diff --git a/internal/formatter/table.go b/internal/formatter/table.go
index 64f36a8..e8186e3 100644
--- a/internal/formatter/table.go
+++ b/internal/formatter/table.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"strings"
+	"unicode/utf8"
 
 	"royalroadupdates/internal/royalroad"
 )
@@ -17,17 +18,46 @@ func PrintTable(w io.Writer, stories []royalroad.Story) {
 	nameHeader := "Story Name"
 	updateHeader := "Last Update"
 
-	maxNameLen := len(nameHeader)
+	// 1. Measure natural widths in runes
+	maxNameLen := utf8.RuneCountInString(nameHeader)
+	maxUpdateLen := utf8.RuneCountInString(updateHeader)
+
 	for _, s := range stories {
-		if l := len(s.Name); l > maxNameLen {
+		if l := utf8.RuneCountInString(s.Name); l > maxNameLen {
 			maxNameLen = l
 		}
+		if l := utf8.RuneCountInString(Relative(s.DateModified)); l > maxUpdateLen {
+			maxUpdateLen = l
+		}
 	}
 
-	fmt.Fprintf(w, "%-*s  %s\n", maxNameLen, nameHeader, updateHeader)
-	fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s  %s\n", strings.Repeat("-", maxNameLen), strings.Repeat("-", len(updateHeader)))
+	// 2. Determine final name column width based on terminal availability
+	nameWidth := maxNameLen
+	const minNameWidth = 30
+	const gutter = 2
+
+	termWidth, err := getTerminalWidth()
+	if err == nil {
+		// We have a terminal. check if it's wide enough to support a cap above the min.
+		if termWidth >= minNameWidth+gutter+maxUpdateLen {
+			availableForName := termWidth - gutter - maxUpdateLen
+			if nameWidth > availableForName {
+				nameWidth = availableForName
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	// 3. Render Table
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "%-*s  %s\n", nameWidth, nameHeader, updateHeader)
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s  %s\n", strings.Repeat("-", nameWidth), strings.Repeat("-", maxUpdateLen))
 
 	for _, s := range stories {
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%-*s  %s\n", maxNameLen, s.Name, Relative(s.DateModified))
+		displayName := s.Name
+		runeName := []rune(displayName)
+		if len(runeName) > nameWidth {
+			// Truncate to (nameWidth - 3) and add ellipsis
+			displayName = string(runeName[:nameWidth-3]) + "..."
+		}
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%-*s  %s\n", nameWidth, displayName, Relative(s.DateModified))
 	}
 }
diff --git a/internal/formatter/table_test.go b/internal/formatter/table_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..562acf8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/formatter/table_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+package formatter
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"royalroadupdates/internal/royalroad"
+)
+
+func TestPrintTableTruncation(t *testing.T) {
+	stories := []royalroad.Story{
+		{
+			Name:         "Short Name",
+			DateModified: time.Now(),
+		},
+		{
+			Name:         "This is a very long story name that should definitely be truncated if the column width is restricted",
+			DateModified: time.Now(),
+		},
+		{
+			Name:         "Unicode Story 🌟 Sparkle",
+			DateModified: time.Now(),
+		},
+	}
+
+	t.Run("Natural width (no terminal)", func(t *testing.T) {
+		var buf bytes.Buffer
+		PrintTable(&buf, stories)
+		out := buf.String()
+
+		expectedLongName := "This is a very long story name that should definitely be truncated if the column width is restricted"
+		if !strings.Contains(out, expectedLongName) {
+			t.Errorf("Expected output to contain full long name when not truncated, but it didn't. Output:\n%s", out)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Check relative time alignment", func(t *testing.T) {
+		var buf bytes.Buffer
+		PrintTable(&buf, stories)
+		out := buf.String()
+
+		lines := strings.Split(out, "\n")
+		if len(lines) < 2 {
+			t.Fatalf("Expected at least 2 lines of output, got %d", len(lines))
+		}
+		separatorLine := lines[1]
+		parts := strings.Split(separatorLine, "  ")
+		if len(parts) < 2 {
+			t.Fatalf("Separator line does not contain expected gutter: %s", separatorLine)
+		}
+		updateDashes := parts[1]
+		if len(updateDashes) < len("Last Update") {
+			t.Errorf("Update column separator too short: %d < 11", len(updateDashes))
+		}
+	})
+}
diff --git a/internal/formatter/terminal_linux.go b/internal/formatter/terminal_linux.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bdfa152
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/formatter/terminal_linux.go
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+package formatter
+
+import (
+	"syscall"
+	"unsafe"
+)
+
+type winsize struct {
+	Row, Col       uint16
+	Xpixel, Ypixel uint16
+}
+
+// getTerminalWidth returns the width of the stdout terminal in columns.
+// If the output is not a terminal or the width cannot be determined, it returns (0, error).
+func getTerminalWidth() (int, error) {
+	var ws winsize
+	_, _, errno := syscall.Syscall(
+		syscall.SYS_IOCTL,
+		uintptr(syscall.Stdout),
+		uintptr(syscall.TIOCGWINSZ),
+		uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&ws)),
+	)
+	if errno != 0 {
+		return 0, errno
+	}
+	return int(ws.Col), nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/formatter/terminal_other.go b/internal/formatter/terminal_other.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bfb64a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/formatter/terminal_other.go
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+//go:build !linux
+
+package formatter
+
+import "errors"
+
+// getTerminalWidth returns the width of the stdout terminal in columns.
+// On non-linux platforms, this is not implemented and always returns an error.
+func getTerminalWidth() (int, error) {
+	return 0, errors.New("not implemented on this platform")
+}