diff --git a/doc/pending.txt b/doc/pending.txt
index 9195c76..a7250ea 100644
--- a/doc/pending.txt
+++ b/doc/pending.txt
@@ -1500,7 +1500,7 @@ Configuration: ~
 >lua
     vim.g.pending = {
       forge = {
-        auto_close = false,
+        close = false,
         warn_missing_cli = true,
         github = {
           icon = '',
@@ -1522,7 +1522,7 @@ Configuration: ~
 <
 
 Top-level fields: ~
-    {auto_close}        (boolean, default: false) When true, tasks linked to
+    {close}             (boolean, default: false) When true, tasks linked to
                         closed/merged remote issues are automatically marked
                         done on buffer open.
     {warn_missing_cli}  (boolean, default: true) When true, warns once per
@@ -1550,7 +1550,7 @@ than 5 minutes are re-fetched asynchronously. The buffer renders immediately
 with cached data and updates extmarks when the fetch completes.
 
 State pull: ~
-Requires `forge.auto_close = true`. After fetching, if the remote issue/PR
+Requires `forge.close = true`. After fetching, if the remote issue/PR
 is closed or merged and the local task is pending/wip/blocked, the task is
 automatically marked as done. Disabled by default. One-way: local status
 changes do not push back to the forge.
diff --git a/lua/pending/complete.lua b/lua/pending/complete.lua
index 135d1a4..98291ce 100644
--- a/lua/pending/complete.lua
+++ b/lua/pending/complete.lua
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 local config = require('pending.config')
+local forge = require('pending.forge')
 
 ---@class pending.CompletionItem
 ---@field word string
@@ -109,6 +110,17 @@ local function recur_completions()
   return result
 end
 
+---@param source string
+---@return boolean
+function M._is_forge_source(source)
+  for _, b in ipairs(forge.backends()) do
+    if b.shorthand == source then
+      return true
+    end
+  end
+  return false
+end
+
 ---@type string?
 local _complete_source = nil
 
@@ -128,10 +140,10 @@ function M.omnifunc(findstart, base)
       { vim.pesc(dk) .. ':([%S]*)$', dk },
       { 'cat:([%S]*)$', 'cat' },
       { vim.pesc(rk) .. ':([%S]*)$', rk },
-      { 'gh:([%S]*)$', 'gh' },
-      { 'gl:([%S]*)$', 'gl' },
-      { 'cb:([%S]*)$', 'cb' },
     }
+    for _, b in ipairs(forge.backends()) do
+      table.insert(checks, { vim.pesc(b.shorthand) .. ':([%S]*)$', b.shorthand })
+    end
 
     for _, check in ipairs(checks) do
       local start = before:find(check[1])
@@ -172,7 +184,7 @@ function M.omnifunc(findstart, base)
         table.insert(matches, { word = c.word, menu = '[' .. source .. ']', info = c.info })
       end
     end
-  elseif source == 'gh' or source == 'gl' or source == 'cb' then
+  elseif M._is_forge_source(source) then
     local s = require('pending.buffer').store()
     if s then
       local seen = {}
diff --git a/lua/pending/config.lua b/lua/pending/config.lua
index b1ab639..60775fe 100644
--- a/lua/pending/config.lua
+++ b/lua/pending/config.lua
@@ -37,9 +37,10 @@
 ---@field icon? string
 ---@field issue_format? string
 ---@field instances? string[]
+---@field shorthand? string
 
 ---@class pending.ForgeConfig
----@field auto_close? boolean
+---@field close? boolean
 ---@field warn_missing_cli? boolean
 ---@field [string] pending.ForgeInstanceConfig
 
@@ -153,7 +154,7 @@ local defaults = {
   },
   sync = {},
   forge = {
-    auto_close = false,
+    close = false,
     warn_missing_cli = true,
     github = {
       icon = '',
diff --git a/lua/pending/forge.lua b/lua/pending/forge.lua
index 5ed9b5b..0ecdb51 100644
--- a/lua/pending/forge.lua
+++ b/lua/pending/forge.lua
@@ -63,6 +63,14 @@ function M.backends()
   return _backends
 end
 
