diff --git a/src/mnemosyne/gateway.py b/src/mnemosyne/gateway.py
index b4bab1e..7aa385d 100644
--- a/src/mnemosyne/gateway.py
+++ b/src/mnemosyne/gateway.py
@@ -66,6 +66,93 @@ from mnemosyne.tags import (
 from mnemosyne.telemetry import Telemetry
 
 import re as _re
+import threading as _threading
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Outbound Rate Limiter — token bucket with circuit breaker.
+# Prevents hitting Anthropic's per-minute rate limits (especially on
+# Max 5x plans with ~50 RPM ceilings).
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+class OutboundRateLimiter:
+    """Token-bucket rate limiter with 429 circuit breaker.
+
+    - **Token bucket**: allows ``max_rpm`` requests per minute with burst
+      tolerance.  Each ``acquire()`` call blocks until a token is available.
+    - **Retry-After**: when the upstream returns 429 with a ``retry-after``
+      header, the limiter pauses all outbound requests for that duration.
+    - **Circuit breaker**: after ``_CB_THRESHOLD`` consecutive 429s, the
+      limiter enters open state and pauses for ``_CB_COOLDOWN`` seconds
+      before allowing any new requests.
+    """
+
+    _CB_THRESHOLD = 3  # consecutive 429s to trip the breaker
+    _CB_COOLDOWN = 30.0  # seconds to wait in open state
+
+    def __init__(self, max_rpm: int = 40):
+        self._max_rpm = max_rpm
+        self._interval = 60.0 / max_rpm  # seconds between tokens
+        self._lock = _threading.Lock()
+        self._next_allowed = 0.0  # monotonic timestamp
+        self._consecutive_429s = 0
+        self._circuit_open_until = 0.0  # monotonic timestamp
+
+    def acquire(self) -> None:
+        """Block until a request is allowed.  Thread-safe."""
+        while True:
+            with self._lock:
+                now = time.monotonic()
+
+                # Circuit breaker: if open, wait for cooldown
+                if now < self._circuit_open_until:
+                    wait = self._circuit_open_until - now
+                else:
+                    # Token bucket: wait until next allowed slot
+                    if now >= self._next_allowed:
+                        self._next_allowed = now + self._interval
+                        return  # token acquired
+                    wait = self._next_allowed - now
+                    self._next_allowed += self._interval
+
+            # Sleep outside the lock
+            time.sleep(wait)
+
+    def record_response(self, status_code: int, retry_after: float | None = None) -> None:
+        """Record a response status.  Call after every outbound request."""
+        with self._lock:
+            if status_code == 429:
+                self._consecutive_429s += 1
+
+                # Honor retry-after header
+                if retry_after and retry_after > 0:
+                    pause_until = time.monotonic() + retry_after
+                    self._next_allowed = max(self._next_allowed, pause_until)
+
+                # Circuit breaker
+                if self._consecutive_429s >= self._CB_THRESHOLD:
+                    self._circuit_open_until = time.monotonic() + self._CB_COOLDOWN
+                    self._consecutive_429s = 0  # reset counter for next cycle
+                    import sys
+
+                    print(
+                        f"[RateLimiter] CIRCUIT OPEN: {self._CB_THRESHOLD} consecutive 429s, "
+                        f"pausing {self._CB_COOLDOWN}s",
+                        file=sys.stderr,
+                        flush=True,
+                    )
+            else:
+                self._consecutive_429s = 0  # reset on any successful response
+
+    @property
+    def stats(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        with self._lock:
+            return {
+                "max_rpm": self._max_rpm,
+                "consecutive_429s": self._consecutive_429s,
+                "circuit_open": time.monotonic() < self._circuit_open_until,
+            }
+
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # SSE Cleanup Filter — strips <memory_cleanup> / <yuyay-response> tags from
@@ -1542,6 +1629,7 @@ def create_app(
         }
     )
     app.state.clients = clients
+    app.state.rate_limiter = OutboundRateLimiter(max_rpm=40)
 
     # ── Endpoints ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -1569,6 +1657,7 @@ def create_app(
                 "openai": openai_model_override,
             },
             "sessions": session_summaries,
+            "rate_limiter": app.state.rate_limiter.stats,
         }
 
     @app.get("/metrics")
@@ -2464,10 +2553,17 @@ def create_app(
                 sse_buffer = bytearray()
                 usage: dict[str, Any] = {}
                 try:
+                    rate_limiter: OutboundRateLimiter = app.state.rate_limiter
+                    rate_limiter.acquire()
                     with client.stream(
                         "POST", upstream_path, json=outgoing_body, headers=headers
                     ) as resp:
                         status_code = resp.status_code
+                        retry_after = None
+                        if status_code == 429:
+                            ra = resp.headers.get("retry-after")
+                            retry_after = float(ra) if ra else 1.0
+                        rate_limiter.record_response(status_code, retry_after)
                         if status_code >= 400:
                             body = resp.read()
                             bytes_out = len(body)
@@ -2547,7 +2643,14 @@ def create_app(
 
         # Non-streaming
         try:
+            rate_limiter: OutboundRateLimiter = app.state.rate_limiter
+            rate_limiter.acquire()
             resp = client.post(upstream_path, json=outgoing_body, headers=headers)
+            retry_after = None
+            if resp.status_code == 429:
+                ra = resp.headers.get("retry-after")
+                retry_after = float(ra) if ra else 1.0
+            rate_limiter.record_response(resp.status_code, retry_after)
         except httpx.HTTPError as e:
             emit_event(
                 "provider_error",