diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 73b05f7..ed719c7 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ Requires the `project` (or `read:project`) OAuth scope on the `gh` token; `src/e
 `gh` accepts `--label`, `--assignee`, `--reviewer`, `--project`, and the `--add-*`/`--remove-*` variants once per value, so gh-axi must collect _every_ occurrence.
 Use `getAllFlags`/`takeAllFlags` plus `pushRepeated`; `getFlag`/`takeFlag` keep only the first occurrence and silently discard the rest, which is the bug that recurred as #55, #57, and #75.
 Both collectors reject a dangling (`--label` with nothing after it) or blank (`--label=`) value with a `VALIDATION_ERROR` instead of dropping it.
+`getFlag`/`takeFlag` similarly reject a flag-like value (one starting with `--`) rather than treating it as the value, so a dangling single-value flag can't silently swallow the next flag's token.
 Pick the collector that matches the surrounding file: `issue.ts` reads args non-destructively (`getAllFlags`), `pr.ts` consumes them (`takeAllFlags`).
 When a flag becomes repeatable, mark it `(repeatable)` in that command's `*_HELP` string.
 
diff --git a/src/args.ts b/src/args.ts
index 2b6c439..528519f 100644
--- a/src/args.ts
+++ b/src/args.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,16 @@ function flagEqualsPrefix(flag: string): string {
   return `${flag}=`;
 }
 
+/**
+ * A dangling flag (no value given before the next `--flag` token) must never
+ * silently swallow that next flag as its own value - doing so both loses the
+ * next flag and can leak the wrong token into a positional slot downstream.
+ */
+function rejectFlagLikeValue(value: string, flag: string): void {
+  if (value.startsWith("--"))
+    throw new AxiError(`${flag} requires a value`, "VALIDATION_ERROR");
+}
+
 /** Get a flag's value from --flag value or --flag=value without modifying args. */
 export function getFlag(args: string[], name: string): string | undefined {
   const equalsPrefix = flagEqualsPrefix(name);
@@ -11,7 +21,9 @@ export function getFlag(args: string[], name: string): string | undefined {
     const arg = args[i];
     if (arg === name) {
       if (i + 1 >= args.length) return undefined;
-      return args[i + 1];
+      const val = args[i + 1];
+      rejectFlagLikeValue(val, name);
+      return val;
     }
     if (arg.startsWith(equalsPrefix)) {
       return arg.slice(equalsPrefix.length);
@@ -27,6 +39,7 @@ export function takeFlag(args: string[], flag: string): string | undefined {
     const arg = args[i];
     if (arg === flag) {
       const val = args[i + 1];
+      if (val !== undefined) rejectFlagLikeValue(val, flag);
       args.splice(i, 2);
       return val;
     }
@@ -53,7 +66,7 @@ export function takeBoolFlag(args: string[], flag: string): boolean {
 }
 
 function requireFlagValue(value: string, flag: string): string {
-  if (value.trim() === "")
+  if (value.trim() === "" || value.startsWith("--"))
     throw new AxiError(`${flag} requires a value`, "VALIDATION_ERROR");
   return value;
 }
diff --git a/src/commands/repo.ts b/src/commands/repo.ts
index 8fe8ae6..9776da8 100644
--- a/src/commands/repo.ts
+++ b/src/commands/repo.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { encode } from '@toon-format/toon';
 import type { RepoContext } from '../context.js';
 import { ghJson, ghExec } from '../gh.js';
 import { AxiError } from '../errors.js';
-import { getFlag, hasFlag } from '../args.js';
+import { getFlag, hasFlag, takeFlag, takeBoolFlag } from '../args.js';
 import {
   field,
   lower,
@@ -167,21 +167,26 @@ async function forkRepo(args: string[], ctx?: RepoContext): Promise<string> {
 }
 
 async function listRepos(args: string[], ctx?: RepoContext): Promise<string> {
+  // Consume value-taking flags before scanning for positionals, so a bare
+  // flag value (e.g. the "200" in --limit 200) can never be mistaken for
+  // the optional owner positional when no owner is given.
+  const limit = takeFlag(args, '--limit') ?? '30';
+  const visibility = takeFlag(args, '--visibility');
+  const language = takeFlag(args, '--language');
+  const archived = takeBoolFlag(args, '--archived');
+
   const positionals = args.filter((a) => !a.startsWith('--'));
   const owner = positionals[1]; // optional
 
