diff --git a/src/executor.ts b/src/executor.ts
index 46f32bb..35a618b 100644
--- a/src/executor.ts
+++ b/src/executor.ts
@@ -877,7 +877,15 @@ async function executeTask(
 							const reviewInfo = baseRef
 								? getCommitRangeDiff(worktreeDir, baseRef)
 								: null;
-							if (!reviewInfo || !reviewInfo.diff) break; // nothing to review
+							if (!reviewInfo || !reviewInfo.diff) {
+								const reason = !baseRef
+									? "could not capture base ref before execution"
+									: "no changes found between base and HEAD";
+								sendChatMessage?.(
+									`~ review for ${task.id} · ${task.title} — skipping review (${reason})`,
+								);
+								break;
+							}
 
 							const reviewPrompt = buildReviewPrompt(
 								task,
diff --git a/src/utils.ts b/src/utils.ts
index 794b468..bcf10cc 100644
--- a/src/utils.ts
+++ b/src/utils.ts
@@ -795,11 +795,12 @@ export function getLatestCommitDiff(
 			encoding: "utf-8",
 		}).trim();
 
-		// Full diff of the latest commit: stat overview + patch
+		// Full diff of the latest commit: stat overview + patch.
+		// maxBuffer set high — the prompt builder truncates to MAX_DIFF_BYTES.
 		const diff = execSync("git show HEAD --stat --patch", {
 			cwd: projectDir,
 			encoding: "utf-8",
-			maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024,
+			maxBuffer: 10 * 1024 * 1024,
 		}).trim();
 
 		return { hash, subject, diff };
@@ -868,10 +869,14 @@ export function getCommitRangeDiff(
 
 		// Diff from baseRef to HEAD — shows all committed changes made since
 		// the snapshot. Includes stat overview + full patch.
+		//
+		// maxBuffer is set high (10 MB) so larger tasks don't cause execSync to
+		// throw. The review prompt builder truncates to MAX_DIFF_BYTES (50 KB)
+		// before sending to the model, so the full diff in memory is fine.
 		const diff = execSync(`git diff ${baseRef} HEAD --stat --patch`, {
 			cwd: projectDir,
 			encoding: "utf-8",
-			maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024,
+			maxBuffer: 10 * 1024 * 1024,
 		}).trim();
 
 		if (!diff) return null; // no changes since baseRef