diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/config/orchestrator.config.spec.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/config/orchestrator.config.spec.ts
index 0c44f9d..c3f2263 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/config/orchestrator.config.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/config/orchestrator.config.spec.ts
@@ -83,4 +83,30 @@ describe("orchestratorConfig", () => {
       expect(config.valkey.url).toBe("redis://localhost:6379");
     });
   });
+
+  describe("spawner config", () => {
+    it("should use default maxConcurrentAgents of 20 when not set", () => {
+      delete process.env.MAX_CONCURRENT_AGENTS;
+
+      const config = orchestratorConfig();
+
+      expect(config.spawner.maxConcurrentAgents).toBe(20);
+    });
+
+    it("should use provided maxConcurrentAgents when MAX_CONCURRENT_AGENTS is set", () => {
+      process.env.MAX_CONCURRENT_AGENTS = "50";
+
+      const config = orchestratorConfig();
+
+      expect(config.spawner.maxConcurrentAgents).toBe(50);
+    });
+
+    it("should handle MAX_CONCURRENT_AGENTS of 10", () => {
+      process.env.MAX_CONCURRENT_AGENTS = "10";
+
+      const config = orchestratorConfig();
+
+      expect(config.spawner.maxConcurrentAgents).toBe(10);
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/config/orchestrator.config.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/config/orchestrator.config.ts
index 2904344..ead5fa2 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/config/orchestrator.config.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/config/orchestrator.config.ts
@@ -37,4 +37,7 @@ export const orchestratorConfig = registerAs("orchestrator", () => ({
   yolo: {
     enabled: process.env.YOLO_MODE === "true",
   },
+  spawner: {
+    maxConcurrentAgents: parseInt(process.env.MAX_CONCURRENT_AGENTS ?? "20", 10),
+  },
 }));
diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/agent-spawner.service.spec.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/agent-spawner.service.spec.ts
index 2a322d1..8eb2a42 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/agent-spawner.service.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/agent-spawner.service.spec.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { ConfigService } from "@nestjs/config";
+import { HttpException, HttpStatus } from "@nestjs/common";
 import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, vi } from "vitest";
 import { AgentSpawnerService } from "./agent-spawner.service";
 import { SpawnAgentRequest } from "./types/agent-spawner.types";
@@ -14,6 +15,9 @@ describe("AgentSpawnerService", () => {
         if (key === "orchestrator.claude.apiKey") {
           return "test-api-key";
         }
+        if (key === "orchestrator.spawner.maxConcurrentAgents") {
+          return 20;
+        }
         return undefined;
       }),
     } as unknown as ConfigService;
@@ -252,4 +256,149 @@ describe("AgentSpawnerService", () => {
       expect(sessions[1].agentType).toBe("reviewer");
     });
   });
+
+  describe("max concurrent agents limit", () => {
+    const createValidRequest = (taskId: string): SpawnAgentRequest => ({
+      taskId,
+      agentType: "worker",
+      context: {
+        repository: "https://github.com/test/repo.git",
+        branch: "main",
+        workItems: ["Implement feature X"],
+      },
+    });
+
+    it("should allow spawning when under the limit", () => {
+      // Default limit is 20, spawn 5 agents
+      for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+        const response = service.spawnAgent(createValidRequest(`task-${i}`));
+        expect(response.agentId).toBeDefined();
+      }
+
+      expect(service.listAgentSessions()).toHaveLength(5);
+    });
+
+    it("should reject spawn when at the limit", () => {
+      // Create service with low limit for testing
+      const limitedConfigService = {
+        get: vi.fn((key: string) => {
+          if (key === "orchestrator.claude.apiKey") {
+            return "test-api-key";
+          }
+          if (key === "orchestrator.spawner.maxConcurrentAgents") {
+            return 3;
+          }
+          return undefined;
+        }),
+      } as unknown as ConfigService;
+
+      const limitedService = new AgentSpawnerService(limitedConfigService);
+
+      // Spawn up to the limit
+      limitedService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest("task-1"));
+      limitedService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest("task-2"));
+      limitedService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest("task-3"));
+
+      // Next spawn should throw 429 Too Many Requests
+      expect(() => limitedService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest("task-4"))).toThrow(HttpException);
+
+      try {
+        limitedService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest("task-5"));
+      } catch (error) {
+        expect(error).toBeInstanceOf(HttpException);
+        expect((error as HttpException).getStatus()).toBe(HttpStatus.TOO_MANY_REQUESTS);
+        expect((error as HttpException).message).toContain("Maximum concurrent agents limit");
+      }
+    });
+
+    it("should provide appropriate error message when limit reached", () => {
+      const limitedConfigService = {
+        get: vi.fn((key: string) => {
+          if (key === "orchestrator.claude.apiKey") {
+            return "test-api-key";
+          }
+          if (key === "orchestrator.spawner.maxConcurrentAgents") {
+            return 2;
+          }
+          return undefined;
+        }),
+      } as unknown as ConfigService;
+
+      const limitedService = new AgentSpawnerService(limitedConfigService);
+
+      // Spawn up to the limit
+      limitedService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest("task-1"));
+      limitedService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest("task-2"));
+
+      // Next spawn should throw with appropriate message
+      try {
+        limitedService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest("task-3"));
+        expect.fail("Should have thrown");
+      } catch (error) {
+        expect(error).toBeInstanceOf(HttpException);
+        const httpError = error as HttpException;
+        expect(httpError.getStatus()).toBe(HttpStatus.TOO_MANY_REQUESTS);
+        expect(httpError.message).toContain("2");
+      }
+    });
+
+    it("should use default limit of 20 when not configured", () => {
+      const defaultConfigService = {
+        get: vi.fn((key: string) => {
+          if (key === "orchestrator.claude.apiKey") {
+            return "test-api-key";
+          }
+          // Return undefined for maxConcurrentAgents to test default
+          return undefined;
+        }),
+      } as unknown as ConfigService;
+
+      const defaultService = new AgentSpawnerService(defaultConfigService);
+
+      // Should be able to spawn 20 agents
+      for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
+        const response = defaultService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest(`task-${i}`));
+        expect(response.agentId).toBeDefined();
+      }
+
+      // 21st should fail
+      expect(() => defaultService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest("task-21"))).toThrow(HttpException);
+    });
+
+    it("should return current and max count in error response", () => {
+      const limitedConfigService = {
+        get: vi.fn((key: string) => {
+          if (key === "orchestrator.claude.apiKey") {
+            return "test-api-key";
+          }
+          if (key === "orchestrator.spawner.maxConcurrentAgents") {
+            return 5;
+          }
+          return undefined;
+        }),
+      } as unknown as ConfigService;
+
+      const limitedService = new AgentSpawnerService(limitedConfigService);
+
+      // Spawn 5 agents
+      for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
+        limitedService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest(`task-${i}`));
+      }
+
+      try {
+        limitedService.spawnAgent(createValidRequest("task-6"));
+        expect.fail("Should have thrown");
+      } catch (error) {
+        expect(error).toBeInstanceOf(HttpException);
+        const httpError = error as HttpException;
+        const response = httpError.getResponse() as {
+          message: string;
+          currentCount: number;
+          maxLimit: number;
+        };
+        expect(response.currentCount).toBe(5);
+        expect(response.maxLimit).toBe(5);
+      }
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/agent-spawner.service.ts b/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/agent-spawner.service.ts
index eb23c77..fc6f0d4 100644
--- a/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/agent-spawner.service.ts
+++ b/apps/orchestrator/src/spawner/agent-spawner.service.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { Injectable, Logger } from "@nestjs/common";
+import { Injectable, Logger, HttpException, HttpStatus } from "@nestjs/common";
 import { ConfigService } from "@nestjs/config";
 import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";
 import { randomUUID } from "crypto";
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ export class AgentSpawnerService {
   private readonly logger = new Logger(AgentSpawnerService.name);
   private readonly anthropic: Anthropic;
   private readonly sessions = new Map<string, AgentSession>();
+  private readonly maxConcurrentAgents: number;
 
