diff --git a/install.ps1 b/install.ps1
index 1073ab5726..367dbe12f6 100644
--- a/install.ps1
+++ b/install.ps1
@@ -482,6 +482,37 @@ function Install-UnslothStudio {
         }
     }
 
+    # Retry Invoke-InstallCommand on transient uv download failures with backoff.
+    # Returns the last exit code on permanent failure so rollback still fires.
+    function Invoke-InstallCommandRetry {
+        param(
+            [Parameter(Mandatory = $true, Position = 0)][ScriptBlock]$Command,
+            [string]$Label = "install step"
+        )
+        # Sanitize overrides to a default of 3 (a typo must not disable retries; =1 disables).
+        # TryParse with bounds avoids an Int32 overflow throw. Bounds: 1..100 retries, 0..3600s.
+        $maxAttempts = 3
+        $parsedAttempts = 0
+        if ([int]::TryParse($env:UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRIES, [ref]$parsedAttempts) -and $parsedAttempts -ge 1 -and $parsedAttempts -le 100) {
+            $maxAttempts = $parsedAttempts
+        }
+        $delay = 3
+        $parsedDelay = 0
+        if ([int]::TryParse($env:UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRY_DELAY, [ref]$parsedDelay) -and $parsedDelay -ge 0 -and $parsedDelay -le 3600) {
+            $delay = $parsedDelay
+        }
+        $attempt = 1
+        while ($true) {
+            $code = Invoke-InstallCommand $Command
+            if ($code -eq 0) { return 0 }
+            if ($attempt -ge $maxAttempts) { return $code }
+            substep ("retrying ""$Label"" after transient failure (attempt $($attempt + 1)/$maxAttempts, waiting ${delay}s)...") "Yellow"
+            Start-Sleep -Seconds $delay
+            $attempt++
+            $delay = $delay * 2
+        }
+    }
+
     function New-StudioShortcuts {
         param(
             [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$UnslothExePath
@@ -1181,7 +1212,7 @@ shell.Run cmd, 0, False
 
     # ── Install uv ──
     Write-TauriLog "STEP" "Installing uv package manager"
-    $UvMinVersion = "0.7.22"
+    $UvMinVersion = "0.8.16"
     function Test-UvVersionOk {
         $cmd = Get-Command uv -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
         if (-not $cmd) { return $false }
@@ -1252,6 +1283,15 @@ shell.Run cmd, 0, False
         $env:UV_COMPILE_BYTECODE_TIMEOUT = "180"
     }
 
+    # uv >= 0.8.16 retries HTTP/2 streaming body errors; raise retries and read
+    # timeout for large wheel downloads. User-provided values are preserved.
+    if (-not $env:UV_HTTP_RETRIES) {
+        $env:UV_HTTP_RETRIES = "5"
+    }
+    if (-not $env:UV_HTTP_TIMEOUT) {
+        $env:UV_HTTP_TIMEOUT = "180"
+    }
+
     # ── Create venv (migrate old layout if possible, otherwise fresh) ──
     # Pass the resolved executable path to uv so it does not re-resolve
     # a version string back to a conda interpreter.
@@ -1930,21 +1970,21 @@ shell.Run cmd, 0, False
         if ($SkipTorch) {
             # No-torch: install unsloth + unsloth-zoo with --no-deps, then
             # runtime deps (typer, safetensors, transformers, etc.) with --no-deps.
-            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo }
+            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install unsloth (migrated no-torch)" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo }
             if ($baseInstallExit -eq 0) {
                 # Resolve pydantic WITH deps so pip pins pydantic-core
                 # to the matching version (no-torch-runtime.txt below
                 # is --no-deps). All transitive deps are torch-free.
-                $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython pydantic }
+                $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install pydantic" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython pydantic }
             }
             if ($baseInstallExit -eq 0) {
                 $NoTorchReq = Find-NoTorchRuntimeFile
                 if ($NoTorchReq) {
-                    $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps -r $NoTorchReq }
+                    $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install no-torch runtime deps" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps -r $NoTorchReq }
                 }
             }
         } else {
-            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --reinstall-package unsloth --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo }
+            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install unsloth (migrated)" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --reinstall-package unsloth --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo }
         }
         if ($baseInstallExit -ne 0) {
             Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to install unsloth (exit code $baseInstallExit)" -ForegroundColor Red
@@ -1958,7 +1998,7 @@ shell.Run cmd, 0, False
                 return (Exit-InstallFailure "Failed to overlay local repo (exit code $overlayExit)" $overlayExit)
             }
             substep "overlaying unsloth-zoo from git main..."
-            $zooOverlayExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth-zoo @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth-zoo" }
+            $zooOverlayExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth-zoo @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth-zoo" }
             if ($zooOverlayExit -ne 0) {
                 Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to overlay unsloth-zoo (exit code $zooOverlayExit)" -ForegroundColor Red
                 return (Exit-InstallFailure "Failed to overlay unsloth-zoo (exit code $zooOverlayExit)" $zooOverlayExit)
@@ -1971,7 +2011,7 @@ shell.Run cmd, 0, False
             Write-TauriLog "STEP" "Installing PyTorch (AMD ROCm Windows)"
             substep "installing PyTorch from $ROCmIndexUrl..."
             $torchSpec = if ($ROCmTorchFloor) { $ROCmTorchFloor } else { "torch" }
-            $torchInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --force-reinstall --index-url $ROCmIndexUrl $torchSpec torchvision torchaudio }
+            $torchInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install PyTorch (AMD ROCm)" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --force-reinstall --index-url $ROCmIndexUrl $torchSpec torchvision torchaudio }
             if ($torchInstallExit -ne 0) {
                 Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to install AMD ROCm PyTorch (exit code $torchInstallExit)" -ForegroundColor Red
                 return (Exit-InstallFailure "Failed to install AMD ROCm PyTorch (exit code $torchInstallExit)" $torchInstallExit)
@@ -1979,7 +2019,7 @@ shell.Run cmd, 0, False
         } else {
             Write-TauriLog "STEP" "Installing PyTorch"
             substep "installing PyTorch ($TorchIndexUrl)..."
-            $torchInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython "torch>=2.4,<2.11.0" torchvision torchaudio --index-url $TorchIndexUrl }
+            $torchInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install PyTorch" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython "torch>=2.4,<2.11.0" torchvision torchaudio --index-url $TorchIndexUrl }
             if ($torchInstallExit -ne 0) {
                 Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to install PyTorch (exit code $torchInstallExit)" -ForegroundColor Red
                 return (Exit-InstallFailure "Failed to install PyTorch (exit code $torchInstallExit)" $torchInstallExit)
@@ -1991,21 +2031,21 @@ shell.Run cmd, 0, False
         if ($SkipTorch) {
             # No-torch: install unsloth + unsloth-zoo with --no-deps, then
             # runtime deps (typer, safetensors, transformers, etc.) with --no-deps.
-            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps --upgrade-package unsloth --upgrade-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo }
+            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install unsloth (no-torch)" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps --upgrade-package unsloth --upgrade-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo }
             if ($baseInstallExit -eq 0) {
                 # Same pydantic-with-deps trick as the migrated branch.
-                $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython pydantic }
+                $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install pydantic" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython pydantic }
             }
             if ($baseInstallExit -eq 0) {
                 $NoTorchReq = Find-NoTorchRuntimeFile
                 if ($NoTorchReq) {
-                    $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps -r $NoTorchReq }
+                    $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install no-torch runtime deps" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps -r $NoTorchReq }
                 }
             }
         } elseif ($StudioLocalInstall) {
-            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --upgrade-package unsloth "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo }
+            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install unsloth (local)" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --upgrade-package unsloth "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo }
         } else {
-            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --upgrade-package unsloth -- "$PackageName" }
+            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install unsloth" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --upgrade-package unsloth -- "$PackageName" }
         }
         if ($baseInstallExit -ne 0) {
             Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to install unsloth (exit code $baseInstallExit)" -ForegroundColor Red
@@ -2020,7 +2060,7 @@ shell.Run cmd, 0, False
                 return (Exit-InstallFailure "Failed to overlay local repo (exit code $overlayExit)" $overlayExit)
             }
             substep "overlaying unsloth-zoo from git main..."
