diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/forge/mod.rs b/hive-c0re/src/forge/mod.rs
index f9be3d02..7fdfc35f 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/forge/mod.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/forge/mod.rs
@@ -169,9 +169,15 @@ pub(crate) fn api(token: &str) -> Result<Forgejo> {
 ///
 /// Called by both `ensure_all()` (startup sweep) and `rebuild_agent`
 /// (per-rebuild) so the two paths stay equivalent.
-pub async fn sync_agent(name: &str, core_token: Option<&str>) {
+/// Returns `true` if all steps succeeded, `false` if any step failed. The
+/// caller can use the return value to aggregate per-agent failures into a
+/// dashboard warning (see [`ensure_all`]); the rebuild path ignores it and
+/// relies on the journal `warn!` lines alone (a rebuild is its own retry).
+pub async fn sync_agent(name: &str, core_token: Option<&str>) -> bool {
+    let mut ok = true;
     if let Err(e) = ensure_user_for(name).await {
         tracing::warn!(%name, error = ?e, "forge: ensure_user failed");
+        ok = false;
     }
     // Align email to match the git user.email set by meta::render_flake
     // so commits link to the agent's Forgejo profile. Best-effort;
@@ -188,9 +194,11 @@ pub async fn sync_agent(name: &str, core_token: Option<&str>) {
     // was down.
     if let Err(e) = ensure_config_repo(name).await {
         tracing::warn!(%name, error = ?e, "forge: ensure_config_repo failed");
+        ok = false;
     }
     if let Err(e) = push_config(name).await {
         tracing::warn!(%name, error = ?e, "forge: push_config failed");
+        ok = false;
     }
     // Grant read-only access to core/meta and wire the `meta` remote
     // into the proposed repo so agents can fetch their deployment context.
@@ -198,9 +206,11 @@ pub async fn sync_agent(name: &str, core_token: Option<&str>) {
         && let Err(e) = meta_read_access(name, token).await
     {
         tracing::warn!(%name, error = ?e, "forge: ensure_meta_read_access failed");
+        ok = false;
     }
     if let Err(e) = ensure_meta_remote(name).await {
         tracing::warn!(%name, error = ?e, "forge: ensure_meta_remote failed");
+        ok = false;
     }
     // Grant read-only access to internal/docs so the agent can clone
     // the operator-curated shared skills/runbook repo. Best-effort.
@@ -208,8 +218,10 @@ pub async fn sync_agent(name: &str, core_token: Option<&str>) {
         && let Err(e) = shared_docs_access(name, token).await
     {
         tracing::warn!(%name, error = ?e, "forge: shared_docs_access failed");
+        ok = false;
     }
     // internal/knowledge is public — no per-agent collaborator grant needed.
+    ok
 }
 
 /// The `core_token.is_some()` half of [`ensure_all`]: orgs, teams, the meta
@@ -346,11 +358,27 @@ pub async fn ensure_all() {
         );
         return;
     };
+    let mut sync_failed: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
     for c in containers {
         let Some(name) = c.strip_prefix(crate::lifecycle::AGENT_PREFIX) else {
             continue;
         };
-        sync_agent(name, core_token.as_deref()).await;
+        if !sync_agent(name, core_token.as_deref()).await {
+            sync_failed.push(name.to_owned());
+        }
+    }
+    if !sync_failed.is_empty() {
+        // Use static_kind to mint a `&'static str` key from the failed-agent
+        // list (bounded leak: one per hive-c0re boot, not per request).
+        let key = static_kind(format!("forge_sync_agent_{}", sync_failed.join("_")));
+        crate::warnings::set_boot_warning(
+            key,
+            "warn",
+            format!(
+                "forge: per-agent sync failed for: {} (see journal for per-step detail)",
+                sync_failed.join(", ")
+            ),
+        );
     }
 }