diff --git a/services/premiere-plugin-uxp/src/api.js b/services/premiere-plugin-uxp/src/api.js
index eb10f2b..cfb4cd6 100644
--- a/services/premiere-plugin-uxp/src/api.js
+++ b/services/premiere-plugin-uxp/src/api.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// Dragonflight API client — v2.1.4
+// Dragonflight API client — v2.1.5
 // UXP fetch() notes:
 //   • redirect:'manual' is NOT a supported option — UXP auto-follows redirects
 //   • Authorization is stripped by UXP on cross-origin redirects (security fix)
@@ -31,6 +31,21 @@
 
   function trimUrl(u) { return String(u || '').replace(/\/+$/, ''); }
 
+  // Pull the human-readable error string out of an API error response.
+  // mam-api returns { error: "..." } (sometimes with a code); fall back to
+  // the raw text, then to the HTTP status line.
+  async function _errText(r) {
+    const raw = await r.text().catch(() => '');
+    if (raw) {
+      try {
+        const j = JSON.parse(raw);
+        if (j && (j.error || j.message)) return j.error || j.message;
+      } catch (_) { /* not JSON — use raw */ }
+      return raw.slice(0, 240);
+    }
+    return 'HTTP ' + r.status;
+  }
+
   // Core request — adds Bearer only for same-server URLs.
   // No redirect option — UXP handles redirects automatically.
   API.request = async function (urlOrPath, opts) {
@@ -143,7 +158,11 @@
       headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
       body: JSON.stringify(clips),
     });
-    if (!r.ok) throw new Error('Clip push HTTP ' + r.status);
+    if (!r.ok) {
+      // Surface the server's real reason (e.g. cross-project asset, bad frame
+      // fields) instead of a bare status code — conform failures were opaque.
+      throw new Error('Clip push failed (HTTP ' + r.status + '): ' + (await _errText(r)));
+    }
     return r.json();
   };