diff --git a/.changeset/adr-0097-openapi-upstream-classify.md b/.changeset/adr-0097-openapi-upstream-classify.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0c6cbb0d59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/adr-0097-openapi-upstream-classify.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+'@objectstack/connector-openapi': minor
+---
+
+feat(connector-openapi): degrade + retry on an unreachable remote spec URL (#3049 follow-up)
+
+The `openapi` provider fetches `providerConfig.spec` when it is an http(s) URL.
+That fetch previously threw plain on any failure, so a momentarily-unreachable
+spec endpoint aborted the whole app boot. It now classifies the fault the same
+way `connector-mcp` classifies its connect path (ADR-0097):
+
+- **Network error** (DNS / connection refused / timeout) or a **transient HTTP
+  status** (`408` / `429` / `5xx`, mirroring the `retryableStatusCodes`
+  convention) throws `ConnectorUpstreamUnavailableError` — the materializer
+  degrades the instance (`state: 'degraded'` on `GET /connectors`, dispatch
+  fails clearly) and retries with backoff plus on every `metadata:reloaded`.
+- A **wrong URL** (non-retryable `4xx`) or an **unparseable document** stays a
+  plain, fatal configuration fault.
+
+Inline and file-path (`#3016`) specs do no boot I/O and are unaffected.
diff --git a/docs/adr/0097-declarative-connector-instances.md b/docs/adr/0097-declarative-connector-instances.md
index e44926051e..d169c9ea91 100644
--- a/docs/adr/0097-declarative-connector-instances.md
+++ b/docs/adr/0097-declarative-connector-instances.md
@@ -167,6 +167,13 @@ dispatch was rejected: MCP actions ARE the server's `tools/list`, so a
 connector materialized without connecting would register a zero-action def —
 exactly the plausible-but-dead shape this ADR exists to kill.
 
+The `openapi` provider applies the same split to its **remote-URL spec fetch**:
+an unreachable endpoint (network error) or a transient HTTP status
+(`408` / `429` / `5xx`, mirroring the `retryableStatusCodes` convention) is
+upstream-unavailable — degrade + retry — while a wrong URL (non-retryable
+`4xx`) or an unparseable document stays a fatal configuration fault. Inline and
+file-path (`#3016`) specs do no boot I/O and are unaffected.
+
 ### Declarative stdio policy: default-deny (follow-up, landed — #3055)
 
 A declarative `provider: 'mcp'` entry may name a **stdio transport**, and
@@ -196,5 +203,4 @@ any default preset (#3056).
 
 - **`providerConfig.spec` (openapi)** accepts an inline document, an http(s) URL, **or a package-relative file path** (#3016 follow-up). The connector still owns no filesystem access: the automation service injects a `loadPackageFile` capability into `ConnectorProviderContext` that resolves the ref against the declaring stack/package root (`packageRoot`, CLI default: the `objectstack.config.ts` directory) and **confines reads to that root** — absolute and `..`-escaping paths are rejected. Read/parse failures follow the reconcile policy above: fatal at boot, skipped on reload.
 - **MCP credentials** ride the transport (ADR-0024); for an http transport a resolved `auth` is folded into the request headers.
-- **A live `provider: 'mcp'` showcase demo** remains deferred: materialization needs a reachable MCP server, and the natural in-repo target (`@objectstack/mcp`, the platform's own MCP endpoint) is not listening until after the automation plugin's `start()` — the demo would deterministically boot degraded and heal seconds later, making the dogfood CI gate timing-sensitive. It should land together with an in-repo MCP fixture server (or an explicit boot-ordering story for self-connection).
-- **The openapi provider's remote-URL spec fetch** still throws plain on network failure (fatal at boot). It can adopt the same `CONNECTOR_UPSTREAM_UNAVAILABLE` classification once operators ask for it — the mechanism is provider-agnostic.
