diff --git a/fern/README.md b/fern/README.md
index ef0abd74c..af7704e0a 100644
--- a/fern/README.md
+++ b/fern/README.md
@@ -149,7 +149,9 @@ supports React's `<style precedence>` hoisting.
 
 The only checked-in standalone CSS is `styles/local-preview.css`, used by
 `make serve-fern-docs-locally` only when the Fern global theme is inaccessible.
-It is not referenced from `docs.yml`.
+It is not referenced from `docs.yml`. The fallback applies a deterministic
+NVIDIA-style local theme and mirrors source changes into Fern's temporary
+preview tree so live reload continues to work without theme access.
 
 ## Common commands
 
@@ -184,4 +186,4 @@ Raw Fern CLI commands, normally wrapped by Make:
 
 | Symptom | Fix |
 |---------|-----|
-| Local preview uses the local fallback theme | Sign in to https://dashboard.buildwithfern.com, run `cd fern && npx -y fern-api@$(jq -r .version fern.config.json) login`, then retry. If it still falls back, export a privileged `DOCS_FERN_TOKEN` as `FERN_TOKEN`. |
+| Local preview uses the deterministic local fallback theme | The fallback supports live reload without authentication. To use the canonical global theme, sign in to https://dashboard.buildwithfern.com, run `cd fern && npx -y fern-api@$(jq -r .version fern.config.json) login`, then retry. If it still falls back, export a privileged `DOCS_FERN_TOKEN` as `FERN_TOKEN`. |
diff --git a/fern/scripts/serve-local-docs-preview.py b/fern/scripts/serve-local-docs-preview.py
index 349f5872c..5a79a57f8 100644
--- a/fern/scripts/serve-local-docs-preview.py
+++ b/fern/scripts/serve-local-docs-preview.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import argparse
+import shutil
 import signal
 import subprocess
 import sys
@@ -41,6 +42,11 @@
 }
 
 COMPONENT_EXTENSIONS = {".js", ".jsx", ".ts", ".tsx"}
+DOCS_CONFIG_PATH = Path("docs.yml")
+POLL_INTERVAL_SECONDS = 0.25
+
+FileState = tuple[int, int, int]
+SourceState = dict[Path, FileState]
 
 
 def parse_args() -> argparse.Namespace:
@@ -57,6 +63,8 @@ def parse_args() -> argparse.Namespace:
 
 def write_local_docs_config(root: Path, preview_root: Path) -> None:
     config = yaml.safe_load((root / "docs.yml").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    if not isinstance(config, dict):
+        raise yaml.YAMLError("docs.yml must contain a mapping")
     config.pop("global-theme", None)
 
     for key, value in LOCAL_THEME_CONFIG.items():
@@ -81,43 +89,121 @@ def write_local_docs_config(root: Path, preview_root: Path) -> None:
     )
 
 
-def link_components(root: Path, preview_root: Path) -> None:
-    components_root = root / "components"
-    preview_components_root = preview_root / "components"
-    preview_components_root.mkdir()
-
-    for source in sorted(components_root.rglob("*")):
-        target = preview_components_root / source.relative_to(components_root)
-        if source.is_dir():
-            target.mkdir()
+def snapshot_source(root: Path) -> SourceState:
+    state = {}
+    for source in root.rglob("*"):
+        try:
+            if not source.is_file():
+                continue
+            stat = source.stat()
+        except OSError:
             continue
+        state[source.relative_to(root)] = (stat.st_mtime_ns, stat.st_ino, stat.st_size)
+    return state
 
-        target.symlink_to(source)
-        if source.suffix in COMPONENT_EXTENSIONS:
-            alias = target.with_suffix("")
-            if not alias.exists():
-                alias.symlink_to(source)
 
