diff --git a/changelog.d/1297-s2-ghostmaps-layer.md b/changelog.d/1297-s2-ghostmaps-layer.md
index b78d6a042..e79cc6eff 100644
--- a/changelog.d/1297-s2-ghostmaps-layer.md
+++ b/changelog.d/1297-s2-ghostmaps-layer.md
@@ -5,3 +5,5 @@
   cards on click. `/api/ghostmaps` watches the repository's branch head every
   15 s and pushes each new commit to open pages, which reload only the
   products that changed (Black Pine Defense).
+- Clear a temporary GhostMaps upstream error and notify open pages when the
+  repository becomes reachable again, including when no new edition was published.
diff --git a/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md b/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
index db3ee9750..52fdb1e78 100644
--- a/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
+++ b/docs/CURRENT-STATE.md
@@ -5128,6 +5128,7 @@ are omitted rather than framing the wrong part of the globe.
 - **Updates.** The repository is not ours, so there is no webhook. `server/providers/ghostMaps.js` starts with the first `/api/ghostmaps` request, so an install that never enables the layer never contacts GitHub.
   - It reads the branch head from git's smart-HTTP ref advertisement (`/info/refs?service=git-upload-pack`, about 0.5 KB, outside the REST rate limit) every `GHOSTMAPS_POLL_SECONDS` (15 s by default, 5 s minimum). Failures back off from 15 s to 5 min.
   - Only a new head costs REST calls: one recursive tree and one commit. An optional `GITHUB_TOKEN` raises the REST limit.
+  - After an upstream outage, a successful branch-head check clears the error and pushes a recovered catalog even when the commit is unchanged. Cached products stay in place; subsequent healthy unchanged checks stay silent.
   - The new catalog goes to `.gev-cache/ghostmaps/catalog.json` and to every open page over server-sent events (`/api/ghostmaps/events`, 25 s heartbeat, at most 64 subscribers). Default products are downloaded at once.
   - The layer reloads only products whose blob changed. The new edition's data source is added before the old one is removed. A product that leaves the catalog leaves the globe.
   - The row reads `LIVE` while the stream is open. A five-minute catalog read is the backstop.
diff --git a/server/providers/ghostMaps.js b/server/providers/ghostMaps.js
index dd30fd986..853fd35e3 100644
--- a/server/providers/ghostMaps.js
+++ b/server/providers/ghostMaps.js
@@ -172,7 +172,13 @@ export function createGhostMapsWatcher({
     await loadDisk();
     const head = await readHead();
     state.checkedAt = now();
-    if (head === state.commit) return false;
+    if (head === state.commit) {
+      if (state.error !== null) {
+        state.error = null;
+        emit();
+      }
+      return false;
+    }
     const next = await readCommit(head);
     const previous = new Map(state.products.map((p) => [p.id, p.version]));
     const changed = next.products
diff --git a/server/providers/ghostMaps.test.mjs b/server/providers/ghostMaps.test.mjs
index 6251bf4de..5ddef6aa5 100644
--- a/server/providers/ghostMaps.test.mjs
+++ b/server/providers/ghostMaps.test.mjs
@@ -178,6 +178,58 @@ test('the catalog survives a restart from disk, and upstream failures are report
     assert.match(catalog.error, /HTTP 503/);
   }));
 
+test('an unchanged head clears an upstream outage and announces recovery once', () =>
+  withCache(async (cacheDir) => {
+    const { fetchImpl } = fakeGitHub();
+    let unavailable = false;
+    let checkedAt = 1000;
+    const requests = [];
+    const watcher = createGhostMapsWatcher({
+      cacheDir,
+      now: () => checkedAt,
+      fetchImpl: async (url, options) => {
+        requests.push(url);
+        if (unavailable) return new Response('down', { status: 503 });
+        return fetchImpl(url, options);
+      },
+      log: () => {},
+      warn: () => {},
+    });
+    const events = [];
+    watcher.subscribe((catalog) => events.push(catalog));
+    await watcher.checkNow();
+    await Promise.all([watcher.file('cip'), watcher.file('kinetic-30d')]);
+    const healthy = watcher.catalog();
+    assert.equal(events.length, 1);
+
+    unavailable = true;
+    checkedAt = 2000;
+    assert.equal(await watcher.checkNow(), false);
+    assert.match(watcher.catalog().error, /HTTP 503/);
+    assert.equal(events.length, 2);
+
+    unavailable = false;
+    checkedAt = 3000;
+    requests.length = 0;
+    assert.equal(await watcher.checkNow(), false, 'no new edition arrived');
+    const recovered = watcher.catalog();
+    assert.equal(recovered.error, null);
+    assert.equal(recovered.checkedAt, checkedAt);
+    assert.equal(recovered.commit, healthy.commit);
+    assert.equal(recovered.changedAt, healthy.changedAt);
+    assert.deepEqual(recovered.products, healthy.products);
+    assert.equal(requests.length, 1, 'recovery needs only the ref read');
+    assert.match(requests[0], /\/info\/refs\?service=git-upload-pack$/);
+    assert.equal(events.length, 3, 'subscribers see the recovered catalog');
+    assert.equal(events[2].error, null);
+    assert.equal(events[2].checkedAt, checkedAt);
+
+    checkedAt = 4000;
+    assert.equal(await watcher.checkNow(), false);
+    assert.equal(events.length, 3, 'healthy unchanged polls stay silent');
+    watcher.stop();
+  }));
+
 test('poll interval is configurable with a 5 s floor', () => {
   assert.equal(ghostMapsPollMs(undefined), 15000);
   assert.equal(ghostMapsPollMs('30'), 30000);