diff --git a/src/client/graphql-client.ts b/src/client/graphql-client.ts
index 03840b8..926e5f5 100644
--- a/src/client/graphql-client.ts
+++ b/src/client/graphql-client.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { LinearClient } from "@linear/sdk";
 import { type DocumentNode, print } from "graphql";
 import { AuthenticationError, isAuthError } from "../common/errors.js";
+import { withRetry } from "../common/retry.js";
 
 /** Default timeout for GraphQL API requests (30 seconds) */
 const REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
@@ -31,15 +32,17 @@ export class GraphQLClient {
     variables?: Record<string, unknown>,
   ): Promise<TResult> {
     try {
-      const response = await Promise.race([
-        this.rawClient.rawRequest(print(document), variables),
-        new Promise<never>((_, reject) =>
-          setTimeout(
-            () => reject(new Error("Request timed out")),
-            REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS,
+      const response = await withRetry(() =>
+        Promise.race([
+          this.rawClient.rawRequest(print(document), variables),
+          new Promise<never>((_, reject) =>
+            setTimeout(
+              () => reject(new Error("Request timed out")),
+              REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS,
+            ),
           ),
-        ),
-      ]);
+        ]),
+      );
       return response.data as TResult;
     } catch (error: unknown) {
       const gqlError = error as GraphQLErrorResponse;
diff --git a/src/common/retry.ts b/src/common/retry.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c53502
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/common/retry.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+interface RetryOptions {
+  maxRetries?: number;
+  baseDelayMs?: number;
+}
+
+interface RetryableError {
+  response?: {
+    status?: number;
+  };
+}
+
+export function isRetryable(error: unknown): boolean {
+  const err = error as RetryableError;
+  const status = err?.response?.status;
+  if (typeof status === "number") {
+    return status === 429 || (status >= 500 && status < 600);
+  }
+  // network-level errors (ECONNRESET, ETIMEDOUT, etc.)
+  if (error instanceof Error) {
+    const msg = error.message.toLowerCase();
+    return (
+      msg.includes("timed out") ||
+      msg.includes("econnreset") ||
+      msg.includes("network")
+    );
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
+export async function withRetry<T>(
+  fn: () => Promise<T>,
+  options?: RetryOptions,
+): Promise<T> {
+  const { maxRetries = 3, baseDelayMs = 500 } = options ?? {};
+  for (let attempt = 0; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++) {
+    try {
+      return await fn();
+    } catch (error) {
+      if (attempt === maxRetries || !isRetryable(error)) throw error;
+      const delay = baseDelayMs * 2 ** attempt;
+      await new Promise<void>((r) => setTimeout(r, delay));
+    }
+  }
+  // unreachable, but TypeScript needs it
+  throw new Error("withRetry: exhausted attempts");
+}
diff --git a/tests/unit/client/graphql-client.test.ts b/tests/unit/client/graphql-client.test.ts
index d901ea4..5862b7d 100644
--- a/tests/unit/client/graphql-client.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/client/graphql-client.test.ts
@@ -87,5 +87,26 @@ describe("GraphQLClient", () => {
         expect((error as Error).message).toBe("Entity not found");
       }
     });
+
+    it("retries on 429 and succeeds on next attempt", async () => {
+      const rateLimitError = { response: { status: 429 } };
+      mockRawRequest
+        .mockRejectedValueOnce(rateLimitError)
+        .mockResolvedValueOnce({ data: { foo: "bar" } });
+
+      const client = new GraphQLClient("good-token");
+      const fakeDoc = { kind: "Document", definitions: [] } as Parameters<
+        typeof client.request
+      >[0];
+
+      vi.useFakeTimers();
+      const promise = client.request(fakeDoc);
+      await vi.runAllTimersAsync();
+      const result = await promise;
+
+      expect(result).toEqual({ foo: "bar" });
+      expect(mockRawRequest).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/tests/unit/common/retry.test.ts b/tests/unit/common/retry.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..88fd572
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/common/retry.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { isRetryable, withRetry } from "../../../src/common/retry.js";
+
+describe("isRetryable", () => {
+  it("returns true for 429", () => {
+    expect(isRetryable({ response: { status: 429 } })).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("returns true for 500", () => {
+    expect(isRetryable({ response: { status: 500 } })).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("returns true for 503", () => {
+    expect(isRetryable({ response: { status: 503 } })).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("returns false for 400", () => {
+    expect(isRetryable({ response: { status: 400 } })).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("returns false for 404", () => {
+    expect(isRetryable({ response: { status: 404 } })).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("returns false for auth errors", () => {
+    expect(isRetryable({ response: { status: 401 } })).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("returns true for timeout errors", () => {
+    expect(isRetryable(new Error("Request timed out"))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("returns false for generic errors", () => {
+    expect(isRetryable(new Error("Entity not found"))).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("withRetry", () => {
+  it("returns result on first success", async () => {
+    const fn = vi.fn().mockResolvedValueOnce("ok");
+    const result = await withRetry(fn, { baseDelayMs: 1 });
+    expect(result).toBe("ok");
+    expect(fn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("retries on 429 and succeeds", async () => {
+    const fn = vi
+      .fn()
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce({ response: { status: 429 } })
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce("ok");
+    const result = await withRetry(fn, { maxRetries: 3, baseDelayMs: 1 });
+    expect(result).toBe("ok");
+    expect(fn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+  });
+
+  it("retries on 503 up to maxRetries then throws", async () => {
+    const err = { response: { status: 503 } };
+    const fn = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(err);
+    await expect(
+      withRetry(fn, { maxRetries: 2, baseDelayMs: 1 }),
+    ).rejects.toEqual(err);
+    expect(fn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3); // 1 initial + 2 retries
+  });
+
+  it("does not retry non-retryable errors", async () => {
+    const err = new Error("Entity not found");
+    const fn = vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(err);
+    await expect(withRetry(fn, { baseDelayMs: 1 })).rejects.toThrow(
+      "Entity not found",
+    );
+    expect(fn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("uses exponential backoff: 500ms → 1s → 2s", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    const delays: number[] = [];
+    const realSetTimeout = globalThis.setTimeout;
+
+    // track each setTimeout call to capture the delay values
+    const spy = vi
+      .spyOn(globalThis, "setTimeout")
+      .mockImplementation((cb: TimerHandler, ms?: number) => {
+        delays.push(ms ?? 0);
+        return realSetTimeout(cb as () => void, 0);
+      });
+
+    const err = { response: { status: 503 } };
+    const fn = vi
+      .fn()
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(err)
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(err)
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(err)
+      .mockResolvedValueOnce("ok");
+
+    const promise = withRetry(fn, { maxRetries: 3, baseDelayMs: 500 });
+    await vi.runAllTimersAsync();
+    await promise;
+
+    spy.mockRestore();
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+
+    expect(delays).toEqual([500, 1000, 2000]);
+  });
+});