-            $zooOverlayExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth-zoo @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth-zoo" }
+            $zooOverlayExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth-zoo @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth-zoo" }
             if ($zooOverlayExit -ne 0) {
                 Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to overlay unsloth-zoo (exit code $zooOverlayExit)" -ForegroundColor Red
                 return (Exit-InstallFailure "Failed to overlay unsloth-zoo (exit code $zooOverlayExit)" $zooOverlayExit)
@@ -2031,7 +2071,7 @@ shell.Run cmd, 0, False
         Write-TauriLog "STEP" "Installing unsloth"
         substep "installing unsloth (this may take a few minutes)..."
         if ($StudioLocalInstall) {
-            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython unsloth-zoo "unsloth>=2026.6.7" --torch-backend=auto }
+            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install unsloth (auto torch backend)" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython unsloth-zoo "unsloth>=2026.6.7" --torch-backend=auto }
             if ($baseInstallExit -ne 0) {
                 Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to install unsloth (exit code $baseInstallExit)" -ForegroundColor Red
                 return (Exit-InstallFailure "Failed to install unsloth (exit code $baseInstallExit)" $baseInstallExit)
@@ -2043,13 +2083,13 @@ shell.Run cmd, 0, False
                 return (Exit-InstallFailure "Failed to overlay local repo (exit code $overlayExit)" $overlayExit)
             }
             substep "overlaying unsloth-zoo from git main..."
-            $zooOverlayExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth-zoo @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth-zoo" }
+            $zooOverlayExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo "unsloth-zoo @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth-zoo" }
             if ($zooOverlayExit -ne 0) {
                 Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to overlay unsloth-zoo (exit code $zooOverlayExit)" -ForegroundColor Red
                 return (Exit-InstallFailure "Failed to overlay unsloth-zoo (exit code $zooOverlayExit)" $zooOverlayExit)
             }
         } else {
-            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommand { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --torch-backend=auto -- "$PackageName" }
+            $baseInstallExit = Invoke-InstallCommandRetry -Label "install unsloth (auto torch backend)" { uv pip install --python $VenvPython --torch-backend=auto -- "$PackageName" }
             if ($baseInstallExit -ne 0) {
                 Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to install unsloth (exit code $baseInstallExit)" -ForegroundColor Red
                 return (Exit-InstallFailure "Failed to install unsloth (exit code $baseInstallExit)" $baseInstallExit)
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 5e08680628..fa0535a51b 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -163,6 +163,40 @@ run_install_cmd() {
     return $_rc
 }
 
+# Retry run_install_cmd on transient uv download failures with backoff. Returns
+# the last exit code on permanent failure so the set -e rollback trap still fires.
+: "${UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRIES:=3}"
+: "${UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRY_DELAY:=3}"
+run_install_cmd_retry() {
+    _ricr_label="$1"
+    # Sanitize overrides to a default of 3 (a typo must not disable retries; =1 disables).
+    # Length guard precedes the numeric test so a huge value can't overflow `[ -ge ]`.
+    # 0?* rejects leading-zero delays ("08"/"09" break the later $((delay*2)) as octal);
+    # bare "0" stays valid. Bounds: 1..100 retries, 0..3600s base delay.
