diff --git a/index.ts b/index.ts
index d13cfd4..4d962d1 100644
--- a/index.ts
+++ b/index.ts
@@ -645,15 +645,6 @@ async function handleCommit(
   autoMode: boolean,
   dryRun: boolean,
 ): Promise<"done" | "back"> {
-  const config = await loadConfig();
-
-  if (!config.apiKey) {
-    console.error(
-      `  ${RED}Error: API key not set. Run ${BOLD}gai config${RESET}${RED} to configure.${RESET}`,
-    );
-    process.exit(1);
-  }
-
   if (!(await isGitRepo())) {
     console.error(`  ${RED}Error: Not a git repository.${RESET}`);
     process.exit(1);
@@ -663,12 +654,7 @@ async function handleCommit(
   const unstagedFiles = await getUnstagedFiles();
 
   if (stagedFiles.length === 0 && unstagedFiles.length === 0) {
-    const choice = await selectOne({
-      title: "Nothing to commit",
-      subtitle: "No staged or unstaged changes.",
-      items: [{ label: "Back", value: "back" as const }],
-    });
-    if (choice === null) process.exit(0);
+    console.log(`  ${DIM}Nothing to commit. No staged or unstaged changes.${RESET}`);
     return "done";
   }
 
@@ -692,15 +678,19 @@ async function handleCommit(
 
   const diff = await getStagedDiff();
   if (!diff) {
-    const choice = await selectOne({
-      title: "Nothing to commit",
-      subtitle: "No staged changes to commit.",
-      items: [{ label: "Back", value: "back" as const }],
-    });
-    if (choice === null) process.exit(0);
+    console.log(`  ${DIM}Nothing to commit. No staged changes to commit.${RESET}`);
     return "done";
   }
 
+  const config = await loadConfig();
+
+  if (!config.apiKey) {
+    console.error(
+      `  ${RED}Error: API key not set. Run ${BOLD}gai config${RESET}${RED} to configure.${RESET}`,
+    );
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
   const MAX_DIFF_SIZE = 15000;
   const truncatedDiff =
     diff.length > MAX_DIFF_SIZE
diff --git a/test/commit.test.ts b/test/commit.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c748b13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/commit.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import { mkdtempSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { test, expect, describe } from "bun:test";
+
+async function run(command: string[], cwd: string, env: Record<string, string> = {}) {
+  const proc = Bun.spawn(command, {
+    cwd,
+    stdout: "pipe",
+    stderr: "pipe",
+    env: {
+      PATH: process.env.PATH ?? "",
+      HOME: env.HOME ?? process.env.HOME ?? "",
+      ...env,
+    },
+  });
+
+  const [exitCode, stdout, stderr] = await Promise.all([
+    proc.exited,
+    new Response(proc.stdout).text(),
+    new Response(proc.stderr).text(),
+  ]);
+
+  return { exitCode, stdout, stderr };
+}
+
+describe("commit command", () => {
+  test("clean repository exits without requiring API key", async () => {
+    const repo = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "gai-clean-repo-"));
+    const home = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "gai-empty-home-"));
+
+    const init = await run(["git", "init"], repo, { HOME: home });
+    expect(init.exitCode).toBe(0);
+
+    const result = await run(
+      ["bun", "run", join(import.meta.dir, "..", "index.ts"), "commit"],
+      repo,
+      {
+        HOME: home,
+        GAI_API_KEY: "",
+      },
+    );
+
+    expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("Nothing to commit");
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain("No staged or unstaged changes");
+    expect(result.stderr).not.toContain("API key not set");
+    expect(result.stderr).not.toContain("requires a TTY");
+  });
+});