diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d0d917d..069c369 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,32 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 0.7.0 (2026-04-21)
+
+### Breaking changes
+
+- **`:adapter_error` removed from `DEFAULT_RETRY_ON`.** New default: `[:validation_failed, :parse_error]`. `ruby_llm` already retries transport errors (`RateLimitError`, `ServerError`, `ServiceUnavailableError`, `OverloadedError`, timeouts) at the Faraday layer, so the previous default re-ran the same model on errors the HTTP middleware already retried with backoff. To restore pre-0.7 behavior: `retry_on :validation_failed, :parse_error, :adapter_error`. Recommended pattern: pair `:adapter_error` with `escalate "model_a", "model_b"` — a different model/provider can bypass what transport retry could not.
+- **`AdapterCaller` narrows `rescue` from `StandardError` to `RubyLLM::Error` + `Faraday::Error`.** Provider errors and transport errors that escape ruby_llm's Faraday retry middleware (`Faraday::TimeoutError`, `Faraday::ConnectionFailed`) still produce `:adapter_error` as before. Programmer errors that are neither (`NoMethodError`, adapter code bugs) now propagate instead of being silently converted to `:adapter_error` and retried. **Known limitation:** adapter code raising `ArgumentError` is still coerced into `:input_error` by `Step::Base#run_once` (which rescues `ArgumentError` for input-type validation). Disambiguating adapter-ArgumentError vs input-validation-ArgumentError requires a `run_once` refactor and is tracked as a follow-up.
+
+### Migration
+
+If you rely on the old behavior, opt in explicitly:
+
+```ruby
+retry_policy do
+  attempts 3
+  retry_on :validation_failed, :parse_error, :adapter_error
+end
+```
+
+Or better, with a model fallback chain:
+
+```ruby
+retry_policy do
+  escalate "gpt-4.1-nano", "gpt-4.1-mini"
+  retry_on :validation_failed, :parse_error, :adapter_error
+end
+```
+
 ## 0.6.4 (2026-04-20)
 
 ### Features
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 5c17dd9..68c1daa 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 PATH
   remote: .
   specs:
-    ruby_llm-contract (0.6.4)
+    ruby_llm-contract (0.7.0)
       dry-types (~> 1.7)
       ruby_llm (~> 1.0)
       ruby_llm-schema (~> 0.3)
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ CHECKSUMS
   rubocop-ast (1.49.1) sha256=4412f3ee70f6fe4546cc489548e0f6fcf76cafcfa80fa03af67098ffed755035
   ruby-progressbar (1.13.0) sha256=80fc9c47a9b640d6834e0dc7b3c94c9df37f08cb072b7761e4a71e22cff29b33
   ruby_llm (1.14.0) sha256=57c6f7034fc4a44504ea137d70f853b07824f1c1cdbe774ab3ab3522e7098deb
-  ruby_llm-contract (0.6.4)
+  ruby_llm-contract (0.7.0)
   ruby_llm-schema (0.3.0) sha256=a591edc5ca1b7f0304f0e2261de61ba4b3bea17be09f5cf7558153adfda3dec6
   ruby_parser (3.22.0) sha256=1eb4937cd9eb220aa2d194e352a24dba90aef00751e24c8dfffdb14000f15d23
   rubycritic (4.12.0) sha256=024fed90fe656fa939f6ea80aab17569699ac3863d0b52fd72cb99892247abc8
diff --git a/lib/ruby_llm/contract/step/adapter_caller.rb b/lib/ruby_llm/contract/step/adapter_caller.rb
index f4809cd..19a4b15 100644
--- a/lib/ruby_llm/contract/step/adapter_caller.rb
+++ b/lib/ruby_llm/contract/step/adapter_caller.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,20 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
+require "faraday"
+
 module RubyLLM
   module Contract
     module Step
       class AdapterCaller
+        # Exceptions treated as :adapter_error (retryable when explicitly opted in).
+        # RubyLLM::Error covers provider-semantic errors (auth, bad request,
+        # rate limit, server error, context length). Faraday::Error covers
+        # transport failures that escape ruby_llm's Faraday retry middleware
+        # after exhaustion (Faraday::TimeoutError, Faraday::ConnectionFailed).
+        # Anything else (NoMethodError, programmer ArgumentError from adapter
+        # code, etc.) propagates — those are bugs, not retry candidates.
+        ADAPTER_ERRORS = [::RubyLLM::Error, ::Faraday::Error].freeze
+
         def initialize(adapter:, adapter_options:)
           @adapter = adapter
           @adapter_options = adapter_options
@@ -14,8 +25,14 @@ def call(messages)
           response = @adapter.call(messages: messages, **@adapter_options)
           latency_ms = ((Process.clock_gettime(Process::CLOCK_MONOTONIC) - start_time) * 1000).round
           [response, latency_ms]
-        rescue StandardError => error
-          [Result.new(status: :adapter_error, raw_output: nil, parsed_output: nil, validation_errors: [error.message]), 0]
+        rescue *ADAPTER_ERRORS => e
+          result = Result.new(
+            status: :adapter_error,
+            raw_output: nil,
+            parsed_output: nil,
+            validation_errors: [e.message]
+          )
+          [result, 0]
         end
       end
     end
diff --git a/lib/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_policy.rb b/lib/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_policy.rb
index 17e8ce2..d99c4fc 100644
--- a/lib/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_policy.rb
+++ b/lib/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_policy.rb
@@ -6,7 +6,14 @@ module Step
       class RetryPolicy
         attr_reader :max_attempts, :retryable_statuses
 