+    case "$UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRIES" in
+        ''|*[!0-9]*|0) _ricr_max=3 ;;
+        *) if [ "${#UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRIES}" -le 3 ] && [ "$UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRIES" -ge 1 ] 2>/dev/null && [ "$UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRIES" -le 100 ] 2>/dev/null; then _ricr_max=$UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRIES; else _ricr_max=3; fi ;;
+    esac
+    case "$UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRY_DELAY" in
+        ''|*[!0-9]*|0?*) _ricr_delay=3 ;;
+        *) if [ "${#UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRY_DELAY}" -le 4 ] && [ "$UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRY_DELAY" -ge 0 ] 2>/dev/null && [ "$UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRY_DELAY" -le 3600 ] 2>/dev/null; then _ricr_delay=$UNSLOTH_INSTALL_RETRY_DELAY; else _ricr_delay=3; fi ;;
+    esac
+    _ricr_attempt=1
+    while :; do
+        # AND-OR (not `if`) preserves the real failure code: $? after a non-taken
+        # `if` is 0 in sh/dash/bash, which would break the rollback path.
+        run_install_cmd "$@" && return 0
+        _ricr_rc=$?
+        if [ "$_ricr_attempt" -ge "$_ricr_max" ]; then
+            return "$_ricr_rc"
+        fi
+        substep "retrying \"$_ricr_label\" after transient failure (attempt $((_ricr_attempt + 1))/$_ricr_max, waiting ${_ricr_delay}s)..." "$C_WARN"
+        sleep "$_ricr_delay" || true
+        _ricr_attempt=$((_ricr_attempt + 1))
+        _ricr_delay=$((_ricr_delay * 2))
+    done
+}
+
 # Install bitsandbytes on AMD ROCm hosts. Uses the continuous-release_main
 # wheel for the ROCm 4-bit GEMV fix (bnb PR #1887, post-0.49.2); bnb <= 0.49.2
 # NaNs at decode shape on every AMD GPU. Falls back to PyPI >=0.49.1 if the
@@ -1456,12 +1490,19 @@ fi
 
 # ── Install uv ──
 tauri_log "STEP" "Installing uv package manager"
-UV_MIN_VERSION="0.7.22"
+UV_MIN_VERSION="0.8.16"
 
 # When bytecode compilation is enabled, large installs can exceed uv's 60s default on slow machines. Default to 180s, preserving overrides ("0" disables).
 : "${UV_COMPILE_BYTECODE_TIMEOUT:=180}"
 export UV_COMPILE_BYTECODE_TIMEOUT
 
+# uv >= 0.8.16 retries HTTP/2 streaming body errors; raise retries and read
+# timeout for large wheel downloads. ":=" preserves any user override.
+: "${UV_HTTP_RETRIES:=5}"
+export UV_HTTP_RETRIES
+: "${UV_HTTP_TIMEOUT:=180}"
+export UV_HTTP_TIMEOUT
+
 version_ge() {
     # returns 0 if $1 >= $2
     _a=$1
@@ -2420,20 +2461,20 @@ if [ "$_MIGRATED" = true ]; then
         # PyPI metadata still declares torch as a hard dep), then install
         # runtime deps (typer, safetensors, transformers, etc.) with --no-deps
         # to prevent transitive torch resolution.
-        run_install_cmd "install unsloth (migrated no-torch)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" --no-deps \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "install unsloth (migrated no-torch)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" --no-deps \
             --reinstall-package unsloth --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo \
             "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo
         # Resolve pydantic WITH deps so pip pins pydantic-core to the
         # matching version (no-torch-runtime.txt below is --no-deps).
         # All transitive deps are torch-free.
-        run_install_cmd "install pydantic (with deps for compatible core)" \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "install pydantic (with deps for compatible core)" \
             uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" pydantic
         _NO_TORCH_RT="$(_find_no_torch_runtime)"
         if [ -n "$_NO_TORCH_RT" ]; then
-            run_install_cmd "install no-torch runtime deps" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" --no-deps -r "$_NO_TORCH_RT"
+            run_install_cmd_retry "install no-torch runtime deps" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" --no-deps -r "$_NO_TORCH_RT"
         fi
     else
-        run_install_cmd "install unsloth (migrated)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "install unsloth (migrated)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
             --reinstall-package unsloth --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo \
             "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo
     fi
@@ -2441,7 +2482,7 @@ if [ "$_MIGRATED" = true ]; then
         substep "overlaying local repo (editable)..."
         run_install_cmd "overlay local repo" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" -e "$_REPO_ROOT" --no-deps
         substep "overlaying unsloth-zoo from git main..."