-  const limit = getFlag(args, '--limit') ?? '30';
   const ghArgs = [
     'repo', 'list',
     '--json', 'name,description,visibility,primaryLanguage,stargazerCount,updatedAt',
     '--limit', limit,
   ];
   if (owner) ghArgs.splice(2, 0, owner); // insert owner after 'list'
-  const visibility = getFlag(args, '--visibility');
   if (visibility) ghArgs.push('--visibility', visibility);
-  const language = getFlag(args, '--language');
   if (language) ghArgs.push('--language', language);
-  if (hasFlag(args, '--archived')) ghArgs.push('--archived');
+  if (archived) ghArgs.push('--archived');
 
   const repos = await ghJson<Record<string, unknown>[]>(ghArgs);
   const isEmpty = repos.length === 0;
diff --git a/src/commands/run.ts b/src/commands/run.ts
index 9fa8627..3a59be0 100644
--- a/src/commands/run.ts
+++ b/src/commands/run.ts
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ function takeViewFlagValue(args: string[], flag: string): string | undefined {
   const present = args.includes(flag);
   const value = takeFlag(args, flag);
   if (!present) return undefined;
-  if (!value || value.startsWith("--")) {
+  if (!value) {
     throw new AxiError(`Missing value for ${flag}`, "VALIDATION_ERROR");
   }
   return value;
diff --git a/test/args.test.ts b/test/args.test.ts
index e9afe84..10ee7dd 100644
--- a/test/args.test.ts
+++ b/test/args.test.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,12 @@ describe("getFlag", () => {
     expect(getFlag(["--state", "open", "--repo"], "--repo")).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
+  it("throws instead of swallowing an adjacent flag as the value", () => {
+    expect(() =>
+      getFlag(["--repo", "--state", "open"], "--repo"),
+    ).toThrow("--repo requires a value");
+  });
+
   it("does not modify the args array", () => {
     const args = ["--repo", "cli/cli"];
     getFlag(args, "--repo");
@@ -68,6 +74,14 @@ describe("takeFlag", () => {
     expect(val).toBe("val");
     expect(args).toEqual(["--other"]);
   });
+
+  it("throws instead of swallowing an adjacent flag as the value", () => {
+    const args = ["--limit", "--visibility", "public"];
+    expect(() => takeFlag(args, "--limit")).toThrow(
+      "--limit requires a value",
+    );
+    expect(args).toEqual(["--limit", "--visibility", "public"]);
+  });
 });
 
 describe("hasFlag", () => {
diff --git a/test/commands/repo.test.ts b/test/commands/repo.test.ts
index d70a239..02f7516 100644
--- a/test/commands/repo.test.ts
+++ b/test/commands/repo.test.ts
@@ -200,6 +200,51 @@ describe('repoCommand', () => {
 
       expect(result).toContain('showing first 10');
     });
+
+    it('does not mistake the --limit value for the owner positional when no owner is given', async () => {
+      mockedGhJson.mockResolvedValue([]);
+
+      await repoCommand(['list', '--limit', '10'], ctx);
+
+      expect(mockedGhJson).toHaveBeenCalledWith([
+        'repo', 'list',
+        '--json', 'name,description,visibility,primaryLanguage,stargazerCount,updatedAt',
+        '--limit', '10',
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    it('passes an explicit owner positional through to gh repo list', async () => {
+      mockedGhJson.mockResolvedValue([]);
+
+      await repoCommand(['list', 'octo', '--limit', '10'], ctx);
+
+      expect(mockedGhJson).toHaveBeenCalledWith([
+        'repo', 'list', 'octo',
+        '--json', 'name,description,visibility,primaryLanguage,stargazerCount,updatedAt',
+        '--limit', '10',
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    it('throws instead of misreading an adjacent flag as the --limit value', async () => {
+      await expect(
+        repoCommand(['list', '--limit', '--visibility', 'public'], ctx),
+      ).rejects.toThrow('--limit requires a value');
+      expect(mockedGhJson).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('does not mistake --visibility or --language values for the owner positional', async () => {
+      mockedGhJson.mockResolvedValue([]);
+
+      await repoCommand(['list', '--visibility', 'public', '--language', 'TypeScript'], ctx);
+
+      expect(mockedGhJson).toHaveBeenCalledWith([
+        'repo', 'list',
+        '--json', 'name,description,visibility,primaryLanguage,stargazerCount,updatedAt',
+        '--limit', '30',
+        '--visibility', 'public',
+        '--language', 'TypeScript',
+      ]);
+    });
   });
 
   describe('clone', () => {
diff --git a/test/commands/run.test.ts b/test/commands/run.test.ts
index 9aeadab..26e786c 100644
--- a/test/commands/run.test.ts
+++ b/test/commands/run.test.ts
@@ -455,7 +455,7 @@ describe("runCommand", () => {
         runCommand(["view", "100", "--job", "--log"], ctx),
       ).rejects.toMatchObject({
         code: "VALIDATION_ERROR",
-        message: "Missing value for --job",
+        message: "--job requires a value",
       });
       expect(mockedGhExec).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
       expect(mockedGhJson).not.toHaveBeenCalled();