diff --git a/.github/scripts/deploy-mieweb-container.sh b/.github/scripts/deploy-mieweb-container.sh
index 95534af8..a9ec38c0 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/deploy-mieweb-container.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/deploy-mieweb-container.sh
@@ -33,59 +33,8 @@ api_root="${api_root%/api/v1}"
 api_root="${api_root%/v1}"
 api_root="${api_root%/api}"
 api_base="${api_root}/api/v1"
-
-request() {
-  local method="$1"
-  local path="$2"
-  local body_file="${3:-}"
-  local response_file status curl_exit
-  response_file="$(mktemp)"
-
-  set +e
-  if [ -n "$body_file" ]; then
-    status=$(curl -sS -o "$response_file" -w "%{http_code}" \
-      -X "$method" "${api_base}${path}" \
-      -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MIEWEB_API_KEY}" \
-      -H "Accept: application/json" \
-      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-      --data-binary "@$body_file")
-    curl_exit=$?
-  else
-    status=$(curl -sS -o "$response_file" -w "%{http_code}" \
-      -X "$method" "${api_base}${path}" \
-      -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MIEWEB_API_KEY}" \
-      -H "Accept: application/json")
-    curl_exit=$?
-  fi
-  set -e
-
-  if [ "$curl_exit" -ne 0 ]; then
-    echo "::error::${method} ${path} failed before HTTP response (curl exit ${curl_exit})" >&2
-    cat "$response_file" >&2 || true
-    return 1
-  fi
-
-  if [ "$status" -lt 200 ] || [ "$status" -ge 300 ]; then
-    echo "::error::${method} ${path} failed with HTTP ${status}" >&2
-    cat "$response_file" >&2
-    return 1
-  fi
-
-  if [ "$status" = "204" ] || { [ "$method" = "DELETE" ] && [ ! -s "$response_file" ]; }; then
-    return 0
-  fi
-
-  if ! jq -e . "$response_file" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-    echo "::error::${method} ${path} returned a non-JSON response from ${api_base}${path}." >&2
-    echo "::error::Check LAUNCHPAD_API_URL. The web UI serves HTML at the origin and Swagger at /api; the JSON REST API is at /api/v1." >&2
-    echo "Response preview:" >&2
-    head -c 500 "$response_file" >&2 || true
-    echo >&2
-    return 1
-  fi
-
-  cat "$response_file"
-}
+# shellcheck source=mieweb-api-request.sh
+source "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/mieweb-api-request.sh"
 
