diff --git a/.changeset/list-pagination.md b/.changeset/list-pagination.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d0d2ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/list-pagination.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"@ocas/core": minor
+"@ocas/fs": minor
+"@ocas/cli": minor
+---
+
+**Breaking:** `listByType()`, `listMeta()`, `listSchemas()` now return `ListEntry[]` (with `hash`, `created`, `updated`) instead of `Hash[]`. All list commands support `--sort`, `--limit`, `--offset`, `--desc` flags. `var list` supports the same pagination options via SQL.
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/index.ts
index 6d49d6a..c3a9f24 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/index.ts
@@ -238,7 +238,9 @@ function parseTagsLabels(args: string[]): {
  * Validates each flag and dies with a clear error on invalid values.
  */
 function parseListOptions(): ListOptions {
-  const opts: ListOptions = {};
+  // Default limit applied at the CLI layer only; core treats undefined as
+  // "no limit" so internal callers (e.g. gc) can fetch full result sets.
+  const opts: ListOptions = { limit: 100 };
   const sortFlag = flags.sort;
   if (sortFlag !== undefined) {
     if (typeof sortFlag !== "string") {
@@ -988,7 +990,6 @@ async function cmdTemplateList(_args: string[]): Promise<void> {
     const variables = varStore.list({
       namePrefix: "@ocas/template/text/",
       schema: stringHash,
-      limit: Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER,
     });
 
     const templates = variables.map((v) => ({
diff --git a/packages/core/src/gc.ts b/packages/core/src/gc.ts
index 06a29c1..19de8cd 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/gc.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/gc.ts
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ export interface GcStats {
  * - Schema preservation: schemas of reachable nodes are also marked
  */
 export function gc(store: Store, varStore: VariableStore): GcStats {
-  // Get all variables (no filters → global). Pass a very large limit so the
-  // API-level default of 100 does not silently truncate gc roots.
-  const variables = varStore.list({ limit: Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER });
+  // Get all variables (no filters → global). Omit `limit` so the full
+  // variable set is returned for use as gc roots.
+  const variables = varStore.list();
   const scanned = variables.length;
 
   // Collect unique root hashes from all variables
diff --git a/packages/core/src/index.ts b/packages/core/src/index.ts
index d136879..11c273c 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/index.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ export {
 export { createMemoryStore } from "./store.js";
 export {
   type CasNode,
-  DEFAULT_LIST_LIMIT,
   type Hash,
   type ListEntry,
   type ListOptions,
diff --git a/packages/core/src/list-pagination.test.ts b/packages/core/src/list-pagination.test.ts
index 20eff98..943fb60 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/list-pagination.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/list-pagination.test.ts
@@ -103,11 +103,13 @@ describe("listByType - pagination + sort + timestamps", () => {
     expect(store.listByType(m, { offset: 100 })).toEqual([]);
   });
 
-  test("A9. default limit is 100", async () => {
+  test("A9. core has no default limit (returns all)", async () => {
     const store = createMemoryStore();
     const m = await store[BOOTSTRAP_STORE]({ type: "object" });
     await putN(store, m, 150, 0);
-    expect(store.listByType(m)).toHaveLength(100);
+    // No CLI-layer cap; with 150 nodes of type m (plus m itself which is
+    // self-typed), the full set is returned.
+    expect(store.listByType(m)).toHaveLength(151);
   });
 
   test("A10. desc + offset + limit combined", async () => {
@@ -136,12 +138,12 @@ describe("listMeta / listSchemas - pagination", () => {
     expect(typeof e.updated).toBe("number");
   });
 
-  test("B2. listMeta default limit 100", async () => {
+  test("B2. listMeta has no default limit (returns all)", async () => {
     const store = createMemoryStore();
     for (let i = 0; i < 150; i++) {
       await store[BOOTSTRAP_STORE]({ type: "object", i });
     }
-    expect(store.listMeta()).toHaveLength(100);
+    expect(store.listMeta()).toHaveLength(150);
   });
 
   test("B3. listMeta limit/offset/desc", async () => {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/list-utils.ts b/packages/core/src/list-utils.ts
index 7faceb5..5897170 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/list-utils.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/list-utils.ts
@@ -1,13 +1,9 @@
-import {
-  DEFAULT_LIST_LIMIT,
-  type Hash,
-  type ListEntry,
-  type ListOptions,
-} from "./types.js";
+import type { Hash, ListEntry, ListOptions } from "./types.js";
 
