diff --git a/src/commands/push.ts b/src/commands/push.ts
index 337be5f..e9ff499 100644
--- a/src/commands/push.ts
+++ b/src/commands/push.ts
@@ -49,9 +49,17 @@ const push = async (
   const deleteAbsent = pushOptions?.['delete-absent'] ?? false;
   const local = await readFiles(localesDir, namespaces);
   const remote = await apiPull(accessKey, pullOptions);
-  const { added, deleted, updated, totalCount, deletedCount } = diff(remote, local, pushOptions);
+  const { added, deleted, updated, totalCount, addedCount, updatedCount, deletedCount } = diff(
+    remote,
+    local,
+    pushOptions
+  );
 
-  if (!totalCount || (!deleteAbsent && totalCount === deletedCount)) {
+  if (!totalCount) {
+    log.success('Everything up to date!');
+    return;
+  }
+  if (!deleteAbsent && totalCount === deletedCount) {
     log.info(
       `Pushing will not delete remote assets when the ${chalk.bold('delete-absent')} flag is disabled`
     );
@@ -128,13 +136,17 @@ const push = async (
 
   log.log();
 
-  // Loco returns 200 OK with "Nothing updated" when an import is silently
-  // dropped (most commonly: project has hit its translation quota cap).
-  // Surface this as a real failure instead of pretending the push succeeded.
+  // Loco returns 200 OK with "Nothing updated" when an import imports no
+  // translations. That's expected for deletion-only pushes (delete-absent
+  // removes assets without "updating" anything), but also fires when an
+  // import is silently dropped — most commonly when the project has hit
+  // its translation quota cap. Only treat it as a failure when the diff
+  // contains actionable add/update entries that Loco should have processed.
   const allNoOp = responseMessages.every(m => /nothing updated/i.test(m));
-  if (allNoOp) {
+  const hasActionableUpdates = addedCount > 0 || updatedCount > 0;
+  if (allNoOp && hasActionableUpdates) {
     log.error(
-      'Loco reported no changes despite a non-empty diff. Check your project on https://localise.biz for quota limits or other server-side issues.'
+      'Loco reported no changes despite a non-empty diff. Run `loco-cli pull` to reconcile local files with Loco, or check your project on https://localise.biz for quota limits or other server-side issues.'
     );
     throw new CliError('push: no-op');
   }
diff --git a/src/lib/diff.ts b/src/lib/diff.ts
index 4431557..ad7ae5e 100644
--- a/src/lib/diff.ts
+++ b/src/lib/diff.ts
@@ -27,10 +27,43 @@ export const diff = (
   const { added, updated, deleted } = detailedDiff(local, remote) as DetailedDiff;
   const ignoreAdded = options?.['ignore-new'];
   const ignoreUpdated = options?.['ignore-existing'];
+  const experimentalPushAll = options?.experimentalPushAll;
+  const deleteAbsent = options?.['delete-absent'];
 
   const addedRes = ignoreAdded ? {} : dotObject(added);
   const updatedRes = ignoreUpdated ? {} : dotObject(updated);
-  const deletedRes = dotObject(deleted);
+  let deletedRes = dotObject(deleted);
+
+  // With `experimentalPushAll` + `delete-absent`, `apiPushAll` uses
+  // /import/json?format=multi where `delete-absent` operates on the UNION
+  // of locales: an asset is only deleted when it's absent from every locale
+  // in the payload. Recompute the deleted set leaf-by-leaf so the diff
+  // matches what the upload will actually do — detailedDiff collapses
+  // missing branches to a single undefined at the branch level, which loses
+  // the resolution needed to apply union semantics correctly.
+  // Note: `remote` here is the filesystem-local data, `local` is the
+  // api-remote data — see the call site in src/commands/push.ts which
+  // invokes diff(remoteFromApi, localFromFs).
+  if (experimentalPushAll && deleteAbsent) {
+    const localFlat: Record<string, DiffRecord> = {};
+    const unionKeys = new Set<string>();
+    for (const [loc, t] of Object.entries(remote)) {
+      const flat = dotObject(t);
+      localFlat[loc] = flat;
+      for (const k of Object.keys(flat)) unionKeys.add(k);
+    }
+    deletedRes = {};
+    for (const [loc, t] of Object.entries(local)) {
+      const apiFlat = dotObject(t);
+      const fsFlat = localFlat[loc] ?? {};
+      for (const key of Object.keys(apiFlat)) {
+        if (!(key in fsFlat) && !unionKeys.has(key)) {
+          deletedRes[`${loc}.${key}`] = undefined;
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   return {
     totalCount:
       Object.keys(addedRes).length +
diff --git a/test/commands/push.test.ts b/test/commands/push.test.ts
index e4f9158..37f1b52 100644
--- a/test/commands/push.test.ts
+++ b/test/commands/push.test.ts
@@ -284,6 +284,28 @@ describe('push command', () => {
     );
   });
 
