diff --git a/cli/src/config-schema.json b/cli/src/config-schema.json
index 69f4c01edd4..539b9f553f3 100644
--- a/cli/src/config-schema.json
+++ b/cli/src/config-schema.json
@@ -108,6 +108,35 @@
                     "description": "Pager to use for displaying command output",
                     "default": "less -FRX"
                 },
+                "builtin-pager": {
+                    "type": "object",
+                    "description": "':builtin' pager configuration",
+                    "properties": {
+                        "alternate-screen": {
+                            "description": "Whether to clear screen on startup/exit",
+                            "enum": [
+                                "never",
+                                "always",
+                                "if-long-or-slow"
+                            ],
+                            "default": "never"
+                        },
+                        "wrapping": {
+                            "description": "Whether to wrap long lines",
+                            "enum": [
+                                "anywhere",
+                                "word",
+                                "none"
+                            ],
+                            "default": "anywhere"
+                        },
+                        "long-or-slow-delay-millis": {
+                            "type": "integer",
+                            "description": "Maximum time to wait before rendering full-screen interface if `alternate-screen=\"if-long-or-slow\"`",
+                            "default": 2000
+                        }
+                    }
+                },
                 "diff": {
                     "type": "object",
                     "description": "Options for how diffs are displayed",
diff --git a/cli/src/config/misc.toml b/cli/src/config/misc.toml
index c5685b38a9b..f0a78932aa4 100644
--- a/cli/src/config/misc.toml
+++ b/cli/src/config/misc.toml
@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@ show-cryptographic-signatures = false
 [ui.movement]
 edit = false
 
+[ui.builtin-pager]
+alternate-screen = "never"
+long-or-slow-delay-millis = 2000
+wrapping = "anywhere"
+
 [snapshot]
 max-new-file-size = "1MiB"
 auto-track = "all()"
diff --git a/cli/src/ui.rs b/cli/src/ui.rs
index 4a5f2436cab..79cd908c262 100644
--- a/cli/src/ui.rs
+++ b/cli/src/ui.rs
@@ -81,10 +81,18 @@ impl UiOutput {
         Ok(UiOutput::Paged { child, child_stdin })
     }
 
-    fn new_builtin_paged() -> streampager::Result<UiOutput> {
+    fn new_builtin_paged(config: &StreampagerConfig) -> streampager::Result<UiOutput> {
+        // This uselessly reads ~/.config/streampager/streampager.toml, even
+        // though we then override the important options. TODO(ilyagr): Fix this
+        // once/if https://github.com/facebook/sapling/pull/1011 is merged.
         let mut pager = streampager::Pager::new_using_stdio()?;
-        // TODO: should we set the interface mode to be "less -FRX" like?
-        // It will override the user-configured values.
+        pager.set_wrapping_mode(config.wrapping);
+        pager.set_interface_mode(config.streampager_interface_mode());
+        // We could make scroll-past-eof configurable, but I'm guessing people
+        // will not miss it. If we do make it configurable, we should mention
+        // that it's a bad idea to turn this on if `alternate-screen=never`, as
+        // it can leave a lot of empty lines on the screen after exiting.
+        pager.set_scroll_past_eof(false);
 
         // Use native pipe, which can be attached to child process. The stdout
         // stream could be an in-process channel, but the cost of extra syscalls
@@ -266,9 +274,59 @@ pub enum PaginationChoice {
     Auto,
 }
 
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Eq, PartialEq, serde::Deserialize)]
+#[serde(rename_all(deserialize = "kebab-case"))]
+pub enum StreampagerAlternateScreenMode {
+    Always,
+    Never,
+    IfLongOrSlow,
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Eq, PartialEq, serde::Deserialize)]
+#[serde(rename_all(deserialize = "kebab-case"))]
+enum StreampagerWrappingMode {
+    None,
+    Word,
+    Anywhere,
+}
+
+impl From<StreampagerWrappingMode> for streampager::config::WrappingMode {
+    fn from(val: StreampagerWrappingMode) -> Self {
+        use streampager::config::WrappingMode;
+        match val {
+            StreampagerWrappingMode::None => WrappingMode::Unwrapped,
+            StreampagerWrappingMode::Word => WrappingMode::WordBoundary,
+            StreampagerWrappingMode::Anywhere => WrappingMode::GraphemeBoundary,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Eq, PartialEq, serde::Deserialize)]
+#[serde(rename_all(deserialize = "kebab-case"))]
+struct StreampagerConfig {
+    alternate_screen: StreampagerAlternateScreenMode,
+    long_or_slow_delay_millis: u64,
+    wrapping: StreampagerWrappingMode,
+}
+
+impl StreampagerConfig {
+    fn streampager_interface_mode(&self) -> streampager::config::InterfaceMode {
+        use streampager::config::InterfaceMode;
+        use StreampagerAlternateScreenMode::*;
+        match self.alternate_screen {
+            // InterfaceMode::Direct not implemented
+            Always => InterfaceMode::FullScreen,
+            Never => InterfaceMode::Hybrid,
+            IfLongOrSlow => InterfaceMode::Delayed(std::time::Duration::from_millis(
+                self.long_or_slow_delay_millis,
+            )),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 enum PagerConfig {
     Disabled,
-    Builtin,
+    Builtin(StreampagerConfig),
     External(CommandNameAndArgs),
 }
 
@@ -280,7 +338,7 @@ impl PagerConfig {
         let pager_cmd: CommandNameAndArgs = config.get("ui.pager")?;
         match pager_cmd {
             CommandNameAndArgs::String(name) if name == BUILTIN_PAGER_NAME => {
-                Ok(PagerConfig::Builtin)
+                Ok(PagerConfig::Builtin(config.get("ui.builtin-pager")?))
             }
             _ => Ok(PagerConfig::External(pager_cmd)),
         }
@@ -318,16 +376,18 @@ impl Ui {
             PagerConfig::Disabled => {
                 return;
             }
-            PagerConfig::Builtin => UiOutput::new_builtin_paged()
-                .inspect_err(|err| {
-                    writeln!(
-                        self.warning_default(),
-                        "Failed to set up builtin pager: {err}",
-                        err = format_error_with_sources(err),
-                    )
-                    .ok();
-                })
-                .ok(),
+            PagerConfig::Builtin(streampager_config) => {
+                UiOutput::new_builtin_paged(streampager_config)
+                    .inspect_err(|err| {
+                        writeln!(
+                            self.warning_default(),
+                            "Failed to set up builtin pager: {err}",
+                            err = format_error_with_sources(err),
+                        )
+                        .ok();
+                    })
+                    .ok()
+            }
             PagerConfig::External(command_name_and_args) => {
                 UiOutput::new_paged(command_name_and_args)
                     .inspect_err(|err| {
diff --git a/docs/config.md b/docs/config.md
index c139bd25f06..bbe43810029 100644
--- a/docs/config.md
+++ b/docs/config.md
@@ -559,8 +559,9 @@ a `$`):
 `less -FRX` is the default pager in the absence of any other setting, except
 on Windows where it is `:builtin`.
 
-The special value `:builtin` enables usage of the [integrated pager called
-`streampager`](https://github.com/markbt/streampager/).
+The special value `:builtin` enables usage of the integrated pager,which has
+[further configuration options in `ui.builtin-pager`
+table](#builtin-pager-configuration).
 
 If you are using a standard Linux distro, your system likely already has
 `$PAGER` set and that will be preferred over the built-in. To use the built-in:
@@ -582,6 +583,46 @@ paginate = "auto"
 paginate = "never"
 ```
 
+### Builtin pager configuration
+
+Our builtin pager is based on
+[`streampager`](https://github.com/markbt/streampager/)
+but is configured within `jj`'s config. Here are the possible configuration options.
+
+#### Wrapping
+
+Wrapping performed by the pager happens *in addition to* any
+wrapping that `jj` itself does.
+
+```toml
+[ui.builtin-pager]
+wrapping = "anywhere"  # wrap at screen edge (default)
+wrapping = "word"      # wrap on word boundaries
+wrapping = "none"      # strip long lines, allow scrolling
+                       # left/right like `less -S
+```
+
+#### Clearing the screen on startup or exit
+
+```toml
+[ui.builtin-pager]
+# Do not clear screen on exit. Use a full-screen interface for
+# long output only. Like `less -FX`.
+alternate-screen = "never"  # (default).
+# Request an alternate screen from the terminal: always use a
+# full-screen interface, ask the terminal to clear the screen on
+# exit. Like `less +F +X`.
+alternate-screen = "always"
+# Use the alternate screen if the input is either long or takes
+# more than `long-or-slow-delay-millis` to finish. Similar but not
+# identical to `less -F +X`
+alternate-screen = "if-long-or-slow"
+
+# Only relevant in the `if-long-or-slow` mode
+long-or-slow-delay-millis = 2000 # (defaults to 2 seconds)
+```
+
+
 ### Processing contents to be paged
 
 If you'd like to pass the output through a formatter e.g.