-
-def build_preview_root(root: Path, preview_root: Path) -> None:
-    for child in root.iterdir():
-        if child.name == "docs.yml":
-            continue
-        target = preview_root / child.name
-        if child.name == "components":
-            link_components(root, preview_root)
+def component_aliases(state: SourceState) -> dict[Path, Path]:
+    aliases = {}
+    for source in sorted(state):
+        if source.parts[:1] != ("components",) or source.suffix not in COMPONENT_EXTENSIONS:
             continue
-        target.symlink_to(child, target_is_directory=child.is_dir())
-    write_local_docs_config(root, preview_root)
-
-
-def run_command(command: list[str], cwd: Path) -> int:
-    process = subprocess.Popen(command, cwd=cwd)
+        alias = source.with_suffix("")
+        if alias not in state and alias not in aliases:
+            aliases[alias] = source
+    return aliases
+
+
+def copy_preview_file(root: Path, preview_root: Path, source: Path, target: Path | None = None) -> None:
+    target = preview_root / (source if target is None else target)
+    target.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    shutil.copy2(root / source, target)
+
+
+def remove_preview_file(preview_root: Path, relative_path: Path) -> None:
+    target = preview_root / relative_path
+    target.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+    parent = target.parent
+    while parent != preview_root:
+        try:
+            parent.rmdir()
+        except OSError:
+            break
+        parent = parent.parent
+
+
+def build_preview_root(root: Path, preview_root: Path) -> SourceState:
+    state = snapshot_source(root)
+    for relative_path in sorted(state):
+        if relative_path == DOCS_CONFIG_PATH:
+            write_local_docs_config(root, preview_root)
+        else:
+            copy_preview_file(root, preview_root, relative_path)
+    for alias, source in component_aliases(state).items():
+        copy_preview_file(root, preview_root, source, alias)
+    return state
+
+
+def sync_preview_root(root: Path, preview_root: Path, previous_state: SourceState) -> SourceState:
+    current_state = snapshot_source(root)
+    previous_aliases = component_aliases(previous_state)
+    current_aliases = component_aliases(current_state)
+    removed_paths = previous_state.keys() - current_state.keys()
+    removed_aliases = previous_aliases.keys() - current_aliases.keys()
+    for relative_path in sorted(removed_paths | removed_aliases):
+        remove_preview_file(preview_root, relative_path)
+
+    changed_paths = {
+        relative_path
+        for relative_path, file_state in current_state.items()
+        if previous_state.get(relative_path) != file_state
+    }
+    failed_paths = set()
+    for relative_path in sorted(changed_paths):
+        try:
+            if relative_path == DOCS_CONFIG_PATH:
+                write_local_docs_config(root, preview_root)
+            else:
+                copy_preview_file(root, preview_root, relative_path)
+        except (OSError, yaml.YAMLError):
+            failed_paths.add(relative_path)
+
+    changed_aliases = {
+        alias
+        for alias, source in current_aliases.items()
+        if previous_aliases.get(alias) != source or source in changed_paths
+    }
+    for alias in sorted(changed_aliases):
+        source = current_aliases[alias]
+        try:
+            copy_preview_file(root, preview_root, source, alias)
+        except OSError:
+            failed_paths.add(source)
+            if alias in previous_aliases:
+                failed_paths.add(previous_aliases[alias])
+
+    for relative_path in failed_paths:
+        if relative_path in previous_state:
+            current_state[relative_path] = previous_state[relative_path]
+        else:
+            current_state.pop(relative_path, None)
+    return current_state
+
+
+def run_command(command: list[str], preview_root: Path, root: Path, source_state: SourceState) -> int:
+    process = subprocess.Popen(command, cwd=preview_root)
     try:
-        return process.wait()
+        while True:
+            try:
+                return process.wait(timeout=POLL_INTERVAL_SECONDS)
+            except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+                source_state = sync_preview_root(root, preview_root, source_state)
     except KeyboardInterrupt:
         process.send_signal(signal.SIGINT)
         return process.wait()
+    except Exception:
+        process.send_signal(signal.SIGINT)
+        process.wait()
+        raise
 
