diff --git a/frontend/__tests__/api/github.test.ts b/frontend/__tests__/api/github.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..5a659d4b71e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/__tests__/api/github.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { retrieveLatestGitHubCommit } from "../../src/api/github";
+
+describe("retrieveLatestGitHubCommit", () => {
+  const { githubGetMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+    githubGetMock: vi.fn(),
+  }));
+
+  vi.mock("../../src/api/github-axios-instance", () => ({
+    github: {
+      get: githubGetMock,
+    },
+  }));
+
+  it("should return the latest commit when repository has commits", async () => {
+    const mockCommit = {
+      sha: "123abc",
+      commit: {
+        message: "Initial commit",
+      },
+    };
+
+    githubGetMock.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      data: [mockCommit],
+    });
+
+    const result = await retrieveLatestGitHubCommit("user/repo");
+    expect(result).toEqual(mockCommit);
+  });
+
+  it("should return null when repository is empty", async () => {
+    const error = new Error("Repository is empty");
+    (error as any).response = { status: 409 };
+    githubGetMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(error);
+
+    const result = await retrieveLatestGitHubCommit("user/empty-repo");
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("should throw error for other error cases", async () => {
+    const error = new Error("Network error");
+    (error as any).response = { status: 500 };
+    githubGetMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(error);
+
+    await expect(retrieveLatestGitHubCommit("user/repo")).rejects.toThrow();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/api/github.ts b/frontend/src/api/github.ts
index b315e2d930a7..492955ae69d9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/api/github.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/api/github.ts
@@ -106,15 +106,28 @@ export const retrieveGitHubUser = async () => {
 
 export const retrieveLatestGitHubCommit = async (
   repository: string,
-): Promise<GitHubCommit> => {
-  const response = await github.get<GitHubCommit[]>(
-    `/repos/${repository}/commits`,
-    {
-      params: {
-        per_page: 1,
+): Promise<GitHubCommit | null> => {
+  try {
+    const response = await github.get<GitHubCommit[]>(
+      `/repos/${repository}/commits`,
+      {
+        params: {
+          per_page: 1,
+        },
       },
-    },
-  );
-
-  return response.data[0];
+    );
+    return response.data[0] || null;
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (!error || typeof error !== "object") {
+      throw new Error("Unknown error occurred");
+    }
+    const axiosError = error as { response?: { status: number } };
+    if (axiosError.response?.status === 409) {
+      // Repository is empty, no commits yet
+      return null;
+    }
+    throw new Error(
+      error instanceof Error ? error.message : "Unknown error occurred",
+    );
+  }
 };
diff --git a/frontend/src/services/settings.ts b/frontend/src/services/settings.ts
index 6b72750a27e8..a0dbb775f563 100644
--- a/frontend/src/services/settings.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/services/settings.ts
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ export const saveSettings = async (
     const { data } = await openHands.post("/api/settings", apiSettings);
     return data;
   } catch (error) {
+    // Error handled by returning false
     return false;
   }
 };