diff --git a/src/context.ts b/src/context.ts
index 1049b78..120d487 100644
--- a/src/context.ts
+++ b/src/context.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,17 @@ function hostnameOf(url: string, origin: string): string {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Normalize a Gitea base URL to the host root the client expects. The client
+ * (gitea-js) appends `/api/v1` itself, so a value that already carries it — a
+ * natural guess when the variable is literally named `..._API_URL` — would double
+ * the segment and 404 as a spurious `REPO_NOT_FOUND`. Strip a trailing `/api/v1`
+ * (with any trailing slashes) so the host base and the API endpoint both work.
+ */
+function normalizeApiBase(url: string): string {
+  return url.replace(/\/+$/, "").replace(/\/api\/v1$/, "");
+}
+
 function resolveTestModeContext(
   deps: CliDeps,
   apiUrl: string,
@@ -72,10 +83,11 @@ function resolveTestModeContext(
       ["Set `GITEA_AXI_REPO=OWNER/NAME` or pass `-R OWNER/NAME`"],
     );
   }
+  const base = normalizeApiBase(apiUrl);
   return {
     ...parseRepoSpec(overrides.repoSpec, overrides.repoOrigin),
-    host: hostnameOf(apiUrl, "`GITEA_AXI_API_URL`"),
-    apiUrl: apiUrl.replace(/\/+$/, ""),
+    host: hostnameOf(base, "`GITEA_AXI_API_URL`"),
+    apiUrl: base,
     token: deps.env.GITEA_AXI_TOKEN ?? "",
     repoSource: overrides.repoSource,
     loginSource: overrides.loginSource,
@@ -184,7 +196,7 @@ export async function resolveRepoContext(deps: CliDeps): Promise<RepoContext> {
     owner,
     name,
     host,
-    apiUrl: login.url.replace(/\/+$/, ""),
+    apiUrl: normalizeApiBase(login.url),
     token,
     repoSource: overrides.repoSource,
     loginSource: overrides.loginSource,
diff --git a/test/context.test.ts b/test/context.test.ts
index 1e2ec3f..55282c0 100644
--- a/test/context.test.ts
+++ b/test/context.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { resolveRepoContext } from "../src/context.js";
+import type { CliDeps } from "../src/deps.js";
 import { startFixtureServer, type FixtureServer } from "./fixture-server.js";
 import { runCliTest, testModeEnv } from "./harness.js";
 
@@ -117,3 +119,49 @@ describe("context overrides", () => {
     expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
   });
 });
+
+describe("apiUrl normalization", () => {
+  function depsWithApiUrl(apiUrl: string): CliDeps {
+    return {
+      env: {
+        GITEA_AXI_API_URL: apiUrl,
+        GITEA_AXI_REPO: "acme/widgets",
+        GITEA_AXI_TOKEN: "test-token",
+      },
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      globals: {},
+    };
+  }
+
+  it("strips a trailing /api/v1 suffix from the host base", async () => {
+    const context = await resolveRepoContext(
+      depsWithApiUrl("https://git.example.com/api/v1"),
+    );
+
+    expect(context.apiUrl).toBe("https://git.example.com");
+  });
+
+  it("strips a trailing /api/v1/ with a trailing slash", async () => {
+    const context = await resolveRepoContext(
+      depsWithApiUrl("https://git.example.com/api/v1/"),
+    );
+
+    expect(context.apiUrl).toBe("https://git.example.com");
+  });
+
+  it("leaves a host base without an /api/v1 suffix unchanged", async () => {
+    const context = await resolveRepoContext(
+      depsWithApiUrl("https://git.example.com"),
+    );
+
+    expect(context.apiUrl).toBe("https://git.example.com");
+  });
+
+  it("strips a lone trailing slash from the host base", async () => {
+    const context = await resolveRepoContext(
+      depsWithApiUrl("https://git.example.com/"),
+    );
+
+    expect(context.apiUrl).toBe("https://git.example.com");
+  });
+});