diff --git a/pkg/gui/background.go b/pkg/gui/background.go
index 2575aedd1..afd343df3 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/background.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/background.go
@@ -62,6 +62,17 @@ func (self *BackgroundRoutineMgr) startBackgroundRoutines() {
 		}
 	}
 
+	if userConfig.Git.AutoDetectExternalChanges {
+		interval := userConfig.Refresher.ExternalChangeCheckInterval
+		if interval > 0 {
+			go utils.Safe(self.startBackgroundExternalChangeDetection)
+		} else {
+			self.gui.c.Log.Errorf(
+				"Value of config option 'refresher.externalChangeCheckInterval' (%d) is invalid, disabling external change detection",
+				interval)
+		}
+	}
+
 	if self.gui.Config.GetDebug() {
 		self.goEvery(time.Second*time.Duration(10), self.gui.stopChan, func(_ bool) error {
 			formatBytes := func(b uint64) string {
@@ -127,6 +138,55 @@ func (self *BackgroundRoutineMgr) startBackgroundFilesRefresh() {
 	})
 }
 
+func (self *BackgroundRoutineMgr) startBackgroundExternalChangeDetection() {
+	self.gui.waitForIntro.Wait()
+
+	// We don't seed the snapshot here. The startup refresh captures one on
+	// entry (like every refs-touching refresh), and until one has been
+	// captured RefsSnapshotChangedSince treats the empty baseline as
+	// "unchanged", so we never fire a spurious refresh before a baseline
+	// exists — no need to depend on the timing of that startup refresh.
+
+	userConfig := self.gui.UserConfig()
+	self.goEvery(
+		userConfig.Refresher.ExternalChangeCheckIntervalDuration(),
+		self.gui.stopChan,
+		func(_ bool) error {
+			self.checkForExternalChanges()
+			return nil
+		},
+	)
+}
+
+func (self *BackgroundRoutineMgr) checkForExternalChanges() {
+	current, err := self.gui.git.Status.RefsSnapshot()
+	if err != nil {
+		// Transient error (e.g. git process couldn't start). Don't update the
+		// stored snapshot; we'll retry next tick.
+		self.gui.c.Log.Warnf("RefsSnapshot failed: %v", err)
+		return
+	}
+
+	if !self.gui.helpers.Refresh.RefsSnapshotChangedSince(current) {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// goEvery checks the pause count before starting us, but a git operation
+	// may have begun (and paused refreshes) after that check, while we were
+	// reading the snapshot above. In that case the change we detected is the
+	// operation's own intermediate state, so back off: the operation will
+	// refresh and re-snapshot when it finishes, and if the change was really
+	// external we'll catch it on the next tick after the pause lifts. We don't
+	// update the stored snapshot, so nothing is swallowed.
+	if self.backgroundRefreshesPaused() {
+		return
+	}
+
+	// No need to update the stored snapshot here; Refresh does that.
+	self.gui.c.Log.Info("External ref change detected — refreshing")
+	self.gui.c.Refresh(types.RefreshOptions{})
+}
+
 // returns a channel that can be used to trigger the callback immediately
 func (self *BackgroundRoutineMgr) goEvery(interval time.Duration, stop chan struct{}, function func(bool) error) chan struct{} {
 	done := make(chan struct{})
diff --git a/pkg/gui/gui.go b/pkg/gui/gui.go
index e2881cca1..ee58bbfb8 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/gui.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/gui.go
@@ -515,8 +515,10 @@ func (gui *Gui) checkForChangedConfigsThatDontAutoReload(oldConfig *config.UserC
 	configsThatDontAutoReload := []string{
 		"Git.AutoFetch",
 		"Git.AutoRefresh",
+		"Git.AutoDetectExternalChanges",
 		"Refresher.RefreshInterval",
 		"Refresher.FetchInterval",
+		"Refresher.ExternalChangeCheckInterval",
 		"Update.Method",
 		"Update.Days",
 	}
diff --git a/test/default_test_config/config.yml b/test/default_test_config/config.yml
index 5a822ae77..198fcbdd1 100644
--- a/test/default_test_config/config.yml
+++ b/test/default_test_config/config.yml
@@ -20,3 +20,4 @@ git:
   # TODO: add tests which explicitly test auto-refresh functionality
   autoRefresh: false
   autoFetch: false
+  autoDetectExternalChanges: false