diff --git a/install b/install
index 2cf359ba0..8bbf4a6e7 100755
--- a/install
+++ b/install
@@ -205,11 +205,26 @@ else
 
     if [ -z "$requested_version" ]; then
         url="https://github.com/AltimateAI/altimate-code/releases/latest/download/$filename"
-        specific_version=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/AltimateAI/altimate-code/releases/latest | sed -n 's/.*"tag_name": *"v\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p')
-
-        if [[ $? -ne 0 || -z "$specific_version" ]]; then
-            echo -e "${RED}Failed to fetch version information${NC}"
-            exit 1
+        # The download above resolves "latest" server-side, so this API call only
+        # feeds the version display and the already-installed short-circuit. A
+        # transient api.github.com blip or the unauthenticated rate limit
+        # (60/hr/IP) must NOT abort the install — retry a few times with --fail
+        # (so a 504 retries instead of parsing an error body), then proceed
+        # without the version string.
+        #
+        # --max-time 10 bounds a dead-air socket (curl's default has no transfer
+        # cap), and the trailing `|| true` is load-bearing: under `set -euo
+        # pipefail`, a failing `curl --fail` propagates through the pipeline and
+        # the assignment, so `set -e` would abort the script before the loop can
+        # retry or degrade. `|| true` lets the failure resolve to an empty string.
+        specific_version=""
+        for attempt in 1 2 3; do
+            specific_version=$(curl -fsSL --max-time 10 https://api.github.com/repos/AltimateAI/altimate-code/releases/latest 2>/dev/null | sed -n 's/.*"tag_name": *"v\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p' || true)
+            [ -n "$specific_version" ] && break
+            [ "$attempt" -lt 3 ] && sleep "$attempt"
+        done
+        if [ -z "$specific_version" ]; then
+            echo -e "${MUTED}Could not resolve the latest version from GitHub (API unavailable) — installing the latest release anyway.${NC}"
         fi
     else
         # Strip leading 'v' if present
@@ -255,11 +270,14 @@ check_version() {
     if [ -n "$probe" ]; then
         installed_version=$("$probe" --version 2>/dev/null || echo "")
 
-        if [[ "$installed_version" != "$specific_version" ]]; then
-            print_message info "${MUTED}Installed version: ${NC}$installed_version."
-        else
+        # Only short-circuit on a real version match. When the latest version
+        # couldn't be resolved (API unavailable → specific_version empty), never
+        # treat an empty==empty as "already installed" — fall through and reinstall.
+        if [ -n "$specific_version" ] && [[ "$installed_version" == "$specific_version" ]]; then
             print_message info "${MUTED}Version ${NC}$specific_version${MUTED} already installed${NC}"
             exit 0
+        elif [ -n "$installed_version" ]; then
+            print_message info "${MUTED}Installed version: ${NC}$installed_version."
         fi
     fi
 }
@@ -357,7 +375,7 @@ download_with_progress() {
 }
 
 download_and_install() {
-    print_message info "\n${MUTED}Installing ${NC}altimate ${MUTED}version: ${NC}$specific_version"
+    print_message info "\n${MUTED}Installing ${NC}altimate ${MUTED}version: ${NC}${specific_version:-latest}"
     local tmp_dir="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/altimate_install_$$"
     mkdir -p "$tmp_dir"
 
diff --git a/install.ps1 b/install.ps1
index bcab7223f..9f0cc0972 100644
--- a/install.ps1
+++ b/install.ps1
@@ -112,16 +112,32 @@ function Test-Avx2 {
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($Version)) {
   $useLatest = $true
-  try {
-    $rel = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://api.github.com/repos/AltimateAI/altimate-code/releases/latest" -Headers @{ "User-Agent" = "altimate-install" }
-    $specificVersion = ($rel.tag_name -replace '^v', '')
-  } catch {
-    Write-Err "Failed to fetch version information"
-    exit 1
+  # The download below resolves "latest" server-side (releases/latest/download),
+  # so this API call only feeds the version-string display and the
+  # already-installed short-circuit. A transient api.github.com blip or the
+  # unauthenticated rate limit (60/hr/IP) must NOT abort the install — retry a
+  # few times, then proceed without the version string.
+  $specificVersion = ""
+  for ($attempt = 1; $attempt -le 3; $attempt++) {
+    try {
+      # -TimeoutSec 10 bounds a stuck socket: Invoke-RestMethod defaults to 100s
+      # on PS 5.1 and is effectively unbounded on PS 7+, so without it three
+      # back-to-back retries on dead air could freeze for minutes.
+      $rel = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://api.github.com/repos/AltimateAI/altimate-code/releases/latest" -Headers @{ "User-Agent" = "altimate-install" } -TimeoutSec 10
+      $specificVersion = ($rel.tag_name -replace '^v', '')
+      if (-not [string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($specificVersion)) { break }
+    } catch {}
+    if ($attempt -lt 3) { Start-Sleep -Seconds $attempt }
   }
   if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($specificVersion)) {
-    Write-Err "Failed to fetch version information"
-    exit 1
+    Write-Muted "Could not resolve the latest version from GitHub (API unavailable) — installing the latest release anyway."
+    # Reset to $null (not ""): the already-installed short-circuit below compares
+    # $installedVersion -eq $specificVersion. If the version probe of a missing or
+    # corrupt binary also yields "", an "" -eq "" match would falsely report
+    # "already installed" and skip the reinstall. $null -eq "" is $false, so the
+    # comparison correctly falls through; the banner still shows "latest" because
+    # if ($specificVersion) treats $null as falsy.
+    $specificVersion = $null
   }
 } else {
   $useLatest = $false
@@ -177,7 +193,7 @@ function Install-Target {
   }
 
