diff --git a/.github/workflows/refresh-catalog.yml b/.github/workflows/refresh-catalog.yml
index d8fb0e5..010ff84 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/refresh-catalog.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/refresh-catalog.yml
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ jobs:
           BRANCH="catalog/refresh-$DATE"
           git config user.name 'github-actions[bot]'
           git config user.email 'github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com'
+          # Ensure remote-tracking ref exists so --force-with-lease works on retries.
+          git fetch origin "+refs/heads/$BRANCH:refs/remotes/origin/$BRANCH" || true
           git checkout -B "$BRANCH"
           git add data/repos.json
           git commit -m "chore(catalog): refresh snapshot $DATE"