diff --git a/src/llm/deepseek.rs b/src/llm/deepseek.rs
index 4214187..30677cf 100644
--- a/src/llm/deepseek.rs
+++ b/src/llm/deepseek.rs
@@ -242,8 +242,21 @@ impl DeepSeekClient {
         result.choices
             .into_iter()
             .next()
-            .map(|c| c.message.content.trim().to_string())
-            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("No response from DeepSeek"))
+            .map(|c| {
+                let content = c.message.content.trim().to_string();
+                if content.is_empty() {
+                    c.reasoning_content
+                        .map(|r| r.trim().to_string())
+                        .unwrap_or_default()
+                } else {
+                    content
+                }
+            })
+            .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "No response from DeepSeek. \
+                 If thinking mode is enabled, try disabling it or ensure the model supports it."
+            ))
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/llm/kimi.rs b/src/llm/kimi.rs
index 08610a6..41c34b9 100644
--- a/src/llm/kimi.rs
+++ b/src/llm/kimi.rs
@@ -242,8 +242,21 @@ impl KimiClient {
         result.choices
             .into_iter()
             .next()
-            .map(|c| c.message.content.trim().to_string())
-            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("No response from Kimi"))
+            .map(|c| {
+                let content = c.message.content.trim().to_string();
+                if content.is_empty() {
+                    c.reasoning_content
+                        .map(|r| r.trim().to_string())
+                        .unwrap_or_default()
+                } else {
+                    content
+                }
+            })
+            .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "No response from Kimi. \
+                 If thinking mode is enabled, try disabling it or ensure the model supports it."
+            ))
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/llm/mod.rs b/src/llm/mod.rs
index 2b05430..810e4bc 100644
--- a/src/llm/mod.rs
+++ b/src/llm/mod.rs
@@ -211,10 +211,21 @@ impl LlmClient {
 
     /// Parse commit response from LLM
     fn parse_commit_response(&self, response: &str, format: crate::config::CommitFormat) -> Result<GeneratedCommit> {
-        let lines: Vec<&str> = response.lines().collect();
-        
+        let lines: Vec<&str> = response.lines()
+            .map(|l| l.trim())
+            .filter(|l| !l.is_empty())
+            .collect();
+
         if lines.is_empty() {
-            bail!("Empty response from LLM");
+            let preview: String = response.chars().take(200).collect();
+            bail!(
+                "LLM returned empty or whitespace-only response. \
+                 Raw response preview: '{}'. \
+                 Hint: If using DeepSeek/Kimi with thinking enabled, \
+                 the model may have returned reasoning_content only. \
+                 Try disabling thinking mode or switching models.",
+                preview
+            );
         }
 
         let first_line = lines[0];