diff --git a/src/gitea_dashboard/client.py b/src/gitea_dashboard/client.py
index 6965c55..04210ad 100644
--- a/src/gitea_dashboard/client.py
+++ b/src/gitea_dashboard/client.py
@@ -59,7 +59,17 @@ class GiteaClient:
                 if attempt < self._MAX_RETRIES:
                     retry_after = resp.headers.get("Retry-After")
                     if retry_after is not None:
-                        delay = float(retry_after)
+                        try:
+                            # Cap a 30s pour eviter un blocage indefini.
+                            # max() assure un plancher au backoff lineaire
+                            # (protege contre Retry-After: 0 ou negatif).
+                            delay = min(float(retry_after), 30.0)
+                            delay = max(delay, self._RETRY_DELAY)
+                        except (ValueError, TypeError):
+                            # Retry-After peut etre une date HTTP RFC 7231
+                            # (ex: "Wed, 21 Oct 2025 07:28:00 GMT") :
+                            # on retombe sur le backoff lineaire standard.
+                            delay = self._RETRY_DELAY * (attempt + 1)
                     else:
                         delay = self._RETRY_DELAY * (attempt + 1)
                     time.sleep(delay)
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index 6442d55..c910051 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -330,6 +330,25 @@ class TestMainHealth:
 
         assert exc_info.value.code == 1
 
+    @patch("gitea_dashboard.cli.GiteaClient")
+    def test_main_health_version_ok_repos_fail(self, mock_client_cls):
+        """--health : get_version reussit mais get_repos leve HTTPError -> exit 1.
+
+        Verifie le cas d'un health check partiel : l'instance Gitea repond
+        sur /version mais l'acces aux repos echoue (ex: token sans permissions).
+        """
+        env = {"GITEA_TOKEN": "test-token"}
+        mock_client = MagicMock()
+        mock_client_cls.return_value = mock_client
+        mock_client.get_version.return_value = {"version": "1.21.0"}
+        mock_client.get_repos.side_effect = requests.HTTPError("403 Forbidden")
+
+        with patch.dict("os.environ", env, clear=True):
+            with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc_info:
+                main(["--health"])
+
+        assert exc_info.value.code == 1
+
 
 class TestMainNoDesc:
     """Test main() with --no-desc."""
diff --git a/tests/test_client.py b/tests/test_client.py
index abc9611..7969e53 100644
--- a/tests/test_client.py
+++ b/tests/test_client.py
@@ -269,6 +269,49 @@ class TestGetWithRetry429:
 
         assert mock_sleep.call_count == 2
 
+    @patch("time.sleep")
+    def test_retry_after_http_date_falls_back_to_backoff(self, mock_sleep):
+        """Retry-After contenant une date HTTP RFC 7231 (non-numerique) :
+        le parsing echoue silencieusement et on retombe sur le backoff lineaire."""
+        client = self._make_client()
+        # Valeur realiste envoyee par certains serveurs
+        resp_429 = self._make_429_response(retry_after="Wed, 21 Oct 2025 07:28:00 GMT")
+        resp_200 = self._make_200_response()
+
+        with patch.object(client.session, "get", side_effect=[resp_429, resp_200]):
+            result = client._get_with_retry("http://gitea.local:3000/api/v1/test")
+
+        assert result.status_code == 200
+        # Backoff lineaire : attempt=0 → 1 * 1.0 = 1.0s
+        mock_sleep.assert_called_once_with(1.0)
+
+    @patch("time.sleep")
+    def test_retry_after_zero_uses_floor(self, mock_sleep):
+        """Retry-After: 0 ne provoque pas un retry immediat sans backoff.
+        Le plancher (_RETRY_DELAY = 1.0s) est applique."""
+        client = self._make_client()
+        resp_429 = self._make_429_response(retry_after="0")
+        resp_200 = self._make_200_response()
+
+        with patch.object(client.session, "get", side_effect=[resp_429, resp_200]):
+            result = client._get_with_retry("http://gitea.local:3000/api/v1/test")
+
+        assert result.status_code == 200
+        mock_sleep.assert_called_once_with(1.0)  # plancher _RETRY_DELAY
+
+    @patch("time.sleep")
+    def test_retry_after_huge_value_capped_at_30s(self, mock_sleep):
+        """Retry-After avec une valeur enorme est plafonne a 30s."""
+        client = self._make_client()
+        resp_429 = self._make_429_response(retry_after="3600")  # 1 heure
+        resp_200 = self._make_200_response()
+
+        with patch.object(client.session, "get", side_effect=[resp_429, resp_200]):
+            result = client._get_with_retry("http://gitea.local:3000/api/v1/test")
+
+        assert result.status_code == 200
+        mock_sleep.assert_called_once_with(30.0)  # cap a 30s
+
     @patch("time.sleep")
     def test_retry_on_429_then_timeout(self, mock_sleep):
         """429 followed by Timeout: both retry types handled in same loop."""