-        run_install_cmd "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
             --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo \
             "unsloth-zoo @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth-zoo"
     fi
@@ -2456,7 +2497,7 @@ if [ "$_MIGRATED" = true ]; then
                 _has_hip=$("$_VENV_PY" -c "import torch; print(getattr(torch.version,'hip','') or '')" 2>/dev/null || true)
                 if [ -z "$_has_hip" ]; then
                     substep "repairing ROCm torch (overwritten by dependency resolution)..."
-                    run_install_cmd "repair ROCm torch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+                    run_install_cmd_retry "repair ROCm torch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
                         "$TORCH_CONSTRAINT" torchvision torchaudio \
                         --index-url "$TORCH_INDEX_URL" \
                         --force-reinstall
@@ -2582,7 +2623,7 @@ elif [ -n "$TORCH_INDEX_URL" ]; then
                 if [ -z "$_torch_whl" ] || [ -z "$_tv_whl" ] || [ -z "$_ta_whl" ] || \
                    [ "$_radeon_versions_match" != true ]; then
                     substep "[WARN] Radeon repo lacks a compatible wheel set for this Python; falling back to ROCm index ($TORCH_INDEX_URL)" "$C_WARN"
-                    run_install_cmd "install PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+                    run_install_cmd_retry "install PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
                         "$TORCH_CONSTRAINT" torchvision torchaudio \
                         --index-url "$TORCH_INDEX_URL"
                 else
@@ -2594,30 +2635,30 @@ elif [ -n "$TORCH_INDEX_URL" ]; then
                     # filelock / sympy / networkx which are not in the
                     # Radeon listing.
                     if [ -n "$_tri_whl" ]; then
-                        run_install_cmd "install triton + PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+                        run_install_cmd_retry "install triton + PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
                             --find-links "$_RADEON_BASE_URL" \
                             "$_tri_whl" "$_torch_whl" "$_tv_whl" "$_ta_whl"
                     else
-                        run_install_cmd "install PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+                        run_install_cmd_retry "install PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
                             --find-links "$_RADEON_BASE_URL" \
                             "$_torch_whl" "$_tv_whl" "$_ta_whl"
                     fi
                 fi
             else
                 substep "[WARN] Radeon repo unavailable; falling back to ROCm index ($TORCH_INDEX_URL)" "$C_WARN"
-                run_install_cmd "install PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+                run_install_cmd_retry "install PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
                     "$TORCH_CONSTRAINT" torchvision torchaudio \
                     --index-url "$TORCH_INDEX_URL"
             fi
         else
             substep "[WARN] Radeon GPU detected but could not detect full ROCm version; falling back to ROCm index" "$C_WARN"
-            run_install_cmd "install PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+            run_install_cmd_retry "install PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
                 "$TORCH_CONSTRAINT" torchvision torchaudio \
                 --index-url "$TORCH_INDEX_URL"
         fi
     else
         substep "installing PyTorch ($TORCH_INDEX_URL)..."
