diff --git a/src/components/StackedNote.vue b/src/components/StackedNote.vue
index 230595c..5b180d2 100644
--- a/src/components/StackedNote.vue
+++ b/src/components/StackedNote.vue
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import { useUserRepoStore } from "@/modules/repo/store/userRepo.store"
 import { encodeUTF8ToBase64 } from "@/utils/decodeBase64ToUTF8"
 import { getFileLanguage, isMarkdownPath } from "@/utils/fileLanguage"
 import { filenameToNoteTitle } from "@/utils/noteTitle"
+import { errorMessage } from "@/utils/notif"
 
 const LinkedNotes = defineAsyncComponent(
   () => import("@/components/LinkedNotes.vue")
@@ -241,21 +242,26 @@ const onConflictCancel = () => {
 }
 
 const onBadgeClick = async () => {
-  if (freshnessStatus.value !== "outdated") {
-    await checkFreshness()
-    return
-  }
+  try {
+    if (freshnessStatus.value !== "outdated") {
+      await checkFreshness()
+      return
+    }
 
-  const hasUnsavedEdits = rawContent.value !== initialRawContent.value
-  if (hasUnsavedEdits) {
-    conflictOpen.value = true
-    return
-  }
+    const hasUnsavedEdits = rawContent.value !== initialRawContent.value
+    if (hasUnsavedEdits) {
+      conflictOpen.value = true
+      return
+    }
 
-  const newRaw = await pullLatest()
-  if (newRaw !== null) {
-    rawContent.value = newRaw
-    initialRawContent.value = newRaw
+    const newRaw = await pullLatest()
+    if (newRaw !== null) {
+      rawContent.value = newRaw
+      initialRawContent.value = newRaw
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error("freshness badge click failed", error)
+    errorMessage("❌ Couldn't pull latest from GitHub")
   }
 }
 </script>
diff --git a/src/hooks/useNoteFreshness.hook.ts b/src/hooks/useNoteFreshness.hook.ts
index b0ce322..617ca8b 100644
--- a/src/hooks/useNoteFreshness.hook.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/useNoteFreshness.hook.ts
@@ -51,13 +51,22 @@ export const useNoteFreshness = ({
 
   const pullLatest = async (): Promise<string | null> => {
     if (!path.value) return null
+    const usedCachedSha = latestSha.value !== null
     const remoteSha = latestSha.value ?? (await fetchLatestSha(path.value))
     if (!remoteSha) {
+      console.warn("pullLatest: could not resolve remote sha", { path: path.value })
       status.value = "offline"
       return null
     }
     const fileContent = await queryFileContent(user, repo, remoteSha)
     if (!fileContent) {
+      console.warn("pullLatest: failed to fetch blob content", {
+        path: path.value,
+        remoteSha,
+        usedCachedSha
+      })
+      // Cached SHA may be stale — clear so the next click re-resolves it.
+      if (usedCachedSha) latestSha.value = null
       status.value = "offline"
       return null
     }
diff --git a/src/modules/repo/services/repo.ts b/src/modules/repo/services/repo.ts
index 72fbfa5..7ba34c2 100644
--- a/src/modules/repo/services/repo.ts
+++ b/src/modules/repo/services/repo.ts
@@ -121,20 +121,23 @@ export const queryFileContent = async (
   repo: string,
   sha: string
 ) => {
-  const octokit = await getOctokit()
-
   if (!user || !repo) {
-    null
+    return null
   }
 
-  const file = await octokit.request(
-    "GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/blobs/{file_sha}",
-    {
-      owner: user,
-      repo: repo,
-      file_sha: sha
-    }
-  )
-
-  return file?.data.content ?? null
+  try {
+    const octokit = await getOctokit()
+    const file = await octokit.request(
+      "GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/blobs/{file_sha}",
+      {
+        owner: user,
+        repo: repo,
+        file_sha: sha
+      }
+    )
+    return file?.data.content ?? null
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.warn("queryFileContent failed", { user, repo, sha, error })
+    return null
+  }
 }