diff --git a/index.ts b/index.ts
index 52f1962..6614c69 100644
--- a/index.ts
+++ b/index.ts
@@ -120,6 +120,8 @@ interface PluginConfig {
     rerankApiKey?: string;
     rerankModel?: string;
     rerankEndpoint?: string;
+    /** Rerank API timeout in milliseconds (default: 5000). Increase for local/CPU-based rerank servers. */
+    rerankTimeoutMs?: number;
     rerankProvider?:
       | "jina"
       | "siliconflow"
diff --git a/openclaw.plugin.json b/openclaw.plugin.json
index a2cfb1f..976b8a1 100644
--- a/openclaw.plugin.json
+++ b/openclaw.plugin.json
@@ -319,6 +319,12 @@
             "default": "https://api.jina.ai/v1/rerank",
             "description": "Reranker API endpoint URL. Compatible with Jina-compatible endpoints and dedicated adapters such as TEI, SiliconFlow, Voyage, Pinecone, and DashScope."
           },
+          "rerankTimeoutMs": {
+            "type": "integer",
+            "minimum": 1,
+            "default": 5000,
+            "description": "Rerank API timeout in milliseconds (default: 5000). Increase for local/CPU-based rerank servers."
+          },
           "rerankProvider": {
             "type": "string",
             "enum": [
@@ -1078,6 +1084,12 @@
       "help": "Custom reranker API endpoint URL",
       "advanced": true
     },
+    "retrieval.rerankTimeoutMs": {
+      "label": "Rerank Timeout (ms)",
+      "placeholder": "5000",
+      "help": "Rerank API timeout in milliseconds. Increase for local/CPU-based rerank servers.",
+      "advanced": true
+    },
     "retrieval.rerankProvider": {
       "label": "Reranker Provider",
       "help": "Provider format: jina (default), siliconflow, voyage, pinecone, dashscope, or tei",
diff --git a/src/retriever.ts b/src/retriever.ts
index 900db75..bf3aeee 100644
--- a/src/retriever.ts
+++ b/src/retriever.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ export interface RetrievalConfig {
     | "pinecone"
     | "dashscope"
     | "tei";
+  /** Rerank API timeout in milliseconds (default: 5000). Increase for local/CPU-based rerank servers. */
+  rerankTimeoutMs?: number;
   /**
    * Length normalization: penalize long entries that dominate via sheer keyword
    * density. Formula: score *= 1 / (1 + log2(charLen / anchor)).
@@ -127,6 +129,7 @@ export const DEFAULT_RETRIEVAL_CONFIG: RetrievalConfig = {
   filterNoise: true,
   rerankModel: "jina-reranker-v3",
   rerankEndpoint: "https://api.jina.ai/v1/rerank",
+  rerankTimeoutMs: 5000,
   lengthNormAnchor: 500,
   hardMinScore: 0.35,
   timeDecayHalfLifeDays: 60,
@@ -858,18 +861,21 @@ export class MemoryRetriever {
           results.length,
         );
 
-        // Timeout: 5 seconds to prevent stalling retrieval pipeline
+        // Timeout: configurable via rerankTimeoutMs (default: 5000ms)
         const controller = new AbortController();
-        const timeout = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 5000);
+        const timeout = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), this.config.rerankTimeoutMs ?? 5000);
 
-        const response = await fetch(endpoint, {
-          method: "POST",
-          headers,
-          body: JSON.stringify(body),
-          signal: controller.signal,
-        });
-
-        clearTimeout(timeout);
+        let response: Response;
+        try {
+          response = await fetch(endpoint, {
+            method: "POST",
+            headers,
+            body: JSON.stringify(body),
+            signal: controller.signal,
+          });
+        } finally {
+          clearTimeout(timeout);
+        }
 
         if (response.ok) {
           const data: unknown = await response.json();
@@ -928,7 +934,7 @@ export class MemoryRetriever {
         }
       } catch (error) {
         if (error instanceof Error && error.name === "AbortError") {
-          console.warn("Rerank API timed out (5s), falling back to cosine");
+          console.warn(`Rerank API timed out (${this.config.rerankTimeoutMs ?? 5000}ms), falling back to cosine`);
         } else {
           console.warn("Rerank API failed, falling back to cosine:", error);
         }