diff --git a/NOSTR.md b/NOSTR.md
index 7b6641779f..856b6f414a 100644
--- a/NOSTR.md
+++ b/NOSTR.md
@@ -219,7 +219,10 @@ message in the channel.
 When someone becomes a community member (an invite claim or a kind:9030 add)
 the relay joins them to every effective default channel as a self-join: the
 body of kind:9021, so the channel's `join_role` applies and the channel gets
-its `member_joined` kind:40099, kind:39002 and kind:44100. It does this once,
+its `member_joined` kind:40099, kind:39002 and kind:44100. There is no cap on
+how many channels that is: whatever carries the kind:39000 tag is joined, and
+the work a new member costs grows with the number of channels an owner or
+admin flags. It does this once,
 at that moment, and never again on login or reconnect, so a later kind:9022
 leave stands. A channel that fails to join is logged and counted
 (`buzz_auto_join_failures_total`), not retried: the kind:39000 tag is the
diff --git a/crates/buzz-db/src/store/channel.rs b/crates/buzz-db/src/store/channel.rs
index 005dda072b..3487ce14c4 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-db/src/store/channel.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-db/src/store/channel.rs
@@ -616,13 +616,15 @@ async fn list_channels_with_operation(
     rows.into_iter().map(row_to_channel_record).collect()
 }
 
-/// The most channels the relay joins a new community member into.
-pub const AUTO_JOIN_CHANNEL_LIMIT: i64 = 32;
-
 /// Lists the channels whose `auto_join` is effective: set on a stream channel
 /// that is open, unarchived and not deleted. Oldest first, so the first
-/// default channel a member sees is the one that was flagged first. Bounded by
-/// [`AUTO_JOIN_CHANNEL_LIMIT`].
+/// default channel a member sees is the one that was flagged first.
+///
+/// Every effective channel, not a page of them: kind:9002 accepts the flag on
+/// any number of channels, and the kind:39000 `auto_join` tag promises the
+/// relay joins new members there, so a cap here would silently break that
+/// promise for the channels past it. The set is bounded by the community's
+/// channels, each flagged by a relay owner or admin.
 pub async fn list_auto_join_channels(
     pool: &PgPool,
     community_id: CommunityId,
@@ -645,20 +647,11 @@ pub async fn list_auto_join_channels(
         WHERE community_id = $1 AND auto_join AND channel_type = 'stream'
           AND visibility = 'open' AND archived_at IS NULL AND deleted_at IS NULL
         ORDER BY created_at ASC
-        LIMIT $2
         "#,
     )
     .bind(community_id.as_uuid())
-    .bind(AUTO_JOIN_CHANNEL_LIMIT)
     .fetch_all(&mut *connection)
     .await?;
-    if rows.len() as i64 == AUTO_JOIN_CHANNEL_LIMIT {
-        tracing::warn!(
-            community = %community_id,
-            limit = AUTO_JOIN_CHANNEL_LIMIT,
-            "auto_join channel list reached its cap; any channel beyond it is not applied"
-        );
-    }
     rows.into_iter().map(row_to_channel_record).collect()
 }
 
diff --git a/crates/buzz-relay/src/handlers/edit_metadata_postgres_tests.rs b/crates/buzz-relay/src/handlers/edit_metadata_postgres_tests.rs
index 89d7197755..f13a3c1a73 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-relay/src/handlers/edit_metadata_postgres_tests.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-relay/src/handlers/edit_metadata_postgres_tests.rs
@@ -618,6 +618,55 @@ fn archive_event(owner: &Keys, channel_id: Uuid, value: &str) -> nostr::Event {
         .expect("sign 9002")
 }
 
+/// The loader returns every effective default channel. It used to stop at 32
+/// while kind:9002 kept accepting the flag past that, so the kind:39000 tag
+/// promised a join the relay never made for the newest channels. Mutation:
+/// put a `LIMIT` back on `list_auto_join_channels` → RED.
+#[tokio::test]
+#[ignore = "requires Postgres"]
+async fn every_default_channel_is_listed() {
+    let state = state().await;
+    let tenant = community(&state, "auto-join-all").await;
+    let admin = Keys::generate();
+    state
+        .db
+        .add_relay_member(
+            tenant.community(),
+            &admin.public_key().to_hex(),
+            "admin",
+            None,
+            &Keys::generate(),
+        )
+        .await
+        .map(|write| write.outcome)
+        .expect("seed relay admin");
+
+    let mut flagged = Vec::new();
+    for _ in 0..33 {
+        let channel_id = create_channel(&state, &tenant, &admin, &[]).await;
+        edit_channel(
+            &state,
+            &tenant,
+            &admin,
+            channel_id,
+            &[&["auto_join", "true"]],
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("relay admin sets auto_join");
+        flagged.push(channel_id);
+    }
+
+    let listed: Vec<Uuid> = state
+        .db
+        .list_auto_join_channels(tenant.community())
+        .await
+        .expect("list auto_join channels")
+        .iter()
+        .map(|channel| channel.id)
+        .collect();
+    assert_eq!(listed, flagged, "every flagged channel, oldest first");
+}
+
 /// A resend checked after its first copy committed is a duplicate.
 /// Validation runs on the new archive state and must not refuse the resend;
 /// the write must then report it as a duplicate, with no change and no