diff --git a/src/components/kanban-board.test.tsx b/src/components/kanban-board.test.tsx
index 070eaf3..4a7eaef 100644
--- a/src/components/kanban-board.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/kanban-board.test.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,18 @@
-import { fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { act, fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
 import React from "react";
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { Issue } from "@/types";
 import { KanbanBoard } from "./kanban-board";
 
+const dnd = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  latestProps: null as null | { onDragEnd: (event: { active: { id: string }; over: { id: string } | null }) => Promise<void> },
+}));
+
 vi.mock("@dnd-kit/core", () => ({
-  DndContext: ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => <div>{children}</div>,
+  DndContext: ({ children, onDragEnd }: { children: React.ReactNode; onDragEnd: (event: { active: { id: string }; over: { id: string } | null }) => Promise<void> }) => {
+    dnd.latestProps = { onDragEnd };
+    return <div>{children}</div>;
+  },
   DragOverlay: ({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) => <div>{children}</div>,
   KeyboardSensor: vi.fn(),
   PointerSensor: vi.fn(),
@@ -132,4 +139,161 @@ describe("KanbanBoard refresh status", () => {
       expect(screen.queryByText("Board refresh failed. Showing previous state.")).not.toBeInTheDocument()
     );
   });
+
+  it("refreshes after a card move and debounces repo-scoped GitHub sync", async () => {
+    const fetchMock = vi
+      .fn()
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: () => Promise.resolve({ success: true }) })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: true,
+        json: () => Promise.resolve([issue({ labels: ["status/in-progress"] })]),
+      })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: () => Promise.resolve({ syncedCount: 1 }) });
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+
+    render(<KanbanBoard initialIssues={[issue()]} />);
+    await screen.findByText("Existing issue");
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      await dnd.latestProps?.onDragEnd({
+        active: { id: "issue-1" },
+        over: { id: "status/in-progress" },
+      });
+    });
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith("/api/issues", expect.any(Object)));
+    expect(fetchMock).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith("/api/sync", expect.any(Object));
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(10_000);
+    });
+
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        "/api/sync",
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          method: "POST",
+          body: JSON.stringify({ repoFullName: "misospace/dispatch" }),
+        })
+      )
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("batches multiple moves in one debounce window into one sync per repo", async () => {
+    const fetchMock = vi
+      .fn()
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: () => Promise.resolve({ success: true }) })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: true,
+        json: () => Promise.resolve([issue({ labels: ["status/in-progress"] })]),
+      })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: () => Promise.resolve({ success: true }) })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: true,
+        json: () => Promise.resolve([issue({ labels: ["status/in-review"] })]),
+      })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: () => Promise.resolve({ syncedCount: 1 }) });
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+
+    render(<KanbanBoard initialIssues={[issue()]} />);
+    await screen.findByText("Existing issue");
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      await dnd.latestProps?.onDragEnd({
+        active: { id: "issue-1" },
+        over: { id: "status/in-progress" },
+      });
+    });
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(5_000);
+      await dnd.latestProps?.onDragEnd({
+        active: { id: "issue-1" },
+        over: { id: "status/in-review" },
+      });
+    });
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(4);
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(9_999);
+    });
+    expect(fetchMock.mock.calls.filter(([url]) => url === "/api/sync")).toHaveLength(0);
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(1);
+    });
+
+    await waitFor(() => expect(fetchMock.mock.calls.filter(([url]) => url === "/api/sync")).toHaveLength(1));
+  });
+
+  it("shows a warning when debounced GitHub sync fails", async () => {
+    const fetchMock = vi
+      .fn()
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: () => Promise.resolve({ success: true }) })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: true,
+        json: () => Promise.resolve([issue({ labels: ["status/in-progress"] })]),
+      })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: false, json: () => Promise.resolve({ error: "nope" }) });
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+
+    render(<KanbanBoard initialIssues={[issue()]} />);
+    await screen.findByText("Existing issue");
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      await dnd.latestProps?.onDragEnd({
+        active: { id: "issue-1" },
+        over: { id: "status/in-progress" },
+      });
+    });
+    await waitFor(() => expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2));
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(10_000);
+    });
+
+    expect(await screen.findByText("GitHub sync failed. Board changes were saved; try Sync Issues or refresh later.")).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("does not expose agent token in the debounced GitHub sync request", async () => {
+    const fetchMock = vi
+      .fn()
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: () => Promise.resolve({ success: true }) })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        ok: true,
+        json: () => Promise.resolve([issue({ labels: ["status/in-progress"] })]),
+      })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce({ ok: true, json: () => Promise.resolve({ syncedCount: 1 }) });
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+
+    render(<KanbanBoard initialIssues={[issue()]} />);
+    await screen.findByText("Existing issue");
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      await dnd.latestProps?.onDragEnd({
+        active: { id: "issue-1" },
+        over: { id: "status/in-progress" },
+      });
+    });
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      vi.advanceTimersByTime(10_000);
+    });
+
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        "/api/sync",
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          method: "POST",
+          body: JSON.stringify({ repoFullName: "misospace/dispatch" }),
+        })
+      )
+    );
+
+    const syncCall = fetchMock.mock.calls.find(([url]) => url === "/api/sync");
+    expect(syncCall).toBeDefined();
+    const headers = (syncCall![1] as RequestInit).headers as Record<string, string> | undefined;
+    expect(headers).not.toHaveProperty("Authorization", expect.stringContaining("Bearer"));
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/components/kanban-board.tsx b/src/components/kanban-board.tsx
index 33fc7bd..b61168c 100644
--- a/src/components/kanban-board.tsx
+++ b/src/components/kanban-board.tsx
@@ -34,6 +34,10 @@ const COLUMNS: { id: StatusLabel; title: string }[] = [
 ];
 
