diff --git a/SPEC.md b/SPEC.md
index b572b6f..76ed9c9 100644
--- a/SPEC.md
+++ b/SPEC.md
@@ -243,9 +243,12 @@ for narration, `Progress` for long operations.
 ### Rootfs lifecycle (ported)
 
 `RootfsCache::new(dir)` / `default_dir()`, `prepare`,
-`prepare_provisioned`, `persist`, `PrepareRequest`, `PreparedRootfs`:
-ecr's semantics verbatim, including digest freshness on `:latest` and
-the `.provisioned` hot-cell marker. The per-run scratch copy is
+`prepare_provisioned`, `pull`, `persist`, `PrepareRequest`,
+`PreparedRootfs`, `Pulled`: `prepare` is the boot path — a present
+entry is trusted, the registry is never contacted on a hit, a cold
+cache downloads. `pull` is the explicit freshness check (unpinned
+tags re-verified, moved digests re-downloaded, nothing extracted).
+Plus the `.provisioned` hot-cell marker. The per-run scratch copy is
 `PreparedRootfs` as ecr already builds it. See ecr's SPEC for the
 reference description; differences are the cache directory and the
 absent kernel entries only.
@@ -296,9 +299,18 @@ composable. A boot failure leaves the files absent.
 ```
 ecrou run [OPTIONS] <IMAGE> [-- COMMAND...]
 ecrou provision [OPTIONS] <IMAGE> [-- COMMAND...]
+ecrou pull [OPTIONS] <IMAGE>
 ecrou probe
 ```
 
+`pull` fetches or refreshes the image's cache entry without booting
+it: it re-resolves floating references (distro aliases like
+`latest`/`lts`/`edge`, unpinned OCI tags against the registry
+digest) and downloads only when the entry is absent or has moved.
+It is the freshness operation — see the trust model below for how
+`run` and `pull` divide the work. Local archives are rejected:
+a file on disk has nothing to fetch.
+
 The image is a distro name (`alpine`, `ubuntu:noble`), an OCI
 reference (`ghcr.io/org/image:tag`, `ubuntu@sha256:…`,
 `repo:tag@sha256:…` — the digest wins over a co-present tag, as in
@@ -395,11 +407,17 @@ stop:
   publishes next to them. When the checksum artifact cannot be fetched
   the download proceeds unverified with a warning instead of
   hard-failing. That is a deliberate trade, not an oversight.
-- The cache trusts its own entries. Once written, an entry is never
-  re-verified, except OCI `:latest` tags, which are re-checked against
-  the registry digest on every run. Digest pins, pinned tags and
-  distro tarballs are assumed immutable; `--no-cache` and the
-  digest-changed path are the escape hatches.
+- The cache trusts its own entries, and `run` never contacts a
+  registry on a cache hit: a present entry is booted as-is, the way
+  `docker run` uses the local image. The freshness operation is
+  `pull` (the CLI command and the library's `RootfsCache::pull`):
+  it re-checks unpinned OCI tags against the registry digest and
+  re-resolves floating distro aliases, downloading only what moved —
+  `docker pull` semantics. Digest pins, pinned tags and numbered
+  distro tarballs are immutable to both; on a network error `pull`
+  keeps the cached image with a warning. `--no-cache` is the
+  force-redownload escape hatch. The trade: a stale `:latest` boots
+  until someone pulls, exactly as in docker.
 - Concurrent runs of the same image are safe, not efficient: each
   writes its own partial file and the last atomic rename wins, so two
   racers download twice rather than corrupt anything.
diff --git a/crates/ecrou-cli/src/cli.rs b/crates/ecrou-cli/src/cli.rs
index 77aeb78..2395109 100644
--- a/crates/ecrou-cli/src/cli.rs
+++ b/crates/ecrou-cli/src/cli.rs
@@ -49,6 +49,19 @@ pub enum Command {
         #[arg(last = true)]
         command: Vec<String>,
     },
+    /// Fetch or refresh an image's cache entry without booting it:
+    /// re-checks unpinned OCI tags against the registry and floating
+    /// distro aliases against the distro, downloading only when the
+    /// entry is absent or has moved. `run` never contacts the
+    /// registry on a cached image — this is the refresh operation.
+    Pull {
+        /// Distribution name or OCI image reference
+        image: String,
+        /// Ignore the cache: re-download even when the entry is
+        /// present and current
+        #[arg(long)]
+        no_cache: bool,
+    },
     /// Report what a run would find on this host
     Probe,
 }
diff --git a/crates/ecrou-cli/src/main.rs b/crates/ecrou-cli/src/main.rs
index 22aac5e..added28 100644
--- a/crates/ecrou-cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/ecrou-cli/src/main.rs
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ mod logger;
 mod progress;
 
 use clap::Parser;
+use ecrou::cache::RootfsCache;
+use ecrou::rootfs::PrepareRequest;
 use ecrou::vm::RunOptions;
 use ecrou::{LogLevel, NoProgress, Progress};
 
@@ -25,6 +27,7 @@ fn main() -> std::process::ExitCode {
             no_cache,
             command,
         } => cmd_provision(image, spec, layer, no_cache, &command, cli.verbose),
+        Command::Pull { image, no_cache } => cmd_pull(&image, no_cache, cli.verbose),
         Command::Probe => cmd_probe(),
     }
 }
@@ -220,6 +223,32 @@ fn cmd_run(args: &RunArgs, cli_verbose: bool) -> std::process::ExitCode {
     }
 }
 
+/// Pull an image into the cache without booting it.
+fn cmd_pull(image: &str, no_cache: bool, _cli_verbose: bool) -> std::process::ExitCode {
+    let progress: &dyn Progress = &TermProgress::new();
+    let dir = match RootfsCache::default_dir() {
+        Ok(dir) => dir,
+        Err(err) => return fail(&anyhow::Error::new(err)),
+    };
+    let cache = RootfsCache::new(dir);
+
+    let mut request = PrepareRequest::new(image.to_owned());
+    request.no_cache = no_cache;
+
+    match cache.pull(&request, progress) {
+        Ok(pulled) => {
+            if pulled.downloaded {
+                println!("pulled {image}");
+            } else {
+                println!("{image} is up to date");
+            }
+            println!("  {}", pulled.cache_path.display());
+            std::process::ExitCode::SUCCESS
+        }
+        Err(err) => fail(&anyhow::Error::new(err)),
+    }
+}
+
 fn cmd_probe() -> std::process::ExitCode {
     use ecrou::krun;