+  test('does not error on "Nothing updated" when the diff is deletion-only', async () => {
+    // Loco returns "Nothing updated" when no translations are imported,
+    // including the successful delete-absent case (assets are removed but
+    // no translations are imported). The allNoOp guard should only fire
+    // when there are actionable add/update entries.
+    const local = { en: { hello: 'Hello' } };
+    const remote = { en: { hello: 'Hello', bye: 'Goodbye' } };
+    mockGetGlobalOptions.mockResolvedValue({
+      ...defaultOptions,
+      push: { 'delete-absent': true }
+    });
+    mockReadFiles.mockResolvedValue(local);
+    mockApiPull.mockResolvedValue(remote);
+    mockApiPush.mockResolvedValue({ status: 200, message: 'Nothing updated', locales: [] });
+    vi.mocked(mockInquirer.prompt).mockResolvedValue({ confirm: true });
+
+    await push({}, mockProgram);
+
+    expect(mockLog.success).toHaveBeenCalledWith('All done.');
+    expect(mockLog.error).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   test('does not error when at least one locale reports changes', async () => {
     const local = { en: { hello: 'Hello' }, es: { hello: 'Hola' } };
     const remote = { en: {}, es: {} };
@@ -299,6 +321,39 @@ describe('push command', () => {
     expect(mockLog.success).toHaveBeenCalledWith('All done.');
   });
 
