diff --git a/docs/gateway.md b/docs/gateway.md
index 544296da..b02b9752 100644
--- a/docs/gateway.md
+++ b/docs/gateway.md
@@ -477,10 +477,16 @@ palette (`#1e1e2e` bg, `#cdd6f4` text, `#cba6f7` heading). No
 dependencies on the frontend dist — these pages render even when
 hive-c0re itself is down.
 
-Scope is intentionally narrow: only routes already special-cased in
-the nginx config get custom error pages. Other gateway routes
-(forge / matrix / fluffychat) get nginx defaults — extending the
-custom-error pattern there is a separate follow-up.
+Scope is intentionally narrow: a route earns a custom page when the
+default status code would point at the wrong component. The per-agent
+routes qualify (a 502 there means the harness is restarting, not that
+the gateway is broken), and so does `auth.<swarm>` — a dead authelia
+upstream almost always means the user store was never bootstrapped, and
+a bare 502 blames the proxy, which is the one part that is working.
+
+Forge / matrix / fluffychat still get nginx defaults: their upstreams
+being down means what the status code says, so a themed page would add
+styling and no information.
 
 ## HTTP Basic auth
 
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/error-pages.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/error-pages.nix
index 3285632c..f1ad62e9 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/error-pages.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/error-pages.nix
@@ -56,6 +56,24 @@ in
     '';
   };
 
+  # Shown when the authelia vhost's upstream refuses the connection.
+  # Leads with the bootstrap because that is overwhelmingly the cause:
+  # authelia treats an empty user store as a FATAL startup error, so an
+  # enabled-but-unbootstrapped swarm crash-loops behind a vhost that is
+  # working perfectly, and the raw 502 points at the proxy instead.
+  ssoUnavailable = mkPage {
+    name = "sso-unavailable";
+    title = "sso unavailable";
+    accent = "#f9e2af";
+    body = ''
+      <p>The swarm's identity provider isn't answering. The gateway is fine — nothing is listening behind it.</p>
+      <p class="hint">Most likely: <strong>no users exist yet.</strong> Authelia refuses to start with an empty user store, so it never finishes booting. Add the first account on the host running it:</p>
+      <pre>swarmctl user add &lt;username&gt; \
+      --display-name &lt;Name&gt; --email &lt;addr&gt; --group admins</pre>
+      <p class="hint">Otherwise check the container: <code>journalctl -M swarm-authelia -u authelia-swarm</code>. This page recovers on reload once the provider is up.</p>
+    '';
+  };
+
   unauthorized = mkPage {
     name = "unauthorized";
     title = "unauthorized";
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/vhosts.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/vhosts.nix
index 20d9c97d..06eb4482 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/vhosts.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-gateway/vhosts.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
   hyperhiveDomain,
   dashboardDist,
   swaggerUiTheme, # nix/packages/swagger-ui-theme.nix: has index.html + hyperhive-theme.css
-  errorPages, # ./error-pages.nix: { notFound, unreachable, unauthorized }
+  errorPages, # ./error-pages.nix: { notFound, unreachable, unauthorized, ssoUnavailable }
   tlsCert,
   tlsKey,
   svcCert, # swarm-services leaf, for names the hive CA cannot sign
@@ -155,6 +155,17 @@ let
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Uri $request_uri;
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+          # A dead upstream here means "not bootstrapped" far more often
+          # than "misconfigured proxy", and a bare 502 says the opposite.
+          proxy_intercept_errors on;
+          error_page 502 503 504 = /__hive_sso_unavailable;
+        '';
+      };
+      locations."= /__hive_sso_unavailable" = {
+        extraConfig = ''
+          internal;
+          alias ${errorPages.ssoUnavailable};
+          default_type text/html;
         '';
       };
     };