diff --git a/_tools/node_test_runner/run_test.mjs b/_tools/node_test_runner/run_test.mjs
index 050d72080cc4..5b60a064ea2f 100644
--- a/_tools/node_test_runner/run_test.mjs
+++ b/_tools/node_test_runner/run_test.mjs
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ import "../../fs/unstable_lstat_test.ts";
 import "../../fs/unstable_chmod_test.ts";
 import "../../fs/unstable_umask_test.ts";
 import "../../fs/unstable_utime_test.ts";
+import "../../http/unstable_is_retriable_fetch_error_test.ts";
 import "../../internal/assertion_state_test.ts";
 import "../../path/_common/assert_path_test.ts";
 import "../../path/_common/basename_test.ts";
diff --git a/http/deno.json b/http/deno.json
index a73e8d1335ad..940adfd58976 100644
--- a/http/deno.json
+++ b/http/deno.json
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
     "./unstable-formdata-decoder-stream": "./unstable_formdata_decoder_stream.ts",
     "./unstable-formdata-encoder-stream": "./unstable_formdata_encoder_stream.ts",
     "./unstable-header": "./unstable_header.ts",
+    "./unstable-is-retriable-fetch-error": "./unstable_is_retriable_fetch_error.ts",
     "./unstable-method": "./unstable_method.ts",
     "./unstable-problem-details": "./unstable_problem_details.ts",
     "./negotiation": "./negotiation.ts",
diff --git a/http/unstable_is_retriable_fetch_error.ts b/http/unstable_is_retriable_fetch_error.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..c76e607c349c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/http/unstable_is_retriable_fetch_error.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+// Copyright 2018-2026 the Deno authors. MIT license.
+// This module is browser compatible.
+
+/** Maximum number of objects examined along the `cause` chain. */
+const MAX_DEPTH = 8;
+
+/**
+ * Exact failed-fetch `TypeError` messages: "fetch failed" is shared by
+ * undici (Node.js) and Deno 2.9+; the rest are browser strings.
+ * Matching is case-sensitive on purpose: Deno's "Fetch failed: <reason>"
+ * (capital F, policy failures such as blocked ports) is a near-collision
+ * that must stay excluded because those failures are deterministic on
+ * retry.
+ */
+const FAILED_FETCH_MESSAGES = [
+  "fetch failed",
+  "Failed to fetch",
+  "NetworkError when attempting to fetch resource.",
+  "Load failed",
+];
+
+/**
+ * Message prefix of transport failures in Deno before 2.9, e.g.
+ * "error sending request for url (...): ...".
+ */
+const LEGACY_DENO_MESSAGE_PREFIX = "error sending request";
+
+/**
+ * `code` values of transient network failures. Bun's fetch reports
+ * transport failures through `code` rather than a fixed message (the DNS
+ * failure message even embeds the hostname): "ConnectionRefused" and
+ * "Timeout" are Bun's labels, the errno-style names are shared with
+ * Node.js, which also exposes them on the `cause` of undici's
+ * "fetch failed" TypeError. Deterministic codes such as "ERR_INVALID_URL"
+ * are excluded on purpose.
+ */
+const TRANSIENT_NETWORK_CODES = new Set([
+  "ConnectionRefused",
+  "Timeout",
+  "ECONNREFUSED",
+  "ECONNRESET",
+  "ETIMEDOUT",
+  "ENOTFOUND",
+  "EAI_AGAIN",
+]);
+
+function isRetriableStatus(status: number): boolean {
+  return status === 408 || status === 429 ||
+    (status >= 500 && status < 600);
+}
+
+function isRetriableValue(value: object): boolean {
+  if (value instanceof Response) {
+    return isRetriableStatus(value.status);
+  }
+  if (value instanceof DOMException) {
+    return value.name === "TimeoutError";
+  }
+  if (
+    value instanceof TypeError &&
+    (FAILED_FETCH_MESSAGES.includes(value.message) ||
+      value.message.startsWith(LEGACY_DENO_MESSAGE_PREFIX))
+  ) {
+    return true;
+  }
+  if (value instanceof Error) {
+    const { status, code } = value as { status?: unknown; code?: unknown };
+    if (typeof code === "string" && TRANSIENT_NETWORK_CODES.has(code)) {
+      return true;
+    }
+    if (
+      typeof status === "number" && Number.isInteger(status) &&
+      status >= 100 && status <= 599
+    ) {
+      return isRetriableStatus(status);
+    }
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns `true` if the given thrown value looks like a transient fetch
+ * failure that is worth retrying, `false` otherwise.
+ *
+ * @experimental **UNSTABLE**: New API, yet to be vetted.