+- **A live `provider: 'mcp'` showcase demo** landed with #3056 (#3062): the showcase points a declarative `mcp` instance at an in-repo stdio MCP fixture (`examples/app-showcase/scripts/mcp-fixture.mjs`), spawned under the host `declarativeStdio` allowlist, and a dogfood proof pins materialization + dispatch. Self-connection to the platform's own `@objectstack/mcp` endpoint (which is not listening until after the automation plugin's `start()`) stays out of scope — the fixture sidesteps the boot-ordering timing entirely.
diff --git a/packages/connectors/connector-openapi/src/openapi-provider.test.ts b/packages/connectors/connector-openapi/src/openapi-provider.test.ts
index 07bee09afd..6b75343398 100644
--- a/packages/connectors/connector-openapi/src/openapi-provider.test.ts
+++ b/packages/connectors/connector-openapi/src/openapi-provider.test.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
 import type { ConnectorProviderContext } from '@objectstack/spec/integration';
+import { isConnectorUpstreamUnavailable } from '@objectstack/spec/integration';
 import { createOpenApiProviderFactory, OPENAPI_PROVIDER_KEY } from './openapi-provider.js';
 
 const petstore = {
@@ -96,3 +97,73 @@ describe('openapi provider factory (ADR-0097)', () => {
         ).rejects.toThrow(/no package file access/);
     });
 });
+
+// ── #3049 follow-up: remote-URL fetch fault classification ──────────────────
+//
+// A remote spec URL that is unreachable / transiently failing is an OPERATIONAL
+// fault: the factory throws the CONNECTOR_UPSTREAM_UNAVAILABLE marker so the
+// materializer degrades + retries the instance instead of failing boot
+// (symmetric with connector-mcp's connect path). A wrong URL (non-retryable
+// 4xx) or an unparseable document stays a plain, fatal configuration fault.
+
+describe('openapi provider — remote spec fetch fault classification (#3049)', () => {
+    const url = 'https://petstore.example.com/openapi.json';
+    const cfg = { providerConfig: { spec: url } };
+
+    it('classifies a network failure (fetch rejects) as upstream-unavailable, keeping the cause', async () => {
+        const boom = new Error('connect ECONNREFUSED 93.184.216.34:443');
+        const fetchImpl = (async () => { throw boom; }) as unknown as typeof fetch;
+        const factory = createOpenApiProviderFactory({ fetchImpl });
+
+        const err = await factory(ctx(cfg)).then(
+            () => { throw new Error('expected rejection'); },
+            (e: unknown) => e,
+        );
+        expect(isConnectorUpstreamUnavailable(err)).toBe(true);
+        expect((err as Error).message).toMatch(/'pets' could not reach spec URL/);
+        expect((err as Error).message).toContain('ECONNREFUSED');
+        expect((err as { cause?: unknown }).cause).toBe(boom);
+    });
+
+    it.each([408, 429, 500, 502, 503, 504])(
+        'classifies a transient HTTP %i as upstream-unavailable (retryable)',
+        async (status) => {
+            const fetchImpl = (async () => ({ ok: false, status, json: async () => ({}) }) as unknown as Response) as unknown as typeof fetch;
+            const factory = createOpenApiProviderFactory({ fetchImpl });
+            const err = await factory(ctx(cfg)).then(() => { throw new Error('expected rejection'); }, (e: unknown) => e);
+            expect(isConnectorUpstreamUnavailable(err), `HTTP ${status} should degrade`).toBe(true);
+            expect((err as Error).message).toContain(String(status));
+        },
+    );
+
+    it.each([400, 401, 403, 404, 410])(
+        'keeps a non-retryable HTTP %i a plain (fatal) configuration fault',
+        async (status) => {
+            const fetchImpl = (async () => ({ ok: false, status, json: async () => ({}) }) as unknown as Response) as unknown as typeof fetch;
+            const factory = createOpenApiProviderFactory({ fetchImpl });
+            const err = await factory(ctx(cfg)).then(() => { throw new Error('expected rejection'); }, (e: unknown) => e);
+            expect(isConnectorUpstreamUnavailable(err), `HTTP ${status} should stay fatal`).toBe(false);
