diff --git a/.github/workflows/contribution-check.lock.yml b/.github/workflows/contribution-check.lock.yml
index f46a1f2b1..a73564e7b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/contribution-check.lock.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/contribution-check.lock.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"d962e0361f4f9a10ae1b65a8f797e21813baaf1d58927d1725111e6b4024227b","body_hash":"52cb85230b6e6e94e8e7422142eb939315bd320477f4b5fd934c712bb9721dfe","compiler_version":"v0.81.6","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot","agent_model":"gpt-5.4-mini","engine_versions":{"copilot":"1.0.65"}}
+# gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"39a0cef32ef50be5a0fe9680e5931b0c3c81cd73a9dc24cd6e9fe66f9fc7218d","body_hash":"52cb85230b6e6e94e8e7422142eb939315bd320477f4b5fd934c712bb9721dfe","compiler_version":"v0.81.6","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot","agent_model":"gpt-5.4-mini","engine_versions":{"copilot":"1.0.65"}}
 # gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/cache/restore","sha":"27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae","version":"v5.0.5"},{"repo":"actions/cache/restore","sha":"55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9","version":"v6.1.0"},{"repo":"actions/cache/save","sha":"55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9","version":"v6.1.0"},{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"9c091bb21b7c1c1d1991bb908d89e4e9dddfe3e0","version":"v7.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"ba6380cc6e5be5d21677bebe04d52fb48e3abec7","version":"v0.81.6"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.11","digest":"sha256:979723c628182da7729333f2208bb249fd25ddee579645cf9a3892d681a929c7","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.11@sha256:979723c628182da7729333f2208bb249fd25ddee579645cf9a3892d681a929c7"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.11","digest":"sha256:807e4831999b44513b0a66e5859d478dc4da7ae74ab1918cec967d513f95bf9d","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.11@sha256:807e4831999b44513b0a66e5859d478dc4da7ae74ab1918cec967d513f95bf9d"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.11","digest":"sha256:ff27ea0525ad953a6adee28a5fbe9d2e22be47dbec755c15767af4ea3f91df7d","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.11@sha256:ff27ea0525ad953a6adee28a5fbe9d2e22be47dbec755c15767af4ea3f91df7d"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.30","digest":"sha256:35625d1a2269b1238606078c879f59a91cffc4ac33eb54bf39c6418822c1a8be","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.30@sha256:35625d1a2269b1238606078c879f59a91cffc4ac33eb54bf39c6418822c1a8be"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-node","digest":"sha256:529d02eb970b1161aa25c593a9c3df57fdfad5a8add328cb3b6eccef66f3183b","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-node@sha256:529d02eb970b1161aa25c593a9c3df57fdfad5a8add328cb3b6eccef66f3183b"}]}
 # This file was automatically generated by gh-aw (v0.81.6). DO NOT EDIT. To debug this workflow, load the skill at https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/main/debug.md
 #
@@ -759,7 +759,7 @@ jobs:
