diff --git a/internal/github/fetch.go b/internal/github/fetch.go
index 597072e..ffb9609 100644
--- a/internal/github/fetch.go
+++ b/internal/github/fetch.go
@@ -14,12 +14,12 @@ import (
 // ListOpenPRsMeta returns lightweight PR metadata (no diffs) — fast single API call.
 func ListOpenPRsMeta(repo string) ([]map[string]any, error) {
 	logger.Info("listing open PRs for %s", repo)
-	out, err := exec.Command("gh", "pr", "list",
+	out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "pr", "list",
 		"--repo", repo,
 		"--state", "open",
-		"--json", "number,title,author,url,createdAt,additions,deletions,files,body,reviewRequests,headRefOid,headRefName,mergeStateStatus,commits",
+		"--json", "number,title,author,url,createdAt,additions,deletions,files,body,reviewRequests,headRefOid,headRefName,mergeStateStatus",
 		"--limit", "50",
-	).Output()
+	))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("gh pr list: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -133,8 +133,7 @@ func FetchPRDetails(repo string, raw map[string]any) (*PR, error) {
 		Body:               body,
 		HeadSHA:            fmt.Sprintf("%v", raw["headRefOid"]),
 		HeadRefName:        fmt.Sprintf("%v", raw["headRefName"]),
-		LatestCommitAuthor: latestCommitAuthorFromRaw(raw),
-		State:              state,
+		State:            state,
 		MergeStateStatus:   mergeStateStatus,
 		Checks:             checks,
 		Reviews:            reviews,
@@ -163,8 +162,8 @@ func FetchPRActivity(repo string, number int) (*PRActivity, error) {
 	var state, mergeStateStatus string
 	go func() {
 		defer wg.Done()
-		out, err := exec.Command("gh", "pr", "view", fmt.Sprintf("%d", number),
-			"--repo", repo, "--json", "title,body,headRefOid,headRefName,state,mergeStateStatus").Output()
+		out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "pr", "view", fmt.Sprintf("%d", number),
+			"--repo", repo, "--json", "title,body,headRefOid,headRefName,state,mergeStateStatus"))
 		if err != nil {
 			logger.Error("PR #%d: pr view meta: %v", number, err)
 			return
@@ -304,13 +303,13 @@ func FetchPRFull(repo string, existing *PR) (*PR, error) {
 func ListMergedPRsMeta(repo, currentUser string, since time.Time) ([]map[string]any, error) {
 	sinceStr := since.Format("2006-01-02")
 	logger.Info("listing merged PRs for %s since %s", repo, sinceStr)
-	out, err := exec.Command("gh", "pr", "list",
+	out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "pr", "list",
 		"--repo", repo,
 		"--state", "merged",
-		"--search", fmt.Sprintf("merged:>%s", sinceStr),
-		"--json", "number,title,author,url,createdAt,additions,deletions,files,body,reviewRequests,headRefOid,headRefName,mergeStateStatus,state,commits",
+		"--search", fmt.Sprintf("repo:%s merged:>%s", repo, sinceStr),
+		"--json", "number,title,author,url,createdAt,additions,deletions,files,body,reviewRequests,headRefOid,headRefName,mergeStateStatus,state",
 		"--limit", "50",
-	).Output()
+	))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("gh pr list (merged): %w", err)
 	}
@@ -333,11 +332,11 @@ func ListMergedPRsMeta(repo, currentUser string, since time.Time) ([]map[string]
 
 // FetchPRMeta returns lightweight metadata for a single PR by number.
 func FetchPRMeta(repo string, number int) (map[string]any, error) {
-	out, err := exec.Command("gh", "pr", "view",
+	out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "pr", "view",
 		fmt.Sprintf("%d", number),
 		"--repo", repo,
-		"--json", "number,title,author,url,createdAt,additions,deletions,files,body,reviewRequests,headRefOid,headRefName,mergeStateStatus,state,commits",
-	).Output()
+		"--json", "number,title,author,url,createdAt,additions,deletions,files,body,reviewRequests,headRefOid,headRefName,mergeStateStatus,state",
+	))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("gh pr view %d: %w", number, err)
 	}
@@ -348,34 +347,10 @@ func FetchPRMeta(repo string, number int) (map[string]any, error) {
 	return raw, nil
 }
 
