diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a3238dc4..79d3c3d4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -149,6 +149,8 @@ OmegaBot is online
 │   │   │   └── pr.ts
 │   │   ├── history
 │   │   │   └── history.ts
+│   │   ├── pagination
+│   │   │   └── pagination.ts
 │   │   ├── playback
 │   │   │   └── playback.ts
 │   │   └── summary
diff --git a/data/timezones.json b/data/timezones.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0967ef42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/timezones.json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{}
diff --git a/src/commands/pagination/pagination.ts b/src/commands/pagination/pagination.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7fcfbcd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/commands/pagination/pagination.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+// src/commands/pagination/pagination.ts
+import {
+  SlashCommandBuilder,
+  ActionRowBuilder,
+  ButtonBuilder,
+  ButtonStyle,
+  ComponentType,
+  type ChatInputCommandInteraction,
+} from "discord.js";
+
+/**
+ * /pagination command
+ * MVP: fetch recent user messages, format into a transcript, split into pages,
+ * then let the requester page through it with buttons.
+ */
+export const data = new SlashCommandBuilder()
+  .setName("pagination")
+  .setDescription("Page through recent messages in this channel")
+  .addIntegerOption((opt) =>
+    opt
+      .setName("count")
+      .setDescription("How many messages to fetch")
+      .setMinValue(10)
+      .setMaxValue(100),
+  );
+
+const MAX_PAGE_CHARS = 1800; // leave room for header + safety
+const COLLECTOR_MS = 90_000;
+
+function chunkByChars(text: string, maxChars: number): string[] {
+  const lines = text.split("\n");
+  const pages: string[] = [];
+  let current = "";
+
+  for (const line of lines) {
+    // +1 for newline we may add
+    const nextLen = current.length + (current ? 1 : 0) + line.length;
+
+    // If a single line is huge, hard-split it
+    if (!current && line.length > maxChars) {
+      for (let i = 0; i < line.length; i += maxChars) {
+        pages.push(line.slice(i, i + maxChars));
+      }
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (nextLen > maxChars) {
+      if (current) pages.push(current);
+      current = line;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    current = current ? `${current}\n${line}` : line;
+  }
+
+  if (current) pages.push(current);
+  return pages.length ? pages : ["(no content)"];
+}
+
+function buildRow(pageIndex: number, pageCount: number, disabledAll = false) {
+  const prev = new ButtonBuilder()
+    .setCustomId("pagination_prev")
+    .setLabel("Prev")
+    .setStyle(ButtonStyle.Secondary)
+    .setDisabled(disabledAll || pageIndex <= 0);
+
+  const next = new ButtonBuilder()
+    .setCustomId("pagination_next")
+    .setLabel("Next")
+    .setStyle(ButtonStyle.Primary)
+    .setDisabled(disabledAll || pageIndex >= pageCount - 1);
+
+  const stop = new ButtonBuilder()
+    .setCustomId("pagination_stop")
+    .setLabel("Stop")
+    .setStyle(ButtonStyle.Danger)
+    .setDisabled(disabledAll);
+
+  return new ActionRowBuilder<ButtonBuilder>().addComponents(prev, next, stop);
+}
+
+function renderPage(pages: string[], pageIndex: number) {
+  const header = `**Playback** (page ${pageIndex + 1}/${pages.length})`;
+  return `${header}\n\n${pages[pageIndex]}`;
+}
+
+export async function execute(interaction: ChatInputCommandInteraction): Promise<void> {
+  const count = interaction.options.getInteger("count") ?? 50;
+
+  // Not ephemeral: buttons + paging is easier as a normal message.
+  await interaction.deferReply();
+
+  if (!interaction.channel || !interaction.channel.isTextBased()) {
+    await interaction.editReply("This channel does not support pagination.");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const messages = await interaction.channel.messages.fetch({ limit: count });
+
+  const userMessages = messages
+    .filter((m) => !m.author.bot && m.content)
+    .sort((a, b) => a.createdTimestamp - b.createdTimestamp);
+
+  if (userMessages.size === 0) {
+    await interaction.editReply("No usable messages found.");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const transcript = userMessages
+    .map((m) => `${m.author.username}: ${m.content}`)
+    .join("\n");
+
+  const pages = chunkByChars(transcript, MAX_PAGE_CHARS);
+  let pageIndex = 0;
+
+  const replyMessage = await interaction.editReply({
+    content: renderPage(pages, pageIndex),
+    components: [buildRow(pageIndex, pages.length)],
+  });
+
+  const collector = replyMessage.createMessageComponentCollector({
+    componentType: ComponentType.Button,
+    time: COLLECTOR_MS,
+    filter: (i) => i.user.id === interaction.user.id,
+  });
+
+  collector.on("collect", async (i) => {
+    try {
+      if (i.customId === "pagination_stop") {
+        collector.stop("stopped");
+        await i.update({
+          content: renderPage(pages, pageIndex),
+          components: [buildRow(pageIndex, pages.length, true)],
+        });
+        return;
+      }
+
+      if (i.customId === "pagination_prev") {
+        pageIndex = Math.max(0, pageIndex - 1);
+      }
+
+      if (i.customId === "pagination_next") {
+        pageIndex = Math.min(pages.length - 1, pageIndex + 1);
+      }
+
+      await i.update({
+        content: renderPage(pages, pageIndex),
+        components: [buildRow(pageIndex, pages.length)],
+      });
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.error("[pagination] button update failed", err);
+    }
+  });
+
+  collector.on("end", async () => {
+    try {
+      await replyMessage.edit({
+        content: renderPage(pages, pageIndex),
+        components: [buildRow(pageIndex, pages.length, true)],
+      });
+    } catch (err) {
+      console.error("[pagination] failed to disable buttons", err);
+    }
+  });
+}
diff --git a/src/services/summary/llmSummary.ts b/src/services/summary/llmSummary.ts
index a053e73d..d362cf3e 100644
--- a/src/services/summary/llmSummary.ts
+++ b/src/services/summary/llmSummary.ts
@@ -1,41 +1,40 @@
+// src/services/summary/llmSummary.ts
+
 import OpenAI from "openai";
 import { env } from "../../config/env.js";
 
