diff --git a/hive-forge/src/verbs/subscription.rs b/hive-forge/src/verbs/subscription.rs
index 46161cdf..13d77e10 100644
--- a/hive-forge/src/verbs/subscription.rs
+++ b/hive-forge/src/verbs/subscription.rs
@@ -33,6 +33,30 @@ pub struct Args {
     list: bool,
 }
 
+/// Refuse `--ignore`. Forgejo's PUT subscription endpoint takes no body —
+/// it always subscribes (watch), with no way to mark a repo ignored
+/// without also watching it. The old raw client sent a
+/// `{subscribed, ignored}` body which the server ignored, so `--ignore`
+/// silently behaved like `--watch` (the opposite of what it promises)
+/// instead of failing. Refuse instead of lying about what happened. A
+/// free function (rather than inlined in `run`) so the refusal itself —
+/// not just a string constant — is unit-testable without a real `Client`:
+/// it fires before any API call is made.
+///
+/// # Errors
+/// Always errors when `args.ignore` is set; otherwise always `Ok`.
+fn reject_ignore(args: &Args) -> Result<()> {
+    if args.ignore {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "subscription --ignore is not supported: Forgejo's subscription \
+             endpoint has no way to mark a repo ignored without also \
+             watching it. Use --unwatch to stop watching, or --watch if \
+             muted-but-watched is what you actually want."
+        );
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 /// Run the `subscription` verb: `--list` all watched repos, set the
 /// current repo's watch (`--watch` / `--ignore` / `--unwatch`), or get
 /// its current state.
@@ -40,26 +64,8 @@ pub struct Args {
 /// # Errors
 /// Propagates transport / non-2xx errors from the Forgejo client calls
 /// and from `print_json`.
-/// Error text for a refused `--ignore`. Forgejo's PUT subscription endpoint
-/// takes no body — it always subscribes (watch), with no way to mark a repo
-/// ignored without also watching it. The old raw client sent a
-/// `{subscribed, ignored}` body which the server ignored, so `--ignore`
-/// silently behaved like `--watch` (the opposite of what it promises)
-/// instead of failing. Refuse instead of lying about what happened. A free
-/// function (rather than inlined in `run`) so it's testable without a real
-/// `Client` — the refusal fires before any API call is made.
-fn ignore_refusal_message() -> String {
-    "subscription --ignore is not supported: Forgejo's subscription endpoint \
-     has no way to mark a repo ignored without also watching it. Use \
-     --unwatch to stop watching, or --watch if muted-but-watched is what \
-     you actually want."
-        .to_owned()
-}
-
 pub fn run(client: &Client, args: Args) -> Result<()> {
-    if args.ignore {
-        anyhow::bail!(ignore_refusal_message());
-    }
+    reject_ignore(&args)?;
     if args.list {
         // List every repo the authed user watches, so an agent can audit
         // its notification firehose and decide what to `--unwatch`. Not
@@ -120,13 +126,29 @@ pub fn run(client: &Client, args: Args) -> Result<()> {
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
-    use super::ignore_refusal_message;
+    use super::{Args, reject_ignore};
+
+    fn args(watch: bool, ignore: bool, unwatch: bool, list: bool) -> Args {
+        Args {
+            watch,
+            ignore,
+            unwatch,
+            list,
+        }
+    }
 
     #[test]
     fn ignore_is_rejected_pointing_at_unwatch() {
-        let msg = ignore_refusal_message();
+        let err =
+            reject_ignore(&args(false, true, false, false)).expect_err("--ignore must be refused");
+        let msg = err.to_string();
         assert!(msg.contains("--unwatch"));
         assert!(msg.contains("--watch"));
         assert!(msg.contains("not supported"));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn watch_is_not_rejected() {
+        assert!(reject_ignore(&args(true, false, false, false)).is_ok());
+    }
 }