diff --git a/internal/gitclone/manager.go b/internal/gitclone/manager.go
index 0b1b20b..c06b679 100644
--- a/internal/gitclone/manager.go
+++ b/internal/gitclone/manager.go
@@ -333,6 +333,19 @@ func (r *Repository) TryStartCloning() bool {
 	return true
 }
 
+// WithFetchExclusion runs fn while holding the fetch semaphore, preventing
+// concurrent git fetch operations. Use this for operations like tar that
+// read the repository directory non-atomically and need a consistent view.
+func (r *Repository) WithFetchExclusion(ctx context.Context, fn func() error) error {
+	select {
+	case <-r.fetchSem:
+		defer func() { r.fetchSem <- struct{}{} }()
+		return fn()
+	case <-ctx.Done():
+		return errors.Wrap(ctx.Err(), "context cancelled waiting for fetch exclusion")
+	}
+}
+
 // MarkRestored configures a restored snapshot (e.g. from S3) as a mirror.
 // The caller must have already transitioned to StateCloning (via
 // TryStartCloning) before extracting the snapshot. On error the state is
diff --git a/internal/strategy/git/snapshot.go b/internal/strategy/git/snapshot.go
index a5d757c..fc87432 100644
--- a/internal/strategy/git/snapshot.go
+++ b/internal/strategy/git/snapshot.go
@@ -137,8 +137,13 @@ func (s *Strategy) generateAndUploadMirrorSnapshot(ctx context.Context, repo *gi
 	cacheKey := mirrorSnapshotCacheKey(upstream)
 	excludePatterns := []string{"*.lock"}
 
-	if err := repo.WithReadLock(func() error {
-		return snapshot.Create(ctx, s.cache, cacheKey, repo.Path(), 0, excludePatterns, s.config.ZstdThreads)
+	// Hold the fetch semaphore while tar-ing the bare mirror directory.
+	// Without this, a concurrent git fetch can replace packed-refs mid-read,
+	// causing tar to capture a truncated file.
+	if err := repo.WithFetchExclusion(ctx, func() error {
+		return repo.WithReadLock(func() error {
+			return snapshot.Create(ctx, s.cache, cacheKey, repo.Path(), 0, excludePatterns, s.config.ZstdThreads)
+		})
 	}); err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "create mirror snapshot")
 	}