diff --git a/hive-forge/src/verbs/ci_runs.rs b/hive-forge/src/verbs/ci_runs.rs
index 6f36e0d7..ab023438 100644
--- a/hive-forge/src/verbs/ci_runs.rs
+++ b/hive-forge/src/verbs/ci_runs.rs
@@ -21,7 +21,10 @@ pub struct Args {
     /// Only runs of this workflow file (e.g. `ci.yml`).
     #[arg(long)]
     workflow: Option<String>,
-    /// Only runs on this branch or ref (e.g. `main`, `damocles/foo`).
+    /// Only runs on this ref. A branch name (`main`, `damocles/foo`) or a
+    /// PR (`#N`) is qualified for you; a `refs/…` value is used as
+    /// given. An all-digit value is read as a PR number — to filter a
+    /// branch literally named that, pass `refs/heads/<name>`.
     #[arg(long)]
     branch: Option<String>,
     /// How many runs to print (default 20).
@@ -40,7 +43,7 @@ pub fn run(client: &Client, args: Args) -> Result<()> {
     let (owner, name) = client.owner_repo()?;
     let query = ListActionRunsQuery {
         workflow_id: args.workflow.clone(),
-        r#ref: args.branch.clone(),
+        r#ref: args.branch.as_deref().map(qualify_ref),
         ..Default::default()
     };
     let body = client
@@ -65,6 +68,30 @@ pub fn run(client: &Client, args: Args) -> Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+/// Qualify a `--branch` value into the full ref the runs-list filter
+/// matches on. It only matches a complete ref, while the listing prints
+/// `prettyref` (`main`, `#N`) — so without this every value a caller
+/// can read off the output comes back as an empty result set, which is
+/// indistinguishable from a branch that has never been built.
+///
+/// A slash cannot be used to detect an already-qualified ref: branch
+/// names contain slashes (`damocles/3932-merge-collisions-lint`), so
+/// `refs/` is the only reliable marker and anything else is a branch.
+///
+/// Deliberately not shared with `ci-rerun`, whose `ref` is a
+/// `workflow_dispatch` body field taking a **bare** branch name. Same
+/// field name, different domain; qualifying there would break it.
+fn qualify_ref(value: &str) -> String {
+    if value.starts_with("refs/") {
+        return value.to_owned();
+    }
+    let digits = value.strip_prefix('#').unwrap_or(value);
+    if !digits.is_empty() && digits.bytes().all(|b| b.is_ascii_digit()) {
+        return format!("refs/pull/{digits}/head");
+    }
+    format!("refs/heads/{value}")
+}
+
 /// One human-readable line per run: number, status, workflow file, ref,
 /// title. Widths are cosmetic alignment, not a fixed schema — a longer
 /// value just pushes the next column over rather than truncating.
@@ -76,3 +103,35 @@ fn print_row(run: &ActionRun) {
     let title = run.title.as_deref().unwrap_or("");
     println!("{number:<7} {status:<10} {workflow:<20} {run_ref:<28} {title}");
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::qualify_ref;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn qualifies_a_bare_branch_name() {
+        assert_eq!(qualify_ref("main"), "refs/heads/main");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_slash_does_not_imply_an_already_qualified_ref() {
+        assert_eq!(qualify_ref("damocles/foo"), "refs/heads/damocles/foo");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn reads_a_pr_number_as_its_pull_head_ref() {
+        assert_eq!(qualify_ref("#3967"), "refs/pull/3967/head"); // lint:allow test input
+        assert_eq!(qualify_ref("3967"), "refs/pull/3967/head");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn leaves_a_qualified_ref_alone() {
+        assert_eq!(qualify_ref("refs/heads/main"), "refs/heads/main");
+        assert_eq!(qualify_ref("refs/pull/3967/merge"), "refs/pull/3967/merge");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_lone_hash_is_a_branch_name_not_an_empty_pr() {
+        assert_eq!(qualify_ref("#"), "refs/heads/#");
+    }
+}