-        run_install_cmd "install PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" "$TORCH_CONSTRAINT" torchvision torchaudio \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "install PyTorch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" "$TORCH_CONSTRAINT" torchvision torchaudio \
             --index-url "$TORCH_INDEX_URL"
     fi
     # AMD ROCm: install bitsandbytes (once, after torch, for all ROCm paths).
@@ -2637,35 +2678,35 @@ elif [ -n "$TORCH_INDEX_URL" ]; then
     if [ "$SKIP_TORCH" = true ]; then
         # No-torch: install unsloth + unsloth-zoo with --no-deps, then
         # runtime deps (typer, safetensors, transformers, etc.) with --no-deps.
-        run_install_cmd "install unsloth (no-torch)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" --no-deps \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "install unsloth (no-torch)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" --no-deps \
             --upgrade-package unsloth --upgrade-package unsloth-zoo \
             "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo
         # Same pydantic-with-deps trick as the migrated branch.
-        run_install_cmd "install pydantic (with deps for compatible core)" \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "install pydantic (with deps for compatible core)" \
             uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" pydantic
         _NO_TORCH_RT="$(_find_no_torch_runtime)"
         if [ -n "$_NO_TORCH_RT" ]; then
-            run_install_cmd "install no-torch runtime deps" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" --no-deps -r "$_NO_TORCH_RT"
+            run_install_cmd_retry "install no-torch runtime deps" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" --no-deps -r "$_NO_TORCH_RT"
         fi
         if [ "$STUDIO_LOCAL_INSTALL" = true ]; then
             substep "overlaying local repo (editable)..."
             run_install_cmd "overlay local repo" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" -e "$_REPO_ROOT" --no-deps
             substep "overlaying unsloth-zoo from git main..."
-            run_install_cmd "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+            run_install_cmd_retry "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
                 --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo \
                 "unsloth-zoo @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth-zoo"
         fi
     elif [ "$STUDIO_LOCAL_INSTALL" = true ]; then
-        run_install_cmd "install unsloth (local)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "install unsloth (local)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
             --upgrade-package unsloth "unsloth>=2026.6.7" unsloth-zoo
         substep "overlaying local repo (editable)..."
         run_install_cmd "overlay local repo" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" -e "$_REPO_ROOT" --no-deps
         substep "overlaying unsloth-zoo from git main..."
-        run_install_cmd "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
             --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo \
             "unsloth-zoo @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth-zoo"
     else
-        run_install_cmd "install unsloth" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "install unsloth" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
             --upgrade-package unsloth -- "$PACKAGE_NAME"
     fi
     # AMD ROCm: repair torch if the unsloth/unsloth-zoo install pulled in
@@ -2676,7 +2717,7 @@ elif [ -n "$TORCH_INDEX_URL" ]; then
                 _has_hip=$("$_VENV_PY" -c "import torch; print(getattr(torch.version,'hip','') or '')" 2>/dev/null || true)
                 if [ -z "$_has_hip" ]; then
                     substep "repairing ROCm torch (overwritten by dependency resolution)..."
-                    run_install_cmd "repair ROCm torch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+                    run_install_cmd_retry "repair ROCm torch" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
                         "$TORCH_CONSTRAINT" torchvision torchaudio \
                         --index-url "$TORCH_INDEX_URL" \
                         --force-reinstall
@@ -2689,15 +2730,15 @@ else
     tauri_log "STEP" "Installing Unsloth"
     substep "installing unsloth (this may take a few minutes)..."
     if [ "$STUDIO_LOCAL_INSTALL" = true ]; then
-        run_install_cmd "install unsloth (auto torch backend)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" unsloth-zoo "unsloth>=2026.6.7" --torch-backend=auto
+        run_install_cmd_retry "install unsloth (auto torch backend)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" unsloth-zoo "unsloth>=2026.6.7" --torch-backend=auto
         substep "overlaying local repo (editable)..."
         run_install_cmd "overlay local repo" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" -e "$_REPO_ROOT" --no-deps
         substep "overlaying unsloth-zoo from git main..."