 
 def main() -> int:
@@ -126,9 +212,9 @@ def main() -> int:
     with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="fern-local-preview-") as temp_dir:
         preview_root = Path(temp_dir) / "fern"
         preview_root.mkdir()
-        build_preview_root(root, preview_root)
+        source_state = build_preview_root(root, preview_root)
         print(f"Using local Fern preview config at {preview_root / 'docs.yml'}", file=sys.stderr)
-        return run_command(args.command, preview_root)
+        return run_command(args.command, preview_root, root, source_state)
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/fern/scripts/tests/test_serve_local_docs_preview.py b/fern/scripts/tests/test_serve_local_docs_preview.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1978bb74c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/fern/scripts/tests/test_serve_local_docs_preview.py
@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import importlib.util
+import subprocess
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+
+import pytest
+import yaml
+
+SCRIPT_PATH = Path(__file__).parents[1] / "serve-local-docs-preview.py"
+SPEC = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location("serve_local_docs_preview", SCRIPT_PATH)
+assert SPEC is not None and SPEC.loader is not None
+serve_local_docs_preview = importlib.util.module_from_spec(SPEC)
+SPEC.loader.exec_module(serve_local_docs_preview)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def docs_root(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
+    root = tmp_path / "fern"
+    (root / "components").mkdir(parents=True)
+    (root / "styles").mkdir()
+    (root / "versions/latest/pages").mkdir(parents=True)
+    (root / "docs.yml").write_text(
+        yaml.safe_dump(
+            {
+                "global-theme": "nvidia",
+                "title": "Data Designer",
+                "css": "./styles/base.css",
+            },
+            sort_keys=False,
+        ),
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+    (root / "components/Authors.tsx").write_text("export const Authors = 'initial';\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    (root / "styles/base.css").write_text("body {}\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    (root / "styles/local-preview.css").write_text(":root {}\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    (root / "versions/latest/pages/index.mdx").write_text("# Initial\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    return root
+
+
+def test_build_preview_root_materializes_local_theme(docs_root: Path, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    preview_root = tmp_path / "preview"
+    preview_root.mkdir()
+
+    serve_local_docs_preview.build_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root)
+
+    config = yaml.safe_load((preview_root / "docs.yml").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    assert "global-theme" not in config
+    assert config["colors"] == serve_local_docs_preview.LOCAL_THEME_CONFIG["colors"]
+    assert config["css"] == ["./styles/base.css", "./styles/local-preview.css"]
+    assert (preview_root / "versions/latest/pages/index.mdx").read_text(encoding="utf-8") == "# Initial\n"
+    assert (preview_root / "components/Authors").read_text(encoding="utf-8") == ("export const Authors = 'initial';\n")
+    assert all(not path.is_symlink() for path in preview_root.rglob("*"))
+    assert all(path.resolve().is_relative_to(preview_root.resolve()) for path in preview_root.rglob("*"))
+
+
+def test_build_preview_root_uses_first_component_extension(docs_root: Path, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    preview_root = tmp_path / "preview"
+    preview_root.mkdir()
+    component = docs_root / "components/Authors.ts"
+    component.write_text("export const Authors = 'ts';\n", encoding="utf-8")
+
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.build_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root)
+
+    assert (preview_root / "components/Authors").read_text(encoding="utf-8") == "export const Authors = 'ts';\n"
+    component.unlink()
+    serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+    assert (preview_root / "components/Authors").read_text(encoding="utf-8") == "export const Authors = 'initial';\n"
+
+
+def test_sync_preview_root_updates_adds_and_removes_files(docs_root: Path, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    preview_root = tmp_path / "preview"
+    preview_root.mkdir()
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.build_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root)
+    page = docs_root / "versions/latest/pages/index.mdx"
+    replacement = page.with_suffix(".tmp")
+    replacement.write_text("# Updated\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    replacement.replace(page)
+    added_page = docs_root / "versions/latest/pages/added.mdx"
+    added_page.write_text("# Added\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    (docs_root / "styles/base.css").unlink()
+
+    serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+
+    assert (preview_root / "versions/latest/pages/index.mdx").read_text(encoding="utf-8") == "# Updated\n"
+    assert (preview_root / "versions/latest/pages/added.mdx").read_text(encoding="utf-8") == "# Added\n"
+    assert not (preview_root / "styles/base.css").exists()
+
+
+def test_snapshot_source_skips_unreadable_file(docs_root: Path) -> None:
