diff --git a/go_cloud/internal/http/routes.go b/go_cloud/internal/http/routes.go
index fd35d68..7eb7189 100644
--- a/go_cloud/internal/http/routes.go
+++ b/go_cloud/internal/http/routes.go
@@ -3255,8 +3255,8 @@ func publicFileDownloadHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, db *datab
 
 			// Create zip entry - use relative path within the folder
 			relativePath := strings.TrimPrefix(fileToZip.Path, file.Path)
-			if strings.HasPrefix(relativePath, "/") {
-				relativePath = strings.TrimPrefix(relativePath, "/")
+			if after, ok := strings.CutPrefix(relativePath, "/"); ok {
+				relativePath = after
 			}
 
 			zipFile, err := zipWriter.Create(relativePath)