diff --git a/src/plugins/bounded-grep-fallback.ts b/src/plugins/bounded-grep-fallback.ts
index c330d1478..5dc51df32 100644
--- a/src/plugins/bounded-grep-fallback.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/bounded-grep-fallback.ts
@@ -12,16 +12,12 @@ export const BOUNDED_GREP_MAX_DIRECTORY_ENTRIES = 25_000;
 /** Max bytes read from any single file during content search. */
 export const BOUNDED_GREP_MAX_PER_FILE_BYTES = 512_000;
 
-/** Max bytes in the formatted result string. */
-export const BOUNDED_GREP_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES = 512_000;
-
 export const BOUNDED_GREP_DEFAULT_MAX_RESULTS = 500;
 export const BOUNDED_SEARCH_DEFAULT_MAX_RESULTS = 1000;
 
 export type BoundedGrepLimits = {
   maxDirectoryEntries?: number;
   maxPerFileBytes?: number;
-  maxOutputBytes?: number;
 };
 
 export type BoundedGrepArgs = {
@@ -97,15 +93,6 @@ function isBinary(buf: Buffer): boolean {
   return buf.includes(0);
 }
 
-function capOutput(text: string, maxBytes: number): string {
-  if (Buffer.byteLength(text, "utf8") <= maxBytes) return text;
-  let cut = text;
-  while (cut.length > 0 && Buffer.byteLength(cut, "utf8") > maxBytes) {
-    cut = cut.slice(0, Math.floor(cut.length * 0.9));
-  }
-  return `${cut}\n... (output truncated at ${maxBytes} bytes; narrow path/glob or pattern)`;
-}
-
 async function collectFilePaths(
   basePath: string,
   globFilter: RegExp | null,
@@ -270,7 +257,6 @@ export async function runBoundedGrep(
 
   const maxDirectoryEntries = limits.maxDirectoryEntries ?? BOUNDED_GREP_MAX_DIRECTORY_ENTRIES;
   const maxPerFileBytes = limits.maxPerFileBytes ?? BOUNDED_GREP_MAX_PER_FILE_BYTES;
-  const maxOutputBytes = limits.maxOutputBytes ?? BOUNDED_GREP_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES;
 
   const basePath = resolve(baseCwd, args.path ?? ".");
   const contextLines = args.context ?? 0;
@@ -329,7 +315,7 @@ export async function runBoundedGrep(
   if (walkTruncated) {
     output += `\n... (directory walk capped at ${maxDirectoryEntries} files; narrow path/glob)`;
   }
-  return capOutput(output, maxOutputBytes);
+  return output;
 }
 
 export async function runBoundedSearchFiles(
@@ -341,7 +327,6 @@ export async function runBoundedSearchFiles(
   signal.throwIfAborted();
 
   const maxDirectoryEntries = limits.maxDirectoryEntries ?? BOUNDED_GREP_MAX_DIRECTORY_ENTRIES;
-  const maxOutputBytes = limits.maxOutputBytes ?? BOUNDED_GREP_MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES;
 
   const basePath = resolve(baseCwd, args.path ?? ".");
   const maxResults = args.max_results ?? BOUNDED_SEARCH_DEFAULT_MAX_RESULTS;
@@ -391,6 +376,6 @@ export async function runBoundedSearchFiles(
   if (walkTruncated) {
     result += `\n... (directory walk capped at ${maxDirectoryEntries} files; narrow path/glob)`;
   }
-  return capOutput(result, maxOutputBytes);
+  return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/result-truncation-plugin.ts b/src/plugins/result-truncation-plugin.ts
index 4b8985bb8..9f7ec6c29 100644
--- a/src/plugins/result-truncation-plugin.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/result-truncation-plugin.ts
@@ -4,16 +4,23 @@ const TRUNCATABLE_TOOLS = new Set(["read_file", "grep", "run_shell", "search_fil
 
 // Characters, not tokens — conversion ratio is roughly 4 chars/token.
 // 80 000 chars ≈ 20 000 tokens. Keeps a single result from dominating context.
-const MAX_RESULT_CHARS = 80_000;
+export const MAX_RESULT_CHARS = 80_000;
 
-// Shared with the MCP tool runner (src/mcp/plugin.ts), which is not part of the
-// posix runner this middleware wraps and so applies the same truncation directly.
-export function truncateToolResultContent(content: string): string {
-  if (content.length <= MAX_RESULT_CHARS) return content;
+// The single primitive for size truncation: callers may pass their own
+// threshold but never invent their own wording, so a result can never carry
+// two differently-worded "truncated" notices. Called directly by runners this
+// middleware does not wrap — the MCP tool runner (src/mcp/plugin.ts), and
+// ripgrep-plugin.ts, which answers grep without calling next and so never
+// reaches this middleware despite sitting earlier in the same plugin array.
+export function truncateToolResultContent(
+  content: string,
+  maxChars: number = MAX_RESULT_CHARS,
+): string {
+  if (content.length <= maxChars) return content;
 
-  const remaining = content.length - MAX_RESULT_CHARS;
+  const remaining = content.length - maxChars;
   return (
-    content.slice(0, MAX_RESULT_CHARS) +
+    content.slice(0, maxChars) +
     `\n[output truncated — ${remaining.toLocaleString()} characters omitted. ` +
     `Use offset/limit params or a more targeted query to see the rest.]`
   );
diff --git a/src/plugins/rg-output.test.ts b/src/plugins/rg-output.test.ts
index ddfb472a6..77f2250fd 100644
--- a/src/plugins/rg-output.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/rg-output.test.ts
@@ -7,10 +7,11 @@ const line = "big.txt:1:match line here\n";
 test("the cap fires on the chunk that breaches it", () => {
   const collector = createRgCollector(200);
   expect(collector.push(line.repeat(4))).toBeUndefined();
-  expect(collector.push(line.repeat(20))).toMatchObject({
-    kind: "partial",
-    notice: expect.stringContaining("exceeded 200 bytes"),
-  });
+  const outcome = collector.push(line.repeat(20));
+  expect(outcome).toMatchObject({ kind: "partial" });
+  // No notice of its own: the final tool result gets exactly one truncation
+  // notice, from result-truncation-plugin.ts, not one per cap that fired.
+  expect(outcome?.kind === "partial" ? outcome.notice : "defined").toBeUndefined();
 });
 
 test("an over-cap run reports no more than the cap, cut at a line boundary", () => {
diff --git a/src/plugins/rg-output.ts b/src/plugins/rg-output.ts
index 1e3193009..88c6b4a61 100644
--- a/src/plugins/rg-output.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/rg-output.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ export type RgOutcome =
   | { kind: "output"; stdout: string }
   | { kind: "no-match" }
   | { kind: "error"; message: string }
-  | { kind: "partial"; stdout: string; notice: string };
+  | { kind: "partial"; stdout: string; notice?: string };
 
 export type RgCollector = {
   /** Returns an outcome once the cap is breached, otherwise undefined. */
@@ -37,12 +37,15 @@ export function createRgCollector(maxOutputBytes: number): RgCollector {
     return outcome;
   };
 