 const AUTO_REFRESH_INTERVAL_MS = 30_000; // 30 seconds
+// 10s debounce balances responsiveness with rate-limiting: long enough to batch
+// rapid drag-and-drop moves on the same repo into a single sync, short enough
+// that stale board state is reconciled with GitHub within a typical user session.
+const MOVE_SYNC_DEBOUNCE_MS = 10_000;
 
 interface KanbanBoardProps {
   initialIssues: Issue[];
@@ -54,6 +58,8 @@ export const KanbanBoard = forwardRef<KanbanBoardRef, KanbanBoardProps>(function
   const [refreshing, setRefreshing] = useState(false);
   const [refreshError, setRefreshError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [lastRefreshedAt, setLastRefreshedAt] = useState<Date | null>(null);
+  const pendingSyncReposRef = useRef<Set<string>>(new Set());
+  const syncTimerRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
 
   // Store latest issues in a ref for doRefresh to always use current state
   const issuesRef = useRef(issues);
@@ -103,6 +109,47 @@ export const KanbanBoard = forwardRef<KanbanBoardRef, KanbanBoardProps>(function
     }
   }, []);
 
+  const scheduleSync = useCallback((repoFullName: string) => {
+    pendingSyncReposRef.current.add(repoFullName);
+
+    if (syncTimerRef.current) {
+      clearTimeout(syncTimerRef.current);
+    }
+
+    syncTimerRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
+      const repos = Array.from(pendingSyncReposRef.current);
+      pendingSyncReposRef.current.clear();
+      syncTimerRef.current = null;
+
+      void Promise.all(
+        repos.map(async (repo) => {
+          const response = await authedFetch("/api/sync", {
+            method: "POST",
+            headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+            body: JSON.stringify({ repoFullName: repo }),
+          });
+
+          if (!response.ok) {
+            throw new Error(`Sync failed for ${repo}`);
+          }
+        })
+      ).catch(() => {
+        setNotification({
+          type: "error",
+          message: "GitHub sync failed. Board changes were saved; try Sync Issues or refresh later.",
+        });
+      });
+    }, MOVE_SYNC_DEBOUNCE_MS);
+  }, []);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    return () => {
+      if (syncTimerRef.current) {
+        clearTimeout(syncTimerRef.current);
+      }
+    };
+  }, []);
+
   // Auto-refresh every 30 seconds
   useEffect(() => {
     const intervalId = setInterval(async () => {
@@ -188,7 +235,8 @@ export const KanbanBoard = forwardRef<KanbanBoardRef, KanbanBoardProps>(function
         throw new Error(data.error || "Failed to move issue");
       }
 
-      await authedFetch("/api/sync", { method: "POST" });
+      await doRefresh();
+      scheduleSync(issue.repository.fullName);
     } catch (err) {
       setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to move issue");
       setIssues((prev) =>