diff --git a/scripts/node_setup.sh b/scripts/node_setup.sh
index fa1214d..65a0035 100755
--- a/scripts/node_setup.sh
+++ b/scripts/node_setup.sh
@@ -8,8 +8,14 @@ cd /dev/shm && git clone https://git.draic.info/nils/jspace.git 2>/dev/null || (
 cd /dev/shm/jspace
 rclone copy jspace:jspace/results-loop /dev/shm/jspace/results-loop/ --include "*.json" --include "adapter_code_e399.pt"
 export HF_HUB_ENABLE_HF_TRANSFER=1
-hf download google/gemma-4-12B-it
-hf download google/gemma-4-E2B-it
+# downloads can hang mid-transfer on some vast.ai networks (xet stall):
+# retry loop, resume is free
+for m in google/gemma-4-12B-it google/gemma-4-E2B-it; do
+  for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do
+    timeout 900 hf download "$m" && break
+    echo "RETRY $i: $m"; sleep 5
+  done
+done
 # probe gate: one verified generation before anything batch
 export HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1 JLENS_MODEL=google/gemma-4-12B-it
 python - <<'PY'