diff --git a/py/services/download_manager.py b/py/services/download_manager.py
index 29dcca9b..dc3d1a5a 100644
--- a/py/services/download_manager.py
+++ b/py/services/download_manager.py
@@ -70,8 +70,11 @@ CIVITAI_DOWNLOAD_URL_PREFIXES = (
 
 # Hosts a model download may hit (metadata + file transfer). The pre-flight
 # cooldown gate consults the RateLimitCoordinator for these before a download
-# occupies a concurrency slot.
-DOWNLOAD_PREFLIGHT_HOSTS = ("civitai.com", "civitai.red", "civarchive.com")
+# occupies a concurrency slot. civarchive.com is only gated for downloads
+# whose source is CivArchive: a cooldown armed by background metadata fetches
+# must not block plain CivitAI downloads.
+DOWNLOAD_PREFLIGHT_HOSTS = ("civitai.com", "civitai.red")
+DOWNLOAD_PREFLIGHT_HOSTS_CIVARCHIVE = DOWNLOAD_PREFLIGHT_HOSTS + ("civarchive.com",)
 
 # Fallback retry_after when neither the vendor nor the coordinator can supply
 # a number (matches the Retry-After parsing default in downloader.py).
@@ -258,19 +261,30 @@ class DownloadManager:
         hostname = urlparse(url).hostname
         return hostname.lower() if hostname else "unknown"
 
-    async def _preflight_rate_limit_error(self) -> Optional[DownloadRateLimitError]:
+    async def _preflight_rate_limit_error(
+        self, source: str | None = None
+    ) -> Optional[DownloadRateLimitError]:
         """Fail fast when a download target host is in a rate-limit cooldown.
 
         Consults the RateLimitCoordinator's per-host cooldown state for the
-        hosts a model download may hit. Runs BEFORE the concurrency semaphore
+        hosts this download may hit. Runs BEFORE the concurrency semaphore
         is acquired so queued items never occupy a slot during a 429 episode.
         Deliberately non-blocking: the caller is expected to pace itself (the
         companion extension auto-pauses on the structured 429 response).
+
+        civarchive.com is only consulted when ``source == "civarchive"`` —
+        other downloads never touch it, so a cooldown armed there (typically
+        by bulk metadata fetches) must not block them.
         """
+        hosts = (
+            DOWNLOAD_PREFLIGHT_HOSTS_CIVARCHIVE
+            if source == "civarchive"
+            else DOWNLOAD_PREFLIGHT_HOSTS
+        )
         coordinator = await RateLimitCoordinator.get_instance()
         worst_host: Optional[str] = None
         worst_remaining = 0.0
-        for host in DOWNLOAD_PREFLIGHT_HOSTS:
+        for host in hosts:
             remaining = coordinator.remaining_seconds(host)
             if remaining > worst_remaining:
                 worst_host = host
@@ -678,7 +692,7 @@ class DownloadManager:
 
         # Pre-flight cooldown gate: fail fast (without holding a semaphore
         # slot) when a target host is still cooling down from an earlier 429.
-        preflight_error = await self._preflight_rate_limit_error()
+        preflight_error = await self._preflight_rate_limit_error(source)
         if preflight_error is not None:
             logger.info(
                 "Download %s skipped: %s", task_id, preflight_error
diff --git a/tests/services/test_download_manager_error.py b/tests/services/test_download_manager_error.py
index 227f9dc8..6ace864b 100644
--- a/tests/services/test_download_manager_error.py
+++ b/tests/services/test_download_manager_error.py
@@ -1969,7 +1969,7 @@ def _prepare_tracked_download(manager, download_id, status="downloading"):
     manager._pause_events[download_id] = DownloadStreamControl()
 
 
-async def _run_download(manager, download_id, tmp_path):
+async def _run_download(manager, download_id, tmp_path, source=None):
     return await manager._download_with_semaphore(
         download_id,
         1,
@@ -1978,7 +1978,7 @@ async def _run_download(manager, download_id, tmp_path):
         "",
         None,
         False,
-        None,
+        source,
         None,
         False,
     )
@@ -2063,6 +2063,59 @@ async def test_preflight_gate_blocks_when_host_in_cooldown(
     manager._download_semaphore.release()
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_preflight_gate_ignores_civarchive_cooldown_for_civitai_downloads(
+    monkeypatch, tmp_path, queue_service, reset_rate_limit_coordinator
+):
+    """A civarchive.com cooldown (armed e.g. by bulk metadata fetches) must
+    not block a plain CivitAI download that never touches that host."""
+    manager = DownloadManager()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(manager, "_cleanup_download_record", AsyncMock())
+
+    coordinator = await RateLimitCoordinator.get_instance()
+    coordinator.register_rate_limit("civarchive.com", 1800)
+
+    download_id = "dl-civarchive-cooldown"
+    await queue_service.add_to_queue(download_id=download_id, model_id=1)
+    _prepare_tracked_download(manager, download_id, status="waiting")
+
+    execute = AsyncMock(return_value={"success": True})
+    monkeypatch.setattr(manager, "_execute_original_download", execute)
+
+    result = await _run_download(manager, download_id, tmp_path)
+
+    assert execute.await_count == 1
+    assert result["success"] is True
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_preflight_gate_blocks_civarchive_source_during_civarchive_cooldown(
+    monkeypatch, tmp_path, queue_service, reset_rate_limit_coordinator
+):
+    """Downloads explicitly sourced from CivArchive still gate on its cooldown."""
+    manager = DownloadManager()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(manager, "_cleanup_download_record", AsyncMock())
+
+    coordinator = await RateLimitCoordinator.get_instance()
+    coordinator.register_rate_limit("civarchive.com", 1800)
+
+    download_id = "dl-civarchive-source"
+    await queue_service.add_to_queue(download_id=download_id, model_id=1)
+    _prepare_tracked_download(manager, download_id, status="waiting")
+
+    execute = AsyncMock(
+        side_effect=AssertionError("download must not start during cooldown")
+    )
+    monkeypatch.setattr(manager, "_execute_original_download", execute)
+
+    result = await _run_download(manager, download_id, tmp_path, source="civarchive")
+
+    assert execute.await_count == 0
+    assert result["success"] is False
+    assert result["reason"] == "rate_limited"
+    assert "civarchive.com" in result["error"]
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_rate_limit_retry_after_falls_back_to_coordinator_backoff(
     monkeypatch, tmp_path, queue_service, reset_rate_limit_coordinator