diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 64c31d3..d9704d9 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -52,6 +52,10 @@ AGENTIC_CHAT_MAX_ITERATIONS=6
 # OPENROUTER_EMBEDDING_MODEL=openai/text-embedding-3-small
 # OPENROUTER_HTTP_REFERER=https://your-site.example
 # OPENROUTER_APP_TITLE=ImageApi
+# Cap on generated tokens per call (sent as max_tokens). OpenRouter reserves
+# credit against the requested max, so leaving it uncapped makes pricey
+# models fail with credit-limit errors. Default 16384; 0 = no cap.
+# OPENROUTER_MAX_TOKENS=16384
 
 # ── AI Insights — local backend switch ──────────────────────────────────
 # Picks which local LLM stack the server uses for chat, vision describe,
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 4faec1c..bd06509 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -636,6 +636,9 @@ OPENROUTER_BASE_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1     # Override base URL (option
 OPENROUTER_EMBEDDING_MODEL=openai/text-embedding-3-small  # Optional, embeddings stay local today
 OPENROUTER_HTTP_REFERER=https://your-site.example    # Optional attribution header
 OPENROUTER_APP_TITLE=ImageApi                  # Optional attribution header
+OPENROUTER_MAX_TOKENS=16384                    # Per-call max_tokens cap (default 16384; 0 = uncapped).
+                                               # OpenRouter reserves credit against this, so an uncapped
+                                               # request to a pricey model can fail on credit limits.
 
 # Local LLM backend switch. `ollama` (default) keeps the OLLAMA_* settings
 # above; `llamacpp` swaps the entire local stack (chat + vision describe +
diff --git a/src/ai/openrouter.rs b/src/ai/openrouter.rs
index 62a3cca..5ec420f 100644
--- a/src/ai/openrouter.rs
+++ b/src/ai/openrouter.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@ use futures::stream::{BoxStream, StreamExt};
 const DEFAULT_BASE_URL: &str = "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1";
 const DEFAULT_EMBEDDING_MODEL: &str = "openai/text-embedding-3-small";
 const CACHE_DURATION_SECS: u64 = 15 * 60;
+/// Default completion cap sent as `max_tokens`. OpenRouter pre-authorizes
+/// credit against the requested max (defaulting to the model's full output
+/// window when omitted), so expensive models fail with credit-limit errors
+/// even when the actual reply is short. Override via `OPENROUTER_MAX_TOKENS`.
+pub const DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS: u32 = 16384;
 
 #[derive(Clone)]
 struct CachedEntry<T> {
@@ -64,6 +69,9 @@ pub struct OpenRouterClient {
     top_p: Option<f32>,
     top_k: Option<i32>,
     min_p: Option<f32>,
+    /// Upper bound on generated tokens per call, sent as `max_tokens`.
+    /// `None` omits the field (provider default).
+    max_tokens: Option<u32>,
     /// Optional `HTTP-Referer` header OpenRouter uses for attribution.
     pub referer: Option<String>,
     /// Optional `X-Title` header OpenRouter uses for attribution.
@@ -87,6 +95,7 @@ impl OpenRouterClient {
             top_p: None,
             top_k: None,
             min_p: None,
+            max_tokens: Some(DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS),
             referer: None,
             app_title: None,
         }
@@ -115,6 +124,10 @@ impl OpenRouterClient {
         self.min_p = min_p;
     }
 
+    pub fn set_max_tokens(&mut self, max_tokens: Option<u32>) {
+        self.max_tokens = max_tokens;
+    }
+
     pub fn set_attribution(&mut self, referer: Option<String>, app_title: Option<String>) {
         self.referer = referer;
         self.app_title = app_title;
@@ -288,6 +301,9 @@ impl OpenRouterClient {
             // directly transferable. Skip rather than silently mis-map.
             let _ = c;
         }
+        if let Some(m) = self.max_tokens {
+            v.push(("max_tokens", json!(m)));
+        }
         v
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/state.rs b/src/state.rs
index 3f456e7..0d09db2 100644
--- a/src/state.rs
+++ b/src/state.rs
@@ -402,6 +402,13 @@ fn build_openrouter_from_env() -> Option<Arc<OpenRouterClient>> {
     if let Ok(model) = env::var("OPENROUTER_EMBEDDING_MODEL") {
         client.set_embedding_model(model);
     }
+    // OPENROUTER_MAX_TOKENS=0 omits the cap (provider default).
+    if let Some(n) = env::var("OPENROUTER_MAX_TOKENS")
+        .ok()
+        .and_then(|v| v.trim().parse::<u32>().ok())
+    {
+        client.set_max_tokens((n > 0).then_some(n));
+    }
     Some(Arc::new(client))
 }