diff --git a/cli/src/contracts.ts b/cli/src/contracts.ts
index 14dc9f9..be767b9 100644
--- a/cli/src/contracts.ts
+++ b/cli/src/contracts.ts
@@ -64,6 +64,8 @@ export type CacheCheckStatus = 'updated' | 'not-modified' | 'failed';
 
 export interface CacheMeta {
   eventId: string;
+  /** Cache schema version — triggers a full re-fetch when it doesn't match the CLI's current version. */
+  schemaVersion?: number;
   /**
    * When session content was last downloaded and written locally.
    * Kept as fetchedAt for compatibility with existing cache metadata.
diff --git a/cli/src/data/cache.ts b/cli/src/data/cache.ts
index 83844c9..622f424 100644
--- a/cli/src/data/cache.ts
+++ b/cli/src/data/cache.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,18 @@ const FAILURE_REVALIDATION_INTERVAL_MS = 15 * MINUTE_MS;
 const MAX_FAILURE_REVALIDATION_INTERVAL_MS = 2 * HOUR_MS;
 const JITTER_RATIO = 0.2;
 
+/**
+ * Bump this when the Session interface shape changes (new/removed/renamed fields).
+ * A mismatch between this value and the stored schemaVersion forces a full re-fetch
+ * so that normalizeSession() can populate the new fields from the raw catalog.
+ */
+export const CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION = 2;
+
+export function isSchemaOutdated(meta: CacheMeta | null): boolean {
+  if (!meta) return false;
+  return meta.schemaVersion !== CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION;
+}
+
 export interface FetchAndCacheOptions {
   force?: boolean;
   log?: (message: string) => void;
@@ -95,6 +107,15 @@ export function isCacheCheckDue(meta: CacheMeta | null, now: Date = new Date()):
   if (!meta) return true;
 
   const nextCheck = parseTime(meta.nextCheckAt);
+
+  // Schema outdated → re-fetch needed, but respect failure backoff
+  if (isSchemaOutdated(meta)) {
+    if (meta.lastCheckStatus === 'failed' && nextCheck !== null && now.getTime() < nextCheck) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    return true;
+  }
+
   if (nextCheck !== null) return now.getTime() >= nextCheck;
 
   const lastCheck = parseTime(meta.checkedAt ?? meta.fetchedAt);
@@ -171,7 +192,8 @@ export async function fetchAndCache(
     : cachedSessions.length > 0;
   const cachedSessionCount = cachedSessions?.length ?? existingMeta?.sessionCount;
   const headers: Record<string, string> = {};
-  const canRevalidate = !force && existingMeta !== null && hasExistingSessions;
+  const schemaOutdated = isSchemaOutdated(existingMeta);
+  const canRevalidate = !force && !schemaOutdated && existingMeta !== null && hasExistingSessions;
 
   log?.(hasExistingSessions
     ? `  Local cache: found ${
@@ -189,6 +211,8 @@ export async function fetchAndCache(
 
   if (force) {
     log?.('  Remote check: full GET (--force).\n');
+  } else if (schemaOutdated) {
+    log?.('  Remote check: full GET (cache schema outdated).\n');
   } else if (canRevalidate) {
     log?.('  Remote check: conditional GET.\n');
   } else {
@@ -276,6 +300,7 @@ export async function fetchAndCache(
 
   const metaBase: CacheMeta = {
     eventId: event.id,
+    schemaVersion: CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION,
     fetchedAt: now.toISOString(),
     checkedAt: now.toISOString(),
     sessionCount: sessions.length,
diff --git a/cli/test/cache.test.ts b/cli/test/cache.test.ts
index ddb9ed9..6756ee8 100644
--- a/cli/test/cache.test.ts
+++ b/cli/test/cache.test.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { refresh } from '../src/commands/refresh.js';
 import {
   getAllCachedSessions,
   readMeta,
+  CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION,
 } from '../src/data/cache.js';
 import type { CacheMeta, RawSession, Session } from '../src/contracts.js';
 
@@ -44,6 +45,7 @@ function session(event: string, sessionCode: string = 'KEY01'): Session {
 function meta(eventId: string, overrides: Partial<CacheMeta> = {}): CacheMeta {
   return {
     eventId,
+    schemaVersion: CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION,
     fetchedAt: '2026-05-07T02:00:00.000Z',
     checkedAt: '2026-05-07T02:00:00.000Z',
     nextCheckAt: '2026-05-07T04:00:00.000Z',
@@ -505,4 +507,73 @@ describe('automatic cache revalidation', () => {
     const updatedMeta = await readMeta('build-2026');
     expect(updatedMeta?.lastCheckStatus).toBe('failed');
   });
+
+  it('forces a full GET when cache schema is outdated', async () => {
+    await writeCachedEvent('build-2025', { schemaVersion: 1 });
+    await writeCachedEvent('ignite-2025');
+    await writeCachedEvent('build-2026');
+    const fetchMock = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(jsonResponse(
+      [{ sessionCode: 'BRK101', title: 'Build 2025 session' }],
+      { etag: '"2025-new"', 'last-modified': 'Thu, 07 May 2026 02:55:00 GMT' },
+    ));
+    vi.stubGlobal('fetch', fetchMock);
+
+    await ensureCache();
+
+    // Should have fetched only build-2025 (outdated schema), not the others
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    // Should NOT send conditional headers (full GET, not revalidation)
+    const [, init] = fetchMock.mock.calls[0] as [string, RequestInit];
+    expect(init.headers).not.toHaveProperty('If-None-Match');
+    expect(init.headers).not.toHaveProperty('If-Modified-Since');
+
+    const updatedMeta = await readMeta('build-2025');
+    expect(updatedMeta?.schemaVersion).toBe(CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION);
+    expect(updatedMeta?.lastCheckStatus).toBe('updated');
+  });
+
+  it('forces a full GET when cache has no schema version (legacy cache)', async () => {
+    await writeCachedEvent('build-2026', { schemaVersion: undefined });
+    const fetchMock = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(jsonResponse(
+      [{ sessionCode: 'BRK202', title: 'Build 2026 session' }],
+      { etag: '"2026"', 'last-modified': 'Thu, 07 May 2026 02:56:00 GMT' },
+    ));
+    vi.stubGlobal('fetch', fetchMock);
+
+    await ensureCache('build-2026');
+
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    const [, init] = fetchMock.mock.calls[0] as [string, RequestInit];
+    expect(init.headers).not.toHaveProperty('If-None-Match');
+
+    const updatedMeta = await readMeta('build-2026');
+    expect(updatedMeta?.schemaVersion).toBe(CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION);
+  });
+
+  it('skips fetch when cache schema version is current', async () => {
+    await writeCachedEvent('build-2025', { schemaVersion: CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION });
+    await writeCachedEvent('ignite-2025', { schemaVersion: CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION });
+    await writeCachedEvent('build-2026', { schemaVersion: CACHE_SCHEMA_VERSION });
+    const fetchMock = vi.fn();
+    vi.stubGlobal('fetch', fetchMock);
+
+    await ensureCache();
+
+    expect(fetchMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to stale cache when schema is outdated but fetch fails', async () => {
+    await writeCachedEvent('build-2026', {
+      schemaVersion: 1,
+      checkedAt: '2026-05-07T01:00:00.000Z',
+      nextCheckAt: '2026-05-07T02:00:00.000Z',
+    });
+    vi.stubGlobal('fetch', vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new TypeError('network down')));
+
+    const sessions = await ensureCache('build-2026');
+
+    // Should fall back to stale cache even though schema is outdated
+    expect(sessions).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(sessions[0]?.event).toBe('build-2026');
+  });
 });