-        run_install_cmd "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
+        run_install_cmd_retry "overlay unsloth-zoo (git main)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" \
             --no-deps --reinstall-package unsloth-zoo \
             "unsloth-zoo @ git+https://github.com/unslothai/unsloth-zoo"
     else
-        run_install_cmd "install unsloth (auto torch backend)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" --torch-backend=auto -- "$PACKAGE_NAME"
+        run_install_cmd_retry "install unsloth (auto torch backend)" uv pip install --python "$_VENV_PY" --torch-backend=auto -- "$PACKAGE_NAME"
     fi
 fi
 
diff --git a/studio/setup.ps1 b/studio/setup.ps1
index f02ed586be..7af532e7af 100644
--- a/studio/setup.ps1
+++ b/studio/setup.ps1
@@ -2035,6 +2035,15 @@ if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $LegacyStudioHome -PathType Container) {
     $LegacyStudioHome = (Resolve-Path -LiteralPath $LegacyStudioHome).Path
 }
 $StudioHomeIsCustom = ($_studioHomeCanon -ne $LegacyStudioHome)
+# Directory-local evidence that Studio created $Path, used to adopt a custom-home
+# llama.cpp predating the .unsloth-studio-owned marker (see setup.sh). Only the
+# prebuilt UNSLOTH_PREBUILT_INFO.json counts; source builds are indistinguishable
+# from a user clone on Windows and stay under the strict guard.
+function Test-StudioOwnedAdoptable {
+    param([Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path)
+    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath (Join-Path $Path "UNSLOTH_PREBUILT_INFO.json") -PathType Leaf) { return $true }
+    return $false
+}
 function Assert-StudioOwnedOrAbsent {
     param(
         [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
@@ -2042,6 +2051,10 @@ function Assert-StudioOwnedOrAbsent {
     )
     if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path -PathType Container)) { return }
     if ($StudioHomeIsCustom -and -not (Test-Path -LiteralPath (Join-Path $Path $StudioOwnedMarker) -PathType Leaf)) {
+        if (Test-StudioOwnedAdoptable $Path) {
+            Mark-StudioOwned $Path
+            return
+        }
         Write-Host "[ERROR] $Path already exists and is not marked as a Studio-owned $Label." -ForegroundColor Red
         Write-Host "        Move it aside or choose an empty UNSLOTH_STUDIO_HOME before re-running." -ForegroundColor Yellow
         exit 1
diff --git a/studio/setup.sh b/studio/setup.sh
index 4fba761cef..b78029d6e2 100755
--- a/studio/setup.sh
+++ b/studio/setup.sh
@@ -439,11 +439,25 @@ _STUDIO_HOME_IS_CUSTOM=false
 if [ "$_studio_home_canon" != "$_LEGACY_STUDIO_HOME" ]; then
     _STUDIO_HOME_IS_CUSTOM=true
 fi
+# Directory-local evidence that Studio created "$1", used to adopt a custom-home
+# llama.cpp predating the .unsloth-studio-owned marker without weakening the guard.
+# Only UNSLOTH_PREBUILT_INFO.json counts (written exclusively by the prebuilt
+# installer). A top-level llama-quantize symlink is NOT trusted: a user may have
+# their own build with one, and this runs right before a destructive rm -rf, so we
+# match Windows and keep markerless source builds strict.
+_studio_owned_adoptable() {
+    [ -f "$1/UNSLOTH_PREBUILT_INFO.json" ] && return 0
+    return 1
+}
 _assert_studio_owned_or_absent() {
     _aso_dir="$1"
     _aso_label="$2"
     [ -d "$_aso_dir" ] || return 0
     if [ "$_STUDIO_HOME_IS_CUSTOM" = true ] && [ ! -f "$_aso_dir/$_STUDIO_OWNED_MARKER" ]; then
+        if _studio_owned_adoptable "$_aso_dir"; then
+            : > "$_aso_dir/$_STUDIO_OWNED_MARKER" 2>/dev/null || true
+            return 0
+        fi
         echo "ERROR: $_aso_dir already exists and is not marked as a Studio-owned $_aso_label." >&2
         echo "       Move it aside or choose an empty UNSLOTH_STUDIO_HOME before re-running." >&2
         exit 1