 echo "$CONTAINER_ENV_VARS_JSON" | jq -e '
   type == "array" and all(.[]; type == "object" and has("key") and has("value"))
diff --git a/.github/scripts/mieweb-api-request.sh b/.github/scripts/mieweb-api-request.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0bd4ea91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/mieweb-api-request.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Shared request boundary for deploy-mieweb-container.sh. Callers provide
+# api_base and MIEWEB_API_KEY. GET requests are safe to retry; state-changing
+# requests are attempted once because a lost response is operationally
+# ambiguous (the manager may already have applied the change).
+
+is_transient_curl_exit() {
+  case "$1" in
+    5|6|7|18|28|52|55|56) return 0 ;;
+    *) return 1 ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+require_positive_request_integer() {
+  local name="$1" value="$2"
+  if ! [[ "$value" =~ ^[1-9][0-9]*$ ]]; then
+    echo "::error::${name} must be a positive integer (got '${value}')." >&2
+    return 1
+  fi
+}
+
+request() {
+  local method="$1"
+  local path="$2"
+  local body_file="${3:-}"
+  local configured_attempts="${MIEWEB_REQUEST_ATTEMPTS:-6}"
+  local retry_delay="${MIEWEB_REQUEST_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS:-20}"
+  local connect_timeout="${MIEWEB_REQUEST_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS:-10}"
+  local max_time="${MIEWEB_REQUEST_MAX_TIME_SECONDS:-30}"
+  local attempts=1 response_file status curl_exit attempt
+
+  require_positive_request_integer MIEWEB_REQUEST_ATTEMPTS "$configured_attempts" || return 1
+  require_positive_request_integer MIEWEB_REQUEST_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS "$connect_timeout" || return 1
+  require_positive_request_integer MIEWEB_REQUEST_MAX_TIME_SECONDS "$max_time" || return 1
+  if ! [[ "$retry_delay" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+    echo "::error::MIEWEB_REQUEST_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS must be a non-negative integer (got '${retry_delay}')." >&2
+    return 1
+  fi
+  if [ "$method" = "GET" ]; then
+    attempts="$configured_attempts"
+  fi
+
+  response_file="$(mktemp)"
+  for attempt in $(seq 1 "$attempts"); do
+    : > "$response_file"
+    set +e
+    if [ -n "$body_file" ]; then
+      status=$(curl -sS --connect-timeout "$connect_timeout" --max-time "$max_time" \
+        -o "$response_file" -w "%{http_code}" \
+        -X "$method" "${api_base}${path}" \
+        -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MIEWEB_API_KEY}" \
+        -H "Accept: application/json" \
+        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+        --data-binary "@$body_file")
+      curl_exit=$?
+    else
+      status=$(curl -sS --connect-timeout "$connect_timeout" --max-time "$max_time" \
+        -o "$response_file" -w "%{http_code}" \
+        -X "$method" "${api_base}${path}" \
+        -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MIEWEB_API_KEY}" \
+        -H "Accept: application/json")
+      curl_exit=$?
+    fi
+    set -e
+
+    if [ "$curl_exit" -ne 0 ]; then
+      if [ "$method" = "GET" ] && is_transient_curl_exit "$curl_exit" && [ "$attempt" -lt "$attempts" ]; then
+        echo "::warning::${method} ${path} transient failure (curl exit ${curl_exit}), attempt ${attempt}/${attempts}; retrying in ${retry_delay}s." >&2
+        [ "$retry_delay" -gt 0 ] && sleep "$retry_delay"
+        continue
+      fi
+      echo "::error::${method} ${path} failed before HTTP response (curl exit ${curl_exit}) after ${attempt} attempt(s)." >&2
+      cat "$response_file" >&2 || true
+      rm -f "$response_file"
+      return 1
+    fi
+
+    if [ "$status" -lt 200 ] || [ "$status" -ge 300 ]; then
+      echo "::error::${method} ${path} failed with HTTP ${status} after ${attempt} attempt(s)." >&2
+      cat "$response_file" >&2
+      rm -f "$response_file"
+      return 1
+    fi
+
+    if [ "$status" = "204" ] || { [ "$method" = "DELETE" ] && [ ! -s "$response_file" ]; }; then
+      rm -f "$response_file"
+      return 0
+    fi
+
+    if ! jq -e . "$response_file" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+      echo "::error::${method} ${path} returned a non-JSON response from ${api_base}${path}." >&2
+      echo "::error::Check LAUNCHPAD_API_URL. The web UI serves HTML at the origin and Swagger at /api; the JSON REST API is at /api/v1." >&2
+      echo "Response preview:" >&2
+      head -c 500 "$response_file" >&2 || true
+      echo >&2
+      rm -f "$response_file"
+      return 1
+    fi
+
+    cat "$response_file"
+    rm -f "$response_file"
+    return 0
+  done
+
+  rm -f "$response_file"
+  return 1
+}
diff --git a/.github/scripts/mieweb-api-request.test.sh b/.github/scripts/mieweb-api-request.test.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..78ca12b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/mieweb-api-request.test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+repo_root="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../.." && pwd)"
+# shellcheck source=mieweb-api-request.sh
+source "${repo_root}/.github/scripts/mieweb-api-request.sh"
+
+fail() {
+  echo "FAIL: $*" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+tmp_dir="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$tmp_dir"' EXIT
+counter_file="${tmp_dir}/counter"
+args_file="${tmp_dir}/args"
+mode=""
+
+# Test double for curl. request() still owns all retry, timeout, response-file,
+# HTTP-status, and method-safety behavior under test.
+curl() {
+  local response_file="" arg count
+  printf '%s\n' "$*" >> "$args_file"
+  while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]; do
+    arg="$1"
+    shift
+    if [ "$arg" = "-o" ]; then
+      response_file="$1"
+      shift
+    fi
+  done
+  [ -n "$response_file" ] || fail "curl was not given a response file"
+
+  count="$(cat "$counter_file" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)"
+  count=$((count + 1))
+  echo "$count" > "$counter_file"
+
+  case "$mode" in
+    transient-then-success)
+      if [ "$count" -lt 3 ]; then
+        echo "simulated connect timeout" >&2
+        return 28
+      fi
+      printf '{"data":[]}' > "$response_file"
+      printf '200'
+      ;;
+    unauthorized)
+      printf '{"error":"unauthorized"}' > "$response_file"
+      printf '401'
+      ;;
+    always-transient)
+      echo "simulated connect timeout" >&2
+      return 28
+      ;;
+    *)
+      fail "unknown curl mode: $mode"
+      ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+# JSON validation is not the behavior under test; production and CI provide jq.
+jq() { return 0; }
+
+api_base="https://manager.example/api/v1"
+MIEWEB_API_KEY="test-key"
+MIEWEB_REQUEST_ATTEMPTS=3
+MIEWEB_REQUEST_RETRY_DELAY_SECONDS=0
+MIEWEB_REQUEST_CONNECT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=10
+MIEWEB_REQUEST_MAX_TIME_SECONDS=30
+
+mode="transient-then-success"
+echo 0 > "$counter_file"
+: > "$args_file"
+result="$(request GET /sites 2>"${tmp_dir}/retry.err")"
+[ "$result" = '{"data":[]}' ] || fail "GET did not return the successful JSON response"
+[ "$(cat "$counter_file")" = "3" ] || fail "transient GET was not attempted three times"
+grep -q -- '--connect-timeout 10' "$args_file" || fail "curl connect timeout is missing"
+grep -q -- '--max-time 30' "$args_file" || fail "curl overall timeout is missing"
+grep -q 'transient failure.*attempt 1/3' "${tmp_dir}/retry.err" || fail "retry warning is missing"
+
+mode="unauthorized"
+echo 0 > "$counter_file"
+if request GET /sites >"${tmp_dir}/unauthorized.out" 2>"${tmp_dir}/unauthorized.err"; then
+  fail "HTTP 401 unexpectedly succeeded"
+fi
+[ "$(cat "$counter_file")" = "1" ] || fail "permanent HTTP 401 was retried"
+
+mode="always-transient"
+echo 0 > "$counter_file"
+if request POST /sites >"${tmp_dir}/post.out" 2>"${tmp_dir}/post.err"; then
+  fail "transient POST unexpectedly succeeded"
+fi
+[ "$(cat "$counter_file")" = "1" ] || fail "non-idempotent POST was retried"
+
+echo "PASS: MIE manager request retries are bounded and method-safe"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index ab313c79..ff5d0c02 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -12,6 +12,14 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 jobs:
+  deploy-helper:
+    name: Deploy helper — Shell test
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Test bounded MIE manager requests
+        run: bash .github/scripts/mieweb-api-request.test.sh
+
   frontend:
     name: Frontend — Lint, Test, Build
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/docs/DEPLOY.md b/docs/DEPLOY.md
index f7f29db4..b220985a 100644
--- a/docs/DEPLOY.md
+++ b/docs/DEPLOY.md
@@ -54,6 +54,14 @@ responses are wrapped in a `{"data": ...}` envelope, the create body uses `templ
 > ~436 MB production runtime to keep the pull fast. If a genuinely slow MIE pull still times out, bump
 > `DEPLOY_JOB_POLL_ATTEMPTS` (up to 360) on a `workflow_dispatch` run.
 
