diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c18dd8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+__pycache__/
diff --git a/harbor-ctl.py b/harbor-ctl.py
index bc64a4a..64f733c 100755
--- a/harbor-ctl.py
+++ b/harbor-ctl.py
@@ -46,11 +46,20 @@ def api_request(url, user, password, method="GET", data=None):
 
     try:
         with urllib.request.urlopen(req, context=ctx, timeout=30) as resp:
-            if resp.status == 204 or resp.status == 202:
-                return {"status": resp.status}
+            # Handle responses with no body
+            if resp.status in (200, 201, 202, 204):
+                body = resp.read().decode().strip()
+                if not body:
+                    return {"status": resp.status}
+                return json.loads(body)
             return json.loads(resp.read().decode())
     except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
-        return {"error": e.code, "message": e.read().decode()}
+        body = e.read().decode()
+        try:
+            err_json = json.loads(body)
+            return {"error": e.code, "message": err_json.get("errors", [{}])[0].get("message", body)}
+        except json.JSONDecodeError:
+            return {"error": e.code, "message": body}
     except Exception as e:
         return {"error": str(e)}