diff --git a/tools-sync/scripts/sync_repos.ps1 b/tools-sync/scripts/sync_repos.ps1
index acca70d..f96b575 100644
--- a/tools-sync/scripts/sync_repos.ps1
+++ b/tools-sync/scripts/sync_repos.ps1
@@ -69,13 +69,27 @@ if (-not $DryRun) {
 Write-Host "=== [2/2] mirror: $CodexSkills ==="
 if (-not (Test-Path $CodexSkills)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $CodexSkills | Out-Null }
 
-if (-not (Test-Path (Join-Path $CodexSkills ".git"))) {
+# Bootstrap is needed when there's no repo yet, or a previous bootstrap died before
+# origin/main ever arrived (init succeeded, fetch didn't).
+$needBootstrap = -not (Test-Path (Join-Path $CodexSkills ".git"))
+if (-not $needBootstrap) {
+    $r = Invoke-Git $CodexSkills @("rev-parse", "--verify", "--quiet", "refs/remotes/origin/$Branch")
+    if ($r.Code -ne 0) { $needBootstrap = $true }
+}
+
+if ($needBootstrap) {
     Write-Host "bootstrapping mirror as a checkout of $RepoUrl"
     if ($DryRun) { Write-Host "(dry-run) would git init + fetch + align to origin/$Branch"; exit 0 }
     Invoke-Git $CodexSkills @("init") | Out-Null
     Invoke-Git $CodexSkills @("remote", "add", "origin", $RepoUrl) | Out-Null
     $r = Invoke-Git $CodexSkills @("fetch", "origin", $Branch)
-    if ($r.Code -ne 0) { Write-Host $r.Out; Fail "fetch failed during bootstrap." }
+    if ($r.Code -ne 0) {
+        # Flaky server on a full first fetch is common; the primary checkout already
+        # holds every object locally, so borrow them from disk instead.
+        Write-Host "server fetch failed, retrying from local primary checkout..."
+        $r = Invoke-Git $CodexSkills @("fetch", $ClaudeSkills, "+refs/heads/${Branch}:refs/remotes/origin/$Branch")
+        if ($r.Code -ne 0) { Write-Host $r.Out; Fail "fetch failed during bootstrap (server and local)." }
+    }
     # Point index at origin/main without touching files, so status shows local-vs-repo drift.
     Invoke-Git $CodexSkills @("reset", "origin/$Branch") | Out-Null
     Invoke-Git $CodexSkills @("branch", "-f", $Branch, "origin/$Branch") | Out-Null