+  // No notice here: the cap only stops collection early to bound memory
+  // while the stream is still live. The result-truncation-plugin.ts pass
+  // that runs over the final tool result is the single place a "truncated"
+  // notice gets attached, so this cap does not add one of its own.
   const overCap = (): RgOutcome | undefined => {
     if (stdout.length <= maxOutputBytes) return undefined;
     return settle({
       kind: "partial",
       stdout: truncateToWholeLines(stdout, maxOutputBytes),
-      notice: `search output exceeded ${maxOutputBytes} bytes — showing partial results; narrow path/glob or pattern`,
     });
   };
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/rg-run.test.ts b/src/plugins/rg-run.test.ts
index dd7bd4f87..5e55b2986 100644
--- a/src/plugins/rg-run.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/rg-run.test.ts
@@ -48,7 +48,9 @@ test("an over-cap run is capped regardless of how stdout is chunked", async () =
     expect(result.kind).toBe("partial");
     if (result.kind !== "partial") continue;
     expect(result.stdout.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(200);
-    expect(result.notice).toContain("exceeded 200 bytes");
+    // No notice of its own: the final tool result gets exactly one
+    // truncation notice, from result-truncation-plugin.ts.
+    expect(result.notice).toBeUndefined();
   }
 });
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/ripgrep-plugin.ts b/src/plugins/ripgrep-plugin.ts
index 786b97c84..c0994a150 100644
--- a/src/plugins/ripgrep-plugin.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/ripgrep-plugin.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { statSync } from "node:fs";
 import { dirname, basename } from "node:path";
 import type { ToolPlugin } from "@intx/tools-posix";
+import type { ToolResult } from "@intx/types/runtime";
 
 import {
   runBoundedGrep,
@@ -8,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   type BoundedGrepArgs,
 } from "./bounded-grep-fallback.js";
 import { createRgCollector } from "./rg-output.js";
+import { truncateToolResultContent } from "./result-truncation-plugin.js";
 import { MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES, runRg, type RgLimits, type SpawnRg } from "./rg-run.js";
 
 // A grep over a large tree with the pure-TypeScript walker enumerates the whole
@@ -21,19 +23,34 @@ import { MAX_OUTPUT_BYTES, runRg, type RgLimits, type SpawnRg } from "./rg-run.j
 const DEFAULT_GREP_MAX = 500;
 const DEFAULT_SEARCH_MAX = 1000;
 
+// Dropping matches is a different fact from dropping characters, and the size
+// pass below cannot infer it: a run can be well under the char cap and still
+// have discarded thousands of matches. That omission is announced here; the
+// size cap announces its own.
 function capLines(text: string, max: number): string {
   const lines = text.split("\n").filter((line) => line.length > 0);
   if (lines.length <= max) return lines.join("\n");
-  return `${lines.slice(0, max).join("\n")}\n... (showing first ${max} of ${lines.length}+ lines; narrow path/glob)`;
+  return `${lines.slice(0, max).join("\n")}\n... (showing first ${max} of ${lines.length}+ matches; narrow path/glob)`;
+}
+
+// ripgrepPlugin answers grep and search_files without calling next, so the
+// result-truncation middleware sitting later in the chain never sees these
+// results. The shared primitive is applied here instead, keeping one wording
+// for size truncation on a path that would otherwise return uncapped.
+function bounded(callId: string, content: string): ToolResult {
+  return { callId, content: truncateToolResultContent(content) };
 }
 
 // Mirrors read_file's truncate-and-offer behavior: a cap or timeout still
 // surfaces whatever matches were collected before it fired, instead of
-// discarding them behind a bare error.
-function partialContent(stdout: string, maxResults: number, notice: string): string {
+// discarding them behind a bare error. `notice` is only set for conditions
+// neither cap describes, like a run timing out.
+function partialContent(stdout: string, maxResults: number, notice?: string): string {
   const capped = capLines(stdout, maxResults);
-  if (capped.length === 0) return `no matches collected before ${notice}`;
-  return `${capped}\n... ${notice}`;
+  if (capped.length === 0) {
+    return notice === undefined ? "no matches collected" : `no matches collected before ${notice}`;
+  }
+  return notice === undefined ? capped : `${capped}\n... ${notice}`;
 }
 
