diff --git a/src/background.ts b/src/background.ts
index 911dbdf2..0370f35e 100644
--- a/src/background.ts
+++ b/src/background.ts
@@ -57,13 +57,20 @@ browser.runtime.onMessage.addListener(
         return true;
 
       case "fetchThemes": {
-        const url = `https://betterseqta.org/api/themes?type=betterseqta&limit=100&nocache=${Date.now()}`;
-        fetch(url, { cache: "no-store" })
+        const apiUrl = `https://betterseqta.org/api/themes?type=betterseqta&limit=100&nocache=${Date.now()}`;
+        const githubUrl = `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BetterSEQTA/BetterSEQTA-Themes/main/store/themes.json?nocache=${Date.now()}`;
+        fetch(apiUrl, { cache: "no-store" })
           .then((r) => r.json())
           .then(sendResponse)
           .catch((err) => {
-            console.error("[Background] fetchThemes error:", err);
-            sendResponse({ success: false, error: err?.message });
+            console.warn("[Background] fetchThemes API failed, trying GitHub fallback:", err?.message);
+            fetch(githubUrl, { cache: "no-store" })
+              .then((r) => r.json())
+              .then((data) => sendResponse({ success: true, data: { themes: data.themes ?? [] } }))
+              .catch((fallbackErr) => {
+                console.error("[Background] fetchThemes GitHub fallback error:", fallbackErr);
+                sendResponse({ success: false, error: fallbackErr?.message });
+              });
           });
         return true;
       }
diff --git a/src/manifests/manifest.json b/src/manifests/manifest.json
index 1ef79abb..04b9f344 100644
--- a/src/manifests/manifest.json
+++ b/src/manifests/manifest.json
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
     "service_worker": "background.ts"
   },
   "content_security_policy": {
-    "extension_pages": "script-src 'self'; object-src 'self'; connect-src 'self' https://betterseqta.org"
+    "extension_pages": "script-src 'self'; object-src 'self'; connect-src 'self' https://betterseqta.org https://raw.githubusercontent.com"
   },
   "content_scripts": [
     {
diff --git a/src/plugins/built-in/themes/theme-manager.ts b/src/plugins/built-in/themes/theme-manager.ts
index d077491d..488e376b 100644
--- a/src/plugins/built-in/themes/theme-manager.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/built-in/themes/theme-manager.ts
@@ -472,6 +472,7 @@ export class ThemeManager {
   }
 
   private readonly THEME_API_BASE = 'https://betterseqta.org/api';
+  private readonly GITHUB_THEMES_BASE = 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BetterSEQTA/BetterSEQTA-Themes/main/store/themes';
 
   /**
    * Fetch JSON from a URL via background script (avoids CORS when running inside SEQTA page)
@@ -487,7 +488,7 @@ export class ThemeManager {
 
   /**
    * Download and install a theme from the store.
-   * Always calls the download API first to increment download_count on the server.
+   * Uses API first (increments download_count), falls back to GitHub if unreachable.
    */
   public async downloadTheme(themeContent: {
     id: string;
@@ -500,16 +501,23 @@ export class ThemeManager {
     try {
       if (!themeContent.id) return;
 
-      // Always call download endpoint to increment download_count
-      const downloadData = (await this.fetchFromUrl(
-        `${this.THEME_API_BASE}/themes/${themeContent.id}/download`
-      )) as { success?: boolean; data?: { theme_json_url: string } };
-      if (!downloadData?.success || !downloadData?.data?.theme_json_url) {
-        throw new Error("Failed to get theme download URL");
-      }
-      const themeJsonUrl = downloadData.data.theme_json_url;
+      let themeData: ThemeContent;
 
-      const themeData = (await this.fetchFromUrl(themeJsonUrl)) as ThemeContent;
+      try {
+        // Try API first (increments download_count)
+        const downloadData = (await this.fetchFromUrl(
+          `${this.THEME_API_BASE}/themes/${themeContent.id}/download`
+        )) as { success?: boolean; data?: { theme_json_url: string } };
+        if (!downloadData?.success || !downloadData?.data?.theme_json_url) {
+          throw new Error("Failed to get theme download URL");
+        }
+        themeData = (await this.fetchFromUrl(downloadData.data.theme_json_url)) as ThemeContent;
+      } catch (apiError) {
+        // Fallback to GitHub if API is unreachable
+        console.warn("[ThemeManager] API failed, trying GitHub fallback:", apiError);
+        const githubUrl = `${this.GITHUB_THEMES_BASE}/${themeContent.id}/theme.json`;
+        themeData = (await this.fetchFromUrl(githubUrl)) as ThemeContent;
+      }
 
       await this.installTheme(themeData);
     } catch (error) {