 /**
  * Apply sort/desc/offset/limit to an array of `ListEntry` records.
- * Default sort is by `created` ascending; default limit is `DEFAULT_LIST_LIMIT`.
+ * Default sort is by `created` ascending. If `limit` is omitted, all entries
+ * (after offset) are returned.
  *
  * Tiebreaker is the entry hash (lexicographic ascending) so ordering remains
  * deterministic for entries sharing the same timestamp.
@@ -18,7 +14,7 @@ export function applyListOptions(
 ): ListEntry[] {
   const sort = options?.sort ?? "created";
   const desc = options?.desc ?? false;
-  const limit = options?.limit ?? DEFAULT_LIST_LIMIT;
+  const limit = options?.limit;
   const offset = options?.offset ?? 0;
 
   const sorted = [...entries].sort((a, b) => {
@@ -30,8 +26,11 @@ export function applyListOptions(
     return desc ? (a.hash < b.hash ? 1 : -1) : a.hash < b.hash ? -1 : 1;
   });
 
-  if (limit <= 0) return [];
-  return sorted.slice(offset, offset + limit);
+  if (limit !== undefined) {
+    if (limit <= 0) return [];
+    return sorted.slice(offset, offset + limit);
+  }
+  return sorted.slice(offset);
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/packages/core/src/types.ts b/packages/core/src/types.ts
index 66d801f..4e8ed7a 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/types.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/types.ts
@@ -44,11 +44,6 @@ export type ListEntry = {
   updated: number;
 };
 
-/**
- * Default limit applied when callers omit `limit` from list options.
- */
-export const DEFAULT_LIST_LIMIT = 100;
-
 /**
  * Content-addressable store interface.
  * Self-referencing nodes are created only via bootstrap().
diff --git a/packages/core/src/variable-list-pagination.test.ts b/packages/core/src/variable-list-pagination.test.ts
index d37d1ee..3f4b8e4 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/variable-list-pagination.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/variable-list-pagination.test.ts
@@ -82,10 +82,10 @@ describe("VariableStore.list - pagination + sort", () => {
     ).toHaveLength(3);
   });
 
-  test("D5. default limit is 100", async () => {
+  test("D5. core has no default limit (returns all)", async () => {
     await setN("big", 105, 0);
     const list = varStore.list({ namePrefix: "big-" });
-    expect(list).toHaveLength(100);
+    expect(list).toHaveLength(105);
   });
 
   test("D6. pagination applied AFTER namePrefix/schema filters", async () => {
diff --git a/packages/core/src/variable-store.ts b/packages/core/src/variable-store.ts
index 46076ba..240ec93 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/variable-store.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/variable-store.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import { Database } from "bun:sqlite";
 import type { Hash, ListSort, Store } from "./types.js";
-import { DEFAULT_LIST_LIMIT } from "./types.js";
 import type { Variable } from "./variable.js";
 
 /**
@@ -608,7 +607,6 @@ export class VariableStore {
     // Remove all schema variants for this name
     const variants = this.list({
       exactName: name,
-      limit: Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER,
     });
 
     if (variants.length === 0) {
@@ -652,10 +650,10 @@ export class VariableStore {
     const filterLabels = options?.labels ?? [];
     const sort = options?.sort ?? "created";
     const desc = options?.desc ?? false;
-    const limit = options?.limit ?? DEFAULT_LIST_LIMIT;
+    const limit = options?.limit;
     const offset = options?.offset ?? 0;
 
-    if (limit <= 0) return [];
+    if (limit !== undefined && limit <= 0) return [];
 
     // Build query with filters
     let query = `
@@ -713,8 +711,14 @@ export class VariableStore {
     const direction = desc ? "DESC" : "ASC";
     // Tiebreaker: name ASC for stable ordering across same-ms timestamps
     query += ` ORDER BY ${sortColumn} ${direction}, v.name ASC`;
-    query += " LIMIT ? OFFSET ?";
-    params.push(limit, offset);
+    if (limit !== undefined) {
+      query += " LIMIT ? OFFSET ?";
+      params.push(limit, offset);
+    } else if (offset > 0) {
+      // SQLite requires LIMIT when using OFFSET; use -1 to mean "no limit".
+      query += " LIMIT -1 OFFSET ?";
+      params.push(offset);
+    }
 
     const stmt = this.db.prepare(query);
     const rows = stmt.all(...params) as Array<{