diff --git a/docs/modules/graph/builder.md b/docs/modules/graph/builder.md
index e0bb8e8..d140620 100644
--- a/docs/modules/graph/builder.md
+++ b/docs/modules/graph/builder.md
@@ -43,6 +43,15 @@ parallel superstep (the active set runs in chunks of at most `n`).
 `with_node_timeout(d)` fails the run with `TinyAgentsError::Timeout` if any node
 handler does not resolve within `d`.
 
+`CompiledGraph::with_run_deadline(d)` bounds the *whole run* by a wall-clock
+`d`, checked at every super-step boundary: when the elapsed run time first
+reaches `d` the run stops *between* super-steps with `TinyAgentsError::Timeout`,
+leaving the last committed boundary checkpoint intact and resumable. Prefer this
+over wrapping `run` in an external `tokio::time::timeout`, which aborts
+mid-super-step and cannot leave a clean checkpoint. It bounds scheduling, not a
+single in-flight node — pair it with `with_node_timeout` to also bound
+individual handlers.
+
 Compile-time options:
 
 ```rust
diff --git a/src/graph/compiled/executor.rs b/src/graph/compiled/executor.rs
index 9105fc6..7b3330e 100644
--- a/src/graph/compiled/executor.rs
+++ b/src/graph/compiled/executor.rs
@@ -418,6 +418,23 @@ where
                     .await;
                 return Err(err);
             }
+            // Whole-run wall-clock deadline: stop *between* super-steps once the
+            // elapsed run time reaches it, leaving the last committed boundary
+            // checkpoint intact (unlike an external `tokio::time::timeout`, which
+            // aborts mid-super-step and cannot). The already-completed super-steps
+            // and their checkpoints are preserved; the run fails with `Timeout`.
+            if let Some(deadline) = self.run_deadline {
+                let elapsed = started_at.elapsed().unwrap_or_default();
+                if elapsed >= deadline {
+                    let err = TinyAgentsError::Timeout(format!(
+                        "graph run exceeded its {deadline:?} deadline after {steps} super-step(s) \
+                         ({elapsed:?} elapsed)"
+                    ));
+                    self.fail_run(&run_id, &thread_id, started_at, steps, &err, None)
+                        .await;
+                    return Err(err);
+                }
+            }
             // Node-loop recursion: enforce `max_visits_per_node` per activation.
             for activation in &active {
                 if let Err(err) = recursion.record_node_visit(&mut node_visits, &activation.node) {
diff --git a/src/graph/compiled/mod.rs b/src/graph/compiled/mod.rs
index 922adf8..9bfe022 100644
--- a/src/graph/compiled/mod.rs
+++ b/src/graph/compiled/mod.rs
@@ -277,6 +277,7 @@ impl<State, Update> CompiledGraph<State, Update> {
             parallel,
             max_concurrency,
             node_timeout,
+            run_deadline: None,
             durability: crate::graph::checkpoint::DurabilityMode::default(),
             node_retry: None,
         }
@@ -352,6 +353,26 @@ impl<State, Update> CompiledGraph<State, Update> {
         self
     }
 
+    /// Bounds the whole run by a wall-clock `deadline`, checked at every
+    /// super-step boundary.
+    ///
+    /// Unlike wrapping [`run`](Self::run) in an external
+    /// [`tokio::time::timeout`] — which aborts mid-super-step and cannot leave a
+    /// clean checkpoint — this stops the run *between* super-steps: when the
+    /// elapsed run time first reaches `deadline`, the run fails with
+    /// [`TinyAgentsError::Timeout`] and (on a checkpointed thread) the last
+    /// committed boundary checkpoint stays intact, so the run can be resumed or
+    /// inspected rather than lost.
+    ///
+    /// The deadline bounds *scheduling*, not a single in-flight node: a
+    /// long-running node still runs to completion within its super-step (bound
+    /// it independently with a per-node timeout). `None` (the default) imposes
+    /// no deadline.
+    pub fn with_run_deadline(mut self, deadline: std::time::Duration) -> Self {
+        self.run_deadline = Some(deadline);
+        self
+    }
+
     /// Sets the checkpoint namespace (used by subgraph wrappers).
     pub fn with_namespace(mut self, namespace: Vec<String>) -> Self {
         self.namespace = namespace;
diff --git a/src/graph/compiled/test.rs b/src/graph/compiled/test.rs
index a24a8d4..705a203 100644
--- a/src/graph/compiled/test.rs
+++ b/src/graph/compiled/test.rs
@@ -1861,6 +1861,103 @@ async fn node_timeout_fails_slow_handler() {
     assert!(matches!(err, TinyAgentsError::Timeout(_)));
 }
 
+// ── Whole-run wall-clock deadline ────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/// A per-run deadline stops the run *between* super-steps once the elapsed run
+/// time reaches it, surfacing [`TinyAgentsError::Timeout`].