           export COPILOT_API_KEY="$COPILOT_DUMMY_BYOK"
           (umask 177 && touch /tmp/gh-aw/agent-stdio.log)
           GH_AW_MAX_AI_CREDITS="${GH_AW_MAX_AI_CREDITS:-1000}"
-          printf '%s\n' "{\"\$schema\":\"https://github.com/github/gh-aw-firewall/releases/download/v0.27.11/awf-config.schema.json\",\"network\":{\"allowDomains\":[\"*.githubusercontent.com\",\"api.business.githubcopilot.com\",\"api.enterprise.githubcopilot.com\",\"api.github.com\",\"api.githubcopilot.com\",\"api.individual.githubcopilot.com\",\"codeload.github.com\",\"docs.github.com\",\"github-cloud.githubusercontent.com\",\"github-cloud.s3.amazonaws.com\",\"github.blog\",\"github.com\",\"github.githubassets.com\",\"host.docker.internal\",\"lfs.github.com\",\"objects.githubusercontent.com\",\"patch-diff.githubusercontent.com\",\"raw.githubusercontent.com\",\"registry.npmjs.org\",\"telemetry.enterprise.githubcopilot.com\"]},\"apiProxy\":{\"enabled\":true,\"enableTokenSteering\":true,\"maxRuns\":3,\"maxAiCredits\":${GH_AW_MAX_AI_CREDITS},\"maxCacheMisses\":5,\"models\":{\"agent\":[\"sonnet-6x\",\"gpt-5.5\",\"gpt-5.4\",\"gpt-5.3\",\"gemini-pro\",\"any\"],\"antigravity\":[\"copilot/antigravity*\",\"google/antigravity*\",\"gemini/antigravity*\"],\"any\":[\"copilot/*\",\"anthropic/*\",\"openai/*\",\"google/*\",\"gemini/*\"],\"claude\":[\"agent\"],\"codex\":[\"agent\"],\"coding\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*codex*\",\"openai/gpt-5*codex*\",\"gpt-5-codex\"],\"computer-use\":[\"copilot/*computer-use*\",\"google/*computer-use*\",\"gemini/*computer-use*\",\"openai/*computer-use*\"],\"copilot\":[\"agent\"],\"deep-research\":[\"copilot/deep-research*\",\"copilot/o3-deep-research*\",\"copilot/o4-mini-deep-research*\",\"google/deep-research*\",\"gemini/deep-research*\",\"openai/o3-deep-research*\",\"openai/o4-mini-deep-research*\"],\"gemini\":[\"agent\"],\"gemini-3-flash\":[\"copilot/gemini-3*flash*\",\"google/gemini-3*flash*\",\"gemini/gemini-3*flash*\"],\"gemini-3-pro\":[\"copilot/gemini-3*pro*\",\"google/gemini-3*pro*\",\"google/nano-banana*\",\"gemini/gemini-3*pro*\"],\"gemini-3.1-flash\":[\"copilot/gemini-3.1*flash*\",\"google/gemini-3.1*flash*\",\"gemini/gemini-3.1*flash*\"],\"gemini-3.1-pro\":[\"copilot/gemini-3.1*pro*\",\"google/gemini-3.1*pro*\",\"gemini/gemini-3.1*pro*\"],\"gemini-3.5-flash\":[\"copilot/gemini-3.5*flash*\",\"google/gemini-3.5*flash*\",\"gemini/gemini-3.5*flash*\"],\"gemini-flash\":[\"copilot/gemini-*flash*\",\"google/gemini-*flash*\",\"gemini/gemini-*flash*\"],\"gemini-flash-lite\":[\"copilot/gemini-*flash*lite*\",\"google/gemini-*flash*lite*\",\"gemini/gemini-*flash*lite*\"],\"gemini-pro\":[\"copilot/gemini-*pro*\",\"google/gemini-*pro*\",\"gemini/gemini-*pro*\"],\"gemma\":[\"copilot/gemma*\",\"google/gemma*\",\"gemini/gemma*\"],\"gpt-5\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*\",\"openai/gpt-5*\"],\"gpt-5-codex\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*codex*\",\"openai/gpt-5*codex*\"],\"gpt-5-mini\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*mini*\",\"openai/gpt-5*mini*\"],\"gpt-5-nano\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*nano*\",\"openai/gpt-5*nano*\"],\"gpt-5-pro\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*pro*\",\"openai/gpt-5*pro*\"],\"gpt-5.1\":[\"copilot/gpt-5.1*\",\"openai/gpt-5.1*\"],\"gpt-5.2\":[\"copilot/gpt-5.2*\",\"openai/gpt-5.2*\"],\"gpt-5.3\":[\"copilot/gpt-5.3*\",\"openai/gpt-5.3*\"],\"gpt-5.4\":[\"copilot/gpt-5.4*\",\"openai/gpt-5.4*\"],\"gpt-5.5\":[\"copilot/gpt-5.5*\",\"openai/gpt-5.5*\"],\"haiku\":[\"copilot/*haiku*\",\"anthropic/*haiku*\"],\"image-generation\":[\"copilot/gpt-image*\",\"openai/gpt-image*\",\"openai/chatgpt-image*\",\"copilot/gemini-*image*\",\"google/gemini-*image*\",\"gemini/gemini-*image*\",\"google/imagen*\"],\"large\":[\"sonnet\",\"gpt-5-pro\",\"gpt-5\",\"gemini-pro\"],\"mai-code\":[\"copilot/MAI-Code*\",\"copilot/mai-code*\",\"openai/MAI-Code*\"],\"mini\":[\"haiku\",\"gpt-5-mini\",\"gpt-5-nano\",\"gemini-flash-lite\"],\"nano-banana\":[\"copilot/nano-banana*\",\"google/nano-banana*\",\"gemini/nano-banana*\"],\"opus\":[\"copilot/*opus*\",\"anthropic/*opus*\"],\"opusplan\":[\"opus?effort=high\"],\"reasoning\":[\"copilot/o1*\",\"copilot/o3*\",\"copilot/o4*\",\"openai/o1*\",\"openai/o3*\",\"openai/o4*\"],\"robotics\":[\"copilot/*robotics*\",\"google/*robotics*\",\"gemini/*robotics*\"],\"small\":[\"mini\"],\"small-agent\":[\"haiku\",\"gpt-5-mini\",\"gemini-flash\"],\"sonnet\":[\"copilot/*sonnet*\",\"anthropic/*sonnet*\"],\"sonnet-6x\":[\"copilot/*sonnet-4.5*\",\"copilot/*sonnet-4.6*\",\"copilot/*sonnet-4-5-*\",\"anthropic/*sonnet-4-5-*\",\"copilot/*sonnet-4-6*\",\"anthropic/*sonnet-4-6*\"],\"summarization\":[\"haiku\",\"gpt-5-mini\",\"gemini-flash-lite\",\"mini\"],\"vision\":[\"copilot/gemini-*image*\",\"google/gemini-*image*\",\"gemini/gemini-*image*\",\"copilot/gemini-*flash*\",\"google/gemini-*flash*\",\"gemini/gemini-*flash*\"]}},\"container\":{\"imageTag\":\"0.27.11,squid=sha256:ff27ea0525ad953a6adee28a5fbe9d2e22be47dbec755c15767af4ea3f91df7d,agent=sha256:979723c628182da7729333f2208bb249fd25ddee579645cf9a3892d681a929c7,api-proxy=sha256:807e4831999b44513b0a66e5859d478dc4da7ae74ab1918cec967d513f95bf9d\"}}" > "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/awf-config.json"
+          printf '%s\n' "{\"\$schema\":\"https://github.com/github/gh-aw-firewall/releases/download/v0.27.11/awf-config.schema.json\",\"network\":{\"allowDomains\":[\"*.githubusercontent.com\",\"api.business.githubcopilot.com\",\"api.enterprise.githubcopilot.com\",\"api.github.com\",\"api.githubcopilot.com\",\"api.individual.githubcopilot.com\",\"codeload.github.com\",\"docs.github.com\",\"github-cloud.githubusercontent.com\",\"github-cloud.s3.amazonaws.com\",\"github.blog\",\"github.com\",\"github.githubassets.com\",\"host.docker.internal\",\"lfs.github.com\",\"objects.githubusercontent.com\",\"patch-diff.githubusercontent.com\",\"raw.githubusercontent.com\",\"registry.npmjs.org\",\"telemetry.enterprise.githubcopilot.com\"]},\"apiProxy\":{\"enabled\":true,\"enableTokenSteering\":true,\"maxRuns\":4,\"maxAiCredits\":${GH_AW_MAX_AI_CREDITS},\"maxCacheMisses\":5,\"models\":{\"agent\":[\"sonnet-6x\",\"gpt-5.5\",\"gpt-5.4\",\"gpt-5.3\",\"gemini-pro\",\"any\"],\"antigravity\":[\"copilot/antigravity*\",\"google/antigravity*\",\"gemini/antigravity*\"],\"any\":[\"copilot/*\",\"anthropic/*\",\"openai/*\",\"google/*\",\"gemini/*\"],\"claude\":[\"agent\"],\"codex\":[\"