diff --git a/main.lua b/main.lua
index 20e67e2..fb9d717 100644
--- a/main.lua
+++ b/main.lua
@@ -100,7 +100,17 @@ end
 function Bookhoard:onReaderReady()
     if self.settings.auto_sync then
         UIManager:nextTick(function()
-            self:getProgress(true, false)
+            -- On the first open of a freshly downloaded book there is no cached
+            -- bookhoard UUID yet (it is only learned from a successful push
+            -- response). Pulling now would just fail with "Push progress first".
+            -- Instead, push once to bootstrap identity: the server resolves the
+            -- book by SHA-256 (format-aware) and returns the UUID, which we then
+            -- cache. After that, push and pull both work without ordering.
+            if not self:getBookhoardUUID() then
+                self:updateProgress(true, false)
+            else
+                self:getProgress(true, false)
+            end
         end)
     end
     self:registerEvents()
@@ -992,12 +1002,16 @@ function Bookhoard:getProgress(ensure_networking, interactive)
 
     local book_uuid = self:getBookhoardUUID()
     if not book_uuid then
+        -- No cached UUID yet (first open of a freshly downloaded book). Bootstrap
+        -- it by pushing once: the server resolves the book by SHA-256 and returns
+        -- the UUID, which the push handler caches. Then retry the pull.
         if interactive then
             UIManager:show(InfoMessage:new{
-                text = _("No Bookhoard UUID for this document. Push progress first."),
+                text = _("Linking this book to Bookhoard first…"),
                 timeout = 3,
             })
         end
+        self:_bootstrapUUIDThenPull(interactive)
         return
     end
 
@@ -1008,6 +1022,23 @@ function Bookhoard:getProgress(ensure_networking, interactive)
     self.pull_timestamp = now
 end
 
+-- Establish the bookhoard UUID for the current document by pushing once, then
+-- (once cached) perform the originally-requested pull. Used when a pull is
+-- requested before any push has run on a newly downloaded book.
+function Bookhoard:_bootstrapUUIDThenPull(interactive)
+    self:updateProgress(false, false)
+    UIManager:scheduleIn(2, function()
+        if self:getBookhoardUUID() then
+            self:_doGetProgress(interactive)
+        elseif interactive then
+            UIManager:show(InfoMessage:new{
+                text = _("Could not link this book. Check your network and try again."),
+                timeout = 3,
+            })
+        end
+    end)
+end
+
 function Bookhoard:_doGetProgress(interactive)
     local book_uuid = self:getBookhoardUUID()
     if not book_uuid then return end