diff --git a/hindsight-integrations/coding-agents/src/core/hook.test.ts b/hindsight-integrations/coding-agents/src/core/hook.test.ts
index ca2218a8a..d9832bd42 100644
--- a/hindsight-integrations/coding-agents/src/core/hook.test.ts
+++ b/hindsight-integrations/coding-agents/src/core/hook.test.ts
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ describe("buildHookOutput", () => {
     expect(client.reflect).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
   });
 
-  it("caps the reflect timeout at 25000ms even when config asks for more", async () => {
+  it("uses a bounded low-budget reflect and caps its timeout at 25000ms", async () => {
     const cfg = resolveConfig({}); // reflectTimeoutMs default 120000
     const client = makeClient();
     await buildHookOutput({
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ describe("buildHookOutput", () => {
       cacheFile,
     });
     expect(client.reflect).toHaveBeenCalledWith(buildReflectQuery("the prompt"), {
-      budget: "high",
+      budget: "low",
       timeoutMs: 25000,
     });
   });
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ describe("buildHookOutput", () => {
       cacheFile,
     });
     expect(client.reflect).toHaveBeenCalledWith(buildReflectQuery("the prompt"), {
-      budget: "high",
+      budget: "low",
       timeoutMs: 5000,
     });
   });
diff --git a/hindsight-integrations/coding-agents/src/core/hook.ts b/hindsight-integrations/coding-agents/src/core/hook.ts
index b879de592..f90b74926 100644
--- a/hindsight-integrations/coding-agents/src/core/hook.ts
+++ b/hindsight-integrations/coding-agents/src/core/hook.ts
@@ -112,7 +112,10 @@ export async function buildHookOutput(args: {
     const t0 = Date.now();
     try {
       reflectAnswer = await client.reflect(buildReflectQuery(prompt), {
-        budget: "high",
+        // Automatic reflection runs inside a hard 25s hook window. Hindsight's low budget is the
+        // supported default for bounded reflect calls; callers that explicitly invoke the MCP
+        // tool still get the deeper high-budget path.
+        budget: "low",
         timeoutMs: Math.min(cfg.reflectTimeoutMs, HOOK_REFLECT_CAP_MS),
       });
       diag(harness, reflectAnswer ? "reflect_ok" : "reflect_empty", {