diff --git a/src/apps/posterize/pages/PosterizePage.tsx b/src/apps/posterize/pages/PosterizePage.tsx
index 6829568..4dc8a87 100644
--- a/src/apps/posterize/pages/PosterizePage.tsx
+++ b/src/apps/posterize/pages/PosterizePage.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { useState } from 'react'
 import styles from './PosterizePage.module.css'
 import PosterizeNavigation from '../components/PosterizeNavigation'
 import ImageUploader from '../components/ImageUploader'
+import { handleApiResponse } from '@/utils/apiUtils'
 
 interface BlurResponse {
   width: number
@@ -55,12 +56,7 @@ const PosterizePage = () => {
         }),
       })
 
-      if (!response.ok) {
-        const errorData = await response.json()
-        throw new Error(errorData.error || `HTTP error! status: ${response.status}`)
-      }
-
-      const data: BlurResponse = await response.json()
+      const data: BlurResponse = await handleApiResponse<BlurResponse>(response)
       setBlurredImage(data)
 
       // Auto-scroll to result after successful blur on mobile
diff --git a/src/apps/tracy/pages/TracyPage.tsx b/src/apps/tracy/pages/TracyPage.tsx
index acdb399..10379a3 100644
--- a/src/apps/tracy/pages/TracyPage.tsx
+++ b/src/apps/tracy/pages/TracyPage.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { useState } from 'react'
 import styles from './TracyPage.module.css'
 import TracySceneEditor from '../components/TracySceneEditor'
 import TracyNavigation from '../components/TracyNavigation'
+import { handleApiResponse } from '@/utils/apiUtils'
 
 interface SceneData {
   scene: {
@@ -30,6 +31,20 @@ interface SceneData {
   }
 }
 
+interface TracyResponse {
+  base64_png: string
+  width: number
+  height: number
+}
+
+interface BlurResponse {
+  image_data: string
+  width: number
+  height: number
+  format: string
+  size_bytes: number
+}
+
 const TracyPage = () => {
   const [imageData, setImageData] = useState<{ base64_png: string; width: number; height: number } | null>(null)
   const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(false)
@@ -59,11 +74,7 @@ const TracyPage = () => {
         body: JSON.stringify(sceneData),
       })
 
-      if (!response.ok) {
-        throw new Error(`HTTP error! status: ${response.status}`)
-      }
-
-      const data = await response.json()
+      const data = await handleApiResponse<TracyResponse>(response)
       setImageData(data)
 
       // Auto-scroll to result after successful render on mobile
@@ -145,12 +156,7 @@ const TracyPage = () => {
         }),
       })
 
-      if (!response.ok) {
-        const errorData = await response.json()
-        throw new Error(errorData.error || `HTTP error! status: ${response.status}`)
-      }
-
-      const blurredData = await response.json()
+      const blurredData = await handleApiResponse<BlurResponse>(response)
 
       // Replace the current image with the blurred version
       setImageData({
diff --git a/src/utils/apiUtils.ts b/src/utils/apiUtils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..78fc3e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/apiUtils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/**
+ * Handles API response parsing with better error handling for non-JSON responses
+ * Common in cases where request bodies exceed size limits and proxies return text
+ */
+export async function handleApiResponse<T>(response: Response): Promise<T> {
+  if (!response.ok) {
+    let errorMessage = `HTTP error! status: ${response.status}`
+
+    try {
+      const errorData = await response.json()
+      errorMessage = errorData.error || errorMessage
+    } catch {
+      // If JSON parsing fails, try to get text response
+      try {
+        const errorText = await response.text()
+        // Check if it looks like a size/length error
+        if (errorText.toLowerCase().includes('too large') ||
+            errorText.toLowerCase().includes('size') ||
+            errorText.toLowerCase().includes('limit') ||
+            response.status === 413) {
+          errorMessage = 'The image is too large. Please choose a smaller image or reduce its quality.'
+        } else if (errorText && errorText.length < 200) {
+          // Use the text if it's reasonably short
+          errorMessage = errorText
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // If both JSON and text parsing fail, use a user-friendly message
+        if (response.status === 413) {
+          errorMessage = 'The image is too large. Please choose a smaller image or reduce its quality.'
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    throw new Error(errorMessage)
+  }
+
+  return response.json()
+}
\ No newline at end of file