diff --git a/institutio/governance/gates.yaml b/institutio/governance/gates.yaml
index 4db93ae3c..e5db4b3fb 100644
--- a/institutio/governance/gates.yaml
+++ b/institutio/governance/gates.yaml
@@ -473,6 +473,7 @@ gates:
     paths: ["cli/**"]
     tier: heavy
     serialize: true
+    timeout_seconds: 1500
     ci_job: "pr-gate.yml:pr-gate"
     owner: verify
     note: "Env-scrubbed and no-modal: ambient persona tokens and editor configuration must not leak into test behavior. Serialized machine-wide (2026-07-15 host-thrash: two concurrent lawful verify.py runs each launched this full suite in parallel with the Backblaze crawl — the 1,200-test suite is a host-exhausting gate like the node/web estate; queueing is strictly cheaper than thrashing). -n auto is WITHIN-run xdist fan-out and orthogonal to that cross-run flock: one run at a time, that run uses the cores."
@@ -481,6 +482,7 @@ gates:
     paths: ["web/api/**", "cli/**"]
     tier: heavy
     serialize: true
+    timeout_seconds: 900
     ci_job: "pr-gate.yml:pr-gate"
     owner: verify
     note: "web/api imports limen — a cli change implicates the API suite too. Serialized machine-wide with pytest-cli (same 2026-07-15 rationale)."
diff --git a/scripts/verify.py b/scripts/verify.py
index 06e827c01..97ad65a49 100755
--- a/scripts/verify.py
+++ b/scripts/verify.py
@@ -519,6 +519,12 @@ def run_gate_wave(
 
         def execute(gate_id: str) -> tuple[bool, float]:
             started = time.monotonic()
+            # A gate row may declare its own deadline (GATES registry `timeout_seconds`) — heavy
+            # serialized suites like pytest-cli cannot finish inside the wave default (the
+            # 2026-07-30 300s regression made every cli-touching PR unmergeable). The row can
+            # only EXTEND the wave default, never shrink it.
+            row_timeout = (gates[gate_id] or {}).get("timeout_seconds")
+            gate_deadline = max(timeout_seconds, float(row_timeout)) if row_timeout else timeout_seconds
             print(f"WAVE {wave_name}: START gate={gate_id}", flush=True)
             with output_paths[gate_id].open("w+b") as output:
                 try:
@@ -528,7 +534,7 @@ def execute(gate_id: str) -> tuple[bool, float]:
                         registry,
                         changed,
                         output=output,
-                        deadline=started + timeout_seconds,
+                        deadline=started + gate_deadline,
                         output_limit_bytes=output_limit_bytes,
                         cancel_event=cancel_event,
                     )