diff --git a/src/mcp/server.ts b/src/mcp/server.ts
index dbca07d9b..0563d0b82 100644
--- a/src/mcp/server.ts
+++ b/src/mcp/server.ts
@@ -253,7 +253,20 @@ export function registerMcpEndpoints(
           }
 
           case "memory_sessions": {
-            const sessions = await kv.list(KV.sessions);
+            const rawLimit = Number(args.limit);
+            const limit =
+              Number.isFinite(rawLimit) && rawLimit > 0
+                ? Math.floor(rawLimit)
+                : 20;
+            const allSessions = await kv.list<Session>(KV.sessions);
+            const recencyKey = (s: Session): string =>
+              [s.updatedAt, s.endedAt, s.lastCheckpointAt, s.startedAt].reduce(
+                (acc: string, t) => (typeof t === "string" && t > acc ? t : acc),
+                "",
+              );
+            const sessions = allSessions
+              .sort((a, b) => (recencyKey(a) < recencyKey(b) ? 1 : -1))
+              .slice(0, limit);
             return {
               status_code: 200,
               body: {
diff --git a/src/mcp/tools-registry.ts b/src/mcp/tools-registry.ts
index c4df3499c..6ab01bfd9 100644
--- a/src/mcp/tools-registry.ts
+++ b/src/mcp/tools-registry.ts
@@ -116,7 +116,15 @@ export const CORE_TOOLS: McpToolDef[] = [
     name: "memory_sessions",
     description:
       "List recent sessions with their status and observation counts.",
-    inputSchema: { type: "object", properties: {} },
+    inputSchema: {
+      type: "object",
+      properties: {
+        limit: {
+          type: "number",
+          description: "Max sessions to return (default 20)",
+        },
+      },
+    },
   },
   {
     name: "memory_smart_search",
diff --git a/src/triggers/api.ts b/src/triggers/api.ts
index 7b6c2bf2b..4b6791513 100644
--- a/src/triggers/api.ts
+++ b/src/triggers/api.ts
@@ -808,6 +808,7 @@ export function registerApiTriggers(
     async (req: ApiRequest): Promise<Response> => {
       const authErr = checkAuth(req, secret);
       if (authErr) return authErr;
+      const rawLimit = parseOptionalInt(req.query_params?.["limit"]);
       const sessions = await kv.list<Session>(KV.sessions);
       const normalizedAgentId =
         typeof req.query_params?.["agentId"] === "string"
@@ -823,12 +824,24 @@ export function registerApiTriggers(
       const filtered = filterAgentId
         ? sessions.filter((s) => s.agentId === filterAgentId)
         : sessions;
+      const recencyKey = (s: Session): string =>
+        [s.updatedAt, s.endedAt, s.lastCheckpointAt, s.startedAt].reduce(
+          (acc: string, t) => (typeof t === "string" && t > acc ? t : acc),
+          "",
+        );
+      const sorted = filtered.sort((a, b) =>
+        recencyKey(a) < recencyKey(b) ? 1 : -1,
+      );
+      const recent =
+        rawLimit === undefined
+          ? sorted
+          : sorted.slice(0, Math.max(0, rawLimit));
       const summaries = await Promise.all(
-        filtered.map((s) =>
+        recent.map((s) =>
           kv.get<SessionSummary>(KV.summaries, s.id).catch(() => null),
         ),
       );
-      const withSummary = filtered.map((s, i) =>
+      const withSummary = recent.map((s, i) =>
         summaries[i] ? { ...s, summary: summaries[i] } : s,
       );
       return { status_code: 200, body: { sessions: withSummary } };
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index 6797dfaf9..8fe7b7471 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ export interface Session {
   summary?: string;
   commitShas?: string[];
   agentId?: string;
+  updatedAt?: string;
+  lastCheckpointAt?: string;
 }
 
 export interface CommitLink {
diff --git a/test/api-sessions-limit.test.ts b/test/api-sessions-limit.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b910450f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/api-sessions-limit.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+vi.mock("../src/logger.js", () => ({
+  logger: { info: vi.fn(), warn: vi.fn(), error: vi.fn() },
+}));
+
+import { registerApiTriggers } from "../src/triggers/api.js";
