diff --git a/src/deeplake-api.ts b/src/deeplake-api.ts
index 4c5cb880..83956309 100644
--- a/src/deeplake-api.ts
+++ b/src/deeplake-api.ts
@@ -174,6 +174,10 @@ const RETRYABLE_CODES = new Set([429, 500, 502, 503, 504]);
 const MAX_RETRIES = 3;
 const BASE_DELAY_MS = 500;
 const MAX_CONCURRENCY = 5;
+const DEFAULT_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS = 10_000;
+// Node's timers use a signed 32-bit delay. AbortSignal.timeout() accepts a
+// larger unsigned range, but values above this overflow to a 1ms timer.
+const MAX_TIMER_DELAY_MS = 2_147_483_647;
 
 // Lazy read: the openclaw bundle replaces `process.env.HIVEMIND_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS`
 // with a `globalThis.__hivemind_tuning__?.HIVEMIND_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS` lookup via
@@ -182,7 +186,12 @@ const MAX_CONCURRENCY = 5;
 // Was previously `const QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS = …` at module top — that would have
 // frozen the value to 10000 for the openclaw bundle regardless of pluginConfig.
 function getQueryTimeoutMs(): number {
-  return Number(process.env.HIVEMIND_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS ?? 10_000);
+  const configured = process.env.HIVEMIND_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS;
+  if (configured === undefined || String(configured).trim() === "") return DEFAULT_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS;
+
+  const parsed = Number(configured);
+  if (!Number.isFinite(parsed) || parsed < 0) return DEFAULT_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS;
+  return Math.min(Math.trunc(parsed), MAX_TIMER_DELAY_MS);
 }
 
 function sleep(ms: number, signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<void> {
@@ -514,12 +523,14 @@ export class DeeplakeApi {
   private async _fetchTables(): Promise<{ tables: string[]; cacheable: boolean }> {
     for (let attempt = 0; attempt <= MAX_RETRIES; attempt++) {
       try {
+        const timeoutMs = getQueryTimeoutMs();
         const resp = await fetch(`${this.apiUrl}/workspaces/${this.workspaceId}/tables`, {
           headers: {
             Authorization: `Bearer ${this.token}`,
             "X-Activeloop-Org-Id": this.orgId,
             ...deeplakeClientHeader(),
           },
+          signal: AbortSignal.timeout(timeoutMs),
         });
         if (resp.ok) {
           const data = await resp.json() as { tables?: { table_name: string }[] };
@@ -533,7 +544,11 @@ export class DeeplakeApi {
           continue;
         }
         return { tables: [], cacheable: false };
-      } catch {
+      } catch (e: unknown) {
+        // A stalled metadata lookup is no more trustworthy than a failed one.
+        // Return the non-cacheable sentinel immediately, matching query()'s
+        // per-attempt timeout policy instead of retrying a known deadline.
+        if (isTimeoutError(e)) return { tables: [], cacheable: false };
         if (attempt < MAX_RETRIES) {
           await sleep(BASE_DELAY_MS * Math.pow(2, attempt));
           continue;
@@ -755,4 +770,3 @@ export class DeeplakeApi {
 export function _resetSdkStateForTesting(): void {
   _signalledBalanceExhausted = false;
 }
-
diff --git a/tests/shared/deeplake-api-table-timeout.test.ts b/tests/shared/deeplake-api-table-timeout.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c21a6d42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/shared/deeplake-api-table-timeout.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { DeeplakeApi } from "../../src/deeplake-api.js";
+
+const fetchMock = vi.fn();
+vi.stubGlobal("fetch", fetchMock);
+const nativeAbortTimeout = AbortSignal.timeout.bind(AbortSignal);
+
+function makeApi(): DeeplakeApi {
+  return new DeeplakeApi("tok", "https://api.test", "org", "ws", "memory");
+}
+
+function tablesResponse(...tables: string[]) {
+  return {
+    ok: true,
+    status: 200,
+    json: async () => ({ tables: tables.map(table_name => ({ table_name })) }),
+  };
+}
+
+async function withWatchdog<T>(operation: Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
+  let timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
+  try {
+    return await Promise.race([
+      operation,
+      new Promise<never>((_resolve, reject) => {
+        timer = setTimeout(() => reject(new Error("test watchdog expired")), 500);
+      }),
+    ]);
+  } finally {
+    if (timer) clearTimeout(timer);
+  }
+}
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  fetchMock.mockReset();
+  delete process.env.HIVEMIND_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS;
+});
+
+describe("DeeplakeApi table discovery timeout", () => {
+  it.each([
+    ["empty", "", 10_000],
+    ["spaces", "   ", 10_000],
+    ["blank whitespace", "\t\r\n", 10_000],
+    ["non-numeric", "abc", 10_000],
+    ["negative", "-1", 10_000],
+    ["fractional", "12.75", 12],
+    ["above the signed timer range", "2147483648", 2_147_483_647],
+    ["infinite", "Infinity", 10_000],
+  ])("normalizes a %s configured timeout and still performs a fast fetch", async (_label, configured, expected) => {
+    process.env.HIVEMIND_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS = configured;
+    const timeoutSpy = vi.spyOn(AbortSignal, "timeout")
+      .mockImplementation(delay => nativeAbortTimeout(delay));
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(tablesResponse("memory"));
+
+    await expect(makeApi().knownTablesOrNull()).resolves.toEqual(["memory"]);
+
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(timeoutSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expected);
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    ["the documented default", undefined, 10_000],
+    ["zero", "0", 0],
+  ])("preserves %s while a valid fast metadata fetch succeeds", async (_label, configured, expected) => {
+    if (configured !== undefined) process.env.HIVEMIND_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS = configured;
+    const timeoutSpy = vi.spyOn(AbortSignal, "timeout")
+      .mockImplementation(delay => nativeAbortTimeout(delay));
+    fetchMock.mockResolvedValueOnce(tablesResponse("memory", "sessions"));
+
+    await expect(makeApi().knownTablesOrNull()).resolves.toEqual(["memory", "sessions"]);
+
+    expect(timeoutSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expected);
+    expect(fetchMock.mock.calls[0][1].signal).toBeInstanceOf(AbortSignal);
+  });
+
+  it("uses a native abort signal to stop a metadata fetch that never returns headers", async () => {
+    process.env.HIVEMIND_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS = "15";
+    let abortReason: unknown;
+    fetchMock.mockImplementation((_url: string, opts: { signal: AbortSignal }) =>
+      new Promise<never>((_resolve, reject) => {
+        opts.signal.addEventListener("abort", () => {
+          abortReason = opts.signal.reason;
+          reject(opts.signal.reason);
+        }, { once: true });
+      }));
+
+    await expect(withWatchdog(makeApi().knownTablesOrNull())).resolves.toBeNull();
+
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(abortReason).toMatchObject({ name: "TimeoutError" });
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the native signal active while consuming the response body", async () => {
+    process.env.HIVEMIND_QUERY_TIMEOUT_MS = "15";
+    let bodyAbortReason: unknown;
+    fetchMock.mockImplementation((_url: string, opts: { signal: AbortSignal }) => ({
+      ok: true,
+      status: 200,
+      json: () => new Promise<never>((_resolve, reject) => {
+        opts.signal.addEventListener("abort", () => {
+          bodyAbortReason = opts.signal.reason;
+          reject(opts.signal.reason);
+        }, { once: true });
+      }),
+    }));
+
+    await expect(withWatchdog(makeApi().knownTablesOrNull())).resolves.toBeNull();
+
+    expect(fetchMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(bodyAbortReason).toMatchObject({ name: "TimeoutError" });
+  });
+});