diff --git a/scripts/consistency_check.py b/scripts/consistency_check.py
index 2977d69..d60f9c7 100644
--- a/scripts/consistency_check.py
+++ b/scripts/consistency_check.py
@@ -483,9 +483,15 @@ def _inject_task_id_frontmatter_list(
 # API helpers
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-def _api_get(api_base: str, path: str, params: dict | None = None) -> Any:
+def _api_get(
+    api_base: str,
+    path: str,
+    params: dict | None = None,
+    *,
+    return_error: bool = False,
+) -> Any:
     if not _HAS_HTTPX:
-        return None
+        return {"_error": "httpx is not installed"} if return_error else None
     # Only append trailing slash to the path component, not to query strings
     if "?" not in path and not path.endswith("/"):
         path += "/"
@@ -495,7 +501,15 @@ def _api_get(api_base: str, path: str, params: dict | None = None) -> Any:
             r = c.get(path, params=filtered if filtered else None)
             r.raise_for_status()
             return r.json()
-    except Exception:
+    except _httpx.HTTPStatusError as exc:
+        if exc.response.status_code == 404:
+            return None
+        if return_error:
+            return {"_error": str(exc)}
+        return None
+    except Exception as exc:
+        if return_error:
+            return {"_error": str(exc)}
         return None
 
 
@@ -629,7 +643,17 @@ def _infer_slug_from_path(api_base: str, path: str) -> "tuple[str, str] | None":
 
 def check_repo(api_base: str, repo_slug: str, repo_path_override: str | None = None) -> ConsistencyReport:
     """Run all consistency checks for a registered repo."""
-    repo = _api_get(api_base, f"/repos/{repo_slug}")
+    repo = _api_get(api_base, f"/repos/{repo_slug}", return_error=True)
+    if isinstance(repo, dict) and "_error" in repo:
+        report = ConsistencyReport(repo_slug=repo_slug, repo_path=repo_path_override or "(unknown)")
+        report.add(
+            severity="FAIL", check_id="C-00",
+            message=(
+                f"Could not query State Hub API at {api_base}: {repo['_error']}"
+            ),
+            fixable=False,
+        )
+        return report
     if repo is None:
         report = ConsistencyReport(repo_slug=repo_slug, repo_path="(unknown)")
         report.add(
@@ -1528,6 +1552,8 @@ def fix_repo(
 ) -> ConsistencyReport:
     """Run checks then apply all auto-fixable issues. Returns updated report."""
     report = check_repo(api_base, repo_slug, repo_path_override)
+    if any(i.check_id == "C-00" for i in report.failures):
+        return report
 
     # Auto-register this machine's path in host_paths so future runs work
     # without --repo-path.  Idempotent: skipped when already correct.
diff --git a/tests/test_consistency_check.py b/tests/test_consistency_check.py
index 41f458f..c452698 100644
--- a/tests/test_consistency_check.py
+++ b/tests/test_consistency_check.py
@@ -379,6 +379,43 @@ class TestRenderText:
         assert "C-08" not in text
 
 
+class TestRepoLookupFailures:
+    def test_check_repo_reports_api_error_distinct_from_missing_repo(self, monkeypatch):
+        def fake_get(_api_base, _path, params=None, *, return_error=False):
+            assert params is None
+            return {"_error": "Connection refused"} if return_error else None
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr("consistency_check._api_get", fake_get)
+
+        report = check_repo("http://127.0.0.1:8000", "state-hub")
+
+        assert report.repo_path == "(unknown)"
+        assert len(report.failures) == 1
+        assert report.failures[0].check_id == "C-00"
+        assert "Could not query State Hub API" in report.failures[0].message
+        assert "not found in state-hub DB" not in report.failures[0].message
+
+    def test_fix_repo_does_not_push_when_repo_lookup_failed(self, monkeypatch):
+        pushed_paths = []
+
+        def fake_get(_api_base, _path, params=None, *, return_error=False):
+            assert params is None
+            return {"_error": "Connection refused"} if return_error else None
+
+        def fake_push(repo_path):
+            pushed_paths.append(repo_path)
+            return True, "pushed"
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr("consistency_check._api_get", fake_get)
+        monkeypatch.setattr("consistency_check._git_push", fake_push)
+
+        report = fix_repo("http://127.0.0.1:8000", "state-hub")
+
+        assert report.failures[0].check_id == "C-00"
+        assert pushed_paths == []
+        assert report.fixes_applied == []
+
+
 class TestRenormalizationGuide:
     def test_registry_contains_c23_rule(self):
         rule = next(rule for rule in RENORMALIZATION_RULES if rule.check_id == "C-23")
@@ -809,7 +846,7 @@ class TestLifecycleRenormalization:
             "description": None,
         }
 
-        def fake_get(_api_base, path, params=None):
+        def fake_get(_api_base, path, params=None, **_kwargs):
             if path == "/repos/state-hub":
                 import socket