diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3336dc67..32979e37 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@ The latest `## [X.Y.Z]` header must match the `version` field in `punkproject.to
 Entries are newest-first; one bullet per notable change. See the root `AGENTS.md`
 "Project Versioning" section for the bump policy.
 
+## [0.8.1] - 2026-07-11
+
+- 
untime.cmd powershell payload: cached sha1sums.txt fallback backported from the bash payload - list -remote against an unreachable server now warns and compares using the previously fetched copy instead of dying on an unhandled download error, and the etch path's pre-existing silent fall-through to a cached copy now announces itself. Also fixed a latent undefined-variable bug creating the runtime folder in the list -remote branch.
+
 ## [0.8.0] - 2026-07-11
 
 - `runtime.cmd list -remote` parity for the unix (bash/zsh) payload: local-vs-server comparison table (Same version / UPDATE AVAILABLE / not-listed, plus remote-only entries), falling back to a cached `sha1sums.txt` with a warning when the server is unreachable. Both payloads gain a `PUNKBIN_URL` env override of the artifact server base url (mirrors/testing).
diff --git a/bin/runtime.cmd b/bin/runtime.cmd
index 25232842..992543f2 100755
--- a/bin/runtime.cmd
+++ b/bin/runtime.cmd
@@ -2147,6 +2147,10 @@ function psmain {
                     if ($_.Exception.Response) {
                         Write-Host "HTTP Status code: $($_.Exception.Response.StatusCode)"
                     }
+                    if (Test-Path -Path $sha1local -PathType Leaf) {
+                        #this path always fell through to the cached copy - now say so
+                        Write-Host "WARNING: proceeding with cached copy at $sha1local"
+                    }
                 }
                 if (Test-Path -Path $sha1local -PathType Leaf) {
                     $sha1Content = Get-Content -Path $sha1local
@@ -2341,12 +2345,27 @@ function psmain {
                 $sha1url = "$archurl/sha1sums.txt"
                 if ( $PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey('remote') ) {
                     if (-not (test-path -Path $archfolder -Type Container)) {
-                        new-item -Path $container -ItemType Directory -force #create with intermediary folders if not already present
+                        new-item -Path $archfolder -ItemType Directory -force #create with intermediary folders if not already present
                     }
-                    write-host "Checking for available remote runtimes for"
+                    write-host "Checking for available remote runtimes for $arch"
                     Write-Host "Fetching $sha1url"
-                    Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $sha1url -OutFile $sha1local -ErrorAction Stop
-                    Write-Host "sha1 saved at $sha1local"
+                    #cached fallback (parity with the bash payload): an unreachable server
+                    #falls back to a previously fetched sha1sums.txt with a warning
+                    try {
+                        Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $sha1url -OutFile $sha1local -ErrorAction Stop
+                        Write-Host "sha1 saved at $sha1local"
+                    } catch {
+                        if (Test-Path -Path $sha1local -PathType Leaf) {
+                            Write-Host "WARNING: could not fetch ${sha1url}: $($_.Exception.Message)"
+                            Write-Host "WARNING: using cached copy at $sha1local"
+                        } else {
+                            Write-Host "Unable to fetch $sha1url and no cached copy available: $($_.Exception.Message)"
+                            if ($_.Exception.Response) {
+                                Write-Host "HTTP Status code: $($_.Exception.Response.StatusCode)"
+                            }
+                            return
+                        }
+                    }
                     $sha1Content = Get-Content -Path $sha1local
                     $remotedict = @{}
                     foreach ($line in $sha1Content) {
diff --git a/punkproject.toml b/punkproject.toml
index 89c8a0ec..669a890e 100644
--- a/punkproject.toml
+++ b/punkproject.toml
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 [project]
 name = "punkshell"
-version = "0.8.0"
+version = "0.8.1"
diff --git a/src/scriptapps/bin/runtime.ps1 b/src/scriptapps/bin/runtime.ps1
index bd0ae85f..8f79c98e 100644
--- a/src/scriptapps/bin/runtime.ps1
+++ b/src/scriptapps/bin/runtime.ps1
@@ -211,6 +211,10 @@ function psmain {
                     if ($_.Exception.Response) {
                         Write-Host "HTTP Status code: $($_.Exception.Response.StatusCode)"
                     }
+                    if (Test-Path -Path $sha1local -PathType Leaf) {
+                        #this path always fell through to the cached copy - now say so
+                        Write-Host "WARNING: proceeding with cached copy at $sha1local"
+                    }
                 }
                 if (Test-Path -Path $sha1local -PathType Leaf) {
                     $sha1Content = Get-Content -Path $sha1local
@@ -405,12 +409,27 @@ function psmain {
                 $sha1url = "$archurl/sha1sums.txt"
                 if ( $PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey('remote') ) {
                     if (-not (test-path -Path $archfolder -Type Container)) {
-                        new-item -Path $container -ItemType Directory -force #create with intermediary folders if not already present
+                        new-item -Path $archfolder -ItemType Directory -force #create with intermediary folders if not already present
                     }
-                    write-host "Checking for available remote runtimes for"
+                    write-host "Checking for available remote runtimes for $arch"
                     Write-Host "Fetching $sha1url"
-                    Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $sha1url -OutFile $sha1local -ErrorAction Stop
-                    Write-Host "sha1 saved at $sha1local"
+                    #cached fallback (parity with the bash payload): an unreachable server
+                    #falls back to a previously fetched sha1sums.txt with a warning
+                    try {
+                        Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $sha1url -OutFile $sha1local -ErrorAction Stop
+                        Write-Host "sha1 saved at $sha1local"
+                    } catch {
+                        if (Test-Path -Path $sha1local -PathType Leaf) {
+                            Write-Host "WARNING: could not fetch ${sha1url}: $($_.Exception.Message)"
+                            Write-Host "WARNING: using cached copy at $sha1local"
+                        } else {
+                            Write-Host "Unable to fetch $sha1url and no cached copy available: $($_.Exception.Message)"
+                            if ($_.Exception.Response) {
+                                Write-Host "HTTP Status code: $($_.Exception.Response.StatusCode)"
+                            }
+                            return
+                        }
+                    }
                     $sha1Content = Get-Content -Path $sha1local
                     $remotedict = @{}
                     foreach ($line in $sha1Content) {