   Write-Host ""
-  Write-Host "Installing $App version: $specificVersion"
+  Write-Host "Installing $App version: $(if ($specificVersion) { $specificVersion } else { 'latest' })"
 
   $tmpDir = Join-Path ([System.IO.Path]::GetTempPath()) "altimate_install_$PID"
   New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $tmpDir | Out-Null
diff --git a/packages/opencode/test/install/version-fetch-resilience.test.ts b/packages/opencode/test/install/version-fetch-resilience.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f492fc2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/opencode/test/install/version-fetch-resilience.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+/**
+ * Latest-version resolution must be resilient, in BOTH installers.
+ *
+ * The `latest` install path hits api.github.com/.../releases/latest only for the
+ * version-string display + the already-installed short-circuit — the download
+ * itself uses releases/latest/download/<file> (server-side latest). A transient
+ * 504 or the 60/hr/IP unauthenticated rate limit must NOT abort the install:
+ * retry a few times, then degrade gracefully and install latest anyway.
+ */
+import { describe, test, expect } from "bun:test"
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs"
+import { join } from "node:path"
+
+const REPO_ROOT = join(import.meta.dir, "../../../..")
+const BASH = readFileSync(join(REPO_ROOT, "install"), "utf-8")
+const PS1 = readFileSync(join(REPO_ROOT, "install.ps1"), "utf-8")
+
+describe("bash installer — latest-version fetch is non-fatal", () => {
+  test("retries the releases/latest API call", () => {
+    expect(BASH).toContain("for attempt in 1 2 3")
+    // --fail so a 504 errors out (and retries) instead of parsing an error body.
+    expect(BASH).toContain("curl -fsSL --max-time 10 https://api.github.com")
+  })
+
+  test("the retry assignment absorbs curl failure so set -e can't abort it", () => {
+    // Under `set -euo pipefail`, a failing `curl --fail` propagates through the
+    // pipeline + assignment and aborts the script before the loop can retry or
+    // degrade. The trailing `|| true` keeps the retry loop alive.
+    expect(BASH).toMatch(/curl -fsSL --max-time 10 https:\/\/api\.github\.com[^\n]*\|\| true/)
+  })
+
+  test("bounds the API call with a transfer timeout", () => {
+    expect(BASH).toContain("--max-time 10")
+  })
+
+  test("degrades gracefully instead of exiting on API failure", () => {
+    expect(BASH).toContain("installing the latest release anyway")
+    // The old fatal hard-fail must be gone from the latest path.
+    expect(BASH).not.toContain("Failed to fetch version information")
+  })
+
+  test("only short-circuits as already-installed on a real version match", () => {
+    expect(BASH).toContain('[ -n "$specific_version" ] && [[ "$installed_version" == "$specific_version" ]]')
+  })
+})
+
+describe("PowerShell installer — latest-version fetch is non-fatal", () => {
+  test("retries the releases/latest API call", () => {
+    expect(PS1).toContain("for ($attempt = 1; $attempt -le 3; $attempt++)")
+  })
+
+  test("bounds the API call with a request timeout", () => {
+    expect(PS1).toContain("-TimeoutSec 10")
+  })
+
+  test("degrades gracefully instead of exiting on API failure", () => {
+    expect(PS1).toContain("installing the latest release anyway")
+    // The old fatal hard-fail must be gone.
+    expect(PS1).not.toContain("Failed to fetch version information")
+  })
+
+  test("resets the unresolved version to $null so empty==empty can't false-match", () => {
+    // $installedVersion -eq $specificVersion with both "" would falsely report
+    // "already installed" for a missing/corrupt binary; $null -eq "" is $false.
+    expect(PS1).toContain("$specificVersion = $null")
+  })
+})