diff --git a/crates/workdir/src/http.rs b/crates/workdir/src/http.rs
index 8a035395c..f99f804c5 100644
--- a/crates/workdir/src/http.rs
+++ b/crates/workdir/src/http.rs
@@ -898,34 +898,43 @@ mod client {
                     "command byte limit is outside transport bounds".into(),
                 ));
             }
-            let wait = request.wait;
-            match self
-                .operate(WorkdirSessionOperation::CommandOutput(request.clone()))
-                .await?
-            {
-                WorkdirSessionOperationResult::CommandOutput(result) => {
-                    let size = result
-                        .chunks
-                        .iter()
-                        .try_fold(0usize, |size, chunk| size.checked_add(chunk.bytes.len()));
-                    if !result.transport_bounds_valid()
-                        || size.is_none_or(|size| {
-                            size > request.limit
-                                || request.cursor.checked_add(size as u64)
-                                    != Some(result.next_cursor)
-                        })
-                    {
-                        return Err(Self::mismatch("bounded command byte page"));
+            loop {
+                let started = tokio::time::Instant::now();
+                match self
+                    .operate(WorkdirSessionOperation::CommandOutput(request.clone()))
+                    .await?
+                {
+                    WorkdirSessionOperationResult::CommandOutput(result) => {
+                        let size = result
+                            .chunks
+                            .iter()
+                            .try_fold(0usize, |size, chunk| size.checked_add(chunk.bytes.len()));
+                        if !result.transport_bounds_valid()
+                            || size.is_none_or(|size| {
+                                size > request.limit
+                                    || request.cursor.checked_add(size as u64)
+                                        != Some(result.next_cursor)
+                            })
+                        {
+                            return Err(Self::mismatch("bounded command byte page"));
+                        }
+                        if request.wait && result.chunks.is_empty() && result.terminal.is_none() {
+                            // A normal long-poll expiry is not a transport failure.
+                            // Continue at the same cursor, without spending the caller's
+                            // error retry budget or acknowledging any bytes. Pace peers
+                            // that return empty pages immediately; a real long poll has
+                            // already consumed this delay. The caller owns cancellation
+                            // and the overall deadline.
+                            tokio::time::sleep_until(
+                                started + std::time::Duration::from_millis(100),
+                            )
+                            .await;
+                            continue;
+                        }
+                        return Ok(result);
                     }
-                    if wait && result.chunks.is_empty() && result.terminal.is_none() {
-                        // A waiting request must block at the provider. Never spin HTTP
-                        // requests against an immediate empty response. A caller may retry
-                        // this exact cursor with its own bounded transport retry policy.
-                        return Err(Self::mismatch("waiting command byte page"));
-                    }
-                    return Ok(result);
+                    _ => return Err(Self::mismatch("command_output")),
                 }
-                _ => return Err(Self::mismatch("command_output")),
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/crates/worker-runtime/src/http_server/tests/command_transport_tests.rs b/crates/worker-runtime/src/http_server/tests/command_transport_tests.rs
index de1150159..902694621 100644
--- a/crates/worker-runtime/src/http_server/tests/command_transport_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/worker-runtime/src/http_server/tests/command_transport_tests.rs
@@ -156,6 +156,72 @@ impl Harness {
     }
 }
 
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn real_http_waiting_command_survives_long_poll_expiry() {
+    tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_secs(45), async {
+        let harness = Harness::new().await;
+        let handle = harness
+            .remote
+            .start_command(CommandRequest {
+                transport_byte_budget: 1024,
+                command: "printf ready; while [ ! -e release ]; do sleep 0.05; done; printf after; printf err >&2; exit 7".into(),
+                timeout_secs: 40,
+                cwd: WorkdirPath::root(),
+                tool_call_id: None,
+            })
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let mut request = CommandOutputRequest {
+            handle,
+            cursor: 0,
+            limit: 1024,
+            wait: true,
+        };
+        let ready = harness.remote.command_output(request.clone()).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(ready.chunks.iter().flat_map(|c| c.bytes.iter().copied()).collect::<Vec<_>>(), b"ready");
+        assert!(ready.terminal.is_none());
+        request.cursor = ready.next_cursor;
+
+        // Keep the command silent until the production HTTP handler has expired
+        // its 20-second long poll. The client must keep waiting, not fail or
+        // expose an empty page as completed output.
+        let waiting = harness.remote.command_output(request.clone());
+        tokio::pin!(waiting);
+        tokio::select! {
+            result = &mut waiting => panic!("waiting read ended before release: {result:?}"),
+            _ = tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(21)) => {}
+        }
+        std::fs::write(harness._root.path().join("release"), b"").unwrap();
+        let mut page = waiting.await.unwrap();
+        let mut stdout = Vec::new();
+        let mut stderr = Vec::new();
+        let terminal = loop {
+            // The retry cursor still replays the exact nonempty/terminal page.
+            assert_eq!(harness.remote.command_output(request.clone()).await.unwrap(), page);
+            for chunk in &page.chunks {
+                assert_eq!(chunk.sequence, request.cursor);
+                request.cursor += chunk.bytes.len() as u64;
+                match chunk.stream {
+                    CommandStream::Stdout => stdout.extend_from_slice(&chunk.bytes),
+                    CommandStream::Stderr => stderr.extend_from_slice(&chunk.bytes),
+                }
+            }
+            assert_eq!(page.next_cursor, request.cursor);
+            if let Some(terminal) = page.terminal {
+                break terminal;
+            }
+            page = harness.remote.command_output(request.clone()).await.unwrap();
+        };
+        assert_eq!(stdout, b"after");
+        assert_eq!(stderr, b"err");
+        assert_eq!(terminal.status, workdir::CommandStatus::Failed);
+        assert_eq!(terminal.exit_code, Some(7));
+        harness.remote.close().await.unwrap();
+    })
+    .await
+    .expect("bounded long-poll continuation over HTTP");
+}
+
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn real_http_closed_session_retains_failure_reason() {
     let harness = Harness::new().await;
diff --git a/crates/worker/src/checkout_http_tests.rs b/crates/worker/src/checkout_http_tests.rs
index d6489ae6c..827a5b623 100644
--- a/crates/worker/src/checkout_http_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/worker/src/checkout_http_tests.rs
@@ -886,21 +886,32 @@ async fn remote_native_bash_retains_streams_quota_and_replays_lost_terminal_thro
 }
 
 #[tokio::test]
-async fn waiting_remote_command_rejects_empty_response_without_http_busy_loop() {
+async fn waiting_remote_command_paces_empty_responses_and_keeps_cursor_until_output() {
     watchdog(async {
         let f = HttpFixture::new(WorkdirSessionCapabilities::ALL).await;
         let remote = f.open(TOKEN).await.unwrap();
-        *f.state.command_fault.lock().unwrap() = Some(CommandResponseFault::EmptyWaiting);
-        let error = remote
-            .command_output(workdir::CommandOutputRequest {
-                handle: workdir::CommandHandle("unused".into()),
-                cursor: 0,
-                limit: 1024,
-                wait: true,
+        let handle = remote
+            .start_command(workdir::CommandRequest {
+                command: "printf done; exit 7".into(),
+                cwd: WorkdirPath::root(),
+                timeout_secs: 5,
+                transport_byte_budget: 1024,
+                tool_call_id: None,
             })
             .await
-            .unwrap_err();
-        assert!(matches!(error, WorkdirError::Unavailable(_)));
+            .unwrap();
+        *f.state.command_fault.lock().unwrap() = Some(CommandResponseFault::EmptyWaiting);
+        let mut request = workdir::CommandOutputRequest {
+            handle,
+            cursor: 0,
+            limit: 1024,
+            wait: false,
+        };
+        // Nonwaiting polls still return their empty page after one HTTP request.
+        let page = remote.command_output(request.clone()).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(page.chunks.is_empty());
+        assert!(page.terminal.is_none());
+        assert_eq!(page.next_cursor, 0);
         assert_eq!(
             f.state
                 .operations
@@ -911,6 +922,57 @@ async fn waiting_remote_command_rejects_empty_response_without_http_busy_loop()
                 .count(),
             1
         );
+        f.state.operations.lock().unwrap().clear();
+
+        request.wait = true;
+        // Repeated immediate empty responses remain pending, are paced rather
+        // than spun, and can still be stopped by the caller's deadline.
+        assert!(
+            tokio::time::timeout(
+                Duration::from_millis(350),
+                remote.command_output(request.clone()),
+            )
+            .await
+            .is_err()
+        );
+        let operations = f.state.operations.lock().unwrap().clone();
+        assert!(
+            (1..=4).contains(&operations.len()),
+            "empty polls were not paced: {}",
+            operations.len()
+        );
+        for operation in &operations {
+            let WorkdirSessionOperation::CommandOutput(output) = operation else {
+                panic!("unexpected operation: {operation:?}");
+            };
+            assert_eq!(output, &request);
+        }
+        tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(150)).await;
+        assert_eq!(
+            f.state.operations.lock().unwrap().len(),
+            operations.len(),
+            "dropped waiting read kept polling"
+        );
+
+        // After the empty replies stop, the exact same cursor still retrieves
+        // the bytes and terminal from the original command, without a restart.
+        *f.state.command_fault.lock().unwrap() = None;
+        let mut bytes = Vec::new();
+        loop {
+            let page = remote.command_output(request.clone()).await.unwrap();
+            assert_eq!(remote.command_output(request.clone()).await.unwrap(), page);
+            for chunk in page.chunks {
+                assert_eq!(chunk.sequence, request.cursor);
+                request.cursor += chunk.bytes.len() as u64;
+                bytes.extend(chunk.bytes);
+            }
+            assert_eq!(page.next_cursor, request.cursor);
+            if let Some(terminal) = page.terminal {
+                assert_eq!(terminal.exit_code, Some(7));
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+        assert_eq!(bytes, b"done");
         remote.close().await.unwrap();
     })
     .await;