diff --git a/headroom/ccr/mcp_server.py b/headroom/ccr/mcp_server.py
index 650e375bc..5cdfc37dd 100644
--- a/headroom/ccr/mcp_server.py
+++ b/headroom/ccr/mcp_server.py
@@ -424,6 +424,23 @@ class HeadroomMCPServer:
                     "results": results,
                     "count": len(results),
                 }
+            # The query matched no items above the relevance floor, but the
+            # entry itself may still be present and unexpired. An empty search
+            # is not the same as a missing/expired hash, so fall back to the
+            # full content rather than reporting it as not found.
+            entry = store.retrieve(hash_key)
+            if entry:
+                self._stats.record_retrieval(hash_key)
+                return {
+                    "hash": hash_key,
+                    "source": "local",
+                    "query": query,
+                    "results": [],
+                    "count": 0,
+                    "original_content": entry.original_content,
+                    "note": "Entry exists but no item matched the query above "
+                    "the relevance threshold; returning the full content.",
+                }
         else:
             entry = store.retrieve(hash_key)
             if entry:
diff --git a/tests/test_ccr_mcp_server.py b/tests/test_ccr_mcp_server.py
index d217593e2..7ecb983d0 100644
--- a/tests/test_ccr_mcp_server.py
+++ b/tests/test_ccr_mcp_server.py
@@ -65,3 +65,30 @@ def test_mcp_retrieves_proxy_stored_content(fresh_store) -> None:
 
     assert result.get("source") == "local"
     assert result["original_content"] == original
+
+
+def test_mcp_retrieve_with_nonmatching_query_returns_full_content(fresh_store) -> None:
+    """A query that matches no item above the relevance floor must still return
+    the stored entry (it exists and is unexpired) rather than the "Content not
+    found" error, which is reserved for genuine misses."""
+    pytest.importorskip("mcp", reason="MCP SDK required")
+    original = "the the the the the the the the the the\n" * 5
+    hash_key = get_compression_store().store(original, "<<small>>")
+    # Precondition: the query genuinely matches nothing above the BM25 floor.
+    assert get_compression_store().search(hash_key, "zzqx_nonmatching_token") == []
+
+    server = mcp_server.HeadroomMCPServer(check_proxy=False)
+    result = asyncio.run(server._retrieve_content(hash_key, query="zzqx_nonmatching_token"))
+
+    assert "error" not in result
+    assert result.get("source") == "local"
+    assert result["original_content"] == original
+    assert result["count"] == 0
+
+
+def test_mcp_retrieve_missing_hash_still_errors(fresh_store) -> None:
+    """A genuinely missing hash must still report "Content not found"."""
+    pytest.importorskip("mcp", reason="MCP SDK required")
+    server = mcp_server.HeadroomMCPServer(check_proxy=False)
+    result = asyncio.run(server._retrieve_content("nonexistent_hash", query="anything"))
+    assert "Content not found" in result.get("error", "")