   constructor(private readonly configService: ConfigService) {
     const apiKey = this.configService.get<string>("orchestrator.claude.apiKey");
@@ -29,7 +30,13 @@ export class AgentSpawnerService {
       apiKey,
     });
 
-    this.logger.log("AgentSpawnerService initialized with Claude SDK");
+    // Default to 20 if not configured
+    this.maxConcurrentAgents =
+      this.configService.get<number>("orchestrator.spawner.maxConcurrentAgents") ?? 20;
+
+    this.logger.log(
+      `AgentSpawnerService initialized with Claude SDK (max concurrent agents: ${String(this.maxConcurrentAgents)})`
+    );
   }
 
   /**
@@ -40,6 +47,9 @@ export class AgentSpawnerService {
   spawnAgent(request: SpawnAgentRequest): SpawnAgentResponse {
     this.logger.log(`Spawning agent for task: ${request.taskId}`);
 
+    // Check concurrent agent limit before proceeding
+    this.checkConcurrentAgentLimit();
+
     // Validate request
     this.validateSpawnRequest(request);
 
@@ -90,6 +100,27 @@ export class AgentSpawnerService {
     return Array.from(this.sessions.values());
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Check if the concurrent agent limit has been reached
+   * @throws HttpException with 429 Too Many Requests if limit reached
+   */
+  private checkConcurrentAgentLimit(): void {
+    const currentCount = this.sessions.size;
+    if (currentCount >= this.maxConcurrentAgents) {
+      this.logger.warn(
+        `Maximum concurrent agents limit reached: ${String(currentCount)}/${String(this.maxConcurrentAgents)}`
+      );
+      throw new HttpException(
+        {
+          message: `Maximum concurrent agents limit reached (${String(this.maxConcurrentAgents)}). Please wait for existing agents to complete.`,
+          currentCount,
+          maxLimit: this.maxConcurrentAgents,
+        },
+        HttpStatus.TOO_MANY_REQUESTS
+      );
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Validate spawn agent request
    * @param request Spawn request to validate