+  test('experimentalPushAll early-exits when only deletions are union-protected', async () => {
+    // Regression for #56: en has a new key locally, fr/es source-fallback
+    // remotely. Diff would have flagged fr/es deletions per-locale, but the
+    // multi-locale upload won't delete them. Expect a clean no-op, not a
+    // failed push.
+    const local = {
+      en: { hello: 'Hello', newKey: 'Value' },
+      fr: { hello: 'Bonjour' },
+      es: { hello: 'Hola' }
+    };
+    const remote = {
+      en: { hello: 'Hello', newKey: 'Value' },
+      fr: { hello: 'Bonjour', newKey: '' },
+      es: { hello: 'Hola', newKey: '' }
+    };
+    mockGetGlobalOptions.mockResolvedValue({
+      ...defaultOptions,
+      push: {
+        experimentalPushAll: true,
+        'ignore-existing': true,
+        'delete-absent': true
+      }
+    });
+    mockReadFiles.mockResolvedValue(local);
+    mockApiPull.mockResolvedValue(remote);
+
+    await push({}, mockProgram);
+
+    expect(mockLog.success).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Everything up to date!');
+    expect(mockApiPushAll).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mockApiPush).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   test('uses default per-locale push when experimentalPushAll is false', async () => {
     const local = { en: { hello: 'Hello' }, es: { hello: 'Hola' } };
     const remote = { en: {}, es: {} };
diff --git a/test/diff.test.ts b/test/diff.test.ts
index d199112..dd8fc4d 100644
--- a/test/diff.test.ts
+++ b/test/diff.test.ts
@@ -13,3 +13,142 @@ test('returns diff without new assets', () => {
 test('returns diff without updated assets', () => {
   expect(diff(local, remote, { 'ignore-existing': true })).toMatchSnapshot();
 });
+
+test('experimentalPushAll filters union-protected deletions', () => {
+  // Simulates the post-first-push state from issue #56: en has a key,
+  // fr/es do not locally, but Loco created empty source-fallback entries
+  // for fr/es. The diff would normally flag fr/es as deletions, but the
+  // multi-locale upload would not delete them (union-protected by en).
+  const remoteData = {
+    en: { hello: 'Hello', newKey: 'Value' },
+    fr: { hello: 'Bonjour', newKey: '' },
+    es: { hello: 'Hola', newKey: '' }
+  };
+  const localData = {
+    en: { hello: 'Hello', newKey: 'Value' },
+    fr: { hello: 'Bonjour' },
+    es: { hello: 'Hola' }
+  };
+
+  const result = diff(remoteData, localData, {
+    experimentalPushAll: true,
+    'ignore-existing': true,
+    'delete-absent': true
+  });
+
+  expect(result.deleted).toEqual({});
+  expect(result.deletedCount).toBe(0);
+  expect(result.totalCount).toBe(0);
+});
+
+test('experimentalPushAll filters union-protected deletions across missing branches', () => {
+  // detailedDiff collapses entirely-missing branches (e.g. fs-local nl has
+  // no E2E subtree at all) into a single undefined at the branch level.
+  // The fix has to recover leaf-level resolution to apply union semantics.
+  const remoteData = {
+    en: { HomeScreen: { Title: 'x' }, E2E: { TestKey: 'val' } },
+    nl: { HomeScreen: { Title: 'y' }, E2E: { TestKey: '' } }
+  };
+  const localData = {
+    en: { HomeScreen: { Title: 'x' }, E2E: { TestKey: 'val' } },
+    nl: { HomeScreen: { Title: 'y' } }
+  };
+
+  const result = diff(remoteData, localData, {
+    experimentalPushAll: true,
+    'ignore-existing': true,
+    'delete-absent': true
+  });
+
+  expect(result.deleted).toEqual({});
+  expect(result.deletedCount).toBe(0);
+  expect(result.totalCount).toBe(0);
+});
+
+test('experimentalPushAll keeps leaf deletions even when sibling leaves are union-protected', () => {
+  // api-remote has two leaves under a branch (TestKey, OtherKey), but only
+  // TestKey appears in any local locale. OtherKey is a legitimate union-
+  // absent deletion that the upload WILL perform, so it must stay in the
+  // diff. A naive prefix-based filter would over-collapse this case.
+  const remoteData = {
+    en: { E2E: { TestKey: 'val', OtherKey: 'gone' } },
+    nl: { E2E: { TestKey: '', OtherKey: '' } }
+  };
+  const localData = {
+    en: { E2E: { TestKey: 'val' } },
+    nl: {}
+  };
+
+  const result = diff(remoteData, localData, {
+    experimentalPushAll: true,
+    'ignore-existing': true,
+    'delete-absent': true
+  });
+
+  expect(result.deleted).toEqual({
+    'en.E2E.OtherKey': undefined,
+    'nl.E2E.OtherKey': undefined
+  });
+  expect(result.deletedCount).toBe(2);
+});
+
+test('experimentalPushAll still reports deletions absent from every local locale', () => {
+  // A key that's been removed from every local locale is a legitimate
+  // deletion under union semantics — it should remain in the diff.
+  const remoteData = {
+    en: { hello: 'Hello', staleKey: 'Old' },
+    fr: { hello: 'Bonjour', staleKey: 'Vieux' }
+  };
+  const localData = {
+    en: { hello: 'Hello' },
+    fr: { hello: 'Bonjour' }
+  };
+
+  const result = diff(remoteData, localData, {
+    experimentalPushAll: true,
+    'delete-absent': true
+  });
+
+  expect(result.deleted).toEqual({
+    'en.staleKey': undefined,
+    'fr.staleKey': undefined
+  });
+  expect(result.deletedCount).toBe(2);
+});
+
+test('experimentalPushAll without delete-absent does not filter (informational only)', () => {
+  // Without delete-absent, the upload won't delete anything regardless of
+  // union semantics, so the deleted set is purely informational and should
+  // be reported per-locale unchanged.
+  const remoteData = {
+    en: { hello: 'Hello', newKey: 'Value' },
+    fr: { hello: 'Bonjour', newKey: '' }
+  };
+  const localData = {
+    en: { hello: 'Hello', newKey: 'Value' },
+    fr: { hello: 'Bonjour' }
+  };
+
+  const result = diff(remoteData, localData, { experimentalPushAll: true });
+
+  expect(result.deleted).toEqual({ 'fr.newKey': undefined });
+  expect(result.deletedCount).toBe(1);
+});
+
+test('without experimentalPushAll deletions remain per-locale (no union filtering)', () => {
+  // Per-locale upload path: delete-absent really does apply per locale,
+  // so the diff must keep per-locale deletions.
+  const remoteData = {
+    en: { hello: 'Hello', newKey: 'Value' },
+    fr: { hello: 'Bonjour', newKey: '' }
+  };
+  const localData = {
+    en: { hello: 'Hello', newKey: 'Value' },
+    fr: { hello: 'Bonjour' }
+  };
+
+  const result = diff(remoteData, localData, { 'delete-absent': true });
+
+  expect(result.deleted).toEqual({ 'fr.newKey': undefined });
+  expect(result.deletedCount).toBe(1);
+});