diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index b8786d2..cb69a18 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ ALPHA_VANTAGE_API_KEY=
 FINNHUB_API_KEY=
 
 OPEN_ROUTER_API_KEY=
-OPEN_ROUTER_LLM_MODEL=qwen/qwen3-235b-a22b-2507
+OPEN_ROUTER_LLM_MODEL=~deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-latest
 OPEN_ROUTER_EMBED_MODEL=qwen/qwen3-embedding-8b
 
 # Paper execution is disabled unless AUTONOMY_EXECUTION_MODE=paper.
diff --git a/src/autonomy/llm.js b/src/autonomy/llm.js
index ebe81b6..50af7d8 100644
--- a/src/autonomy/llm.js
+++ b/src/autonomy/llm.js
@@ -23,6 +23,11 @@ async function callCoordinator(config, prompt) {
       body: JSON.stringify({
         model: config.openRouter.llmModel,
         temperature: 0,
+        // Without this OpenRouter reserves the model's entire output window against
+        // the key's remaining budget and rejects the call with a 402 before it ever
+        // runs -- 131k tokens reserved to produce a few hundred. Reasoning models
+        // also spend completion tokens on reasoning, so leave real headroom.
+        max_tokens: Math.max(512, Number(config?.openRouter?.maxTokens || process.env.OPEN_ROUTER_MAX_TOKENS) || 8000),
         response_format: { type: 'json_object' },
         messages: [
           { role: 'system', content: 'You are a coordinator. Extract only evidence-backed categorical hypotheses. Never output probabilities, expected returns, confidence scores, position sizes, or trade actions.' },
diff --git a/workers/graphWorker.js b/workers/graphWorker.js
index a892ea6..c173fbf 100644
--- a/workers/graphWorker.js
+++ b/workers/graphWorker.js
@@ -101,6 +101,10 @@ Reply with just the number of the match, or "none" if none apply. No explanation
     model: llmConfig.cheapModel || llmConfig.llmModel || llmConfig.model,
     messages: [{ role: "user", content: prompt }],
     temperature: 0,
+    // Same reason as the coordinator: an unbounded request gets a 402 for reserving
+    // the whole output window. This one only ever replies with a number or "none",
+    // the headroom is for models that think before answering.
+    max_tokens: Math.max(256, Number(process.env.OPEN_ROUTER_GRAPH_MAX_TOKENS) || 2000),
   });
 
   if (Date.now() < llmCooldownUntil) return null;