diff --git a/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh b/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh
index 6a8e913..6670550 100644
--- a/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh
+++ b/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh
@@ -18,16 +18,33 @@ if [ -z "$FEATURE_DESCRIPTION" ]; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
+# Function to find the repository root by searching for existing project markers
+find_repo_root() {
+    local dir="$1"
+    while [ "$dir" != "/" ]; do
+        if [ -d "$dir/.git" ] || [ -d "$dir/.specify" ]; then
+            echo "$dir"
+            return 0
+        fi
+        dir="$(dirname "$dir")"
+    done
+    return 1
+}
+
 # Resolve repository root. Prefer git information when available, but fall back
-# to the script location so the workflow still functions in repositories that
+# to searching for repository markers so the workflow still functions in repositories that
 # were initialised with --no-git.
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
-FALLBACK_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/../../.." && pwd)"
+
 if git rev-parse --show-toplevel >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     REPO_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
     HAS_GIT=true
 else
-    REPO_ROOT="$FALLBACK_ROOT"
+    REPO_ROOT="$(find_repo_root "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+    if [ -z "$REPO_ROOT" ]; then
+        echo "Error: Could not determine repository root. Please run this script from within the repository." >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
     HAS_GIT=false
 fi
 
diff --git a/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1 b/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1
index 780f399..f1c8e04 100644
--- a/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1
+++ b/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1
@@ -15,12 +15,12 @@ if (-not $FeatureDescription -or $FeatureDescription.Count -eq 0) {
 $featureDesc = ($FeatureDescription -join ' ').Trim()
 
 # Resolve repository root. Prefer git information when available, but fall back
-# to the script location so the workflow still functions in repositories that
+# to searching for repository markers so the workflow still functions in repositories that
 # were initialised with --no-git.
 function Find-RepositoryRoot {
     param(
         [string]$StartDir,
-        [string[]]$Markers = @('.git', 'README.md')
+        [string[]]$Markers = @('.git', '.specify')
     )
     $current = Resolve-Path $StartDir
     while ($true) {
@@ -31,14 +31,17 @@ function Find-RepositoryRoot {
         }
         $parent = Split-Path $current -Parent
         if ($parent -eq $current) {
-            break
+            # Reached filesystem root without finding markers
+            return $null
         }
         $current = $parent
     }
-    # If no marker found, fall back to script root
-    return (Resolve-Path $StartDir)
 }
 $fallbackRoot = (Find-RepositoryRoot -StartDir $PSScriptRoot)
+if (-not $fallbackRoot) {
+    Write-Error "Error: Could not determine repository root. Please run this script from within the repository."
+    exit 1
+}
 
 try {
     $repoRoot = git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>$null