-// latestCommitAuthorFromRaw extracts the login of the most recent commit author
-// from a raw PR JSON object containing a "commits" field. Returns "" if absent.
-// gh returns commits ordered oldest-first, so the last entry is the most recent.
-func latestCommitAuthorFromRaw(raw map[string]any) string {
-	commits, ok := raw["commits"].([]any)
-	if !ok || len(commits) == 0 {
-		return ""
-	}
-	last, ok := commits[len(commits)-1].(map[string]any)
-	if !ok {
-		return ""
-	}
-	authors, ok := last["authors"].([]any)
-	if !ok || len(authors) == 0 {
-		return ""
-	}
-	first, ok := authors[0].(map[string]any)
-	if !ok {
-		return ""
-	}
-	if login, ok := first["login"].(string); ok {
-		return login
-	}
-	return ""
-}
+
 
 func getDiff(repo string, number int) (string, error) {
-	out, err := exec.Command("gh", "pr", "diff", fmt.Sprintf("%d", number), "--repo", repo).Output()
+	out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "pr", "diff", fmt.Sprintf("%d", number), "--repo", repo))
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("gh pr diff: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -383,8 +358,8 @@ func getDiff(repo string, number int) (string, error) {
 }
 
 func getChecks(repo string, number int) ([]CheckStatus, error) {
-	out, err := exec.Command("gh", "pr", "checks", fmt.Sprintf("%d", number),
-		"--repo", repo, "--json", "name,state").Output()
+	out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "pr", "checks", fmt.Sprintf("%d", number),
+		"--repo", repo, "--json", "name,state"))
 	if err != nil || len(strings.TrimSpace(string(out))) == 0 {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
@@ -404,10 +379,10 @@ func getChecks(repo string, number int) ([]CheckStatus, error) {
 }
 
 func getReviews(repo string, number int) ([]ReviewComment, error) {
-	out, err := exec.Command("gh", "api",
+	out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "api",
 		fmt.Sprintf("repos/%s/pulls/%d/reviews", repo, number),
 		"--jq", `[.[] | {author: .user.login, body: .body, state: .state, submitted_at: .submitted_at}]`,
-	).Output()
+	))
 	if err != nil || len(strings.TrimSpace(string(out))) == 0 {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
@@ -438,11 +413,11 @@ func getReviews(repo string, number int) ([]ReviewComment, error) {
 }
 
 func getComments(repo string, number int) ([]ReviewComment, error) {
-	out, err := exec.Command("gh", "api",
+	out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "api",
 		fmt.Sprintf("repos/%s/issues/%d/comments", repo, number),
 		"--paginate",
 		"--jq", `.[] | {id: .id, author: .user.login, body: .body, submitted_at: .created_at}`,
-	).Output()
+	))
 	if err != nil || len(strings.TrimSpace(string(out))) == 0 {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
@@ -475,11 +450,11 @@ func getComments(repo string, number int) ([]ReviewComment, error) {
 }
 
 func getInlineComments(repo string, number int) ([]ReviewComment, error) {
-	out, err := exec.Command("gh", "api",
+	out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "api",
 		fmt.Sprintf("repos/%s/pulls/%d/comments", repo, number),
 		"--paginate",
 		"--jq", `.[] | {id: .id, in_reply_to_id: (.in_reply_to_id // 0), author: .user.login, body: .body, path: .path, line: (.line // .original_line // 0), submitted_at: .created_at}`,
-	).Output()
+	))
 	if err != nil || len(strings.TrimSpace(string(out))) == 0 {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
diff --git a/internal/github/github.go b/internal/github/github.go
index 700e661..ec05f60 100644
--- a/internal/github/github.go
+++ b/internal/github/github.go
@@ -8,8 +8,22 @@ import (
 	"sync"
 )
 
