diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ffbe4078..4e94d48f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
+### Fixed
+- Improved error handling when opening browser fails due to System Events permissions or non-standard browser configurations ([#178](https://github.com/MetaMask/create-release-branch/pull/178))
+  - Now provides clear manual URL instructions instead of failing with osascript errors
+  - Handles both cases: when terminal lacks System Events permissions and when using alternative browsers like Brave
 
 ## [4.1.1]
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/src/main.ts b/src/main.ts
index d8ffb175..88ba8522 100644
--- a/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/main.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ export async function main({
     );
 
     if (interactive) {
-      stdout.write(`Starting UI on port ${port}...\n`);
       await startUI({
         project,
         releaseType,
diff --git a/src/ui.ts b/src/ui.ts
index a646f9a7..f4661f63 100644
--- a/src/ui.ts
+++ b/src/ui.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import type { WriteStream } from 'fs';
 import { join } from 'path';
 import express from 'express';
-import open, { apps } from 'open';
+import open from 'open';
 
 import {
   restoreChangelogsForSkippedPackages,
@@ -86,8 +86,18 @@ export async function startUI({
 
   const server = app.listen(port, async () => {
     const url = `http://localhost:${port}`;
-    stdout.write(`UI server running at ${url}\n`);
-    open(url, { app: { name: apps.browser } });
+
+    try {
+      stdout.write(`\nAttempting to open UI in browser...`);
+      await open(url);
+      stdout.write(`\nUI server running at ${url}\n`);
+    } catch (error) {
+      stderr.write(`\n---------------------------------------------------\n`);
+      stderr.write(`Error automatically opening browser: ${error}\n`);
+      stderr.write(`Please open the following URL manually:\n`);
+      stderr.write(`${url}\n`);
+      stderr.write(`---------------------------------------------------\n\n`);
+    }
   });
 
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {