diff --git a/src/cli/pytest_commands/consume.py b/src/cli/pytest_commands/consume.py
index c5515e15fe..7b210f71b4 100644
--- a/src/cli/pytest_commands/consume.py
+++ b/src/cli/pytest_commands/consume.py
@@ -131,5 +131,4 @@ def cache(pytest_args: List[str], **kwargs) -> None:
     """Consume command to cache test fixtures."""
     args = handle_consume_command_flags(pytest_args, is_hive=False)
     args += ["src/pytest_plugins/consume/test_cache.py"]
-    args += ["--cache-only"]
     sys.exit(pytest.main(args))
diff --git a/src/pytest_plugins/consume/consume.py b/src/pytest_plugins/consume/consume.py
index 6fb2aab252..5e6a8b5616 100644
--- a/src/pytest_plugins/consume/consume.py
+++ b/src/pytest_plugins/consume/consume.py
@@ -85,6 +85,18 @@ def pytest_addoption(parser):  # noqa: D103
             f"Defaults to the following local directory: '{default_input_directory()}'."
         ),
     )
+    consume_group.addoption(
+        "--cache-folder",
+        action="store",
+        dest="fixture_cache_folder",
+        default=CACHED_DOWNLOADS_DIRECTORY,
+        help=(
+            "Specify the path where the downloaded fixtures are cached. "
+            f"Defaults to the following directory: '{CACHED_DOWNLOADS_DIRECTORY}'."
+        ),
+    )
+    if "cache" in sys.argv:
+        return
     consume_group.addoption(
         "--fork",
         action="store",
@@ -102,23 +114,6 @@ def pytest_addoption(parser):  # noqa: D103
             "The --html flag can be used to specify a different path."
         ),
     )
-    consume_group.addoption(
-        "--cache-folder",
-        action="store",
-        dest="fixture_cache_folder",
-        default=CACHED_DOWNLOADS_DIRECTORY,
-        help=(
-            "Specify the path where the downloaded fixtures should be cached. "
-            f"Defaults to the following directory: '{CACHED_DOWNLOADS_DIRECTORY}'."
-        ),
-    )
-    consume_group.addoption(
-        "--cache-only",
-        action="store_true",
-        dest="cache_only",
-        default=False,
-        help=("Do not run any tests, only cache the fixtures. "),
-    )
 
 
 @pytest.hookimpl(tryfirst=True)
@@ -132,6 +127,8 @@ def pytest_configure(config):  # noqa: D103
     it uses the modified `htmlpath` option.
     """
     fixtures_source = config.getoption("fixtures_source")
+    if "cache" in sys.argv and not config.getoption("fixtures_source"):
+        pytest.exit("The --input flag is required when using the cache command.")
     config.fixture_source_flags = ["--input", fixtures_source]
 
     if fixtures_source is None:
@@ -169,7 +166,7 @@ def pytest_configure(config):  # noqa: D103
         )
     config.test_cases = TestCases.from_index_file(index_file)
 
-    if config.option.collectonly:
+    if config.option.collectonly or "cache" in sys.argv:
         return
     if not config.getoption("disable_html") and config.getoption("htmlpath") is None:
         # generate an html report by default, unless explicitly disabled
@@ -203,7 +200,7 @@ def pytest_generate_tests(metafunc):
     Generate test cases for every test fixture in all the JSON fixture files
     within the specified fixtures directory, or read from stdin if the directory is 'stdin'.
     """
-    if metafunc.config.getoption("cache_only"):
+    if "cache" in sys.argv:
         return
 
     fork = metafunc.config.getoption("single_fork")
diff --git a/src/pytest_plugins/consume/releases.py b/src/pytest_plugins/consume/releases.py
index 65b8a379f9..1ea50349f4 100644
--- a/src/pytest_plugins/consume/releases.py
+++ b/src/pytest_plugins/consume/releases.py
@@ -140,21 +140,39 @@ def is_docker_or_ci() -> bool:
     return "GITHUB_ACTIONS" in os.environ or Path("/.dockerenv").exists()
 
 
-def parse_release_information(release_information: dict) -> List[ReleaseInformation]:
+def parse_release_information(release_information: List) -> List[ReleaseInformation]:
     """Parse the release information from the Github API."""
     return Releases.model_validate(release_information).root  # type: ignore
 
 
 def download_release_information(destination_file: Path | None) -> List[ReleaseInformation]:
-    """Download the latest stable and develop releases and optionally save them to a file."""
-    response = requests.get(RELEASE_INFORMATION_URL)
-    response.raise_for_status()
-    release_information = response.json()
-    if destination_file is not None:
+    """
+    Download all releases from the GitHub API, handling pagination properly.
+
+    GitHub's API returns releases in pages of 30 by default. This function
+    follows the pagination links to ensure we get every release, which is
+    crucial for finding older version or latest releases.
+    """
+    all_releases = []
+    current_url: str | None = RELEASE_INFORMATION_URL
+    max_pages = 2
+    while current_url and max_pages > 0:
+        max_pages -= 1
+        response = requests.get(current_url)
+        response.raise_for_status()
+        all_releases.extend(response.json())
+        current_url = None
+        if "link" in response.headers:
+            for link in requests.utils.parse_header_links(response.headers["link"]):
+                if link["rel"] == "next":
+                    current_url = link["url"]
+                    break
+
+    if destination_file:
         destination_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
         with open(destination_file, "w") as file:
-            json.dump(release_information, file)
-    return parse_release_information(release_information)
+            json.dump(all_releases, file)
+    return parse_release_information(all_releases)
 
 
 def parse_release_information_from_file(
@@ -187,7 +205,7 @@ def get_release_information() -> List[ReleaseInformation]:
     """
     if CACHED_RELEASE_INFORMATION_FILE.exists():
         last_modified = CACHED_RELEASE_INFORMATION_FILE.stat().st_mtime
-        if (datetime.now().timestamp() - last_modified) < 10 * 60 or is_docker_or_ci():
+        if (datetime.now().timestamp() - last_modified) < 4 * 60 * 60 or is_docker_or_ci():
             return parse_release_information_from_file(CACHED_RELEASE_INFORMATION_FILE)
         CACHED_RELEASE_INFORMATION_FILE.unlink()
     if not CACHED_RELEASE_INFORMATION_FILE.exists():