-        DEFAULT_RETRY_ON = %i[validation_failed parse_error adapter_error].freeze
+        # Breaking (0.7.0): :adapter_error removed from defaults. ruby_llm's Faraday
+        # middleware already retries transport errors (RateLimitError, ServerError,
+        # ServiceUnavailableError, OverloadedError, timeouts). Retrying on
+        # :adapter_error against the same model re-runs what transport already did.
+        # Opt in explicitly with `retry_on :adapter_error` — only meaningful paired
+        # with `escalate "model_a", "model_b"` (a different model may bypass what
+        # transport retry could not).
+        DEFAULT_RETRY_ON = %i[validation_failed parse_error].freeze
 
         def initialize(models: nil, attempts: nil, retry_on: nil, &block)
           @configs = []
diff --git a/lib/ruby_llm/contract/version.rb b/lib/ruby_llm/contract/version.rb
index d398f22..044e181 100644
--- a/lib/ruby_llm/contract/version.rb
+++ b/lib/ruby_llm/contract/version.rb
@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@
 
 module RubyLLM
   module Contract
-    VERSION = "0.6.4"
+    VERSION = "0.7.0"
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/integration/step_end_to_end_spec.rb b/spec/integration/step_end_to_end_spec.rb
index 1313150..ec0880e 100644
--- a/spec/integration/step_end_to_end_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/integration/step_end_to_end_spec.rb
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ class ClassifyIntent < RubyLLM::Contract::Step::Base
     it "returns :adapter_error with trace containing messages and model" do
       error_adapter = Class.new(RubyLLM::Contract::Adapters::Base) do
         def call(**)
-          raise StandardError, "connection refused"
+          raise RubyLLM::Error.new(nil, "connection refused")
         end
       end.new
 
diff --git a/spec/ruby_llm/contract/adversarial_round10_spec.rb b/spec/ruby_llm/contract/adversarial_round10_spec.rb
index 39256d2..4bd91bb 100644
--- a/spec/ruby_llm/contract/adversarial_round10_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/ruby_llm/contract/adversarial_round10_spec.rb
@@ -1433,9 +1433,15 @@ def to_json_schema
       expect(policy.retryable?(result)).to be true
     end
 
