diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-failure-analyst-reusable.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-failure-analyst-reusable.yml
index f19ec7768..bd45751c2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-failure-analyst-reusable.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-failure-analyst-reusable.yml
@@ -146,8 +146,18 @@ jobs:
           TMPL
 
           PROMPT=$(envsubst < /tmp/prompt-template.txt)
+          _analyst_out=$(mktemp)
+          _analyst_rc=0
           claude --print \
             --permission-mode bypassPermissions \
             --allowedTools Bash \
             --fallback-model opus \
-            -p "$PROMPT"
+            -p "$PROMPT" 2>&1 | tee "$_analyst_out" || _analyst_rc=${PIPESTATUS[0]}
+          if [ "$_analyst_rc" -ne 0 ] && \
+             grep -qiE "hit your.*(session )?limit|rate.?limit|session limit|usage limit|quota exceeded|too many requests" "$_analyst_out"; then
+            echo "::notice::Claude rate-limited — skipping CI analysis for PR #${PR_NUMBER} (will retry on next CI failure)"
+            rm -f "$_analyst_out"
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          rm -f "$_analyst_out"
+          exit "$_analyst_rc"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/issue-triage-runner.yml b/.github/workflows/issue-triage-runner.yml
index f0a96c9a3..89a9eb031 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/issue-triage-runner.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/issue-triage-runner.yml
@@ -24,9 +24,16 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
 
       - name: Install claude CLI
-        uses: anthropics/claude-code-action/setup@787c5a0ce96a9a6cfb050ea0c8f4c05f2447c251  # main
-        with:
-          claude_code_oauth_token: ${{ secrets.CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN }}
+        env:
+          CLAUDE_CODE_VERSION: ${{ vars.CLAUDE_CODE_VERSION || 'latest' }}
+        run: |
+          mkdir -p "$HOME/.npm-global"
+          npm config set prefix "$HOME/.npm-global"
+          echo "$HOME/.npm-global/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
+          export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"
+          if ! command -v claude >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            npm install -g "@anthropic-ai/claude-code@${CLAUDE_CODE_VERSION}"
+          fi
 
       - name: Install Python dependencies
         run: |
@@ -35,6 +42,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run issue-triage (staged)
         id: run
         env:
+          CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN }}
           ISSUE_NUMBER: ${{ github.event.issue.number }}
           ISSUE_TITLE: ${{ github.event.issue.title }}
           ISSUE_BODY: ${{ github.event.issue.body }}
diff --git a/scripts/engine.sh b/scripts/engine.sh
index 72404cdbf..f35709bca 100644
--- a/scripts/engine.sh
+++ b/scripts/engine.sh
@@ -976,6 +976,10 @@ run_writer_with_fallback() {
       echo "::warning::Skipping copilot fallback: classic PAT in COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN is unsupported" >&2
       continue
     fi
+    if [ "$engine" = "gemini" ] && [ -z "${GEMINI_API_KEY:-}${GOOGLE_API_KEY:-}" ]; then
+      echo "::warning::Skipping gemini fallback: GEMINI_API_KEY or GOOGLE_API_KEY not configured" >&2
+      continue
+    fi
 
     local saved="$REVIEW_ENGINE"
     export REVIEW_ENGINE="$engine"
diff --git a/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_engine_fallback.bats b/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_engine_fallback.bats
index 7d3edea8f..4bd1badda 100644
--- a/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_engine_fallback.bats
+++ b/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_engine_fallback.bats
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ setup() {
   export TEST_PROMPT
 
   export DEV_LEAD_DRY_RUN="false"
+  export GEMINI_API_KEY="dummy-test-key"
 }
 
 teardown() {
@@ -196,3 +197,43 @@ GHEOF
   [ -s "$record_file" ]
   rm -f "$record_file"
 }
+
+@test "fallback: gemini skipped when no auth env vars set → falls through to copilot" {
+  # claude exits 2 (rate-limited), no GEMINI_API_KEY/GOOGLE_API_KEY set.
+  # gemini should be skipped entirely (not called); copilot should succeed.
+  _make_stub "claude" 2
+  local gemini_record
+  gemini_record="$(mktemp)"
+  _make_recording_stub "gemini" 1 "$gemini_record"
+  unset GEMINI_API_KEY GOOGLE_API_KEY 2>/dev/null || true
+  export COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN="stub-token"
+  cat > "$STUB_BIN_DIR/gh" <<'GHEOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+case "$*" in
+  *"copilot"*) echo "success output"; exit 0 ;;
+  *) echo "{}" ;;
+esac
+GHEOF
+  chmod +x "$STUB_BIN_DIR/gh"
+  _source_engine "claude"
+
+  run run_writer_with_fallback "$TEST_PROMPT"
+
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  # gemini must NOT have been called (file should be empty)
+  [ ! -s "$gemini_record" ]
+  rm -f "$gemini_record"
+}
+
+@test "fallback: gemini used normally when GEMINI_API_KEY is set" {
+  # claude exits 2 (rate-limited), GEMINI_API_KEY is set → gemini should be tried and succeed
+  _make_stub "claude" 2
+  _make_stub "gemini" 0
+  export GEMINI_API_KEY="test-api-key"
+  _source_engine "claude"
+
+  run run_writer_with_fallback "$TEST_PROMPT"
+
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  unset GEMINI_API_KEY
+}
diff --git a/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_engine_writer.bats b/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_engine_writer.bats
index e3e281bda..dad42fd82 100644
--- a/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_engine_writer.bats
+++ b/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_engine_writer.bats
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ setup() {
   echo "test prompt content" > "$TEST_PROMPT"
   export TEST_PROMPT
   export STUB_BIN_DIR
+  export GEMINI_API_KEY="dummy-test-key"
 }
 
 teardown() {