diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 24e7b4b..65cce02 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@getpipher/armory-fleet",
-  "version": "0.9.3",
+  "version": "0.9.4",
   "private": false,
   "description": "The armory suite's subagent orchestrator for the pi coding agent \u2014 a cross-harness, superpowers-native fleet where every agent is armory-native from birth.",
   "license": "MIT",
diff --git a/src/engine/turn-budget.ts b/src/engine/turn-budget.ts
index cbbc54e..84fd1ac 100644
--- a/src/engine/turn-budget.ts
+++ b/src/engine/turn-budget.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 // src/engine/turn-budget.ts
-export const DEFAULT_MAX_TURNS = 20;
+/** Default per-run turn budget. Effectively uncapped for normal work — a very complex
+ *  multi-file task rarely exceeds ~100 turns; 1000 bounds runaway loops while never clipping
+ *  legit work. Callers may pass a tighter `maxTurns` (e.g. 5) for trivial lookups. (v0.9.4: was 20.) */
+export const DEFAULT_MAX_TURNS = 1000;
 
 export interface TurnBudget {
   /** Returns true when the just-consumed turn meets/exceeds the cap. */
diff --git a/test/turn-budget.test.mts b/test/turn-budget.test.mts
index f31713f..5b44204 100644
--- a/test/turn-budget.test.mts
+++ b/test/turn-budget.test.mts
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ test("exhausted at max", () => {
   strictEqual(b.count(), 2);
 });
 
-test("default max is 20", () => {
+test("default max is 1000 (v0.9.4: effectively uncapped for normal work)", () => {
   const b = createTurnBudget();
-  for (let i = 0; i < 19; i++) ok(!b.consume(), `turn ${i + 1} not exhausted`);
+  for (let i = 0; i < 999; i++) ok(!b.consume(), `turn ${i + 1} not exhausted`);
   strictEqual(b.consume(), true);
 });
\ No newline at end of file