diff --git a/crates/watcher/Cargo.toml b/crates/watcher/Cargo.toml
index 401cb6e927..a3641ec6f7 100644
--- a/crates/watcher/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/watcher/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,3 +13,4 @@ log.workspace = true
 anyhow.workspace = true
 notify-debouncer-full.workspace = true
 futures.workspace = true
+walkdir.workspace = true
diff --git a/crates/watcher/src/lib.rs b/crates/watcher/src/lib.rs
index febbf1c1b8..000e7b500a 100644
--- a/crates/watcher/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/watcher/src/lib.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,17 @@ use notify_debouncer_full::{
 };
 use warpui_core::{Entity, ModelContext};
 
+/// Maximum number of directories allowed in a single recursive watch registration.
+/// On Linux, the `notify` crate's inotify backend creates one watch descriptor per
+/// directory. Each watch consumes memory for internal bookkeeping (path storage,
+/// event buffers, HashMap entries). When a directory tree contains hundreds of
+/// thousands of subdirectories (e.g., deep `node_modules` trees or monorepos),
+/// the cumulative memory can reach 10+ GB.
+///
+/// When a directory tree exceeds this threshold, the watch falls back to
+/// `RecursiveMode::NonRecursive` to prevent excessive memory usage.
+const MAX_RECURSIVE_WATCH_DIRECTORIES: usize = 100_000;
+
 #[derive(Debug)]
 enum BackgroundFileWatcherCommand {
     AddPath {
@@ -68,9 +79,34 @@ impl BackgroundFileWatcher {
                     response,
                     recursive_mode,
                 } => {
+                    // On Linux, recursive watches create one inotify descriptor
+                    // per directory, which can consume 10+ GB of memory for very
+                    // large trees. Guard against this by checking the directory
+                    // count before registering.
+                    let effective_mode = if recursive_mode == RecursiveMode::Recursive {
+                        match estimate_directory_count(
+                            &path,
+                            MAX_RECURSIVE_WATCH_DIRECTORIES,
+                        ) {
+                            count if count > MAX_RECURSIVE_WATCH_DIRECTORIES => {
+                                log::warn!(
+                                    "Directory tree at {} contains >{} directories \
+                                     (sampled {count}). Falling back to non-recursive \
+                                     watch to prevent excessive memory usage.",
+                                    path.display(),
+                                    MAX_RECURSIVE_WATCH_DIRECTORIES,
+                                );
+                                RecursiveMode::NonRecursive
+                            }
+                            _ => RecursiveMode::Recursive,
+                        }
+                    } else {
+                        recursive_mode
+                    };
+
                     let _ = response.send(
                         self.notifier
-                            .watch_filtered(path, recursive_mode, filter)
+                            .watch_filtered(path, effective_mode, filter)
                             .inspect_err(|err| {
                                 log::warn!("Failed to watch path: {err:?}");
                             })
@@ -383,3 +419,26 @@ fn deduplicate_and_merge_raw_notifier_events(
 
     Ok(update)
 }
+
+/// Estimates the number of directories under `root` by walking the tree up to
+/// `limit + 1` entries. Returns as soon as the count exceeds `limit`, avoiding
+/// a full traversal of very large trees.
+///
+/// Symlinks are *not* followed to avoid infinite loops. Permission errors and
+/// other I/O failures on individual entries are silently skipped.
+fn estimate_directory_count(root: &Path, limit: usize) -> usize {
+    let mut count: usize = 0;
+    for entry in walkdir::WalkDir::new(root)
+        .follow_links(false)
+        .into_iter()
+        .filter_map(|e| e.ok())
+    {
+        if entry.file_type().is_dir() {
+            count += 1;
+            if count > limit {
+                return count;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    count
+}