diff --git a/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/stages/paginate.ts b/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/stages/paginate.ts
index a41911c..641842e 100644
--- a/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/stages/paginate.ts
+++ b/src/mcplocal/src/proxymodel/stages/paginate.ts
@@ -64,19 +64,25 @@ async function generatePageTitles(pages: string[], ctx: StageContext): Promise<s
       }).join('\n\n');
 
       const result = await ctx.llm.complete(
-        `Generate a short descriptive title (max 60 chars) for each page based on its content preview. ` +
-        `Return ONLY a JSON array of strings, one title per page. No markdown, no explanation.\n\n` +
+        `Generate exactly ${pages.length} short descriptive titles (max 60 chars each) for the following ${pages.length} pages. ` +
+        `Return ONLY a JSON array of ${pages.length} strings. No markdown, no explanation.\n\n` +
         `${previews}`,
         { maxTokens: pages.length * 30 },
       );
 
-      // Parse JSON array from response
+      // Parse JSON array from response, pad/truncate to match page count
       const match = result.match(/\[[\s\S]*\]/);
       if (!match) throw new Error('No JSON array in response');
-      const titles = JSON.parse(match[0]) as string[];
-      if (!Array.isArray(titles) || titles.length !== pages.length) {
-        throw new Error(`Expected ${pages.length} titles, got ${titles.length}`);
+      const raw = JSON.parse(match[0]) as string[];
+      if (!Array.isArray(raw) || raw.length === 0) {
+        throw new Error('Empty or invalid title array');
       }
+      // Pad with generic titles if model returned fewer, truncate if more
+      const titles = pages.map((_, i) =>
+        (i < raw.length && typeof raw[i] === 'string' && raw[i]!.trim())
+          ? raw[i]!.trim().slice(0, 80)
+          : `Page ${i + 1}`,
+      );
       return JSON.stringify(titles);
     });