diff --git a/graphify/prs.py b/graphify/prs.py
index 9534e6c00..5bb61510b 100644
--- a/graphify/prs.py
+++ b/graphify/prs.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
   graphify prs --worktrees       # show worktree → branch → PR mapping
   graphify prs --conflicts       # PRs sharing graph communities (merge-order risk)
   graphify prs --base <branch>   # filter to PRs targeting this base (default: v8)
+  graphify prs --limit <n>       # max PRs per gh page (default: 20; auto-retries smaller on failure)
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -138,7 +139,28 @@ def _ci_icon(status: str) -> str:
 
 # ── GitHub data fetching ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-def _gh(*args: str) -> list | dict | None:
+_DEFAULT_PR_LIMIT = 20
+_FALLBACK_PAGE_LIMITS = (20, 10)
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class GhFailure:
+    message: str
+    missing: bool = False
+
+
+def _gh_err(result: subprocess.CompletedProcess[str]) -> str:
+    err = (result.stderr or result.stdout or "").strip()
+    if not err:
+        return f"gh exited with code {result.returncode}"
+    line = err.splitlines()[-1].strip()
+    low = line.lower()
+    if any(tok in low for tok in ("auth", "login", "401", "403", "not logged")):
+        return f"{line} (run: gh auth login)"
+    return line
+
+
+def _gh_call(*args: str) -> tuple[list | dict | None, GhFailure | None]:
     try:
         result = subprocess.run(
             ["gh", *args],
@@ -147,11 +169,26 @@ def _gh(*args: str) -> list | dict | None:
             # default text=True decode crashes on those (#1505 fixed the same in llm).
             capture_output=True, text=True, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace", timeout=30
         )
-        if result.returncode != 0:
-            return None
-        return json.loads(result.stdout)
-    except (subprocess.TimeoutExpired, json.JSONDecodeError, FileNotFoundError):
-        return None
+    except FileNotFoundError:
+        return None, GhFailure(
+            "gh CLI not found. Install GitHub CLI: https://cli.github.com/",
+            missing=True,
+        )
+    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+        return None, GhFailure("gh command timed out after 30s")
+
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        return None, GhFailure(_gh_err(result))
+
+    try:
+        return json.loads(result.stdout), None
+    except json.JSONDecodeError as exc:
+        return None, GhFailure(f"gh returned invalid JSON: {exc}")
+
+
+def _gh(*args: str) -> list | dict | None:
+    data, _ = _gh_call(*args)
+    return data
 
 
 def _detect_default_branch(repo: str | None = None) -> str:
@@ -195,8 +232,27 @@ def _parse_ci(rollup: list) -> str:
     return "NONE"
 
 
-def fetch_prs(repo: str | None = None, base: str | None = None, limit: int = 50) -> list[PRInfo]:
-    resolved_base = base or _detect_default_branch(repo)
+def _page_limits(limit: int) -> list[int]:
+    chain = [limit]
+    for fb in _FALLBACK_PAGE_LIMITS:
+        if fb < chain[-1]:
+            chain.append(fb)
+    return chain
+
+
+def _parse_limit(raw: str) -> int:
+    try:
+        v = int(raw)
+    except ValueError:
+        print(f"error: --limit must be a positive integer (got {raw!r})", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(2)
+    if v <= 0:
+        print(f"error: --limit must be > 0 (got {v})", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(2)
+    return v
+
+
+def _fetch_prs_page(repo: str | None, limit: int) -> tuple[list | dict | None, GhFailure | None]:
     args = [
         "pr", "list", "--state", "open", "--limit", str(limit),
         "--json", "number,title,headRefName,baseRefName,author,isDraft,"
@@ -204,10 +260,23 @@ def fetch_prs(repo: str | None = None, base: str | None = None, limit: int = 50)
     ]
     if repo:
         args += ["--repo", repo]
+    return _gh_call(*args)
+
+
+def fetch_prs(repo: str | None = None, base: str | None = None, limit: int = _DEFAULT_PR_LIMIT) -> list[PRInfo]:
+    resolved_base = base or _detect_default_branch(repo)
+    last: GhFailure | None = None
+    raw: list | dict | None = None
+    for page in _page_limits(limit):
+        raw, last = _fetch_prs_page(repo, page)
+        if raw is not None:
+            break
 
-    raw = _gh(*args)
     if raw is None:
-        raise RuntimeError("gh CLI not found or not authenticated. Run: gh auth login")
+        if last and last.missing:
+            raise RuntimeError(last.message)
+        detail = last.message if last else "unknown gh error"
+        raise RuntimeError(f"gh pr list failed: {detail}")
 
     prs = []
     for item in raw:
@@ -681,6 +750,7 @@ def triage_with_opus(prs: list[PRInfo], base: str) -> None:
 def cmd_prs(argv: list[str]) -> None:
     base: str | None = None  # auto-detected from repo if not given
     repo: str | None = None
+    limit = _DEFAULT_PR_LIMIT
     do_triage = False
     do_worktrees = False
     do_conflicts = False
@@ -705,6 +775,10 @@ def cmd_prs(argv: list[str]) -> None:
             base = arg.split("=", 1)[1]
         elif arg in ("--repo", "-R") and i + 1 < len(argv):
             repo = argv[i + 1]; i += 1
+        elif arg in ("--limit", "-n") and i + 1 < len(argv):
+            limit = _parse_limit(argv[i + 1]); i += 1
+        elif arg.startswith("--limit="):
+            limit = _parse_limit(arg.split("=", 1)[1])
         elif arg.startswith("--graph="):
             graph_path = Path(arg.split("=", 1)[1])
         elif arg == "--graph" and i + 1 < len(argv):
@@ -720,7 +794,7 @@ def cmd_prs(argv: list[str]) -> None:
         base = _detect_default_branch(repo)
 