+    page = docs_root / "versions/latest/pages/index.mdx"
+    original_stat = Path.stat
+
+    def deny_page_stat(self: Path, **kwargs: object) -> object:
+        if self == page:
+            raise PermissionError
+        return original_stat(self, **kwargs)
+
+    with patch.object(Path, "stat", deny_page_stat):
+        state = serve_local_docs_preview.snapshot_source(docs_root)
+
+    assert page.relative_to(docs_root) not in state
+    assert Path("docs.yml") in state
+
+
+def test_sync_preview_root_retries_transient_copy_error(docs_root: Path, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    preview_root = tmp_path / "preview"
+    preview_root.mkdir()
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.build_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root)
+    page = docs_root / "versions/latest/pages/added.mdx"
+    page.write_text("# Added\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    relative_path = page.relative_to(docs_root)
+
+    with patch.object(serve_local_docs_preview, "copy_preview_file", side_effect=PermissionError):
+        state = serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+
+    assert relative_path not in state
+    assert not (preview_root / relative_path).exists()
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+    assert (preview_root / relative_path).read_text(encoding="utf-8") == "# Added\n"
+
+
+def test_sync_preview_root_removes_file_deleted_during_copy(docs_root: Path, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    preview_root = tmp_path / "preview"
+    preview_root.mkdir()
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.build_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root)
+    page = docs_root / "versions/latest/pages/index.mdx"
+    page.write_text("# Updated\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    relative_path = page.relative_to(docs_root)
+
+    def delete_source(*args: object, **kwargs: object) -> None:
+        page.unlink()
+        raise FileNotFoundError
+
+    with patch.object(serve_local_docs_preview, "copy_preview_file", side_effect=delete_source):
+        state = serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+
+    assert relative_path in state
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+    assert relative_path not in state
+    assert not (preview_root / relative_path).exists()
+
+
+def test_sync_preview_root_regenerates_docs_config(docs_root: Path, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    preview_root = tmp_path / "preview"
+    preview_root.mkdir()
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.build_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root)
+    config = yaml.safe_load((docs_root / "docs.yml").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    config["title"] = "Updated title"
+    config["global-theme"] = "replacement-theme"
+    (docs_root / "docs.yml").write_text(yaml.safe_dump(config, sort_keys=False), encoding="utf-8")
+
+    serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+
+    preview_config = yaml.safe_load((preview_root / "docs.yml").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    assert preview_config["title"] == "Updated title"
+    assert "global-theme" not in preview_config
+    assert preview_config["colors"] == serve_local_docs_preview.LOCAL_THEME_CONFIG["colors"]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("invalid_config", ["", "title: ["])
+def test_sync_preview_root_retries_invalid_docs_config(
+    docs_root: Path,
+    tmp_path: Path,
+    invalid_config: str,
+) -> None:
+    preview_root = tmp_path / "preview"
+    preview_root.mkdir()
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.build_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root)
+    previous_docs_state = state[serve_local_docs_preview.DOCS_CONFIG_PATH]
+    docs_config = docs_root / "docs.yml"
+    docs_config.write_text(invalid_config, encoding="utf-8")
+
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+
+    assert state[serve_local_docs_preview.DOCS_CONFIG_PATH] == previous_docs_state
+    assert yaml.safe_load((preview_root / "docs.yml").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))["title"] == "Data Designer"
+    docs_config.write_text("title: Updated title\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+    assert state[serve_local_docs_preview.DOCS_CONFIG_PATH] != previous_docs_state
+    assert yaml.safe_load((preview_root / "docs.yml").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))["title"] == "Updated title"
+
+
+def test_sync_preview_root_updates_and_removes_component_alias(docs_root: Path, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    preview_root = tmp_path / "preview"
+    preview_root.mkdir()
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.build_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root)
+    component = docs_root / "components/Authors.tsx"
+    component.write_text("export const Authors = 'updated';\n", encoding="utf-8")
+
+    state = serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+
+    assert (preview_root / "components/Authors.tsx").read_text(encoding="utf-8") == (
+        "export const Authors = 'updated';\n"
+    )
+    assert (preview_root / "components/Authors").read_text(encoding="utf-8") == ("export const Authors = 'updated';\n")
+    component.unlink()
+
+    serve_local_docs_preview.sync_preview_root(docs_root, preview_root, state)
+
+    assert not (preview_root / "components/Authors.tsx").exists()
+    assert not (preview_root / "components/Authors").exists()
+
+
+def test_run_command_synchronizes_until_child_exits(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    process = MagicMock()
+    process.wait.side_effect = [subprocess.TimeoutExpired(["fern"], 0.25), 0]
+    initial_state = {Path("docs.yml"): (1, 1, 1)}
+    next_state = {Path("docs.yml"): (2, 1, 1)}
+
+    with (
+        patch.object(serve_local_docs_preview.subprocess, "Popen", return_value=process),
+        patch.object(serve_local_docs_preview, "sync_preview_root", return_value=next_state) as sync,
+    ):
+        result = serve_local_docs_preview.run_command(["fern"], tmp_path, tmp_path, initial_state)
+
+    assert result == 0
+    sync.assert_called_once_with(tmp_path, tmp_path, initial_state)
+
+
+def test_run_command_stops_child_when_synchronization_fails(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    process = MagicMock()
+    process.wait.side_effect = [subprocess.TimeoutExpired(["fern"], 0.25), 0]
+
+    with (
+        patch.object(serve_local_docs_preview.subprocess, "Popen", return_value=process),
+        patch.object(serve_local_docs_preview, "sync_preview_root", side_effect=OSError("sync failed")),
+        pytest.raises(OSError, match="sync failed"),
+    ):
+        serve_local_docs_preview.run_command(["fern"], tmp_path, tmp_path, {})
+
+    process.send_signal.assert_called_once_with(serve_local_docs_preview.signal.SIGINT)
diff --git a/plans/788/local-preview-live-reload.md b/plans/788/local-preview-live-reload.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..827c110b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plans/788/local-preview-live-reload.md
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# Restore Fern fallback live reload
+
+Tracking: PR #788 (no linked issue).
+
+## Context
+
+The unauthenticated Fern fallback added in PR #768 builds a temporary preview
+root with local NVIDIA-style theme settings. Its authored content points back to
+the repository through symlinks. Fern watches the temporary root, so edits made
+under the real `fern/` directory do not produce reload events in the watched
+tree.
+
+Serving the real tree without a theme is not an acceptable fallback. Fern may
+render it differently across CLI releases, and it does not guarantee a close
+match to the published NVIDIA theme.
+
+## Goal
+
+Keep the deterministic local NVIDIA-style fallback while making edits under
+`fern/` reliably trigger Fern live reload.
+
+## Design
+
+Materialize the fallback as real files in the temporary preview root, then poll
+the source tree for metadata changes and mirror only changed paths while the
+Fern child process is running.
+
+- Keep the authenticated path in `Makefile` unchanged.
+- Keep the existing local theme values and `styles/local-preview.css` unchanged.
+- Copy the initial `fern/` tree into the temporary root instead of creating
+  symlinks to the source tree. The current tree is about 19 MB.
+- Track source files by relative path, type, modification time, inode, and size.
+  Poll every 250 ms without adding a file-watching dependency.
+- Copy additions and changes into the temporary root and remove deleted paths.
+  Fern observes those writes inside its watched tree and reloads normally.
+- Regenerate the transformed `docs.yml` whenever the source `docs.yml` changes.
+  Continue removing `global-theme` and applying the deterministic local theme.
+- Preserve extensionless component aliases, but materialize them inside the
+  temporary tree instead of linking them to source files.
+- Retry transient file access failures and invalid `docs.yml` edits on the next
+  pass. Stop the child and exit nonzero for unexpected synchronization failures
+  rather than continuing with a stale preview.
+
+This avoids mutating the working tree, keeps source files editable at their
+normal paths, and works without Fern support for an alternate config file.
+
+## Tasks
+
+- [x] Add focused tests under `fern/scripts/tests/` for the preview wrapper.
+  Cover initial materialization, page edits, file additions and deletions,
+  `docs.yml` regeneration, and component alias updates. Assert that preview
+  files do not resolve outside the temporary root.
+- [x] Update `fern/scripts/serve-local-docs-preview.py` to build a real preview
+  tree and expose one synchronization pass that compares source snapshots and
+  applies changes. Handle transient copy failures and invalid configuration
+  during editor saves by retrying on the next pass.
+- [x] Change child-process orchestration to synchronize every 250 ms until Fern
+  exits. Preserve interrupt forwarding and ensure synchronization errors stop
+  the child cleanly.
+- [x] Update `fern/README.md` troubleshooting notes to state that the fallback
+  is deterministic and supports live reload without Fern theme access.
+- [x] Validate with:
+  - `.venv/bin/pytest fern/scripts/tests/test_serve_local_docs_preview.py`
+  - `.venv/bin/ruff check --fix .`
+  - `.venv/bin/ruff format .`
+  - `make check-fern-docs`
+  - `make serve-fern-docs-local-theme`, followed by editing an MDX page, a TSX
+    component, and `docs.yml` and confirming each change reloads in the browser
+
+## Open Questions
+
+None. The polling interval and full initial copy are intentionally simple for a
+small local-only documentation tree.