+            expect((err as Error).message).toMatch(/failed to fetch spec/);
+        },
+    );
+
+    it('keeps a 2xx-but-unparseable body a plain (fatal) content fault, not upstream-unavailable', async () => {
+        const fetchImpl = (async () => ({
+            ok: true,
+            status: 200,
+            json: async () => { throw new SyntaxError('Unexpected token < in JSON'); },
+        }) as unknown as Response) as unknown as typeof fetch;
+        const factory = createOpenApiProviderFactory({ fetchImpl });
+        const err = await factory(ctx(cfg)).then(() => { throw new Error('expected rejection'); }, (e: unknown) => e);
+        expect(isConnectorUpstreamUnavailable(err)).toBe(false);
+        expect((err as Error).message).toMatch(/not a parseable.*OpenAPI JSON document/s);
+    });
+
+    it('keeps a 2xx non-object body (array) a plain (fatal) content fault', async () => {
+        const fetchImpl = (async () => ({ ok: true, status: 200, json: async () => [1, 2] }) as unknown as Response) as unknown as typeof fetch;
+        const factory = createOpenApiProviderFactory({ fetchImpl });
+        const err = await factory(ctx(cfg)).then(() => { throw new Error('expected rejection'); }, (e: unknown) => e);
+        expect(isConnectorUpstreamUnavailable(err)).toBe(false);
+        expect((err as Error).message).toMatch(/not a parseable.*OpenAPI JSON document/s);
+    });
+});
diff --git a/packages/connectors/connector-openapi/src/openapi-provider.ts b/packages/connectors/connector-openapi/src/openapi-provider.ts
index 9def34727e..a2ffe961b1 100644
--- a/packages/connectors/connector-openapi/src/openapi-provider.ts
+++ b/packages/connectors/connector-openapi/src/openapi-provider.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import type {
   ConnectorProviderFactory,
   ResolvedConnectorAuth,
 } from '@objectstack/spec/integration';
+import { ConnectorUpstreamUnavailableError } from '@objectstack/spec/integration';
 import {
   createOpenApiConnector,
   type OpenApiDocument,
@@ -17,6 +18,17 @@ import {
  */
 export const OPENAPI_PROVIDER_KEY = 'openapi';
 
+/**
+ * HTTP statuses treated as **transient** when fetching a remote spec at boot
+ * (#3049 follow-up): a timeout / rate-limit / 5xx means the spec endpoint is
+ * momentarily unhealthy, not that the connector is misconfigured — so the
+ * instance degrades and retries rather than aborting boot. Mirrors the
+ * connector request-retry convention (`retryableStatusCodes` default in
+ * `ConnectorSchema`). Any OTHER non-2xx (400 / 401 / 403 / 404 / 410 …) means
+ * the request itself is wrong — a configuration fault that stays fatal.
+ */
+const SPEC_FETCH_RETRYABLE_STATUS = new Set([408, 429, 500, 502, 503, 504]);
+
 /** Injectable dependencies for {@link createOpenApiProviderFactory} (tests). */
 export interface OpenApiProviderDeps {
   /** Injected fetch implementation (spec fetch + request transport); defaults to global `fetch`. */
@@ -29,6 +41,10 @@ interface OpenApiProviderConfig {
    * The OpenAPI 3.x document: an inline object, an http(s) URL to fetch at
    * boot, or a file path resolved relative to the declaring stack/package root
    * (`'./billing-openapi.json'`, #3016).
+   *
+   * A remote URL that is unreachable / transiently failing (network error,
+   * 408 / 429 / 5xx) degrades the instance and retries (#3049); a wrong URL
+   * (non-retryable 4xx) or an unparseable document stays a fatal config fault.
    */
   spec?: unknown;
   /** Override the base URL (else the document's `servers[0].url`). */
@@ -41,9 +57,14 @@ interface OpenApiProviderConfig {
  * form used by the showcase), an http(s) URL fetched at materialization, or a
  * **file path** read through the host's `ctx.loadPackageFile` — which resolves
  * it relative to the declaring stack/package root and confines the read to
- * that root (absolute / `..`-escaping paths are rejected there). Every failure
- * throws, so the materializer's reconcile policy applies: fatal at boot, the
- * entry is skipped on reload.
