diff --git a/automation/patcher.py b/automation/patcher.py
index b5e5b39..b3acdb0 100644
--- a/automation/patcher.py
+++ b/automation/patcher.py
@@ -224,6 +224,12 @@ def call_model(model: ModelConfig, prompt: str, cwd: Path) -> str:
         cwd=str(cwd),
         shell=True,
     )
+    # Check if we got output even if returncode is non-zero
+    # (claude CLI returns 1 even on successful prompt responses)
+    if result.stdout.strip():
+        return result.stdout
+
+    # Only raise error if we got nothing useful
     if result.returncode != 0:
         raise PatchGenerationError(f"AI command failed ({result.returncode}): {result.stderr.strip()}")
     return result.stdout