diff --git a/docs/gateway/config-agents.md b/docs/gateway/config-agents.md
index 37c6f1d9766a..d4496f9f0343 100644
--- a/docs/gateway/config-agents.md
+++ b/docs/gateway/config-agents.md
@@ -634,7 +634,7 @@ Periodic heartbeat runs.
       compaction: {
         mode: "safeguard", // default | safeguard
         provider: "my-provider", // id of a registered compaction provider plugin (optional)
-        timeoutSeconds: 900,
+        timeoutSeconds: 180,
         reserveTokensFloor: 24000,
         keepRecentTokens: 50000,
         identifierPolicy: "strict", // strict | off | custom
@@ -661,7 +661,7 @@ Periodic heartbeat runs.
 
 - `mode`: `default` or `safeguard` (chunked summarization for long histories). See [Compaction](/concepts/compaction).
 - `provider`: id of a registered compaction provider plugin. When set, the provider's `summarize()` is called instead of built-in LLM summarization. Falls back to built-in on failure. Setting a provider forces `mode: "safeguard"`. See [Compaction](/concepts/compaction).
-- `timeoutSeconds`: maximum seconds allowed for a single compaction operation before OpenClaw aborts it. Default: `900`.
+- `timeoutSeconds`: maximum seconds allowed for a single compaction operation before OpenClaw aborts it. Default: `180`.
 - `keepRecentTokens`: agent cut-point budget for keeping the most recent transcript tail verbatim. Manual `/compact` honors this when explicitly set; otherwise manual compaction is a hard checkpoint.
 - `identifierPolicy`: `strict` (default), `off`, or `custom`. `strict` prepends built-in opaque identifier retention guidance during compaction summarization.
 - `identifierInstructions`: optional custom identifier-preservation text used when `identifierPolicy=custom`.
diff --git a/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner.compaction-safety-timeout.test.ts b/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner.compaction-safety-timeout.test.ts
index 8f47d02a5ee6..266e7d90ac24 100644
--- a/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner.compaction-safety-timeout.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner.compaction-safety-timeout.test.ts
@@ -125,6 +125,14 @@ describe("resolveCompactionTimeoutMs", () => {
   });
 
   it("converts timeoutSeconds to milliseconds", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveCompactionTimeoutMs({
+        agents: { defaults: { compaction: { timeoutSeconds: 120 } } },
+      }),
+    ).toBe(120_000);
+  });
+
+  it("preserves explicit timeoutSeconds above 600", () => {
     expect(
       resolveCompactionTimeoutMs({
         agents: { defaults: { compaction: { timeoutSeconds: 1800 } } },
diff --git a/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner/compaction-safety-timeout.ts b/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner/compaction-safety-timeout.ts
index 564b4cfa5412..beba651420b4 100644
--- a/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner/compaction-safety-timeout.ts
+++ b/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner/compaction-safety-timeout.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../../config/types.openclaw.js";
 import type { CompactResult, ContextEngine } from "../../context-engine/types.js";
 import { withTimeout } from "../../node-host/with-timeout.js";
 
-export const EMBEDDED_COMPACTION_TIMEOUT_MS = 900_000;
+export const EMBEDDED_COMPACTION_TIMEOUT_MS = 180_000;
 
 function createAbortError(signal: AbortSignal): Error {
   const reason = "reason" in signal ? signal.reason : undefined;
diff --git a/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner/run/attempt.run-decisions.ts b/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner/run/attempt.run-decisions.ts
index f9ef74879ac4..97a416045a66 100644
--- a/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner/run/attempt.run-decisions.ts
+++ b/src/agents/embedded-agent-runner/run/attempt.run-decisions.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export function resolveEmbeddedAttemptSessionWriteLockOptions(params: {
   env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
 }): { timeoutMs: number; staleMs: number; maxHoldMs: number } {
   // Bound embedded-attempt lock holds to the compaction window, not the full run timeout.
-  // With defaults this permits roughly 900s compaction time plus the shared 120s
+  // With defaults this permits roughly 180s compaction time plus the shared 120s
   // timeout grace before the watchdog releases a stuck live-process lock.
   return resolveSessionWriteLockOptions(params.config, {
     env: params.env,
diff --git a/src/config/schema.help.ts b/src/config/schema.help.ts
index 9f2a0de4732f..6a198388c99c 100644
--- a/src/config/schema.help.ts
+++ b/src/config/schema.help.ts
@@ -1494,7 +1494,7 @@ export const FIELD_HELP: Record<string, string> = {
   "agents.defaults.compaction.postCompactionSections":
     'Opt-in AGENTS.md H2/H3 section names re-injected after compaction so the agent reruns critical startup guidance. Leave unset or set [] to disable reinjection. Explicitly set ["Session Startup", "Red Lines"] to enable the legacy default pair with fallback to older "Every Session"/"Safety" headings. Enabling this can duplicate project context already present in the compaction summary.',
   "agents.defaults.compaction.timeoutSeconds":
-    "Maximum time in seconds allowed for a single compaction operation before it is aborted (default: 900). Increase this for very large sessions that need more time to summarize, or decrease it to fail faster on unresponsive models.",
+    "Maximum time in seconds allowed for a single compaction operation before it is aborted (default: 180). Increase this for very large sessions that need more time to summarize, or decrease it to fail faster on unresponsive models.",
   "agents.defaults.compaction.model":
     "Optional provider/model override used only for compaction summarization. Set this when you want compaction to run on a different model than the session default, and leave it unset to keep using the primary agent model.",
   "agents.defaults.compaction.truncateAfterCompaction":
diff --git a/src/config/types.agent-defaults.ts b/src/config/types.agent-defaults.ts
index b5b627358004..b5233ebb87c9 100644
--- a/src/config/types.agent-defaults.ts
+++ b/src/config/types.agent-defaults.ts
@@ -541,7 +541,7 @@ export type AgentCompactionConfig = {
    * When set, compaction uses this model instead of the agent's primary model.
    * Falls back to the primary model when unset. */
   model?: string;
-  /** Maximum time in seconds for a single compaction operation (default: 900). */
+  /** Maximum time in seconds for a single compaction operation (default: 180). */
   timeoutSeconds?: number;
   /**
    * Id of a registered compaction provider plugin.