diff --git a/src/lib/tools/call-subordinate.ts b/src/lib/tools/call-subordinate.ts
index 693f1c3..860bb50 100644
--- a/src/lib/tools/call-subordinate.ts
+++ b/src/lib/tools/call-subordinate.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,239 @@
 import type { ModelMessage } from "ai";
 
+const MAX_SUBORDINATE_CONCURRENCY = 2;
+const SUBORDINATE_RETRY_DELAYS_MS = [1000, 2500] as const;
+
+let activeSubordinateCalls = 0;
+const subordinateWaitQueue: Array<() => void> = [];
+
+function asRecord(value: unknown): Record<string, unknown> | null {
+  if (!value || typeof value !== "object" || Array.isArray(value)) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  return value as Record<string, unknown>;
+}
+
+function getStatusCode(error: unknown): number | null {
+  const queue = [error];
+  const visited = new Set<unknown>();
+
+  while (queue.length > 0) {
+    const current = queue.shift();
+    if (!current || visited.has(current)) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    visited.add(current);
+
+    const record = asRecord(current);
+    if (!record) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const rawStatus = record.statusCode ?? record.status ?? record.status_code;
+    if (typeof rawStatus === "number" && Number.isFinite(rawStatus)) {
+      return rawStatus;
+    }
+    if (typeof rawStatus === "string") {
+      const parsed = Number.parseInt(rawStatus, 10);
+      if (Number.isFinite(parsed)) {
+        return parsed;
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (record.cause) {
+      queue.push(record.cause);
+    }
+    if (record.responseBody) {
+      queue.push(record.responseBody);
+    }
+    if (record.data) {
+      queue.push(record.data);
+    }
+    if (record.error) {
+      queue.push(record.error);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function getErrorCode(error: unknown): string | null {
+  const queue = [error];
+  const visited = new Set<unknown>();
+
+  while (queue.length > 0) {
+    const current = queue.shift();
+    if (!current || visited.has(current)) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    visited.add(current);
+
+    const record = asRecord(current);
+    if (!record) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const rawCode = record.code ?? record.type;
+    if (typeof rawCode === "string" && rawCode.trim()) {
+      return rawCode.trim();
+    }
+
+    if (record.cause) {
+      queue.push(record.cause);
+    }
+    if (record.responseBody) {
+      queue.push(record.responseBody);
+    }
+    if (record.data) {
+      queue.push(record.data);
+    }
+    if (record.error) {
+      queue.push(record.error);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function getErrorDetail(error: unknown): string | null {
+  const queue = [error];
+  const visited = new Set<unknown>();
+
+  while (queue.length > 0) {
+    const current = queue.shift();
+    if (!current || visited.has(current)) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    visited.add(current);
+
+    if (typeof current === "string" && current.trim()) {
+      const detail = current.trim().replace(/\s+/g, " ");
+      return detail.length > 280 ? `${detail.slice(0, 280)}...` : detail;
+    }
+
+    const record = asRecord(current);
+    if (!record) {
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    const rawMessage = record.message;
+    if (typeof rawMessage === "string" && rawMessage.trim()) {
+      const detail = rawMessage.trim().replace(/\s+/g, " ");
+      return detail.length > 280 ? `${detail.slice(0, 280)}...` : detail;
+    }
+
+    if (record.cause) {
+      queue.push(record.cause);
+    }
+    if (record.responseBody) {
+      queue.push(record.responseBody);
+    }
+    if (record.data) {
+      queue.push(record.data);
+    }
+    if (record.error) {
+      queue.push(record.error);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+function isRetriableProviderError(error: unknown): boolean {
+  const statusCode = getStatusCode(error);
+  if (statusCode !== null) {
+    return statusCode === 408 || statusCode === 409 || statusCode === 429 || statusCode >= 500;
+  }
+
+  const message = (error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)).toLowerCase();
+  if (!message) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  return (
+    message.includes("provider returned error") ||
+    message.includes("rate limit") ||
+    message.includes("too many requests") ||
+    message.includes("temporarily unavailable") ||
+    message.includes("overloaded") ||
+    message.includes("timeout") ||
+    message.includes("timed out") ||
+    message.includes("econnreset")
+  );
+}
+
+function formatSubordinateError(error: unknown): string {
+  const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+  const statusCode = getStatusCode(error);
+  const code = getErrorCode(error);
+  const detail = getErrorDetail(error);
+
+  const details: string[] = [];
+  if (statusCode !== null) {
+    details.push(`status=${statusCode}`);
+  }
+  if (code) {
+    details.push(`code=${code}`);
+  }
+
+  const base = details.length > 0 ? `${message} (${details.join(", ")})` : message;
+  if (!detail || detail === message) {
+    return base;
+  }
+  return `${base}: ${detail}`;
+}
+
+function sleep(ms: number): Promise<void> {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+}
+
+async function acquireSubordinateSlot(): Promise<void> {
+  if (activeSubordinateCalls < MAX_SUBORDINATE_CONCURRENCY) {
+    activeSubordinateCalls += 1;
+    return;
+  }
+
+  await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+    subordinateWaitQueue.push(() => resolve());
+  });
+}
+
+function releaseSubordinateSlot(): void {
+  const next = subordinateWaitQueue.shift();
+  if (next) {
+    next();
+    return;
+  }
+
+  activeSubordinateCalls = Math.max(0, activeSubordinateCalls - 1);
+}
+
+async function withSubordinateSlot<T>(fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
+  await acquireSubordinateSlot();
+  try {
+    return await fn();
+  } finally {
+    releaseSubordinateSlot();
+  }
+}
+
+async function runSubordinateWithRetry<T>(fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
+  for (let attempt = 0; attempt <= SUBORDINATE_RETRY_DELAYS_MS.length; attempt++) {
+    try {
+      return await fn();
+    } catch (error) {
+      const isLastAttempt = attempt === SUBORDINATE_RETRY_DELAYS_MS.length;
+      if (isLastAttempt || !isRetriableProviderError(error)) {
+        throw error;
+      }
+      const delay = SUBORDINATE_RETRY_DELAYS_MS[attempt] ?? 1000;
+      await sleep(delay + Math.floor(Math.random() * 400));
+    }
+  }
+
+  throw new Error("Subordinate retry loop exited unexpectedly");
+}
+
 /**
  * Delegate a task to a subordinate agent
  */
@@ -13,15 +247,19 @@ export async function callSubordinate(
     // Dynamic import to avoid circular dependency
     const { runSubordinateAgent } = await import("@/lib/agent/agent");
 
-    const result = await runSubordinateAgent({
-      task,
-      projectId,
-      parentAgentNumber,
-      parentHistory,
-    });
+    const result = await withSubordinateSlot(() =>
+      runSubordinateWithRetry(() =>
+        runSubordinateAgent({
+          task,
+          projectId,
+          parentAgentNumber,
+          parentHistory,
+        })
+      )
+    );
 
     return `Subordinate Agent ${parentAgentNumber + 1} completed the task:\n\n${result}`;
   } catch (error) {
-    return `Subordinate agent error: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`;
+    return `Subordinate agent error: ${formatSubordinateError(error)}`;
   }
 }