diff --git a/js/packages/repo-quest/src/index.tsx b/js/packages/repo-quest/src/index.tsx
index 216ff95..41c171f 100644
--- a/js/packages/repo-quest/src/index.tsx
+++ b/js/packages/repo-quest/src/index.tsx
@@ -212,8 +212,22 @@ let NewQuest = () => {
                 <option disabled={true} value="">
                   Choose a quest
                 </option>
-                <option value="rqst-async">rqst-async</option>
+                <option value="cognitive-engineering-lab/rqst-async">
+                  cognitive-engineering-lab/rqst-async
+                </option>
               </select>
+
+              <span className="separator">or</span>
+
+              <input
+                type="text"
+                placeholder="Enter a GitHub repo"
+                onChange={e => {
+                  if (e.target.checkValidity()) setQuest(e.target.value);
+                  else setQuest(undefined);
+                }}
+                pattern="[^\/]+\/.+"
+              />
             </td>
           </tr>
           <tr>
diff --git a/js/packages/repo-quest/styles/index.css b/js/packages/repo-quest/styles/index.css
index f474b2f..ee43f7e 100644
--- a/js/packages/repo-quest/styles/index.css
+++ b/js/packages/repo-quest/styles/index.css
@@ -26,11 +26,11 @@ code, pre {
   border-radius: 8px;
   padding: 0.5rem 1rem;
   margin: 2rem 0;
-  
+
   > div {
     margin-bottom: 1rem;
   }
-  
+
   .action {
     font-weight: bold;
   }
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ h1 {
 }
 
 .help {
-  display: inline-block;  
+  display: inline-block;
   border: 1px solid #ccc;
   background: #fafafa;
   padding: 3px 5px;
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ h1 {
   100% {
     transform: rotate(360deg);
   }
-} 
+}
 
 .gh-links a:not(:first-child) {
   margin-left: 0.5rem;
@@ -138,9 +138,9 @@ button, input[type=submit] {
   appearance: none;
   background: #eee;
   border: 1px solid #aaa;
-  border-radius: 4px;  
+  border-radius: 4px;
   padding: 3px 5px;
-  
+
   &:not([disabled]) {
     cursor: pointer;
 
@@ -157,31 +157,41 @@ button, input[type=submit] {
 
 .controls {
   display: flex;
-  gap: 1rem;  
+  gap: 1rem;
 }
 
 .new-quest {
   display: flex;
   flex-direction: column;
-  gap: 1rem;  
+  gap: 1rem;
 
   table {
     width: max-content;
 
     td {
       padding-bottom: 0.5rem;
-    }
 
-    td:first-child {
-      padding-right: 1rem;
-    }    
+      &:first-child {
+        padding-right: 1rem;
+      }
+
+      input[type=text] {
+        border: 1px solid #ccc;
+        font-size: 80%;
+        width: 300px;
+        
+        &:invalid {
+          box-shadow: 0 0 4px red;          
+        }
+      }
+    }
   }
 }
 
 .columns {
   display: flex;
   justify-content: space-between;
-  gap: 2rem;  
+  gap: 2rem;
 }
 
 .meta {
@@ -212,7 +222,7 @@ button, input[type=submit] {
 }
 
 dialog {
-  z-index: 1000; 
+  z-index: 1000;
   max-width: 400px;
   box-shadow: 4px 4px 8px #aaa;
 
diff --git a/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/github.rs b/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/github.rs
index 2d325eb..d7e2df7 100644
--- a/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/github.rs
+++ b/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/github.rs
@@ -110,7 +110,8 @@ impl GithubRepo {
       .owner(&self.user)
       .private(true)
       .send()
-      .await?;
+      .await
+      .with_context(|| format!("Failed to clone template repo {}/{}", base.user, base.name))?;
 
     // There is some unknown delay between creating a repo from a template and its contents being added.
     // We have to wait until that happens.
diff --git a/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/lib.rs b/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/lib.rs
index f492971..7e8e2f7 100644
--- a/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/lib.rs
+++ b/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/lib.rs
@@ -75,8 +75,11 @@ async fn new_quest(
   quest: String,
   app: AppHandle,
 ) -> Result<(QuestConfig, StateDescriptor), String> {
-  let config = fmt_err(QuestConfig::load_from_remote("cognitive-engineering-lab", &quest).await)?;
-  let quest = load_quest_core(dir.join(quest), &config, app).await?;
+  let (owner, repo) = quest
+    .split_once("/")
+    .ok_or_else(|| format!("Invalid quest name: {quest}"))?;
+  let config = fmt_err(QuestConfig::load_from_remote(owner, repo).await)?;
+  let quest = load_quest_core(dir.join(repo), &config, app).await?;
   fmt_err(quest.create_repo().await)?;
   let state = fmt_err(quest.state_descriptor().await)?;
   Ok((config, state))
diff --git a/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/quest.rs b/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/quest.rs
index 3003d55..bb66461 100644
--- a/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/quest.rs
+++ b/rs/crates/repo-quest/src/quest.rs
@@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ impl QuestConfig {
   async fn load_core<'a, Fut: Future<Output = Result<String>> + 'a>(
     read: impl Fn(&'a str) -> Fut,
   ) -> Result<Self> {
-    let config_str = read("rqst.toml").await?;
+    let config_str = read("rqst.toml")
+      .await
+      .context("Quest is malformed, missing rqst.toml")?;
     let mut config = toml::de::from_str::<QuestConfig>(&config_str)?;
     let final_str_res = read("final.toml").await;
     if let Ok(final_str) = final_str_res {
@@ -68,7 +70,7 @@ impl QuestConfig {
         .arg(&arg)
         .current_dir(dir)
         .output()
-        .context("git failed")?;
+        .context("`git show` failed")?;
       ensure!(
         output.status.success(),
         "`git show {arg}` exited with non-zero status code"
@@ -87,7 +89,8 @@ impl QuestConfig {
         .path(path)
         .r#ref("meta")
         .send()
-        .await?;
+        .await
+        .context("Quest is malformed, missing the meta branch")?;
       Ok(items.items[0].decoded_content().expect("Missing content"))
     })
     .await