diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 4f0a1465..0658e797 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "moshcode",
-  "version": "0.118.1",
+  "version": "0.118.2",
   "type": "module",
   "description": "moshcode — a metal wrapper for coding engines and native UGig/CoinPay workflow CLIs, with OpenPRD and moshscript",
   "repository": {
diff --git a/src/dns.mjs b/src/dns.mjs
index 1fec6493..946c5672 100644
--- a/src/dns.mjs
+++ b/src/dns.mjs
@@ -450,6 +450,63 @@ const TLD_PAGE = 1000;
  * Paged to exhaustion against `total`, with the page count bounded so a
  * registry that misreports it cannot spin here forever.
  */
+/**
+ * Keep the bridge's ending list loaded and current.
+ *
+ * Read once at start, the list was all-or-nothing for the life of the
+ * process: a bridge started while this machine's own resolver was itself (the
+ * usual case on a restart, since the resolver is routed here and the bridge
+ * is not listening yet) failed to reach the registry, answered every Moshpit
+ * name NXDOMAIN, and kept doing so until somebody restarted it again. Now an
+ * empty list is retried in the background (5 s, 10 s, 30 s, then every five
+ * minutes), and a loaded one is refreshed hourly so a newly claimed ending
+ * resolves without a restart. A failed refresh never empties a good list.
+ *
+ * `tldSet` is filled in place: the server reads that same set per query.
+ */
+export function keepEndingsFresh({
+  tldSet,
+  load,
+  out = () => {},
+  schedule = (fn, ms) => { const t = setTimeout(fn, ms); t.unref?.(); return t; },
+  cancel = clearTimeout,
+  retryDelays = [5_000, 10_000, 30_000],
+  retryEvery = 300_000,
+  refreshEvery = 3_600_000,
+} = {}) {
+  let attempt = 0;
+  let timer = null;
+  let stopped = false;
+  const next = () => {
+    if (stopped) return;
+    const ms = tldSet.size ? refreshEvery : (retryDelays[attempt] ?? retryEvery);
+    timer = schedule(run, ms);
+  };
+  const run = async () => {
+    if (stopped) return;
+    const hadNone = tldSet.size === 0;
+    try {
+      const found = await load();
+      if (Array.isArray(found) && found.length) {
+        tldSet.clear();
+        for (const one of found) tldSet.add(one);
+        if (hadNone) out(`answering for ${tldSet.size} endings (the ending list loaded on retry ${attempt + 1})`);
+        attempt = 0;
+      } else if (hadNone) {
+        attempt += 1;
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (hadNone) {
+        attempt += 1;
+        out(`! still cannot read the ending list — ${err?.message || err}; trying again`);
+      }
+    }
+    next();
+  };
+  next();
+  return () => { stopped = true; if (timer) cancel(timer); };
+}
+
 export async function fetchTlds({ registryBase = DEFAULT_REGISTRY_BASE, fetchImpl = fetch } = {}) {
   const base = `${registryBase.replace(/\/+$/, "")}/api/moshpit/tlds`;
   const seen = [];
@@ -2881,6 +2938,8 @@ export async function dnsCommand(args = [], out = console.log, deps = {}) {
         },
         onError: (err) => out(`! resolver socket error — ${err?.message || err}`),
       });
+      // Retried until it loads, then refreshed: see keepEndingsFresh.
+      keepEndingsFresh({ tldSet, load: () => fetchTldsImpl({ registryBase }), out });
     } catch (err) {
       const why = err?.code === "EACCES"
         ? `needs privileges to bind port ${port}`
diff --git a/test/dns-endings-retry.test.mjs b/test/dns-endings-retry.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..81d273cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/dns-endings-retry.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+import { test } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { keepEndingsFresh } from "../src/dns.mjs";
+
+function clock() {
+  const queue = [];
+  return {
+    schedule: (fn, ms) => { const t = { fn, ms }; queue.push(t); return t; },
+    cancel: (t) => { const at = queue.indexOf(t); if (at >= 0) queue.splice(at, 1); },
+    async tick() { const t = queue.shift(); assert.ok(t, "something scheduled"); await t.fn(); return t.ms; },
+    pending: () => queue.map((t) => t.ms),
+  };
+}
+
+test("an ending list that failed at start is retried until it loads, then refreshed hourly", async () => {
+  const tldSet = new Set();
+  const c = clock();
+  const said = [];
+  let calls = 0;
+  const load = async () => {
+    calls += 1;
+    if (calls < 3) throw new Error("fetch failed");
+    return calls === 3 ? ["eggs", "streaming"] : ["ancestry", "eggs", "streaming"];
+  };
+  const stop = keepEndingsFresh({ tldSet, load, out: (line) => said.push(line), schedule: c.schedule, cancel: c.cancel });
+  assert.deepEqual(c.pending(), [5_000]);
+  assert.equal(await c.tick(), 5_000);
+  assert.deepEqual(c.pending(), [10_000]);
+  assert.equal(await c.tick(), 10_000);
+  assert.deepEqual([...tldSet], [], "still failing on the second try");
+  assert.equal(await c.tick(), 30_000);
+  assert.deepEqual([...tldSet], ["eggs", "streaming"], "loaded on the third try");
+  assert.ok(said.some((line) => /loaded on retry/.test(line)));
+  assert.deepEqual(c.pending(), [3_600_000]);
+  await c.tick();
+  assert.deepEqual([...tldSet], ["ancestry", "eggs", "streaming"], "a refresh picks up a new ending");
+  stop();
+  assert.deepEqual(c.pending(), []);
+});
+
+test("a failed refresh never empties a good list", async () => {
+  const tldSet = new Set(["eggs"]);
+  const c = clock();
+  keepEndingsFresh({ tldSet, load: async () => { throw new Error("registry down"); }, schedule: c.schedule, cancel: c.cancel });
+  assert.deepEqual(c.pending(), [3_600_000]);
+  await c.tick();
+  assert.deepEqual([...tldSet], ["eggs"]);
+  assert.deepEqual(c.pending(), [3_600_000]);
+});
+
+test("past the quick retries, an empty list is tried every five minutes", async () => {
+  const tldSet = new Set();
+  const c = clock();
+  keepEndingsFresh({ tldSet, load: async () => [], schedule: c.schedule, cancel: c.cancel });
+  const seen = [];
+  for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) seen.push(await c.tick());
+  assert.deepEqual(seen, [5_000, 10_000, 30_000, 300_000, 300_000]);
+});