-template.ts
@@ -1,19 +1,6 @@
 import { json } from '@remix-run/cloudflare';
 import JSZip from 'jszip';
 
-// Function to detect if we're running in Cloudflare
-function isCloudflareEnvironment(context: any): boolean {
-  // Check if we're in production AND have Cloudflare Pages specific env vars
-  const isProduction = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production';
-  const hasCfPagesVars = !!(
-    context?.cloudflare?.env?.CF_PAGES ||
-    context?.cloudflare?.env?.CF_PAGES_URL ||
-    context?.cloudflare?.env?.CF_PAGES_COMMIT_SHA
-  );
-
-  return isProduction && hasCfPagesVars;
-}
-
 // Cloudflare-compatible method using GitHub Contents API
 async function fetchRepoContentsCloudflare(repo: string, githubToken?: string) {
   const baseUrl = 'https://api.github.com';
@@ -215,10 +202,14 @@ export async function loader({ request, context }: { request: Request; context:
 
     let fileList;
 
-    if (isCloudflareEnvironment(context)) {
-      fileList = await fetchRepoContentsCloudflare(repo, githubToken);
-    } else {
+    try {
+      // Try zip method first (uses latest release)
       fileList = await fetchRepoContentsZip(repo, githubToken);
+    } catch (zipError) {
+      console.warn('Zip method failed, falling back to Cloudflare method:', zipError);
+
+      // Fallback to Cloudflare method (uses GitHub Contents API)
+      fileList = await fetchRepoContentsCloudflare(repo, githubToken);
     }
 
     // Filter out .git files for both methods
diff --git a/app/shared/utils/selectStarterTemplate.ts b/app/shared/utils/selectStarterTemplate.ts
index a71331bd..376432dc 100644
--- a/app/shared/utils/selectStarterTemplate.ts
+++ b/app/shared/utils/selectStarterTemplate.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import ignore from 'ignore';
 import type { ProviderInfo } from '~/shared/types/model';
 import type { Template } from '~/shared/types/template';
+import Cookies from 'js-cookie';
 import { STARTER_TEMPLATES } from './constants';
 
 const starterTemplateSelectionPrompt = (templates: Template[]) => `
@@ -114,7 +115,7 @@ export const selectStarterTemplate = async (options: { message: string; model: s
 
 const getGitHubRepoContent = async (repoName: string): Promise<{ name: string; path: string; content: string }[]> => {
   try {
-    // Instead of directly fetching from GitHub, use our own API endpoint as a proxy
+    // First try: Use our own API endpoint as a proxy
     const response = await fetch(`/api/github-template?repo=${encodeURIComponent(repoName)}`);
 
     if (!response.ok) {
@@ -126,7 +127,90 @@ const getGitHubRepoContent = async (repoName: string): Promise<{ name: string; p
 
     return files;
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error('Error fetching release contents:', error);
+    console.error('Error fetching release contents via API route:', error);
+    console.log('Falling back to direct GitHub API call...');
+
+    // Fallback: Direct GitHub API call
+    return await getGitHubRepoContentDirect(repoName);
+  }
+};
+
+// Fallback method for direct GitHub API access
+const getGitHubRepoContentDirect = async (
+  repoName: string,
+  path: string = '',
+): Promise<{ name: string; path: string; content: string }[]> => {
+  const baseUrl = 'https://api.github.com';
+
+  try {
+    const token = Cookies.get('githubToken') || import.meta.env.VITE_GITHUB_ACCESS_TOKEN;
+
+    const headers: HeadersInit = {
+      Accept: 'application/vnd.github.v3+json',
+    };
+
+    // Add your GitHub token if needed
+    if (token) {
+      headers.Authorization = 'Bearer ' + token;
+    }
+
+    // Fetch contents of the path
+    const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/repos/${repoName}/contents/${path}`, {
+      headers,
+    });
+
+    if (!response.ok) {
+      throw new Error(`HTTP error! status: ${response.status}`);
+    }
+
+    const data: any = await response.json();
+
+    // If it's a single file, return its content
+    if (!Array.isArray(data)) {
+      if (data.type === 'file') {
+        // If it's a file, get its content
+        const content = atob(data.content); // Decode base64 content
+        return [
+          {
+            name: data.name,
+            path: data.path,
+            content,
+          },
+        ];
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Process directory contents recursively
+    const contents = await Promise.all(
+      data.map(async (item: any) => {
+        if (item.type === 'dir') {
+          // Recursively get contents of subdirectories
+          return await getGitHubRepoContentDirect(repoName, item.path);
+        } else if (item.type === 'file') {
+          // Fetch file content
+          const fileResponse = await fetch(item.url, {
+            headers,
+          });
+          const fileData: any = await fileResponse.json();
+          const content = atob(fileData.content); // Decode base64 content
+
+          return [
+            {
+              name: item.name,
+              path: item.path,
+              content,
+            },
+          ];
+        }
+
+        return [];
+      }),
+    );
+
+    // Flatten the array of contents
+    return contents.flat();
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Error fetching repo contents directly from GitHub:', error);
     throw error;
   }
 };