+#[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread", worker_threads = 2)]
+async fn run_deadline_stops_between_supersteps() {
+    let graph = GraphBuilder::<i32, i32>::overwrite()
+        .add_node("a", |s: i32, _c: NodeContext| async move {
+            tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(40)).await;
+            Ok(NodeResult::Update(s + 1))
+        })
+        .add_node("b", |s: i32, _c: NodeContext| async move {
+            Ok(NodeResult::Update(s + 1))
+        })
+        .set_entry("a")
+        .add_edge("a", "b")
+        .set_finish("b")
+        .compile()
+        .unwrap()
+        .with_run_deadline(Duration::from_millis(20));
+
+    // The first boundary (elapsed ~0) admits node `a`; the next boundary
+    // (elapsed ~40ms ≥ 20ms) trips the deadline before `b` ever runs.
+    let err = graph.run(0).await.unwrap_err();
+    assert!(matches!(err, TinyAgentsError::Timeout(_)), "got {err:?}");
+}
+
+/// A run that finishes within its deadline is unaffected — no false trip.
+#[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread", worker_threads = 2)]
+async fn run_deadline_allows_a_run_that_finishes_in_time() {
+    let graph = GraphBuilder::<i32, i32>::overwrite()
+        .add_node("a", |s: i32, _c: NodeContext| async move {
+            Ok(NodeResult::Update(s + 1))
+        })
+        .add_node("b", |s: i32, _c: NodeContext| async move {
+            Ok(NodeResult::Update(s + 1))
+        })
+        .set_entry("a")
+        .add_edge("a", "b")
+        .set_finish("b")
+        .compile()
+        .unwrap()
+        .with_run_deadline(Duration::from_secs(30));
+
+    let run = graph.run(0).await.unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(run.state, 2);
+}
+
+/// On a checkpointed thread, a deadline trip leaves the last committed boundary
+/// checkpoint intact — so the run can be resumed to completion rather than lost
+/// (the durability win over an external `tokio::time::timeout`).
+#[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread", worker_threads = 2)]
+async fn run_deadline_leaves_last_checkpoint_resumable() {
+    let cp = Arc::new(InMemoryCheckpointer::<i32>::new());
+    let topology = || {
+        GraphBuilder::<i32, i32>::overwrite()
+            .add_node("a", |s: i32, _c: NodeContext| async move {
+                tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(40)).await;
+                Ok(NodeResult::Update(s + 1))
+            })
+            .add_node("b", |s: i32, _c: NodeContext| async move {
+                Ok(NodeResult::Update(s + 1))
+            })
+            .add_node("c", |s: i32, _c: NodeContext| async move {
+                Ok(NodeResult::Update(s + 1))
+            })
+            .set_entry("a")
+            .add_edge("a", "b")
+            .add_edge("b", "c")
+            .set_finish("c")
+            .compile()
+            .unwrap()
+    };
+
+    // Trips after `a`'s boundary (state=1, next=[b]) but before `b` runs.
+    let deadlined = topology()
+        .with_checkpointer(cp.clone())
+        .with_run_deadline(Duration::from_millis(20));
+    let err = deadlined.run_with_thread("t", 0).await.unwrap_err();
+    assert!(matches!(err, TinyAgentsError::Timeout(_)), "got {err:?}");
+
+    // The boundary checkpoint from the completed super-step survived intact.
+    let list = cp.list("t").await.unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        !list.is_empty(),
+        "the pre-deadline boundary checkpoint is intact"
+    );
+
+    // Resuming (no deadline) continues from that checkpoint to completion.
+    let resumed = topology().with_checkpointer(cp.clone());
+    let run = resumed
+        .resume("t", Command::resume(json!(null)))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(run.state, 3, "resume ran the remaining super-steps b and c");
+}
+
 // ── Network resilience: node retry + resumable failures ──────────────────────
 
 /// A single-node graph whose handler fails (with a retryable model error) the
diff --git a/src/graph/compiled/types.rs b/src/graph/compiled/types.rs
index a595798..e220827 100644
--- a/src/graph/compiled/types.rs
+++ b/src/graph/compiled/types.rs
@@ -64,6 +64,12 @@ pub struct CompiledGraph<State, Update> {
     pub(crate) max_concurrency: Option<usize>,
     /// Default per-node handler timeout (`None` = no timeout).
     pub(crate) node_timeout: Option<std::time::Duration>,
+    /// Optional whole-run wall-clock deadline (`None` = no deadline). Checked at
+    /// every super-step boundary: when the elapsed run time reaches it the run
+    /// stops *between* super-steps with a [`TinyAgentsError::Timeout`], leaving
+    /// the last committed boundary checkpoint intact and resumable. Configured
+    /// via [`CompiledGraph::with_run_deadline`](crate::graph::CompiledGraph::with_run_deadline).
+    pub(crate) run_deadline: Option<std::time::Duration>,
     /// When checkpoints are persisted relative to execution (default
     /// [`DurabilityMode::Sync`]).
     pub(crate) durability: DurabilityMode,
@@ -115,6 +121,7 @@ impl<State, Update> Clone for CompiledGraph<State, Update> {
             parallel: self.parallel,
             max_concurrency: self.max_concurrency,
             node_timeout: self.node_timeout,
+            run_deadline: self.run_deadline,
             durability: self.durability,
             node_retry: self.node_retry.clone(),
         }