diff --git a/packages/core/src/agent/subagent/command-queue.test.ts b/packages/core/src/agent/subagent/command-queue.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a9bd6966
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/agent/subagent/command-queue.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import {
+  enqueueInLane,
+  getLaneSize,
+  clearLane,
+  setLaneConcurrency,
+  resetLanesForTests,
+} from "./command-queue.js";
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  resetLanesForTests();
+});
+
+describe("command queue", () => {
+  it("runs tasks serially by default (maxConcurrent = 1)", async () => {
+    let active = 0;
+    let maxActive = 0;
+    const order: number[] = [];
+
+    const makeTask = (id: number) => async () => {
+      active += 1;
+      maxActive = Math.max(maxActive, active);
+      order.push(id);
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 10));
+      active -= 1;
+      return id;
+    };
+
+    const results = await Promise.all([
+      enqueueInLane("test", makeTask(1)),
+      enqueueInLane("test", makeTask(2)),
+      enqueueInLane("test", makeTask(3)),
+    ]);
+
+    expect(results).toEqual([1, 2, 3]);
+    expect(order).toEqual([1, 2, 3]);
+    expect(maxActive).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  it("respects maxConcurrent limit", async () => {
+    setLaneConcurrency("test", 3);
+
+    let active = 0;
+    let maxActive = 0;
+
+    const makeTask = (id: number) => async () => {
+      active += 1;
+      maxActive = Math.max(maxActive, active);
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 20));
+      active -= 1;
+      return id;
+    };
+
+    const results = await Promise.all([
+      enqueueInLane("test", makeTask(1)),
+      enqueueInLane("test", makeTask(2)),
+      enqueueInLane("test", makeTask(3)),
+      enqueueInLane("test", makeTask(4)),
+      enqueueInLane("test", makeTask(5)),
+    ]);
+
+    expect(results).toEqual([1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);
+    expect(maxActive).toBe(3);
+  });
+
+  it("reports correct lane size", async () => {
+    setLaneConcurrency("test", 1);
+
+    let resolveFirst!: () => void;
+    const blocker = new Promise<void>((r) => {
+      resolveFirst = r;
+    });
+
+    // First task blocks the lane
+    const p1 = enqueueInLane("test", () => blocker);
+    // Second task queued
+    const p2 = enqueueInLane("test", async () => "done");
+
+    // 1 active + 1 queued = 2
+    expect(getLaneSize("test")).toBe(2);
+
+    resolveFirst();
+    await Promise.all([p1, p2]);
+
+    expect(getLaneSize("test")).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("clears pending tasks", async () => {
+    setLaneConcurrency("test", 1);
+
+    let resolveFirst!: () => void;
+    const blocker = new Promise<void>((r) => {
+      resolveFirst = r;
+    });
+
+    const p1 = enqueueInLane("test", () => blocker);
+    const p2 = enqueueInLane("test", async () => "should-not-run");
+    const p3 = enqueueInLane("test", async () => "should-not-run");
+
+    const removed = clearLane("test");
+    expect(removed).toBe(2);
+
+    resolveFirst();
+    await p1;
+
+    // p2 and p3 should reject
+    await expect(p2).rejects.toThrow("Lane cleared");
+    await expect(p3).rejects.toThrow("Lane cleared");
+
+    expect(getLaneSize("test")).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("returns 0 for unknown lane", () => {
+    expect(getLaneSize("nonexistent")).toBe(0);
+    expect(clearLane("nonexistent")).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/agent/subagent/command-queue.ts b/packages/core/src/agent/subagent/command-queue.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..470378d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/agent/subagent/command-queue.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+/**
+ * Lane-based command queue for subagent concurrency control.
+ *
+ * Each lane maintains an independent queue with a configurable max-concurrency
+ * limit.  Tasks beyond the limit are queued and executed FIFO as slots free up.
+ *
+ * Adapted from OpenClaw's process/command-queue.ts.
