diff --git a/packages/core/src/__tests__/canvas-log.test.ts b/packages/core/src/__tests__/canvas-log.test.ts
index b0b2aed2c..10eb9fb78 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/__tests__/canvas-log.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/__tests__/canvas-log.test.ts
@@ -91,6 +91,32 @@ describe("readCanvases", () => {
     expect(result[0]?.id).toBe(`c-${CANVAS_MAX_PER_SESSION + 4}`);
   });
 
+  it("bounds I/O when an agent emits hundreds of canvas files (greptile P1)", async () => {
+    // Pre-fix: readCanvases lstat-ed, read, parsed, validated EVERY file before
+    // capping. 200 files × 256 KB = 50+ MB of reads per 5s poll. Post-fix:
+    // I/O is capped at CANVAS_MAX_PER_SESSION * 4 reads and the newest mtime
+    // files are selected.
+    const N = 200;
+    for (let i = 0; i < N; i++) {
+      const c: CanvasArtifact = {
+        ...validMarkdown,
+        id: `c-${String(i).padStart(3, "0")}`,
+      };
+      const filePath = join(canvasDir, `c-${String(i).padStart(3, "0")}.json`);
+      await writeFile(filePath, JSON.stringify(c));
+      // mtime-order ascending by index so the highest indices are the newest
+      const ts = 1_700_000_000_000 + i * 1000;
+      await import("node:fs/promises").then((fs) => fs.utimes(filePath, ts / 1000, ts / 1000));
+    }
+    const result = await readCanvases(dir);
+    expect(result).toHaveLength(CANVAS_MAX_PER_SESSION);
+    // The 32 returned must be the 32 highest-index (newest mtime) files.
+    const ids = new Set(result.map((c) => c.id));
+    for (let i = N - CANVAS_MAX_PER_SESSION; i < N; i++) {
+      expect(ids.has(`c-${String(i).padStart(3, "0")}`)).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+
   it("drops file canvases that use the reserved core- prefix", async () => {
     const reserved: CanvasArtifact = { ...validMarkdown, id: "core-git-diff" };
     await writeFile(join(canvasDir, "evil.json"), JSON.stringify(reserved));
diff --git a/packages/core/src/canvas-log.ts b/packages/core/src/canvas-log.ts
index 699ecba3e..e9d09b45d 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/canvas-log.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/canvas-log.ts
@@ -38,12 +38,19 @@ export async function readCanvases(workspacePath: string): Promise<CanvasArtifac
     throw err;
   }
 
-  const canvases: CanvasArtifact[] = [];
+  // Two-pass to bound I/O when a buggy agent emits 1000s of canvas files.
+  // Pass 1 (cheap, all entries): lstat to filter non-regular + oversized,
+  // collect {name, mtimeMs} for the survivors. lstat is cheap; readFile +
+  // JSON.parse + Zod validate is the expensive part we want to bound.
+  // Pass 2 (capped): sort by mtime desc, read + validate the newest, break
+  // once CANVAS_MAX_PER_SESSION valid canvases are collected. Hard ceiling
+  // CANVAS_MAX_PER_SESSION * 4 file reads so the loop can't be starved by a
+  // pile of invalid newer files into reading everything anyway.
+  type Candidate = { name: string; mtimeMs: number };
+  const candidates: Candidate[] = [];
   for (const entry of entries) {
     if (!entry.endsWith(".json")) continue;
     const filePath = join(dir, entry);
-
-    let size: number;
     try {
       const st = await lstat(filePath);
       // Reject anything that isn't a regular file. lstat (not stat) avoids
@@ -53,14 +60,31 @@ export async function readCanvases(workspacePath: string): Promise<CanvasArtifac
         console.warn(`canvas: dropping ${entry} (not a regular file)`);
         continue;
       }
-      size = st.size;
+      if (st.size > CANVAS_MAX_FILE_BYTES) {
+        console.warn(`canvas: dropping ${entry} (${st.size} bytes exceeds ${CANVAS_MAX_FILE_BYTES})`);
+        continue;
+      }
+      candidates.push({ name: entry, mtimeMs: st.mtimeMs });
     } catch {
-      continue;
+      // file vanished between readdir and lstat, or unreadable — skip silently
     }
-    if (size > CANVAS_MAX_FILE_BYTES) {
-      console.warn(`canvas: dropping ${entry} (${size} bytes exceeds ${CANVAS_MAX_FILE_BYTES})`);
-      continue;
+  }
+
+  // Newest-first so the read-loop can early-break at CANVAS_MAX_PER_SESSION
+  // and still keep the newest files (the design intent of the cap).
+  candidates.sort((a, b) => b.mtimeMs - a.mtimeMs);
+
+  const readBudget = CANVAS_MAX_PER_SESSION * 4;
+  const canvases: CanvasArtifact[] = [];
+  let reads = 0;
+  for (const { name } of candidates) {
+    if (canvases.length >= CANVAS_MAX_PER_SESSION) break;
+    if (reads >= readBudget) {
+      console.warn(`canvas: stopping at ${reads} reads (budget exhausted, ${candidates.length - reads} skipped)`);
+      break;
     }
+    reads++;
+    const filePath = join(dir, name);
 
     let raw: string;
     try {
@@ -73,27 +97,31 @@ export async function readCanvases(workspacePath: string): Promise<CanvasArtifac
     try {
       parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
     } catch {
-      console.warn(`canvas: dropping ${entry} (invalid JSON)`);
+      console.warn(`canvas: dropping ${name} (invalid JSON)`);
       continue;
     }
 
     const result = CanvasArtifactSchema.safeParse(parsed);
     if (!result.success) {
-      console.warn(`canvas: dropping ${entry} (schema invalid: ${result.error.issues[0]?.message ?? "unknown"})`);
+      console.warn(`canvas: dropping ${name} (schema invalid: ${result.error.issues[0]?.message ?? "unknown"})`);
       continue;
     }
     // The "core-" id prefix is reserved for canvases synthesized by core
     // (e.g. core-git-diff). Dropping it here prevents an agent file canvas
     // from shadowing the trusted synthesized version in API responses.
     if (result.data.id.startsWith("core-")) {
-      console.warn(`canvas: dropping ${entry} (id "${result.data.id}" uses reserved "core-" prefix)`);
+      console.warn(`canvas: dropping ${name} (id "${result.data.id}" uses reserved "core-" prefix)`);
       continue;
     }
     canvases.push(result.data);
   }
 
+  // Final sort by updatedAt (the canvas-supplied timestamp). mtime ordering
+  // was used to bound I/O; updatedAt is what the UI cares about and may
+  // differ if an agent rewrites a file without changing the canvas's
+  // updatedAt field.
   canvases.sort((a, b) => (a.updatedAt < b.updatedAt ? 1 : -1));
-  return canvases.slice(0, CANVAS_MAX_PER_SESSION);
+  return canvases;
 }
 
 export async function synthesizeGitDiffCanvas(