diff --git a/.github/scripts/pull-request-dashboard/publish_dashboard.py b/.github/scripts/pull-request-dashboard/publish_dashboard.py
index 9c5bc87b6..25cb48b33 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/pull-request-dashboard/publish_dashboard.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/pull-request-dashboard/publish_dashboard.py
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@
 DASHBOARD_LABEL = "dashboard"
 DASHBOARD_LABEL_COLOR = "cfd3d7"
 DASHBOARD_LABEL_DESCRIPTION = "Pull request dashboard"
-LARGE_REPO_MAX_ROWS_PER_SECTION = 50
+ISSUE_BODY_MAX_CHARS = 65536
+LARGE_REPO_MAX_ROWS_PER_SECTION = 100
 
 
 # GraphQL is used instead of the REST `/repos/{repo}/issues` list endpoint
@@ -157,9 +158,14 @@ def render_dashboard_markdown(repo: str, large_repo: bool) -> Path:
     output_path.write_text(md, encoding="utf-8")
     print(
         f"rendered dashboard markdown to {output_path.resolve()} "
-        f"({len(md)} chars, GitHub issue-body limit is 65536)",
+        f"({len(md)} chars, GitHub issue-body limit is {ISSUE_BODY_MAX_CHARS})",
         file=sys.stderr,
     )
+    if len(md) > ISSUE_BODY_MAX_CHARS:
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            f"rendered dashboard markdown is {len(md)} chars, which exceeds "
+            f"GitHub's {ISSUE_BODY_MAX_CHARS}-character issue-body limit"
+        )
     return output_path
 
 
diff --git a/.github/scripts/pull-request-dashboard/render.py b/.github/scripts/pull-request-dashboard/render.py
index 224583b45..328920b6b 100644
--- a/.github/scripts/pull-request-dashboard/render.py
+++ b/.github/scripts/pull-request-dashboard/render.py
@@ -59,10 +59,11 @@ def render_draft_pr_section(
     for pr in drafts:
         number = pr["number"]
         title = _md_escape(pr.get("title", ""))
-        url = pr.get("url", "")
         author = actor_login(pr.get("author") or {})
         updated = activity_age(parse_ts(pr.get("updatedAt") or ""))
-        lines.append(f"| [{title} (#{number})]({url}) | {author} | {updated} |")
+        # GitHub autolinks same-repo PR numbers; avoid full URLs so large
+        # dashboards can show more PRs before hitting the issue body limit.
+        lines.append(f"| #{number} {title} | {author} | {updated} |")
     lines.append("")
     if truncated:
         lines.append(_truncation_note(truncated))
@@ -194,9 +195,13 @@ def render_pr_tables(
 ) -> str:
     source_url = "https://github.com/open-telemetry/shared-workflows/blob/main/.github/scripts/pull-request-dashboard/dashboard.py"
     refresh_url = "https://github.com/open-telemetry/shared-workflows/actions/workflows/pull-request-dashboard.yml"
+    draft_note = (
+        "Draft PRs are omitted to keep this dashboard concise."
+        if skip_drafts
+        else "Draft PRs are listed separately."
+    )
     grouping_note = (
-        "Open non-draft PRs grouped by who is expected to act next. Draft PRs are "
-        "listed separately. The grouping is "
+        f"Open non-draft PRs grouped by who is expected to act next. {draft_note} The grouping is "
         f"partly performed by an LLM ([source]({source_url})) and could contain mistakes."
     )
     reviewers_note = (
@@ -240,13 +245,14 @@ def row_sort_key(pr: dict[str, Any]) -> tuple[int, int]:
         for pr in rows:
             number = pr["number"]
             title = _md_escape(pr.get("title", ""))
-            url = pr.get("url", "")
             res = results.get(number) or {}
             facts = res.get("facts") or {}
             author = facts.get("author") or actor_login(pr.get("author") or {})
             reviewers_cell = reviewers_cell_text(facts)
             activity_cell = age_cell(facts)
-            pr_cell = f"[{title} (#{number})]({url})"
+            # GitHub autolinks same-repo PR numbers; avoid full URLs so large
+            # dashboards can show more PRs before hitting the issue body limit.
+            pr_cell = f"#{number} {title}"
             out.append(
                 f"| {pr_cell} | {author} | {reviewers_cell} | {ci_cell(facts)} | "
                 f"{conflicts_cell(facts)} | {activity_cell} |"
diff --git a/pull-request-dashboard/README.md b/pull-request-dashboard/README.md
index 9e56fba3f..355515f16 100644
--- a/pull-request-dashboard/README.md
+++ b/pull-request-dashboard/README.md
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ The classification cache reuses prior results for unchanged review threads, mini
 
 ## Dashboard columns
 
-The dashboard groups open non-draft pull requests by who is expected to act next (e.g. *Waiting on reviewers*, *Waiting on authors*, *Waiting on maintainers*, *Waiting on external*). Draft PRs are listed separately at the bottom. Within each group, rows are sorted longest-waiting first. Every row has these six columns:
+The dashboard groups open non-draft pull requests by who is expected to act next (e.g. *Waiting on reviewers*, *Waiting on authors*, *Waiting on maintainers*, *Waiting on external*). Draft PRs are listed separately at the bottom unless `large_repo` rendering is enabled. Within each group, rows are sorted longest-waiting first. Every row has these six columns:
 
-- **PR** — Pull request title and number, linked to the PR on GitHub.
+- **PR** — Pull request number and title. The number autolinks to the PR on GitHub.
 - **Author** — GitHub login of the PR author.
 - **Reviewers** — Reviewers who have engaged with the PR, each annotated with one or more icons:
   - ✅ approved
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ Fields:
 | `required_approvals` | yes | Number of approvals required for an open PR to be marked ready to merge. |
 | `slack_channel` | no | Slack channel for notifications. Omit to skip Slack processing for this repository. |
 | `slack_user_mapping` | no | Map of GitHub login to Slack user ID for at-mentions. |
-| `large_repo` | no | If `true`, apply rendering presets that keep the dashboard body under GitHub's 65,536-character issue-body limit: cap each section (each *Waiting on …* table, the *Draft pull requests* table, and the *Diagnostics* block) at 50 rows, and omit the *Draft pull requests* section entirely. Truncated sections get a `_More X PRs not shown_` footer. Defaults to `false` (no cap, drafts shown). Enable this for very large repos with hundreds of PRs. |
+| `large_repo` | no | If `true`, apply rendering presets that keep the dashboard body under GitHub's 65,536-character issue-body limit: cap each section (each *Waiting on …* table, the *Draft pull requests* table, and the *Diagnostics* block) at 100 rows, and omit the *Draft pull requests* section entirely. Truncated sections get a `_More X PRs not shown_` footer. Defaults to `false` (no cap, drafts shown). Enable this for very large repos with hundreds of PRs. |
 
 Ask a maintainer or admin to add the repository under [Repository access](https://github.com/organizations/open-telemetry/settings/installations/133550497).