diff --git a/client/src/lib/api.ts b/client/src/lib/api.ts
index f7e92b0d..b0fc25ca 100644
--- a/client/src/lib/api.ts
+++ b/client/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -957,7 +957,14 @@ export const api = {
           node_version: string;
           platform: string;
           ws_connections: number;
-          memory: { rss: number; heapTotal: number; heapUsed: number; external: number };
+          memory: {
+            rss: number;
+            heapTotal: number;
+            heapUsed: number;
+            external: number;
+            /** V8's heap_size_limit; absent on older servers (fall back to heapTotal). */
+            heapLimit?: number;
+          };
           cpu_load: number[];
           arch: string;
           total_mem: number;
diff --git a/client/src/pages/Dashboard.tsx b/client/src/pages/Dashboard.tsx
index 6e5ebdcb..aed2016c 100644
--- a/client/src/pages/Dashboard.tsx
+++ b/client/src/pages/Dashboard.tsx
@@ -132,7 +132,14 @@ interface SystemInfo {
     node_version: string;
     platform: string;
     ws_connections: number;
-    memory: { rss: number; heapTotal: number; heapUsed: number; external: number };
+    memory: {
+      rss: number;
+      heapTotal: number;
+      heapUsed: number;
+      external: number;
+      /** V8's heap_size_limit; absent on older servers (fall back to heapTotal). */
+      heapLimit?: number;
+    };
     cpu_load: number[];
     arch: string;
     total_mem: number;
@@ -1562,10 +1569,10 @@ function SystemHealthTab() {
 
     const memUsedPct =
       info.server.total_mem > 0 ? (1 - info.server.free_mem / info.server.total_mem) * 100 : 0;
-    const heapUsedPct =
-      info.server.memory.heapTotal > 0
-        ? (info.server.memory.heapUsed / info.server.memory.heapTotal) * 100
-        : 0;
+    // Against the heap LIMIT: heapTotal is only what V8 has grown to so far, so
+    // used/total reads 70-90% on a healthy process and dragged the health score.
+    const heapMax = info.server.memory.heapLimit || info.server.memory.heapTotal;
+    const heapUsedPct = heapMax > 0 ? (info.server.memory.heapUsed / heapMax) * 100 : 0;
 
     return {
       totalEntries,
@@ -1701,7 +1708,7 @@ function SystemHealthTab() {
             </Tip>
             <Tip
               block
-              raw={`V8 Heap: ${heapUsedPct.toFixed(1)}% used\n${formatBytes(info.server.memory.heapUsed)} / ${formatBytes(info.server.memory.heapTotal)}\nExternal: ${formatBytes(info.server.memory.external)}`}
+              raw={`V8 Heap: ${heapUsedPct.toFixed(1)}% used\n${formatBytes(info.server.memory.heapUsed)} / ${formatBytes(info.server.memory.heapLimit || info.server.memory.heapTotal)} limit\nAllocated: ${formatBytes(info.server.memory.heapTotal)}\nExternal: ${formatBytes(info.server.memory.external)}`}
             >
               <div className="space-y-1">
                 <div className="flex justify-between text-[10px]">
diff --git a/server/__tests__/api.test.js b/server/__tests__/api.test.js
index 2dc79ba6..34909884 100644
--- a/server/__tests__/api.test.js
+++ b/server/__tests__/api.test.js
@@ -1896,6 +1896,14 @@ describe("Transcript cache integration", () => {
     assert.equal(res.body.server.version, pkg.version);
   });
 
+  it("reports the V8 heap LIMIT, not just the currently allocated heapTotal", async () => {
+    const res = await fetch("/api/settings/info");
+    const { heapUsed, heapTotal, heapLimit } = res.body.server.memory;
+    assert.ok(Number.isFinite(heapLimit), "heapLimit should be a number");
+    // heapTotal is what V8 has grown to so far; the limit is the ceiling.
+    assert.ok(heapLimit >= heapTotal && heapLimit > heapUsed);
+  });
+
   it("should evict cache entry on SessionEnd", async () => {
     const tmpTranscript = path.join(os.tmpdir(), `test-evict-${Date.now()}.jsonl`);
     fs.writeFileSync(
diff --git a/server/openapi-extra/override-ops.js b/server/openapi-extra/override-ops.js
index a4e51d2d..6185cd8d 100644
--- a/server/openapi-extra/override-ops.js
+++ b/server/openapi-extra/override-ops.js
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ const SETTINGS_INFO_EXAMPLE = {
       heapTotal: 71303168,
       heapUsed: 58392104,
       external: 3211884,
+      heapLimit: 4345298944,
       arrayBuffers: 1048576,
     },
     cpu_load: [2.13, 2.45, 2.31],
diff --git a/server/routes/settings.js b/server/routes/settings.js
index 15cc224f..79f9ae26 100644
--- a/server/routes/settings.js
+++ b/server/routes/settings.js
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ const { Router } = require("express");
 const fs = require("fs");
 const path = require("path");
 const os = require("os");
+const v8 = require("v8");
 const { db, stmts, DB_PATH, DEFAULT_PRICING, applyIntroPricing } = require("../db");
 const { getConnectionCount } = require("../websocket");
 const { transcriptCache } = require("./hooks");
@@ -121,7 +122,10 @@ router.get("/info", (req, res) => {
       node_version: process.version,
       platform: process.platform,
       ws_connections: getConnectionCount(),
-      memory: process.memoryUsage(),
+      // heapTotal is only what V8 has grown the heap to SO FAR, so used/total
+      // sits at 70-90% on a perfectly healthy process. heapLimit is the ceiling
+      // the process actually dies at — the denominator a "heap used %" needs.
+      memory: { ...process.memoryUsage(), heapLimit: v8.getHeapStatistics().heap_size_limit },
       cpu_load: os.loadavg(),
       arch: os.arch(),
       total_mem: os.totalmem(),