+ *
+ * The value and its `cause` chain are examined (up to 8 objects,
+ * cycle-safe). A value classifies as retriable if it is any of:
+ *
+ * - a {@linkcode Response} with status 408, 429, or 5xx, including
+ *   nonstandard 5xx codes such as Cloudflare's 522,
+ * - an {@linkcode Error} with an integer `status` property in the range
+ *   100-599, using the same status test,
+ * - an {@linkcode Error} whose `code` names a transient network failure:
+ *   "ConnectionRefused" or "Timeout" (Bun), or the errno-style
+ *   "ECONNREFUSED", "ECONNRESET", "ETIMEDOUT", "ENOTFOUND", or
+ *   "EAI_AGAIN" (Bun and Node.js, including the `cause` of undici's
+ *   "fetch failed" TypeError),
+ * - a `DOMException` named `TimeoutError`, as thrown by
+ *   `AbortSignal.timeout()`,
+ * - a {@linkcode TypeError} whose message exactly matches a known
+ *   failed-fetch message ("fetch failed" on Node.js and Deno 2.9+;
+ *   "Failed to fetch", "NetworkError when attempting to fetch resource.",
+ *   and "Load failed" in browsers) or starts with "error sending request"
+ *   (Deno before 2.9).
+ *
+ * Everything else returns `false`. In particular `AbortError` is not
+ * retriable (aborting is caller intent), and neither are Deno's
+ * "Fetch failed: <reason>" policy errors, which fail deterministically on
+ * retry.
+ *
+ * Note that `fetch()` resolves on 4xx/5xx responses instead of throwing,
+ * so status classification only applies when the caller throws the
+ * {@linkcode Response} (or an error carrying a `status` property). Errors
+ * that keep the response on a `response` property instead, such as those
+ * thrown by the ky and got packages, are not covered.
+ *
+ * @param error The thrown value to classify.
+ * @returns `true` if the value indicates a retriable fetch failure,
+ * `false` otherwise.
+ *
+ * @example Use as the `isRetriable` hook of `retry()`
+ * ```ts ignore
+ * import { retry } from "@std/async/retry";
+ * import { isRetriableFetchError } from "@std/http/unstable-is-retriable-fetch-error";
+ *
+ * const data = await retry(async () => {
+ *   const res = await fetch("https://example.com/api");
+ *   if (!res.ok) throw res;
+ *   return await res.json();
+ * }, { isRetriable: isRetriableFetchError });
+ * ```
+ *
+ * @example Classifying thrown values
+ * ```ts
+ * import { isRetriableFetchError } from "@std/http/unstable-is-retriable-fetch-error";
+ * import { assert, assertFalse } from "@std/assert";
+ *
+ * assert(isRetriableFetchError(new Response(null, { status: 503 })));
+ * assert(isRetriableFetchError(new TypeError("fetch failed")));
+ * assert(isRetriableFetchError(new DOMException("Timed out", "TimeoutError")));
+ * assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError(new Response(null, { status: 404 })));
+ * assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError(new DOMException("Aborted", "AbortError")));
+ * ```
+ */
+export function isRetriableFetchError(error: unknown): boolean {
+  const seen = new Set<object>();
+  let current: unknown = error;
+  for (let depth = 0; depth < MAX_DEPTH; depth++) {
+    if (typeof current !== "object" || current === null) return false;
+    if (seen.has(current)) return false;
+    seen.add(current);
+    if (isRetriableValue(current)) return true;
+    current = (current as { cause?: unknown }).cause;
+  }
+  return false;
+}
diff --git a/http/unstable_is_retriable_fetch_error_test.ts b/http/unstable_is_retriable_fetch_error_test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..909181074cee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/http/unstable_is_retriable_fetch_error_test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,225 @@
+// Copyright 2018-2026 the Deno authors. MIT license.
+import {
+  assert,
+  assertEquals,
+  assertFalse,
+  assertInstanceOf,
+} from "@std/assert";
+import { createServer } from "node:net";
+import { isRetriableFetchError } from "./unstable_is_retriable_fetch_error.ts";
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns true for responses with retriable statuses", () => {
+  for (const status of [408, 429, 500, 503, 522]) {
+    assert(
+      isRetriableFetchError(new Response(null, { status })),
+      `status ${status}`,
+    );
+  }
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns false for responses with non-retriable statuses", () => {
+  for (const status of [200, 400, 404]) {
+    assertFalse(
+      isRetriableFetchError(new Response(null, { status })),
+      `status ${status}`,
+    );
+  }
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns true for errors with a retriable status property", () => {
+  for (const status of [408, 429, 500, 503, 522]) {
+    const error = Object.assign(new Error("request failed"), { status });
+    assert(isRetriableFetchError(error), `status ${status}`);
+  }
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns false for errors with a non-retriable status property", () => {
+  for (const status of [400, 404]) {
+    const error = Object.assign(new Error("request failed"), { status });
+    assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError(error), `status ${status}`);
+  }
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() ignores non-integer and out-of-range status properties", () => {
+  assertFalse(
+    isRetriableFetchError(Object.assign(new Error("x"), { status: "503" })),
+  );
+  assertFalse(
+    isRetriableFetchError(Object.assign(new Error("x"), { status: 503.5 })),
+  );
+  assertFalse(
+    isRetriableFetchError(Object.assign(new Error("x"), { status: 999 })),
+  );
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns false when the message merely mentions a status or timeout", () => {
+  assertFalse(
+    isRetriableFetchError(
+      new Error('Unexpected response payload: {"code":429,"error":"timeout"}'),
+    ),
+  );
+  assertFalse(
+    isRetriableFetchError(
+      new TypeError("Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'timeout')"),
+    ),
+  );
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns false for AbortError produced by AbortController.abort()", () => {
+  const controller = new AbortController();
+  controller.abort();
+  const reason = controller.signal.reason;
+  assertInstanceOf(reason, DOMException);
+  assertEquals(reason.name, "AbortError");
+  assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError(reason));
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns true for a TimeoutError DOMException", () => {
+  assert(
+    isRetriableFetchError(new DOMException("Signal timed out", "TimeoutError")),
+  );
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns true for a real failed fetch TypeError", async () => {
+  // Find a port that is guaranteed to refuse connections: bind an
+  // ephemeral port on 127.0.0.1, read it, and close the listener.