-    it "adapter_error is retryable by default" do
+    it "adapter_error is NOT retryable by default (breaking 0.7.0: requires explicit retry_on :adapter_error)" do
       policy = RubyLLM::Contract::Step::RetryPolicy.new(attempts: 3)
       result = RubyLLM::Contract::Step::Result.new(status: :adapter_error, raw_output: nil, parsed_output: nil)
+      expect(policy.retryable?(result)).to be false
+    end
+
+    it "adapter_error IS retryable when explicitly opted in" do
+      policy = RubyLLM::Contract::Step::RetryPolicy.new(attempts: 3, retry_on: %i[validation_failed parse_error adapter_error])
+      result = RubyLLM::Contract::Step::Result.new(status: :adapter_error, raw_output: nil, parsed_output: nil)
       expect(policy.retryable?(result)).to be true
     end
 
diff --git a/spec/ruby_llm/contract/edge_cases_spec.rb b/spec/ruby_llm/contract/edge_cases_spec.rb
index bd867a5..1dd5690 100644
--- a/spec/ruby_llm/contract/edge_cases_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/ruby_llm/contract/edge_cases_spec.rb
@@ -803,7 +803,7 @@
       it "populates trace with messages and model even on adapter failure" do
         failing_adapter = Class.new(RubyLLM::Contract::Adapters::Base) do
           def call(messages:, **_options) # rubocop:disable Lint/UnusedMethodArgument
-            raise "network failure"
+            raise RubyLLM::Error.new(nil, "network failure")
           end
         end.new
 
diff --git a/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_integration_spec.rb b/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_integration_spec.rb
index 4640355..1ba4582 100644
--- a/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_integration_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_integration_spec.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
+require "faraday"
+
 RSpec.describe "retry_policy integration" do
   before { RubyLLM::Contract.reset_configuration! }
 
@@ -165,12 +167,12 @@
   end
 
   describe "adapter_error retry" do
-    it "retries on :adapter_error (transient network/timeout failures)" do
+    it "retries on :adapter_error (transient network/timeout failures, with explicit opt-in)" do
       call_count = 0
       flaky_adapter = Object.new
       flaky_adapter.define_singleton_method(:call) do |**_opts|
         call_count += 1
-        raise StandardError, "connection timeout" if call_count < 3
+        raise RubyLLM::Error.new(nil, "connection timeout") if call_count < 3
 
         RubyLLM::Contract::Adapters::Response.new(content: '{"key": "good"}', usage: {})
       end
@@ -183,7 +185,10 @@
           parse :json
           invariant("key not empty") { |o| o[:key].to_s != "" }
         end
-        retry_policy { attempts 3 }
+        retry_policy do
+          attempts 3
+          retry_on :validation_failed, :parse_error, :adapter_error
+        end
       end
 
       result = step.run("test", context: { adapter: flaky_adapter })
@@ -195,7 +200,7 @@
     it "returns :adapter_error after all retries exhausted" do
       failing_adapter = Object.new
       failing_adapter.define_singleton_method(:call) do |**_opts|
-        raise StandardError, "connection refused"
+        raise RubyLLM::Error.new(nil, "connection refused")
       end
 
       step = Class.new(RubyLLM::Contract::Step::Base) do
@@ -203,7 +208,10 @@
         output_type RubyLLM::Contract::Types::Hash
         prompt { user "{input}" }
         contract { parse :json }
-        retry_policy { attempts 3 }
+        retry_policy do
+          attempts 3
+          retry_on :validation_failed, :parse_error, :adapter_error
+        end
       end
 
       result = step.run("test", context: { adapter: failing_adapter })
@@ -213,12 +221,12 @@
       expect(result.trace[:attempts].map { |a| a[:status] }).to eq(%i[adapter_error adapter_error adapter_error])
     end
 
-    it "escalates model on adapter_error" do
+    it "escalates model on adapter_error (with explicit opt-in)" do
       models_used = []
       flaky_adapter = Object.new
       flaky_adapter.define_singleton_method(:call) do |**opts|
         models_used << opts[:model]
-        raise StandardError, "timeout" if opts[:model] == "nano"
+        raise RubyLLM::Error.new(nil, "timeout") if opts[:model] == "nano"
 