+function M._reset_instances()
+  _instances_resolved = false
+  _by_shorthand = {}
+  for _, b in ipairs(_backends) do
+    _by_shorthand[b.shorthand] = b
+  end
+end
+
 local function _ensure_instances()
   if _instances_resolved then
     return
@@ -74,17 +82,27 @@ local function _ensure_instances()
     for _, inst in ipairs(forge_cfg.instances or {}) do
       _by_host[inst] = backend
     end
+    if forge_cfg.shorthand and forge_cfg.shorthand ~= backend.shorthand then
+      _by_shorthand[backend.shorthand] = nil
+      backend.shorthand = forge_cfg.shorthand
+      _by_shorthand[backend.shorthand] = backend
+    end
   end
 end
 
 ---@param token string
 ---@return pending.ForgeRef?
 function M._parse_shorthand(token)
-  local prefix, rest = token:match('^(%l%l):(.+)$')
-  if not prefix then
-    return nil
+  _ensure_instances()
+  local backend, rest
+  for prefix, b in pairs(_by_shorthand) do
+    local candidate = token:match('^' .. vim.pesc(prefix) .. ':(.+)$')
+    if candidate then
+      backend = b
+      rest = candidate
+      break
+    end
   end
-  local backend = _by_shorthand[prefix]
   if not backend then
     return nil
   end
@@ -291,7 +309,7 @@ end
 ---@param s pending.Store
 function M.refresh(s)
   local forge_cfg = config.get().forge or {}
-  if not forge_cfg.auto_close then
+  if not forge_cfg.close then
     return
   end
   local tasks = s:tasks()
@@ -309,7 +327,7 @@ function M.refresh(s)
           any_fetched = true
           local forge_cfg = config.get().forge or {}
           if
-            forge_cfg.auto_close
+            forge_cfg.close
             and (cache.state == 'closed' or cache.state == 'merged')
             and (task.status == 'pending' or task.status == 'wip' or task.status == 'blocked')
           then
diff --git a/spec/forge_spec.lua b/spec/forge_spec.lua
index fac8021..8bd4162 100644
--- a/spec/forge_spec.lua
+++ b/spec/forge_spec.lua
@@ -391,6 +391,73 @@ describe('forge registry', function()
   end)
 end)
 
+describe('custom forge prefixes', function()
+  local config = require('pending.config')
+  local complete = require('pending.complete')
+
+  it('parses custom-length shorthand (3+ chars)', function()
+    local custom = forge.gitea_backend({
+      name = 'customforge',
+      shorthand = 'cgf',
+      default_host = 'custom.example.com',
+    })
+    forge.register(custom)
+
+    local ref = forge._parse_shorthand('cgf:alice/proj#99')
+    assert.is_not_nil(ref)
+    assert.equals('customforge', ref.forge)
+    assert.equals('alice', ref.owner)
+    assert.equals('proj', ref.repo)
+    assert.equals(99, ref.number)
+  end)
+
+  it('parse_ref dispatches custom-length shorthand', function()
+    local ref = forge.parse_ref('cgf:alice/proj#5')
+    assert.is_not_nil(ref)
+    assert.equals('customforge', ref.forge)
+    assert.equals(5, ref.number)
+  end)
+
+  it('find_refs finds custom-length shorthand', function()
+    local refs = forge.find_refs('Fix cgf:alice/proj#12')
+    assert.equals(1, #refs)
+    assert.equals('customforge', refs[1].ref.forge)
+    assert.equals(12, refs[1].ref.number)
+  end)
+
+  it('completion returns entries for custom backends', function()
+    assert.is_true(complete._is_forge_source('cgf'))
+  end)
+
+  it('config shorthand override re-registers backend', function()
+    vim.g.pending = {
+      forge = {
+        github = { shorthand = 'github' },
+      },
+    }
+    config.reset()
+    forge._reset_instances()
+
+    local ref = forge._parse_shorthand('github:user/repo#1')
+    assert.is_not_nil(ref)
+    assert.equals('github', ref.forge)
+    assert.equals('user', ref.owner)
+    assert.equals('repo', ref.repo)
+    assert.equals(1, ref.number)
+
+    assert.is_nil(forge._parse_shorthand('gh:user/repo#1'))
+
+    vim.g.pending = nil
+    config.reset()
+    for _, b in ipairs(forge.backends()) do
+      if b.name == 'github' then
+        b.shorthand = 'gh'
+      end
+    end
+    forge._reset_instances()
+  end)
+end)
+
 describe('forge diff integration', function()
   local store = require('pending.store')
   local diff = require('pending.diff')