+ */
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Types
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+type QueueEntry = {
+  task: () => Promise<unknown>;
+  resolve: (value: unknown) => void;
+  reject: (reason?: unknown) => void;
+  enqueuedAt: number;
+  warnAfterMs: number;
+  onWait?: (waitMs: number, queuedAhead: number) => void;
+};
+
+type LaneState = {
+  lane: string;
+  queue: QueueEntry[];
+  active: number;
+  maxConcurrent: number;
+  draining: boolean;
+};
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Module state
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+const lanes = new Map<string, LaneState>();
+
+function getLaneState(lane: string): LaneState {
+  const existing = lanes.get(lane);
+  if (existing) return existing;
+
+  const created: LaneState = {
+    lane,
+    queue: [],
+    active: 0,
+    maxConcurrent: 1,
+    draining: false,
+  };
+  lanes.set(lane, created);
+  return created;
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Drain / pump
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+function drainLane(lane: string): void {
+  const state = getLaneState(lane);
+  if (state.draining) return;
+  state.draining = true;
+
+  const pump = () => {
+    while (state.active < state.maxConcurrent && state.queue.length > 0) {
+      const entry = state.queue.shift() as QueueEntry;
+      const waitedMs = Date.now() - entry.enqueuedAt;
+
+      if (waitedMs >= entry.warnAfterMs) {
+        entry.onWait?.(waitedMs, state.queue.length);
+        console.warn(
+          `[CommandQueue] lane wait exceeded: lane=${lane} waitedMs=${waitedMs} queueAhead=${state.queue.length}`,
+        );
+      }
+
+      state.active += 1;
+
+      void (async () => {
+        try {
+          const result = await entry.task();
+          state.active -= 1;
+          pump();
+          entry.resolve(result);
+        } catch (err) {
+          state.active -= 1;
+          pump();
+          entry.reject(err);
+        }
+      })();
+    }
+    state.draining = false;
+  };
+
+  pump();
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Public API
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/** Set (or update) the max concurrency for a lane.  Triggers a drain. */
+export function setLaneConcurrency(lane: string, maxConcurrent: number): void {
+  const state = getLaneState(lane);
+  state.maxConcurrent = Math.max(1, Math.floor(maxConcurrent));
+  drainLane(lane);
+}
+
+/** Enqueue a task in a specific lane.  Returns a promise that resolves with the task's return value. */
+export function enqueueInLane<T>(
+  lane: string,
+  task: () => Promise<T>,
+  opts?: {
+    warnAfterMs?: number;
+    onWait?: (waitMs: number, queuedAhead: number) => void;
+  },
+): Promise<T> {
+  const warnAfterMs = opts?.warnAfterMs ?? 5_000;
+  const state = getLaneState(lane);
+
+  return new Promise<T>((resolve, reject) => {
+    state.queue.push({
+      task: () => task(),
+      resolve: (value) => resolve(value as T),
+      reject,
+      enqueuedAt: Date.now(),
+      warnAfterMs,
+      onWait: opts?.onWait,
+    });
+    drainLane(lane);
+  });
+}
+
+/** Number of active + queued tasks in a lane. */
+export function getLaneSize(lane: string): number {
+  const state = lanes.get(lane);
+  if (!state) return 0;
+  return state.queue.length + state.active;
+}
+
+/** Remove all pending (not yet active) tasks from a lane. Returns how many were removed. */
+export function clearLane(lane: string): number {
+  const state = lanes.get(lane);
+  if (!state) return 0;
+  const removed = state.queue.length;
+  // Reject pending tasks so callers aren't left hanging
+  for (const entry of state.queue) {
+    entry.reject(new Error("Lane cleared"));
+  }
+  state.queue.length = 0;
+  return removed;
+}
+
+/** Reset all lanes (for testing). */
+export function resetLanesForTests(): void {
+  for (const state of lanes.values()) {
+    for (const entry of state.queue) {
+      entry.reject(new Error("Reset"));
+    }
+  }
+  lanes.clear();
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/src/agent/subagent/lanes.ts b/packages/core/src/agent/subagent/lanes.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..88649722
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/agent/subagent/lanes.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/** Named lanes for the subagent command queue. */
+export const SubagentLane = {
+  Subagent: "subagent",
+} as const;
+
+/** Default maximum concurrent subagent runs. */
+export const DEFAULT_SUBAGENT_MAX_CONCURRENT = 10;
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Timeout defaults
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/** Default subagent timeout: 10 minutes. */
+export const DEFAULT_SUBAGENT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 600;
+
+/** Maximum safe value for setTimeout (~24.8 days). */
+const MAX_SAFE_TIMEOUT_MS = 2_147_000_000;
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the effective timeout in milliseconds for a subagent run.
+ *
+ * - `undefined` / negative → default (600 s)
+ * - `0`                    → no timeout (MAX_SAFE_TIMEOUT_MS)
+ * - positive number        → use as-is, clamped to safe range
+ */
+export function resolveSubagentTimeoutMs(overrideSeconds?: number): number {
+  if (overrideSeconds === undefined || overrideSeconds === null) {
+    return DEFAULT_SUBAGENT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS * 1000;
+  }
+  if (overrideSeconds === 0) {
+    return MAX_SAFE_TIMEOUT_MS; // "no timeout"
+  }
+  if (overrideSeconds < 0) {
+    return DEFAULT_SUBAGENT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS * 1000;
+  }
+  return Math.min(Math.floor(overrideSeconds) * 1000, MAX_SAFE_TIMEOUT_MS);
+}