diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-api-client/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup-api-client/action.yml
index fa22de5fd..3e43bc863 100644
--- a/.github/actions/setup-api-client/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/setup-api-client/action.yml
@@ -241,27 +241,57 @@ runs:
           # lru-cache is an explicit transitive dep of @octokit/auth-app required for
           # GitHub App token minting; pin it here so npm always hoists a specific version
           # even if a prior cached node_modules state is missing it.
-          # Capture stderr for debugging if the command fails
-          npm_output=$(mktemp)
-          npm_cmd=(npm install --no-save --location=project \
-            @octokit/rest@20.0.2 \
-            @octokit/plugin-retry@6.0.1 \
-            @octokit/plugin-paginate-rest@9.1.5 \
-            @octokit/auth-app@6.0.3 \
-            lru-cache@10.4.3)
-          if "${npm_cmd[@]}" 2>"$npm_output"; then
-            rm -f "$npm_output"
-          else
-            echo "::warning::npm install failed with: $(cat "$npm_output")"
-            echo "::warning::Retrying with --legacy-peer-deps"
+          #
+          # Retry with exponential backoff to survive transient npm registry errors
+          # (e.g. 403 Forbidden from CDN/rate-limit on safe-buffer, undici, etc.).
+          NPM_PACKAGES=(
+            @octokit/rest@20.0.2
+            @octokit/plugin-retry@6.0.1
+            @octokit/plugin-paginate-rest@9.1.5
+            @octokit/auth-app@6.0.3
+            lru-cache@10.4.3
+          )
+          NPM_MAX_RETRIES=3
+          NPM_BACKOFF=5  # seconds; doubles each retry (5, 10)
+          npm_installed=false
+
+          for (( attempt=1; attempt<=NPM_MAX_RETRIES; attempt++ )); do
+            npm_output=$(mktemp)
+
+            if npm install --no-save --location=project "${NPM_PACKAGES[@]}" 2>"$npm_output"; then
+              rm -f "$npm_output"
+              npm_installed=true
+              break
+            fi
+
+            npm_err=$(cat "$npm_output")
             rm -f "$npm_output"
-            npm_cmd=(npm install --no-save --legacy-peer-deps --location=project \
-              @octokit/rest@20.0.2 \
-              @octokit/plugin-retry@6.0.1 \
-              @octokit/plugin-paginate-rest@9.1.5 \
-              @octokit/auth-app@6.0.3 \
-              lru-cache@10.4.3)
-            "${npm_cmd[@]}"
+            echo "::warning::npm install attempt $attempt/$NPM_MAX_RETRIES failed: $npm_err"
+
+            # On first failure, also try --legacy-peer-deps in case it's a peer dep conflict
+            if [ "$attempt" -eq 1 ]; then
+              echo "::warning::Retrying with --legacy-peer-deps"
+              npm_output=$(mktemp)
+              if npm install --no-save --legacy-peer-deps --location=project "${NPM_PACKAGES[@]}" 2>"$npm_output"; then
+                rm -f "$npm_output"
+                npm_installed=true
+                break
+              fi
+              npm_err_legacy=$(cat "$npm_output")
+              rm -f "$npm_output"
+              echo "::warning::npm install with --legacy-peer-deps failed: $npm_err_legacy"
+            fi
+
+            if [ "$attempt" -lt "$NPM_MAX_RETRIES" ]; then
+              echo "::notice::Waiting ${NPM_BACKOFF}s before retry..."
+              sleep "$NPM_BACKOFF"
+              NPM_BACKOFF=$((NPM_BACKOFF * 2))
+            fi
+          done
+
+          if [ "$npm_installed" != "true" ]; then
+            echo "::error::npm install failed after $NPM_MAX_RETRIES attempts"
+            exit 1
           fi
 
           # Restore vendored package metadata that npm may have overwritten
diff --git a/.github/scripts/verifier_ci_query.js b/.github/scripts/verifier_ci_query.js
index e73c49e7e..f308fc6b0 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/verifier_ci_query.js
+++ b/.github/scripts/verifier_ci_query.js
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ async function fetchWorkflowRun({
     const category = getErrorCategory(error);
     // 404 errors are expected for workflows that don't exist in consumer repos
     // Use info level instead of warning to reduce noise
-    const isNotFound = category === ERROR_CATEGORIES.RESOURCE || error.status === 404;
+    const isNotFound = category === ERROR_CATEGORIES.resource || error.status === 404;
     const logFn = isNotFound ? core?.info?.bind(core) : core?.warning?.bind(core);
     logFn?.(
       `Failed to fetch workflow runs for ${workflowId}: ${error.message}; category=${category}`
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ async function fetchWorkflowJobs({
     return { jobs, error: null };
   } catch (error) {
     const category = getErrorCategory(error);
-    const isNotFound = category === ERROR_CATEGORIES.RESOURCE || error.status === 404;
+    const isNotFound = category === ERROR_CATEGORIES.resource || error.status === 404;
     const logFn = isNotFound ? core?.info?.bind(core) : core?.warning?.bind(core);
     logFn?.(`Failed to fetch workflow jobs for ${runId}: ${error.message}; category=${category}`);
     return { jobs: [], error: { category, message: error.message } };
diff --git a/templates/consumer-repo/.github/scripts/verifier_ci_query.js b/templates/consumer-repo/.github/scripts/verifier_ci_query.js
index e73c49e7e..f308fc6b0 100644
--- a/templates/consumer-repo/.github/scripts/verifier_ci_query.js
+++ b/templates/consumer-repo/.github/scripts/verifier_ci_query.js
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ async function fetchWorkflowRun({
     const category = getErrorCategory(error);
     // 404 errors are expected for workflows that don't exist in consumer repos
     // Use info level instead of warning to reduce noise
-    const isNotFound = category === ERROR_CATEGORIES.RESOURCE || error.status === 404;
+    const isNotFound = category === ERROR_CATEGORIES.resource || error.status === 404;
     const logFn = isNotFound ? core?.info?.bind(core) : core?.warning?.bind(core);
     logFn?.(
       `Failed to fetch workflow runs for ${workflowId}: ${error.message}; category=${category}`
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ async function fetchWorkflowJobs({
     return { jobs, error: null };
   } catch (error) {
     const category = getErrorCategory(error);
-    const isNotFound = category === ERROR_CATEGORIES.RESOURCE || error.status === 404;
+    const isNotFound = category === ERROR_CATEGORIES.resource || error.status === 404;
     const logFn = isNotFound ? core?.info?.bind(core) : core?.warning?.bind(core);
     logFn?.(`Failed to fetch workflow jobs for ${runId}: ${error.message}; category=${category}`);
     return { jobs: [], error: { category, message: error.message } };