diff --git a/src/mcp/mcp.c b/src/mcp/mcp.c
index 3372826b..341b57ff 100644
--- a/src/mcp/mcp.c
+++ b/src/mcp/mcp.c
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ static const tool_def_t TOOLS[] = {
      "that score well on ALL keywords. Requires moderate/full index mode. Results appear in the "
      "'semantic_results' field (separate from 'results').\"},\"limit\":{\"type\":"
      "\"integer\",\"description\":\"Max results. Default: "
-     "unlimited\"},\"offset\":{\"type\":\"integer\",\"default\":0}},\"required\":[\"project\"]}"},
+     "200\"},\"offset\":{\"type\":\"integer\",\"default\":0}},\"required\":[\"project\"]}"},
 
     {"query_graph",
      "Execute a Cypher query against the knowledge graph for complex multi-hop patterns, "
@@ -1341,7 +1341,8 @@ static char *handle_search_graph(cbm_mcp_server_t *srv, const char *args) {
     char *relationship = cbm_mcp_get_string_arg(args, "relationship");
     bool exclude_entry_points = cbm_mcp_get_bool_arg(args, "exclude_entry_points");
     bool include_connected = cbm_mcp_get_bool_arg(args, "include_connected");
-    int limit = cbm_mcp_get_int_arg(args, "limit", MCP_HALF_SEC_US);
+    enum { SEARCH_DEFAULT_LIMIT = 200 };
+    int limit = cbm_mcp_get_int_arg(args, "limit", SEARCH_DEFAULT_LIMIT);
     int offset = cbm_mcp_get_int_arg(args, "offset", 0);
     int min_degree = cbm_mcp_get_int_arg(args, "min_degree", CBM_NOT_FOUND);
     int max_degree = cbm_mcp_get_int_arg(args, "max_degree", CBM_NOT_FOUND);
diff --git a/src/store/store.c b/src/store/store.c
index cacf97f8..af8a27d0 100644
--- a/src/store/store.c
+++ b/src/store/store.c
@@ -2301,7 +2301,8 @@ int cbm_store_search(cbm_store_t *s, const cbm_search_params_t *params, cbm_sear
     snprintf(count_sql, sizeof(count_sql), "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM (%s)", sql);
 
     /* Add ORDER BY + LIMIT */
-    int limit = params->limit > 0 ? params->limit : ST_HALF_SEC;
+    enum { ST_DEFAULT_SEARCH_LIMIT = 200 };
+    int limit = params->limit > 0 ? params->limit : ST_DEFAULT_SEARCH_LIMIT;
     int offset = params->offset;
     const char *name_col = has_degree_filter ? "name" : "n.name";
     char order_limit[CBM_SZ_128];