+ * that root (absolute / `..`-escaping paths are rejected there).
+ *
+ * Fault classification (#3049 seam, symmetric with connector-mcp's connect
+ * path): a remote spec URL that is unreachable or transiently failing throws
+ * {@link ConnectorUpstreamUnavailableError} — the materializer degrades the
+ * instance and retries. Every OTHER failure (missing spec, a wrong URL,
+ * an unparseable document, no host file access) throws a plain error, which
+ * stays fatal at boot / a skipped entry on reload.
  */
 async function loadOpenApiDocument(
   spec: unknown,
@@ -57,13 +78,48 @@ async function loadOpenApiDocument(
   if (typeof spec === 'string' && spec.length > 0) {
     if (/^https?:\/\//i.test(spec)) {
       const doFetch = fetchImpl ?? fetch;
-      const res = await doFetch(spec);
+      let res: Response;
+      try {
+        res = await doFetch(spec);
+      } catch (err) {
+        // The spec endpoint is unreachable — DNS / connection refused /
+        // timeout / network error. Operational, not a config mistake: degrade
+        // + retry rather than fail boot.
+        throw new ConnectorUpstreamUnavailableError(
+          `connector-openapi provider: connector '${connectorName}' could not reach spec URL '${spec}': ${(err as Error).message}`,
+          { cause: err },
+        );
+      }
       if (!res.ok) {
+        if (SPEC_FETCH_RETRYABLE_STATUS.has(res.status)) {
+          // A transient server-side status (timeout / rate-limit / 5xx) — the
+          // endpoint is momentarily unhealthy, so treat it as upstream-unavailable.
+          throw new ConnectorUpstreamUnavailableError(
+            `connector-openapi provider: connector '${connectorName}' got a transient HTTP ${res.status} fetching spec '${spec}'.`,
+          );
+        }
+        // A non-retryable status (400 / 401 / 403 / 404 / 410 …) — the request
+        // is wrong (bad URL, missing/insufficient auth for the spec endpoint):
+        // a configuration fault that stays fatal.
         throw new Error(
           `connector-openapi provider: connector '${connectorName}' failed to fetch spec '${spec}' (HTTP ${res.status}).`,
         );
       }
-      return (await res.json()) as OpenApiDocument;
+      // A 2xx with an unparseable / non-object body is a content fault (the
+      // endpoint served the wrong thing) — fatal, symmetric with the file-path
+      // parse below.
+      try {
+        const parsed: unknown = await res.json();
+        if (!parsed || typeof parsed !== 'object' || Array.isArray(parsed)) {
+          throw new Error('not a JSON object');
+        }
+        return parsed as OpenApiDocument;
+      } catch (err) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `connector-openapi provider: connector '${connectorName}' fetched spec '${spec}' but it is not a parseable ` +
+            `OpenAPI JSON document: ${(err as Error).message}`,
+        );
+      }
     }
     // File path — dereferenced through the host capability so resolution stays
     // anchored to (and confined within) the declaring stack/package root.
@@ -109,8 +165,10 @@ async function loadOpenApiDocument(
  * generates for a hand-wired OpenAPI connector — one action per operation over a
  * static-auth HTTP transport, with the resolved `auth` applied.
  *
- * Hard-fails on invalid config (missing/unfetchable spec, no base URL), so a
- * misconfigured instance fails boot loudly.
+ * Hard-fails on invalid config (missing spec, a wrong spec URL, an unparseable
+ * document, a bad base URL), so a misconfigured instance fails boot loudly. A
+ * remote spec URL that is merely unreachable / transiently failing instead
+ * degrades the instance and retries (#3049) — see {@link loadOpenApiDocument}.
  */
 export function createOpenApiProviderFactory(deps: OpenApiProviderDeps = {}): ConnectorProviderFactory {
   return async (ctx) => {