+// ghOutput runs an exec.Cmd and returns its stdout. On failure, it extracts
+// stderr from the ExitError so callers get a useful message instead of just
+// "exit status 1".
+func ghOutput(cmd *exec.Cmd) ([]byte, error) {
+	out, err := cmd.Output()
+	if err != nil {
+		if ee, ok := err.(*exec.ExitError); ok && len(ee.Stderr) > 0 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s", cmd.Args[0], strings.TrimSpace(string(ee.Stderr)))
+		}
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
 func CurrentUser() (string, error) {
-	out, err := exec.Command("gh", "api", "user", "--jq", ".login").Output()
+	out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "api", "user", "--jq", ".login"))
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("gh api user: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -26,7 +40,7 @@ func DetectRepo(dir string) (string, error) {
 
 	cmd := exec.Command("git", "remote", "get-url", "origin")
 	cmd.Dir = dir
-	out, err := cmd.Output()
+	out, err := ghOutput(cmd)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("no 'origin' remote found — prx requires a GitHub remote")
 	}
@@ -101,10 +115,10 @@ func RequestChanges(repo string, number int, body string) error {
 
 // GetReactions returns all reactions on a PR (GitHub treats PRs as issues for reactions).
 func GetReactions(repo string, number int) ([]Reaction, error) {
-	out, err := exec.Command("gh", "api",
+	out, err := ghOutput(exec.Command("gh", "api",
 		fmt.Sprintf("repos/%s/issues/%d/reactions", repo, number),
 		"--jq", `[.[] | {id: .id, user: .user.login, content: .content}]`,
-	).Output()
+	))
 	if err != nil || len(strings.TrimSpace(string(out))) == 0 {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
diff --git a/internal/github/types.go b/internal/github/types.go
index a6672bc..ab77ac5 100644
--- a/internal/github/types.go
+++ b/internal/github/types.go
@@ -41,8 +41,7 @@ type PR struct {
 	Body               string
 	HeadSHA            string
 	HeadRefName        string
-	LatestCommitAuthor string // login of the author of the most recent commit on the head ref
-	State              string // "OPEN", "MERGED", or "CLOSED"
+	State            string // "OPEN", "MERGED", or "CLOSED"
 	MergeStateStatus   string // "CLEAN", "BLOCKED", "DIRTY", "BEHIND", "UNSTABLE", "UNKNOWN", etc.
 	Checks             []CheckStatus
 	Reviews            []ReviewComment // PR-level review submissions (APPROVED, CHANGES_REQUESTED, etc.)
diff --git a/internal/tui/model_helpers.go b/internal/tui/model_helpers.go
index 310f9ba..9b2c411 100644
--- a/internal/tui/model_helpers.go
+++ b/internal/tui/model_helpers.go
@@ -240,9 +240,8 @@ func (m *Model) computeHasNewContent(card *PRCard) {
 	commentDigests := diff.CommentDigestsFromPR(card.PR, m.app.CurrentUser)
 	inc := reviewstate.ComputeIncremental(fileNames, fileHunks, commentDigests, state)
 	hasChanges := inc.HasChanges
-	if hasChanges && card.PR.LatestCommitAuthor == m.app.CurrentUser {
-		// The diff changed since last snapshot but the most recent commit is
-		// ours — don't resurface PRs because of our own pushes.
+	if hasChanges && card.PR.Author == m.app.CurrentUser {
+		// It's our PR — our own diff changes should never resurface the card.
 		hasChanges = false
 	}
 	card.HasNewContent = hasChanges || inc.HasNewComments
@@ -267,9 +266,9 @@ func (m *Model) updateIncrementalState(card *PRCard) {
 	fileNames, fileHunks := diff.FileHunkInfo(card.parsedFiles)
 	commentDigests := diff.CommentDigestsFromPR(card.PR, m.app.CurrentUser)
 	state := reviewstate.ComputeIncremental(fileNames, fileHunks, commentDigests, card.ReviewState)
-	if state.HasChanges && card.PR.LatestCommitAuthor == m.app.CurrentUser {
-		// Latest commit is ours — treat all new hunks as already-seen so we
-		// don't get nagged about our own pushes (visibility & diff badges).
+	if state.HasChanges && card.PR.Author == m.app.CurrentUser {
+		// It's our PR — suppress our own diff changes in both the badge and
+		// the per-hunk highlights so only other people's comments surface.
 		for _, fileHunks := range state.HunkStatus {
 			for hi := range fileHunks {
 				fileHunks[hi] = reviewstate.StatusSeen