diff --git a/codex-rs/scripts/create_github_release.sh b/codex-rs/scripts/create_github_release.sh
index 84dcb95fa0..772d0b51eb 100755
--- a/codex-rs/scripts/create_github_release.sh
+++ b/codex-rs/scripts/create_github_release.sh
@@ -19,7 +19,35 @@ if ! git diff --quiet || ! git diff --cached --quiet || [ -n "$(git ls-files --o
 fi
 
 # Fail if in a detached HEAD state.
-CURRENT_BRANCH=$(git symbolic-ref --short -q HEAD)
+# If we cannot determine the current branch (e.g., detached HEAD), print a
+# helpful error message to stderr and exit instead of failing silently.
+CURRENT_BRANCH=$(git symbolic-ref --short -q HEAD 2>/dev/null || true)
+if [ -z "${CURRENT_BRANCH:-}" ]; then
+  echo "ERROR: Could not determine the current branch (detached HEAD?)." >&2
+  echo "       Please run this script from a checked-out branch." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Ensure we are on the 'main' branch before proceeding.
+if [ "${CURRENT_BRANCH}" != "main" ]; then
+  echo "ERROR: Releases must be created from the 'main' branch (current: '${CURRENT_BRANCH}')." >&2
+  echo "       Please switch to 'main' and try again." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Ensure the current local commit on 'main' is present on 'origin/main'.
+# This guarantees we only create releases from commits that are already on
+# the canonical repository (https://github.com/openai/codex).
+if ! git fetch --quiet origin main; then
+  echo "ERROR: Failed to fetch 'origin/main'. Ensure the 'origin' remote is configured and reachable." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! git merge-base --is-ancestor HEAD origin/main; then
+  echo "ERROR: Your local 'main' HEAD commit is not present on 'origin/main'." >&2
+  echo "       Please push your commits first (git push origin main) or check out a commit on 'origin/main'." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
 
 # Create a new branch for the release and make a commit with the new version.
 if [ $# -ge 1 ]; then
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/tui.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/tui.rs
index e4f85363ad..e0bf9bcc57 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/tui.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/tui.rs
@@ -39,10 +39,7 @@ pub fn init(_config: &Config) -> Result<Tui> {
     )?;
     set_panic_hook();
 
-    // Ensure the UI starts at the top of the terminal by clearing the
-    // current screen and moving the cursor to (0, 0) before creating the
-    // Terminal. This makes the initial welcome message render at the very top
-    // of the viewport, while keeping the normal scrollback history intact.
+    // Clear screen and move cursor to top-left before drawing UI
     execute!(stdout(), Clear(ClearType::All), MoveTo(0, 0))?;
 
     let backend = CrosstermBackend::new(stdout());