diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 7a7baa7..9409132 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "tinystudio",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "version": "0.1.1",
   "description": "An open-source desktop + web IDE for building, wiring, simulating, and flashing tiny hardware projects — code, circuit, and visual views in one place.",
   "main": "./out/main/index.js",
   "author": "MR.INDUSTRIES",
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/commands/fileCommands.ts b/src/renderer/src/commands/fileCommands.ts
index c1a786a..b7d97f4 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/commands/fileCommands.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/commands/fileCommands.ts
@@ -281,6 +281,22 @@ export class LoadGitHubProjectCommand implements Command {
       )
     }
 
+    const name = this.path ? this.path.split('/').pop()! : this.repo
+
+    // Desktop: materialize the project to a real folder so arduino-cli (via
+    // tinyService) can read it from disk. The in-memory `mem://` path is not a
+    // real file path and can't be compiled/uploaded. The browser has no disk to
+    // write to, so it falls back to the virtual workspace (view/edit only; the
+    // Arduino service guards mem:// compile/upload with a clear message).
+    if (fileSystem.isElectron()) {
+      const dir = `${await window.api.app.getExamplesDir()}/${name}`
+      for (const [rel, content] of Object.entries(files)) {
+        await fileSystem.writeFile(`${dir}/${rel}`, content)
+      }
+      await new OpenWorkspaceCommand(dir).execute()
+      return
+    }
+
     const root = `${VIRTUAL_PREFIX}${this.owner}/${this.repo}${this.path ? '/' + this.path : ''}`
     virtualFileSystem.clear(root)
     await virtualFileSystem.seed(root, files)
@@ -291,7 +307,6 @@ export class LoadGitHubProjectCommand implements Command {
     const fsItems = await fileSystem.readDirectory(root, true)
     const fileItems = buildNestedStructure(fsItems)
 
-    const name = this.path ? this.path.split('/').pop()! : this.repo
     const workspace: Workspace = {
       id: crypto.randomUUID(),
       name,
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/StatusBar.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/StatusBar.tsx
index deb05af..8ff98a1 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/StatusBar.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/StatusBar.tsx
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ export function StatusBar(): React.JSX.Element {
       <div className="flex items-center gap-4 font-mono">
         <p>UTF-8</p>
         <p>Arduino (C++)</p>
-        <p>tinyStudio 0.1.0 · alpha</p>
+        <p>tinyStudio 0.1.1 · alpha</p>
       </div>
     </div>
   )
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/services/arduino/WebSocketArduinoService.ts b/src/renderer/src/services/arduino/WebSocketArduinoService.ts
index ea963f9..7161c16 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/services/arduino/WebSocketArduinoService.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/services/arduino/WebSocketArduinoService.ts
@@ -435,6 +435,12 @@ export class WebSocketArduinoService implements ArduinoService {
         throw new Error('Arduino client not initialized')
       }
 
+      if (workspacePath.startsWith('mem://')) {
+        const msg =
+          'This example is open in the browser (in-memory) and has no folder on disk for the compiler. Open it in the desktop app, or save it to a local folder, to compile and upload.'
+        return { success: false, output: msg, errors: [{ message: msg, severity: 'fatal' }] }
+      }
+
       // Compile the sketch
       console.log(
         `Starting compile operation for workspace: ${workspacePath}, FQBN: ${boardConfig.fqbn}`
@@ -474,6 +480,12 @@ export class WebSocketArduinoService implements ArduinoService {
         throw new Error('Arduino client not initialized')
       }
 
+      if ((workspacePathOrBinary || '').startsWith('mem://')) {
+        const msg =
+          'This example is open in the browser (in-memory) and has no folder on disk for the compiler. Open it in the desktop app, or save it to a local folder, to compile and upload.'
+        return { success: false, output: msg, error: msg }
+      }
+
       // Upload the sketch
       console.log(
         `Starting upload operation to port: ${port}, FQBN: ${boardConfig.fqbn}, workspace: ${workspacePathOrBinary}`