 // The fallback walker collects its whole result in memory before returning, so
@@ -97,7 +114,7 @@ export function ripgrepPlugin(cwd: string, limits: RgLimits = {}, spawnChild?: S
             };
             if (glob !== undefined) boundedArgs.glob = glob;
             const content = await runBoundedGrep(boundedArgs, signal, rgCwd);
-            return { callId: call.id, content: boundedContent(content, maxResults, maxBytes) };
+            return bounded(call.id, boundedContent(content, maxResults, maxBytes));
           } catch (err) {
             return {
               callId: call.id,
@@ -113,9 +130,9 @@ export function ripgrepPlugin(cwd: string, limits: RgLimits = {}, spawnChild?: S
           return { callId: call.id, content: result.message, isError: true };
         }
         if (result.kind === "partial") {
-          return { callId: call.id, content: partialContent(result.stdout, maxResults, result.notice) };
+          return bounded(call.id, partialContent(result.stdout, maxResults, result.notice));
         }
-        return { callId: call.id, content: capLines(result.stdout, maxResults) };
+        return bounded(call.id, capLines(result.stdout, maxResults));
       }
 
       if (call.name === "search_files") {
@@ -133,7 +150,7 @@ export function ripgrepPlugin(cwd: string, limits: RgLimits = {}, spawnChild?: S
               signal,
               rgCwd,
             );
-            return { callId: call.id, content: boundedContent(content, maxResults, maxBytes) };
+            return bounded(call.id, boundedContent(content, maxResults, maxBytes));
           } catch (err) {
             return {
               callId: call.id,
@@ -149,9 +166,9 @@ export function ripgrepPlugin(cwd: string, limits: RgLimits = {}, spawnChild?: S
           return { callId: call.id, content: result.message, isError: true };
         }
         if (result.kind === "partial") {
-          return { callId: call.id, content: partialContent(result.stdout, maxResults, result.notice) };
+          return bounded(call.id, partialContent(result.stdout, maxResults, result.notice));
         }
-        return { callId: call.id, content: capLines(result.stdout, maxResults) };
+        return bounded(call.id, capLines(result.stdout, maxResults));
       }
 
       return next(call, signal);
diff --git a/tests/unit/ripgrep-plugin.test.ts b/tests/unit/ripgrep-plugin.test.ts
index 4df6b29c6..02291a614 100644
--- a/tests/unit/ripgrep-plugin.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/ripgrep-plugin.test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,12 @@ import { join } from "node:path";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import type { ToolCall, ToolResult } from "@intx/types/runtime";
 
+import { createPosixTools } from "@intx/tools-posix";
+
 import { ripgrepPlugin } from "../../src/plugins/ripgrep-plugin.js";
+import { MAX_RESULT_CHARS } from "../../src/plugins/result-truncation-plugin.js";
+import { buildCorePosixToolPlugins } from "../../src/agent/posix-tool-plugins.js";
+import { createPermissionGate } from "../../src/permission/gate.js";
 import type { RgChild, SpawnRg } from "../../src/plugins/rg-run.js";
 
 // Repo root derived from this file, not process.cwd(): these cases search real
@@ -32,6 +37,34 @@ const stalledSpawn: SpawnRg = (): RgChild => ({
   kill: () => undefined,
 });
 
+// A child whose stdout is scripted directly, bypassing a real `rg` process
+// (and its own --max-count filtering) so the byte cap and the line-count cap
+// can both be forced to fire on the same run.
+function scriptedSpawn(stdout: string, code: number | null): SpawnRg {
+  return () => {
+    let onData: ((chunk: unknown) => void) | undefined;
+    let onClose: ((code: number | null) => void) | undefined;
+    const child: RgChild = {
+      pid: undefined,
+      stdout: {
+        on: (_event, listener) => {
+          onData = listener;
+        },
+      },
+      stderr: { on: () => undefined },
+      on: ((event: string, listener: (arg: never) => void) => {
+        if (event === "close") onClose = listener as (code: number | null) => void;
+      }) as RgChild["on"],
+      kill: () => undefined,
+    };
+    queueMicrotask(() => {
+      onData?.(stdout);
+      onClose?.(code);
+    });
+    return child;
+  };
+}
+
 async function withTempDir(run: (dir: string) => Promise<void>): Promise<void> {
   const dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "ripgrep-plugin-"));
   try {
@@ -90,8 +123,7 @@ test("grep returns partial matches when the output byte cap is hit", async () =>
     );
     expect(result.isError).toBeUndefined();
     expect(result.content).toContain("match line here");
-    expect(result.content).toContain("exceeded 200 bytes");
-    expect(result.content).toContain("narrow path/glob or pattern");
+    expect(String(result.content).length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(200);
   });
 });
 