agent\"],\"coding\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*codex*\",\"openai/gpt-5*codex*\",\"gpt-5-codex\"],\"computer-use\":[\"copilot/*computer-use*\",\"google/*computer-use*\",\"gemini/*computer-use*\",\"openai/*computer-use*\"],\"copilot\":[\"agent\"],\"deep-research\":[\"copilot/deep-research*\",\"copilot/o3-deep-research*\",\"copilot/o4-mini-deep-research*\",\"google/deep-research*\",\"gemini/deep-research*\",\"openai/o3-deep-research*\",\"openai/o4-mini-deep-research*\"],\"gemini\":[\"agent\"],\"gemini-3-flash\":[\"copilot/gemini-3*flash*\",\"google/gemini-3*flash*\",\"gemini/gemini-3*flash*\"],\"gemini-3-pro\":[\"copilot/gemini-3*pro*\",\"google/gemini-3*pro*\",\"google/nano-banana*\",\"gemini/gemini-3*pro*\"],\"gemini-3.1-flash\":[\"copilot/gemini-3.1*flash*\",\"google/gemini-3.1*flash*\",\"gemini/gemini-3.1*flash*\"],\"gemini-3.1-pro\":[\"copilot/gemini-3.1*pro*\",\"google/gemini-3.1*pro*\",\"gemini/gemini-3.1*pro*\"],\"gemini-3.5-flash\":[\"copilot/gemini-3.5*flash*\",\"google/gemini-3.5*flash*\",\"gemini/gemini-3.5*flash*\"],\"gemini-flash\":[\"copilot/gemini-*flash*\",\"google/gemini-*flash*\",\"gemini/gemini-*flash*\"],\"gemini-flash-lite\":[\"copilot/gemini-*flash*lite*\",\"google/gemini-*flash*lite*\",\"gemini/gemini-*flash*lite*\"],\"gemini-pro\":[\"copilot/gemini-*pro*\",\"google/gemini-*pro*\",\"gemini/gemini-*pro*\"],\"gemma\":[\"copilot/gemma*\",\"google/gemma*\",\"gemini/gemma*\"],\"gpt-5\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*\",\"openai/gpt-5*\"],\"gpt-5-codex\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*codex*\",\"openai/gpt-5*codex*\"],\"gpt-5-mini\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*mini*\",\"openai/gpt-5*mini*\"],\"gpt-5-nano\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*nano*\",\"openai/gpt-5*nano*\"],\"gpt-5-pro\":[\"copilot/gpt-5*pro*\",\"openai/gpt-5*pro*\"],\"gpt-5.1\":[\"copilot/gpt-5.1*\",\"openai/gpt-5.1*\"],\"gpt-5.2\":[\"copilot/gpt-5.2*\",\"openai/gpt-5.2*\"],\"gpt-5.3\":[\"copilot/gpt-5.3*\",\"openai/gpt-5.3*\"],\"gpt-5.4\":[\"copilot/gpt-5.4*\",\"openai/gpt-5.4*\"],\"gpt-5.5\":[\"copilot/gpt-5.5*\",\"openai/gpt-5.5*\"],\"haiku\":[\"copilot/*haiku*\",\"anthropic/*haiku*\"],\"image-generation\":[\"copilot/gpt-image*\",\"openai/gpt-image*\",\"openai/chatgpt-image*\",\"copilot/gemini-*image*\",\"google/gemini-*image*\",\"gemini/gemini-*image*\",\"google/imagen*\"],\"large\":[\"sonnet\",\"gpt-5-pro\",\"gpt-5\",\"gemini-pro\"],\"mai-code\":[\"copilot/MAI-Code*\",\"copilot/mai-code*\",\"openai/MAI-Code*\"],\"mini\":[\"haiku\",\"gpt-5-mini\",\"gpt-5-nano\",\"gemini-flash-lite\"],\"nano-banana\":[\"copilot/nano-banana*\",\"google/nano-banana*\",\"gemini/nano-banana*\"],\"opus\":[\"copilot/*opus*\",\"anthropic/*opus*\"],\"opusplan\":[\"opus?effort=high\"],\"reasoning\":[\"copilot/o1*\",\"copilot/o3*\",\"copilot/o4*\",\"openai/o1*\",\"openai/o3*\",\"openai/o4*\"],\"robotics\":[\"copilot/*robotics*\",\"google/*robotics*\",\"gemini/*robotics*\"],\"small\":[\"mini\"],\"small-agent\":[\"haiku\",\"gpt-5-mini\",\"gemini-flash\"],\"sonnet\":[\"copilot/*sonnet*\",\"anthropic/*sonnet*\"],\"sonnet-6x\":[\"copilot/*sonnet-4.5*\",\"copilot/*sonnet-4.6*\",\"copilot/*sonnet-4-5-*\",\"anthropic/*sonnet-4-5-*\",\"copilot/*sonnet-4-6*\",\"anthropic/*sonnet-4-6*\"],\"summarization\":[\"haiku\",\"gpt-5-mini\",\"gemini-flash-lite\",\"mini\"],\"vision\":[\"copilot/gemini-*image*\",\"google/gemini-*image*\",\"gemini/gemini-*image*\",\"copilot/gemini-*flash*\",\"google/gemini-*flash*\",\"gemini/gemini-*flash*\"]}},\"container\":{\"imageTag\":\"0.27.11,squid=sha256:ff27ea0525ad953a6adee28a5fbe9d2e22be47dbec755c15767af4ea3f91df7d,agent=sha256:979723c628182da7729333f2208bb249fd25ddee579645cf9a3892d681a929c7,api-proxy=sha256:807e4831999b44513b0a66e5859d478dc4da7ae74ab1918cec967d513f95bf9d\"}}" > "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/awf-config.json"
           cp "${RUNNER_TEMP}/gh-aw/awf-config.json" /tmp/gh-aw/awf-config.json
           export GH_AW_MODELS_JSON_PATH="/tmp/gh-aw/models.json"
           GH_AW_DOCKER_HOST=""
@@ -789,7 +789,7 @@ jobs:
           COPILOT_MODEL: gpt-5.4-mini
           GH_AW_LLM_PROVIDER: github
           GH_AW_MAX_AI_CREDITS: ${{ vars.GH_AW_DEFAULT_MAX_AI_CREDITS || '1000' }}
-          GH_AW_MAX_TURNS: 3
+          GH_AW_MAX_TURNS: 4
           GH_AW_PHASE: agent
           GH_AW_PROMPT: /tmp/gh-aw/aw-prompts/prompt.txt
           GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS: ${{ steps.set-runtime-paths.outputs.GH_AW_SAFE_OUTPUTS }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/contribution-check.md b/.github/workflows/contribution-check.md
index a675137c7..437abddfb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/contribution-check.md
+++ b/.github/workflows/contribution-check.md
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ permissions:
   contents: read
   pull-requests: read
   issues: read
-max-turns: 3
+max-turns: 4
 concurrency:
   group: "contribution-check-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}"
   cancel-in-progress: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/secret-digger-codex.lock.yml b/.github/workflows/secret-digger-codex.lock.yml
index 35f24ae24..07b8522d1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/secret-digger-codex.lock.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/secret-digger-codex.lock.yml
@@ -1596,7 +1596,6 @@ jobs:
           [model_providers.openai-proxy]
           name = "OpenAI AWF proxy"
           base_url = "http://172.30.0.30:10000"
-          env_key = "OPENAI_API_KEY"
           supports_websockets = false
           [shell_environment_policy]
           inherit = "core"
diff --git a/containers/api-proxy/guards/common-guard-checks.js b/containers/api-proxy/guards/common-guard-checks.js
index b989ad6b1..1a2a774a6 100644
--- a/containers/api-proxy/guards/common-guard-checks.js
+++ b/containers/api-proxy/guards/common-guard-checks.js
@@ -80,8 +80,10 @@ function buildCommonGuardChecks(deps, model) {
     {
       block: getMaxRunsBlockState(),
       isBlocked: block => block && block.maxExceeded,
-      // Terminal hard cap — non-retryable (see effective-tokens guard above).
-      statusCode: 403,
+      // Terminal hard cap: 429 signals the agent has exhausted its allowed
+      // turns.  Unlike transient rate-limits, the Retry-After is absent so
+      // well-behaved clients won't retry indefinitely.