-/**
- * Set client
- */
 let client: OpenAI | null = null;
 
-/**
- * if OpenAPIKey is set use it for client
- */
 if (env.openAIKey) {
   client = new OpenAI({ apiKey: env.openAIKey });
 }
 
 /**
- * Generates an LLM summary of the provided text.
- * Falls back to a safe message if no API key is configured.
+ * Generate a structured summary (Markdown) from the transcript.
+ * Safe fallback if LLM mode is requested without a key.
  */
 export async function llmSummary(text: string): Promise<string> {
   if (!client) {
     return "LLM mode requested but no API key is configured.";
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Build a prompt instructing the LLM to summarize messages in a clean, neutral format.
-   */
-  const prompt = `
-You are a Discord channel summarizer.
-Summarize the following messages into a short readable summary.
-Do not include usernames or timestamps.
-Text:
-${text}
-  `;
+  const prompt = [
+    "You are a Discord channel summarizer.",
+    "Given the transcript below, produce a structured Markdown output with these sections:",
+    "## Summary (2 to 5 bullets)",
+    "## Key points (3 to 8 bullets)",
+    "## Action items (if any, otherwise say 'None')",
+    "## Open questions (if any, otherwise say 'None')",
+    "",
+    "Rules:",
+    "- Do not include timestamps.",
+    "- Avoid quoting usernames; paraphrase instead unless absolutely necessary.",
+    "- Keep it concise and readable.",
+    "",
+    "Transcript:",
+    text,
+  ].join("\n");
 
-  /**
-   * Send the summary prompt to the gpt-4o-mini model.
-   */
   const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
     model: "gpt-4o-mini",
     messages: [{ role: "user", content: prompt }],
@@ -46,8 +45,5 @@ ${text}
    */
   const content = response.choices?.[0]?.message?.content ?? "LLM returned no content.";
 
-  /**
-   * Return the cleaned summary text.
-   */
   return content.trim();
 }
diff --git a/src/services/transcript/buildTranscript.ts b/src/services/transcript/buildTranscript.ts
index 1f1c035b..7c332bc3 100644
--- a/src/services/transcript/buildTranscript.ts
+++ b/src/services/transcript/buildTranscript.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+// src/services/transcript/buildTranscript.ts
+
 import { formatTimestamp } from "../time/formatTimestamp.js";
 
 /**
@@ -7,9 +9,7 @@ import { formatTimestamp } from "../time/formatTimestamp.js";
 export type TranscriptMessage = {
   createdTimestamp: number;
   content: string;
-  author: {
-    username: string;
-  };
+  author: { username: string };
 };
 
 export type TranscriptOptions = {
@@ -68,16 +68,19 @@ export function buildTranscript(
     const line = parts.join(" ");
     lines.push(line);
 
-    // Enforce maxLines
     if (maxLines && lines.length >= maxLines) {
       truncated = true;
       break;
     }
 
-    // Enforce maxChars
-    if (maxChars && lines.join("\n").length >= maxChars) {
-      tooLong = true;
-      break;
+    // Cheaper than joining every iteration: track length incrementally.
+    if (maxChars) {
+      const joinedLen =
+        lines.reduce((acc, l) => acc + l.length, 0) + Math.max(0, lines.length - 1);
+      if (joinedLen >= maxChars) {
+        tooLong = true;
+        break;
+      }
     }
   }