+import { KV } from "../src/state/schema.js";
+import type { Session } from "../src/types.js";
+
+function mockKV() {
+  const store = new Map<string, Map<string, unknown>>();
+  return {
+    get: async <T>(scope: string, key: string): Promise<T | null> =>
+      (store.get(scope)?.get(key) as T) ?? null,
+    set: async <T>(scope: string, key: string, value: T): Promise<T> => {
+      if (!store.has(scope)) store.set(scope, new Map());
+      store.get(scope)!.set(key, value);
+      return value;
+    },
+    update: async <T>(scope: string, key: string): Promise<T> =>
+      store.get(scope)?.get(key) as T,
+    delete: async (scope: string, key: string): Promise<void> => {
+      store.get(scope)?.delete(key);
+    },
+    list: async <T>(scope: string): Promise<T[]> => {
+      const entries = store.get(scope);
+      return entries ? (Array.from(entries.values()) as T[]) : [];
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+function mockSdk() {
+  const functions = new Map<string, Function>();
+  return {
+    registerFunction: vi.fn(
+      (idOrOpts: string | { id: string }, handler: Function) => {
+        const id = typeof idOrOpts === "string" ? idOrOpts : idOrOpts.id;
+        functions.set(id, handler);
+      },
+    ),
+    registerTrigger: vi.fn(),
+    trigger: vi.fn(),
+    getFunction: (id: string) => functions.get(id),
+  };
+}
+
+function session(id: string, updatedSecond: number): Session {
+  return {
+    id,
+    project: "/tmp/p",
+    cwd: "/tmp/p",
+    startedAt: "2026-06-01T00:00:00.000Z",
+    updatedAt: `2026-06-01T00:00:${String(updatedSecond).padStart(2, "0")}.000Z`,
+    status: "active",
+    observationCount: 1,
+  };
+}
+
+function reqWithLimit(limit?: string) {
+  return {
+    body: undefined,
+    headers: {},
+    query_params: limit === undefined ? {} : { limit },
+  };
+}
+
+type SessionsResponse = {
+  status_code: number;
+  body: { sessions: Array<{ id: string }> };
+};
+
+describe("api::sessions limit + recency", () => {
+  let sdk: ReturnType<typeof mockSdk>;
+  let kv: ReturnType<typeof mockKV>;
+
+  async function seed(count: number) {
+    for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+      await kv.set(KV.sessions, `s${i}`, session(`s${i}`, i % 60));
+    }
+  }
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    sdk = mockSdk();
+    kv = mockKV();
+    registerApiTriggers(sdk as never, kv as never);
+  });
+
+  it("defaults to all sessions, most-recent first", async () => {
+    await seed(25);
+    const fn = sdk.getFunction("api::sessions")!;
+    const res = (await fn(reqWithLimit())) as SessionsResponse;
+
+    expect(res.status_code).toBe(200);
+    expect(res.body.sessions).toHaveLength(25);
+    expect(res.body.sessions[0].id).toBe("s24");
+    const ids = new Set(res.body.sessions.map((s) => s.id));
+    for (const old of ["s0", "s1", "s2", "s3", "s4"]) {
+      expect(ids.has(old)).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("honors an explicit limit", async () => {
+    await seed(25);
+    const fn = sdk.getFunction("api::sessions")!;
+    const res = (await fn(reqWithLimit("5"))) as SessionsResponse;
+
+    expect(res.body.sessions).toHaveLength(5);
+    expect(res.body.sessions.map((s) => s.id)).toEqual([
+      "s24",
+      "s23",
+      "s22",
+      "s21",
+      "s20",
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("honors arbitrarily large limit", async () => {
+    await seed(205);
+    const fn = sdk.getFunction("api::sessions")!;
+    const res = (await fn(reqWithLimit("1000"))) as SessionsResponse;
+
+    expect(res.body.sessions).toHaveLength(205);
+  });
+
+  it("treats non-positive limit as zero", async () => {
+    await seed(5);
+    const fn = sdk.getFunction("api::sessions")!;
+    const res = (await fn(reqWithLimit("0"))) as SessionsResponse;
+
+    expect(res.body.sessions).toHaveLength(0);
+    const negative = (await fn(reqWithLimit("-1"))) as SessionsResponse;
+    expect(negative.body.sessions).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+});