+      statusCode: 429,
       eventName: 'max_runs_exceeded',
       buildError: buildMaxRunsExceededError,
       buildLogFields: block => ({
diff --git a/containers/api-proxy/server.token-guards.test.js b/containers/api-proxy/server.token-guards.test.js
index cc0209f2f..6f8142713 100644
--- a/containers/api-proxy/server.token-guards.test.js
+++ b/containers/api-proxy/server.token-guards.test.js
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ describe('proxyRequest max-runs guard', () => {
     jest.restoreAllMocks();
   });
 
-  it('returns 403 with structured payload when max runs limit is exceeded', async () => {
+  it('returns 429 with structured payload when max runs limit is exceeded', async () => {
     const cycle = createMockUpstreamCycle(https);
 
     // First request completes successfully — consumes the single allowed run
@@ -251,11 +251,12 @@ describe('proxyRequest max-runs guard', () => {
     await flushPromises();
 
     expect(cycle.spy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    expect(res2.writeHead).toHaveBeenCalledWith(403, expect.objectContaining({
+    expect(res2.writeHead).toHaveBeenCalledWith(429, expect.objectContaining({
       'Content-Type': 'application/json',
     }));
     const payload = JSON.parse(res2.end.mock.calls[0][0]);
     expect(payload.error.type).toBe('max_runs_exceeded');
+    expect(payload.error.message).toMatch(/Maximum LLM invocations exceeded/);
     expect(payload.error.max_runs).toBe(1);
     expect(payload.error.invocation_count).toBe(1);
   });
diff --git a/containers/api-proxy/server.websocket.test.js b/containers/api-proxy/server.websocket.test.js
index 7dc86b242..ad3ef1165 100644
--- a/containers/api-proxy/server.websocket.test.js
+++ b/containers/api-proxy/server.websocket.test.js
@@ -323,14 +323,14 @@ describe('proxyWebSocket security guards', () => {
     jest.restoreAllMocks();
   });
 
-  it('blocks with 403 when max-runs limit is exceeded', () => {
+  it('blocks with 429 when max-runs limit is exceeded', () => {
     process.env.AWF_MAX_RUNS = '1';
     applyMaxRunsInvocation(); // consume the single allowed run
 
     const socket = makeMockSocket();
     wsProxy(makeUpgradeReq(), socket, Buffer.alloc(0), 'api.openai.com', {}, 'openai');
 
-    expect(socket.write).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden'));
+    expect(socket.write).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests'));
     expect(socket.write).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('"max_runs_exceeded"'));
     expect(socket.destroy).toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
diff --git a/docs/awf-config.schema.json b/docs/awf-config.schema.json
index e33699530..b4bba6de8 100644
--- a/docs/awf-config.schema.json
+++ b/docs/awf-config.schema.json
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@
         "maxTurns": {
           "type": "integer",
           "minimum": 1,
-          "description": "Maximum number of LLM invocations allowed for a run. When reached, the API proxy rejects subsequent requests with HTTP 403 and error type 'max_runs_exceeded'. See spec §11."
+          "description": "Maximum number of LLM invocations allowed for a run. When reached, the API proxy rejects subsequent requests with HTTP 429 and error type 'max_runs_exceeded'. See spec §11."
         },
         "maxRuns": {
           "type": "integer",
diff --git a/scripts/ci/contribution-check-workflow.test.ts b/scripts/ci/contribution-check-workflow.test.ts
index 7f61c24db..b729db34a 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/contribution-check-workflow.test.ts
+++ b/scripts/ci/contribution-check-workflow.test.ts
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ describe('contribution-check workflow', () => {
   it('has conservative turn limit and appropriate model', () => {
     const source = fs.readFileSync(sourcePath, 'utf-8');
 
-    expect(source).toContain('max-turns: 3');
+    expect(source).toContain('max-turns: 4');
     expect(source).toContain('model: gpt-5.4-mini');
   });
 });
diff --git a/src/awf-config-schema.json b/src/awf-config-schema.json
index e33699530..b4bba6de8 100644
--- a/src/awf-config-schema.json
+++ b/src/awf-config-schema.json
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@
         "maxTurns": {
           "type": "integer",
           "minimum": 1,
-          "description": "Maximum number of LLM invocations allowed for a run. When reached, the API proxy rejects subsequent requests with HTTP 403 and error type 'max_runs_exceeded'. See spec §11."
+          "description": "Maximum number of LLM invocations allowed for a run. When reached, the API proxy rejects subsequent requests with HTTP 429 and error type 'max_runs_exceeded'. See spec §11."
         },
         "maxRuns": {
           "type": "integer",