+> **Manager-request resilience.** Every Container Manager call has a 10-second connection timeout
+> and a 30-second overall timeout. Safe `GET` calls retry transient curl transport failures up to
+> six times with 20-second spacing; `POST` and `DELETE` are attempted
+> once because a lost response is ambiguous (the manager may already have applied the state change).
+> CI runs `.github/scripts/mieweb-api-request.test.sh` to pin the timeout, retry, and method-safety
+> behavior. A manager outage longer than this bounded window still fails the deploy honestly; wait
+> for `manager.os.mieweb.org:443` to recover, then rerun the failed workflow jobs.
+
 ### Required GitHub Secrets for MIE deploy
 
 | Secret | Purpose |
@@ -686,6 +694,9 @@ If any approaches limit, fix that day. Don't wait.
 **Backend deploy job fails at the MIE manager API**
 - Confirm the API base resolves to `<manager-origin>/api/v1` (the origin serves the SPA; `/api` serves Swagger)
 - Responses are `{"data": ...}` enveloped; the create body uses `template` + `services[]`; job polling reads `.data.status` (`"success"`)
+- For `curl exit 7/28`, verify TCP 443 reachability to the manager. The deploy
+  retries safe reads within a bounded window; if the control plane remains unavailable, do not loop
+  state-changing requests manually. Once it recovers, use `gh run rerun <run-id> --failed`.
 
 **Deploy fails with `Container is 'offline', expected running`**
 - This is a **startup race**, not a crash: the create job reports `success` once the container is
diff --git a/docs/JOURNAL.md b/docs/JOURNAL.md
index 4b9cf575..a34b7c44 100644
--- a/docs/JOURNAL.md
+++ b/docs/JOURNAL.md
@@ -1,5 +1,17 @@
 # Journal
 
+## 2026-07-16 — MIE manager outage: bounded, method-safe deploy retries
+
+The WebChart stack's final deploy exposed a pre-existing failure mode in
+`deploy-mieweb-container.sh`: when `manager.os.mieweb.org:443` was unreachable, the first
+`GET /sites` inherited curl's long platform timeout and then failed permanently, even though safe
+reads can be retried. The request boundary now applies 10-second connect/30-second overall limits
+and retries transient **GET** transport failures six times with bounded backoff.
+State-changing POST/DELETE calls remain single-attempt because retrying a lost response could
+duplicate or mis-handle an already-applied operation. A no-network shell regression test runs in
+CI. This changes deployment tooling only: no runtime, dependency, schema, PHI, or Outcome Status
+behavior.
+
 ## 2026-07-16 — WebChart live-integration six-PR prerequisite stack merged
 
 Merged the six-PR follow-through stack bottom-up: Doug's confirmed contract and trial findings