diff --git a/cmd/olliesrv/internal/fs/spec.go b/cmd/olliesrv/internal/fs/spec.go
index 9ce5fce..ea28852 100644
--- a/cmd/olliesrv/internal/fs/spec.go
+++ b/cmd/olliesrv/internal/fs/spec.go
@@ -666,7 +666,10 @@ func buildSessionChildren(
 					defer cancel()
 
 					session.PublishEvent("session."+s.ID+".agent."+ag.ID()+".new", "")
-					ag.Submit(subCtx, req.Prompt)
+					subPrompt := "You are a sub-agent. Complete ALL work using tools before producing your final response. " +
+						"Your response is returned to the caller — it must be a summary of what you accomplished, not a plan of what you intend to do. " +
+						"Do not narrate your intentions; act, then report results.\n\n" + req.Prompt
+					ag.Submit(subCtx, subPrompt)
 					ag.EnsureTrailingNewline()
 					reply := ag.Reply()
 					s.RemoveAgent(ag.ID())
diff --git a/cmd/olliesrv/internal/prompts/system_prompt.md b/cmd/olliesrv/internal/prompts/system_prompt.md
index 83d9f1b..b02d116 100644
--- a/cmd/olliesrv/internal/prompts/system_prompt.md
+++ b/cmd/olliesrv/internal/prompts/system_prompt.md
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ The sub-agent gets its own context window and tool access and runs independently
 Optional parameters: `profile=`, `backend=`, `model=`, `name=`, `timeout=`, `max_depth=`, `max_parallel=`, `fork_at=`.
 
 **Guardrails** (enforced server-side):
-- `timeout=600` — sub-agent is killed after 10 minutes (default). Top-level agents are never timed out.
+- `timeout=600` — sub-agent's internal execution limit (default 10 minutes). The tool itself has no execution timeout.
 - `max_depth=1` — sub-agents cannot spawn their own sub-agents by default.
 - `max_parallel=5` — up to 5 concurrent sub-agents per parent (set to -1 for unlimited).
 
diff --git a/cmd/toolsrv/internal/server/proc.go b/cmd/toolsrv/internal/server/proc.go
index 3e30335..54fa62a 100644
--- a/cmd/toolsrv/internal/server/proc.go
+++ b/cmd/toolsrv/internal/server/proc.go
@@ -310,6 +310,9 @@ func (st *State) NewProc(ctx context.Context, payload string, background bool) (
 	var outputWriter io.Writer
 	var startedCh chan exec.StartResult
 	timeout := 30 // default for foreground
+	if info.Timeout >= 0 {
+		timeout = info.Timeout // tool declares its own default
+	}
 	if background {
 		outputWriter = &procWriter{proc: proc}
 		startedCh = make(chan exec.StartResult, 1)
diff --git a/data/tools/subagent_spawn.meta b/data/tools/subagent_spawn.meta
index 751a721..2ee30b2 100644
--- a/data/tools/subagent_spawn.meta
+++ b/data/tools/subagent_spawn.meta
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
   "prompt": "## subagent_spawn\n\nSpawn a sub-agent with a task. Blocks until the sub-agent completes and returns its reply.\nThe sub-agent gets its own context window and tool access. It is destroyed when done.\n\n```\nsubagent_spawn(prompt=\"fix the failing tests in auth/\")\nsubagent_spawn(prompt=\"implement the login page\", cwd=\"$PWD\", model=\"sonnet\")\n```\n\nMultiple subagent_spawn calls in the same turn run in parallel automatically.",
   "scope": "read",
   "tier": "hot",
+  "timeout": 0,
   "args": {
     "type": "object",
     "required": [
@@ -32,6 +33,10 @@
       "cwd": {
         "type": "string",
         "description": "Working directory (optional, default: current)"
+      },
+      "timeout": {
+        "type": "integer",
+        "description": "Timeout in seconds (default: 0, no timeout). Do not set a timeout on sub-agents."
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/toolsrv/metadata/meta.go b/toolsrv/metadata/meta.go
index 0d45afc..caf4742 100644
--- a/toolsrv/metadata/meta.go
+++ b/toolsrv/metadata/meta.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ type MetaFile struct {
 	Tier          string          `json:"tier,omitempty"`
 	Scope         string          `json:"scope,omitempty"`
 	OutputFormat  string          `json:"outputFormat,omitempty"`
+	Timeout       *int            `json:"timeout,omitempty"`
 	Cmd           string          `json:"cmd,omitempty"`
 	Variants      []Variant       `json:"variants,omitempty"`
 }
@@ -156,6 +157,14 @@ func checkCondition(key, val string) bool {
 	return false
 }
 
+// resolveTimeout returns -1 (use server default) if nil, or the value if set.
+func resolveTimeout(t *int) int {
+	if t == nil {
+		return -1
+	}
+	return *t
+}
+
 // ToolInfoFromMeta builds a ToolInfo from a MetaFile.
 // Applies variant resolution first. Returns zero ToolInfo if no variant matches.
 func ToolInfoFromMeta(name string, m *MetaFile) protocol.ToolInfo {
@@ -179,6 +188,7 @@ func ToolInfoFromMeta(name string, m *MetaFile) protocol.ToolInfo {
 		Tier:          tier,
 		Scope:         resolved.Scope,
 		OutputFormat:  resolved.OutputFormat,
+		Timeout:       resolveTimeout(m.Timeout),
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/toolsrv/protocol/types.go b/toolsrv/protocol/types.go
index f9d7fec..8ef0c82 100644
--- a/toolsrv/protocol/types.go
+++ b/toolsrv/protocol/types.go
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ type ToolInfo struct {
 	Tier         string
 	Scope        string
 	OutputFormat string
+	Timeout      int // default execution timeout; 0 = no timeout, -1 = use server default
 }
 
 // ToolResult is the structured result from a tool execution.