+  const port = await new Promise<number>((resolve, reject) => {
+    const server = createServer();
+    server.once("error", reject);
+    server.listen(0, "127.0.0.1", () => {
+      const address = server.address() as { port: number };
+      server.close((error) => error ? reject(error) : resolve(address.port));
+    });
+  });
+  const error = await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${port}/`).then(
+    () => null,
+    (error) => error,
+  );
+  assertInstanceOf(error, TypeError);
+  const { code } = error as { code?: unknown };
+  assert(
+    isRetriableFetchError(error),
+    `unexpected failed-fetch shape: name=${error.name} message=${
+      JSON.stringify(error.message)
+    } code=${JSON.stringify(code)}`,
+  );
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns true for legacy Deno transport TypeErrors", () => {
+  assert(
+    isRetriableFetchError(
+      new TypeError(
+        "error sending request for url (http://example.com/): client error (Connect): tcp connect error",
+      ),
+    ),
+  );
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns true for errors with a transient network code", () => {
+  // Shapes thrown by Bun's fetch, verified against Bun 1.4.
+  const bunShapes = [
+    Object.assign(
+      new TypeError(
+        "Unable to connect. Is the computer able to access the url?",
+      ),
+      { code: "ConnectionRefused" },
+    ),
+    Object.assign(
+      new TypeError(
+        "The socket connection was closed unexpectedly. For more information, pass `verbose: true` in the second argument to fetch()",
+      ),
+      { code: "ECONNRESET" },
+    ),
+    Object.assign(
+      new TypeError("getaddrinfo ENOTFOUND example.invalid"),
+      { code: "ENOTFOUND" },
+    ),
+  ];
+  for (const error of bunShapes) {
+    assert(isRetriableFetchError(error), String(error.code));
+  }
+  // The cause of undici's "fetch failed" TypeError, as rethrown directly.
+  const undiciCause = Object.assign(
+    new Error("connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:80"),
+    { code: "ECONNREFUSED", errno: -61, syscall: "connect" },
+  );
+  assert(isRetriableFetchError(undiciCause));
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() ignores deterministic, unknown, and non-string codes", () => {
+  assertFalse(
+    isRetriableFetchError(
+      Object.assign(new TypeError("Failed to parse URL from :bad:"), {
+        code: "ERR_INVALID_URL",
+      }),
+    ),
+  );
+  assertFalse(
+    isRetriableFetchError(
+      Object.assign(new Error("connection refused"), { code: 111 }),
+    ),
+  );
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() ignores the Bun connection-refused message without the code", () => {
+  assertFalse(
+    isRetriableFetchError(
+      new TypeError(
+        "Unable to connect. Is the computer able to access the url?",
+      ),
+    ),
+  );
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns true for browser failed-fetch TypeErrors", () => {
+  const messages = [
+    "Failed to fetch",
+    "NetworkError when attempting to fetch resource.",
+    "Load failed",
+  ];
+  for (const message of messages) {
+    assert(isRetriableFetchError(new TypeError(message)), message);
+  }
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns false for Deno policy fetch TypeErrors", () => {
+  assertFalse(
+    isRetriableFetchError(
+      new TypeError("Fetch failed: Requests to port 6000 are blocked"),
+    ),
+  );
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() follows nested cause chains", () => {
+  const error = new Error("request failed", {
+    cause: new Error("wrapped", { cause: new TypeError("fetch failed") }),
+  });
+  assert(isRetriableFetchError(error));
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() terminates on a cyclic cause chain", () => {
+  const a = new Error("a");
+  const b = new Error("b", { cause: a });
+  a.cause = b;
+  assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError(a));
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() examines at most 8 objects along the cause chain", () => {
+  const buildChain = (wrappers: number): Error => {
+    let error: Error = new TypeError("fetch failed");
+    for (let i = 0; i < wrappers; i++) {
+      error = new Error(`wrapper ${i}`, { cause: error });
+    }
+    return error;
+  };
+  assert(isRetriableFetchError(buildChain(7)));
+  assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError(buildChain(8)));
+});
+
+Deno.test("isRetriableFetchError() returns false for non-error values", () => {
+  assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError("fetch failed"));
+  assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError(null));
+  assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError(undefined));
+  assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError(503));
+  assertFalse(isRetriableFetchError({ status: 503 }));
+});