         RubyLLM::Contract::Adapters::Response.new(content: '{"key": "ok"}', usage: {})
       end
@@ -231,7 +239,10 @@
           parse :json
           invariant("key not empty") { |o| o[:key].to_s != "" }
         end
-        retry_policy { escalate "nano", "mini", "full" }
+        retry_policy do
+          escalate "nano", "mini", "full"
+          retry_on :validation_failed, :parse_error, :adapter_error
+        end
       end
 
       result = step.run("test", context: { adapter: flaky_adapter })
@@ -465,4 +476,42 @@
       expect(result.trace).not_to have_key(:attempts)
     end
   end
+
+  # Regression: Codex review of PR #13 (0.7.0) found that narrowing
+  # AdapterCaller#rescue to RubyLLM::Error only would leak Faraday transport
+  # errors (TimeoutError, ConnectionFailed) out of Step.run — ruby_llm's Faraday
+  # retry re-raises these after exhaustion and they are NOT RubyLLM::Error.
+  # AdapterCaller must rescue Faraday::Error too, otherwise production network
+  # outages crash instead of becoming retryable :adapter_error results.
+  describe "transport error handling (Codex review regression)" do
+    it "converts Faraday::TimeoutError into :adapter_error instead of raising" do
+      adapter = Object.new
+      adapter.define_singleton_method(:call) { |**_opts| raise Faraday::TimeoutError, "timeout after retries" }
+
+      step = Class.new(RubyLLM::Contract::Step::Base) { prompt "{input}" }
+      result = step.run("hi", context: { adapter: adapter })
+
+      expect(result.status).to eq(:adapter_error)
+      expect(result.validation_errors).to include(/timeout/)
+    end
+
+    it "converts Faraday::ConnectionFailed into :adapter_error" do
+      adapter = Object.new
+      adapter.define_singleton_method(:call) { |**_opts| raise Faraday::ConnectionFailed, "connection refused" }
+
+      step = Class.new(RubyLLM::Contract::Step::Base) { prompt "{input}" }
+      result = step.run("hi", context: { adapter: adapter })
+
+      expect(result.status).to eq(:adapter_error)
+    end
+
+    it "propagates NoMethodError from adapter (programmer bug, not transport)" do
+      adapter = Object.new
+      adapter.define_singleton_method(:call) { |**_opts| nil.non_existent_method }
+
+      step = Class.new(RubyLLM::Contract::Step::Base) { prompt "{input}" }
+
+      expect { step.run("hi", context: { adapter: adapter }) }.to raise_error(NoMethodError)
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_policy_spec.rb b/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_policy_spec.rb
index 36b10bb..d99dbbe 100644
--- a/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_policy_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/retry_policy_spec.rb
@@ -30,9 +30,9 @@
       expect(policy.max_attempts).to eq(5)
     end
 
-    it "defaults retryable statuses" do
+    it "defaults retryable statuses (breaking 0.7.0: :adapter_error removed — opt in explicitly)" do
       policy = described_class.new
-      expect(policy.retryable_statuses).to eq(%i[validation_failed parse_error adapter_error])
+      expect(policy.retryable_statuses).to eq(%i[validation_failed parse_error])
     end
 
     it "allows custom retryable statuses" do
diff --git a/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/runner_spec.rb b/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/runner_spec.rb
index 0971f0a..1ea59c2 100644
--- a/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/runner_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/ruby_llm/contract/step/runner_spec.rb
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@
       it "returns :adapter_error" do
         failing_adapter = Class.new(RubyLLM::Contract::Adapters::Base) do
           def call(messages:, **_options) # rubocop:disable Lint/UnusedMethodArgument
-            raise StandardError, "connection timeout"
+            raise RubyLLM::Error.new(nil, "connection timeout")
           end
         end.new
         definition = RubyLLM::Contract::Definition.new