@@ -117,8 +149,85 @@ test("the output byte cap holds when ripgrep is unavailable", async () => {
       );
       expect(result.isError).toBeUndefined();
       expect(result.content).toContain("match line here");
-      expect(result.content).toContain("exceeded 200 bytes");
-      expect(result.content.length).toBeLessThan(400);
+      expect(String(result.content).length).toBeLessThan(400);
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+// A grep run that both breaches the byte cap (rg-output.ts) and matches more
+// lines than max_results (ripgrep-plugin.ts's own count cap) used to stack the
+// byte cap's wording on top of the count cap's. The byte cap is silent now, so
+// what is left describes the omission the reader cannot otherwise detect: how
+// many matches were dropped.
+test("a grep result that hits both the byte cap and the match-count cap announces the dropped matches once", async () => {
+  // 400 matched lines emitted directly, bypassing a real `rg` process so
+  // nothing upstream of ripgrep-plugin.ts pre-limits the line count.
+  const result = await run(
+    { id: "c", name: "grep", arguments: { pattern: "match", path: cwd, max_results: 3 } },
+    { maxOutputBytes: 200 },
+    scriptedSpawn("big.txt:1:match line here\n".repeat(400), 0),
+  );
+
+  expect(result.isError).toBeUndefined();
+  const content = String(result.content);
+  expect(content.split("\n").filter((l) => l.includes("match line here")).length).toBe(3);
+  expect((content.match(/showing first/g) ?? []).length).toBe(1);
+  expect(content).not.toMatch(/exceeded \d+ bytes|timed out|\[output truncated/);
+});
+
+// Composed through buildCorePosixToolPlugins, not a hand-assembled pair:
+// ripgrepPlugin sits at an earlier array index than resultTruncationPlugin and
+// answers grep without calling next, so resultTruncationPlugin never sees a
+// grep result. Assembling the two by hand in the other order hides that and
+// lets an oversized result reach the model uncapped and unannounced.
+async function grepThroughRealChain(dir: string): Promise<string> {
+  const gate = createPermissionGate({
+    approvals: [],
+    interactive: false,
+    skipPermissions: true,
+    cwd: dir,
+  });
+  const runner = createPosixTools({
+    cwd: dir,
+    plugins: buildCorePosixToolPlugins({ cwd: dir, permissionGate: gate }),
+  });
+  const result = await runner.run(
+    { id: "c", name: "grep", arguments: { pattern: "line", path: dir } },
+    new AbortController().signal,
+  );
+  expect(result.isError).not.toBe(true);
+  return String(result.content);
+}
+
+async function writeOversizedHaystack(dir: string): Promise<void> {
+  const lines = Array.from({ length: 5000 }, (_, i) => `line ${i} ${"x".repeat(300)}`);
+  await writeFile(join(dir, "big.txt"), lines.join("\n") + "\n");
+}
+
+function truncationNoticeCount(content: string): number {
+  return (content.match(/\[output truncated/g) ?? []).length;
+}
+
+test("an oversized grep result is capped and announced once through the real plugin chain", async () => {
+  await withTempDir(async (dir) => {
+    await writeOversizedHaystack(dir);
+    const content = await grepThroughRealChain(dir);
+
+    expect(content.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(MAX_RESULT_CHARS + 200);
+    expect(truncationNoticeCount(content)).toBe(1);
+    expect(content).not.toContain("showing first");
+  });
+});
+
+test("an oversized grep result is capped and announced once when ripgrep is unavailable", async () => {
+  await withTempDir(async (dir) => {
+    await writeOversizedHaystack(dir);
+    await withoutRipgrep(async () => {
+      const content = await grepThroughRealChain(dir);
+
+      expect(content.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(MAX_RESULT_CHARS + 200);
+      expect(truncationNoticeCount(content)).toBe(1);
+      expect(content).not.toContain("showing first");
     });
   });
 });