     try:
-        prs = fetch_prs(repo=repo, base=base)
+        prs = fetch_prs(repo=repo, base=base, limit=limit)
     except RuntimeError as e:
         print(red(f"  Error: {e}"), file=sys.stderr)
         sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/tests/test_prs.py b/tests/test_prs.py
index 4acc343e6..ee76cc6c8 100644
--- a/tests/test_prs.py
+++ b/tests/test_prs.py
@@ -11,16 +11,22 @@
 
 from graphify.prs import (
     PRInfo,
+    GhFailure,
     _classify,
     _gh,
+    _gh_call,
+    _page_limits,
+    _parse_limit,
     _parse_ci,
     _path_match,
     build_community_labels,
     compute_pr_impact,
     fetch_pr_files,
+    fetch_prs,
     fetch_worktrees,
     format_prs_text,
     _detect_default_branch,
+    _DEFAULT_PR_LIMIT,
 )
 
 
@@ -55,6 +61,105 @@ def make_pr(
     )
 
 
+# ── _gh_call / fetch_prs (#2850) ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+class TestGhCall:
+    def test_missing_gh_is_distinct_from_auth_failure(self):
+        with patch("graphify.prs.subprocess.run", side_effect=FileNotFoundError):
+            data, err = _gh_call("pr", "list")
+        assert data is None
+        assert err is not None
+        assert err.missing is True
+        assert "not found" in err.message.lower()
+
+    def test_nonzero_exit_surfaces_stderr(self):
+        completed = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="", stderr="GraphQL: HTTP 504")
+        with patch("graphify.prs.subprocess.run", return_value=completed):
+            data, err = _gh_call("pr", "list")
+        assert data is None
+        assert err is not None
+        assert err.missing is False
+        assert "504" in err.message
+
+    def test_auth_hint_only_when_stderr_suggests_auth(self):
+        completed = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="", stderr="not logged in")
+        with patch("graphify.prs.subprocess.run", return_value=completed):
+            _, err = _gh_call("pr", "list")
+        assert "gh auth login" in err.message
+
+    def test_504_does_not_suggest_auth_login(self):
+        completed = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="", stderr="GraphQL: HTTP 504")
+        with patch("graphify.prs.subprocess.run", return_value=completed):
+            _, err = _gh_call("pr", "list")
+        assert "gh auth login" not in err.message
+
+
+class TestPageLimits:
+    def test_default_chain_from_50(self):
+        assert _page_limits(50) == [50, 20, 10]
+
+    def test_default_limit_chain(self):
+        assert _page_limits(_DEFAULT_PR_LIMIT) == [20, 10]
+
+    def test_small_limit_has_no_larger_fallback(self):
+        assert _page_limits(10) == [10]
+
+
+class TestParseLimit:
+    def test_valid(self):
+        assert _parse_limit("20") == 20
+
+    def test_invalid_exits(self):
+        with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc:
+            _parse_limit("abc")
+        assert exc.value.code == 2
+
+    def test_nonpositive_exits(self):
+        with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc:
+            _parse_limit("0")
+        assert exc.value.code == 2
+
+
+class TestFetchPrs:
+    _SAMPLE = [{
+        "number": 1,
+        "title": "Fix",
+        "headRefName": "fix",
+        "baseRefName": "v8",
+        "author": {"login": "alice"},
+        "isDraft": False,
+        "reviewDecision": "",
+        "statusCheckRollup": [],
+        "updatedAt": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+    }]
+
+    def test_retries_smaller_page_after_failure(self):
+        fail = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="", stderr="GraphQL: HTTP 504")
+        ok = MagicMock(
+            returncode=0,
+            stdout=json.dumps(self._SAMPLE),
+            stderr="",
+        )
+        with patch("graphify.prs.subprocess.run", side_effect=[fail, ok]), \
+             patch("graphify.prs._detect_default_branch", return_value="v8"):
+            prs = fetch_prs(limit=50)
+        assert len(prs) == 1
+        assert prs[0].number == 1
+
+    def test_missing_gh_raises_install_message(self):
+        with patch("graphify.prs.subprocess.run", side_effect=FileNotFoundError), \
+             patch("graphify.prs._detect_default_branch", return_value="v8"):
+            with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match="not found"):
+                fetch_prs()
+
+    def test_exhausted_retries_raise_actual_gh_error(self):
+        fail = MagicMock(returncode=1, stdout="", stderr="GraphQL: HTTP 504")
+        with patch("graphify.prs.subprocess.run", return_value=fail), \
+             patch("graphify.prs._detect_default_branch", return_value="v8"):
+            with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match="504"):
+                fetch_prs(limit=10)
+
+
 # ── _classify ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 class TestClassify: