diff --git a/src/workflow/bundled/deep_research.py b/src/workflow/bundled/deep_research.py
index cd5bfbd3..5d2870b8 100644
--- a/src/workflow/bundled/deep_research.py
+++ b/src/workflow/bundled/deep_research.py
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@
         {"title": "Verify", "detail": "Cross-check each claim with independent agents"},
         {"title": "Synthesize", "detail": "Write a cited report from surviving claims"},
     ],
+    # #283: a verbose model burned ~888k tokens in Search+Verify with no
+    # ceiling. Applied by the engine when the caller set no budget;
+    # CLAWCODEX_DEEP_RESEARCH_TOKEN_BUDGET overrides (0 disables).
+    "default_budget": 400000,
 }
 
 # Bundled deep-research workflow (port of the upstream /deep-research bundle).
@@ -101,6 +105,39 @@
 
 # ── Phase 2: cross-check every claim independently ───────────────────────────
 phase("Verify")
+
+# Budget-aware degradation (#283): surface the Search spend, and only
+# launch as many verifiers as the remaining budget affords, reserving
+# headroom for Synthesize. Claims that can't be afforded pass through
+# UNVERIFIED rather than being dropped (the cross-check default is
+# "supported unless contradicted", and an unrun check contradicts
+# nothing). With no budget set, everything is verified as before.
+# Note: the estimate gates how many verifiers LAUNCH; spend within an
+# already-launched wave is uncapped (the engine's ceiling only trips
+# between calls), so the Synthesize step below re-checks the budget and
+# falls back to the raw claims if the waves overshot.
+SYNTH_RESERVE = 40000
+to_verify = claims
+unverified = []
+if budget.total:
+    search_spent = budget.spent()
+    log(f"Search spent ~{search_spent:,} of the {budget.total:,}-token budget.")
+    per_verifier = max(2000, search_spent // max(1, len(ANGLES)))
+    affordable = int(max(0, (budget.remaining() - SYNTH_RESERVE) // per_verifier))
+    if affordable < len(claims):
+        to_verify = claims[:affordable]
+        unverified = claims[affordable:]
+        if not to_verify:
+            log(
+                f"Token budget nearly exhausted ({budget.remaining():,.0f} left); "
+                f"skipping cross-check — all {len(claims)} claims pass through unverified."
+            )
+        else:
+            log(
+                f"Token budget affords cross-checking {len(to_verify)} of {len(claims)} "
+                f"claims (~{per_verifier:,} tokens each); {len(unverified)} pass through unverified."
+            )
+
 verdicts = await parallel([
     agent(
         f'Fact-check this claim about "{question}":\n\n  "{c["claim"]}"\n\n'
@@ -116,30 +153,59 @@
         phase="Verify",
         schema=VERDICT_SCHEMA,
     )
-    for c in claims
-])
+    for c in to_verify
+]) if to_verify else []
 
 # Keep claims the cross-check did not refute (supported, and unclear-but-not-wrong),
 # so the report covers the breadth of the topic rather than only claims that happened
 # to be independently re-confirmed. Refuted ("unsupported") claims are dropped.
-survivors = [
-    c for c, v in zip(claims, verdicts)
-    if v and v.get("verdict") in ("supported", "unclear")
-]
-log(f"{len(survivors)} of {len(claims)} claims survived cross-checking.")
+# A None verdict (verifier failed or hit the budget ceiling) contradicts
+# nothing — the claim passes through unverified instead of vanishing.
+survivors = []
+failed_checks = 0
+for c, v in zip(to_verify, verdicts):
+    if v is None:
+        failed_checks += 1
+        survivors.append(c)
+    elif v.get("verdict") in ("supported", "unclear"):
+        survivors.append(c)
+survivors.extend(unverified)
+log(
+    f"{len(survivors)} of {len(claims)} claims survived cross-checking"
+    + (f" ({failed_checks} verifier(s) did not complete; their claims pass through unverified)" if failed_checks else "")
+    + (f" ({len(unverified)} not checked: budget)" if unverified else "")
+    + "."
+)
+if budget.total:
+    log(f"Spend before Synthesize: ~{budget.spent():,} of {budget.total:,} tokens.")
 
 # ── Phase 3: synthesize a cited report ───────────────────────────────────────
 phase("Synthesize")
 bullet_lines = "\n".join(f"- {c['claim']} (source: {c['source']})" for c in survivors)
-report = await agent(
-    f'Write a clear, well-organized report answering: "{question}".\n\n'
-    f"You already have everything you need below — do NOT use any tools (no web search, "
-    f"no web fetch, no retrieving anything). Write the report DIRECTLY from these "
-    f"cross-checked claims, citing the source for each point:\n\n{bullet_lines}\n\n"
-    f"Structure it with a short summary followed by the details. Note any open questions.",
-    label="synthesize",
-    phase="Synthesize",
-)
+# Re-check the ceiling before the final call (#283): a verbose model can
+# overshoot the estimate WITHIN the already-launched search/verify waves,
+# and a tripped ceiling here would otherwise fail the whole run with no
+# report after spending the entire budget. Better an un-synthesized
+# claim list than expensive nothing.
+if budget.total and budget.spent() >= budget.total:
+    log(
+        f"Budget exhausted before Synthesize (~{budget.spent():,} of {budget.total:,}); "
+        f"returning the raw surviving claims instead of a synthesized report."
+    )
+    report = (
+        "(Token budget exhausted before synthesis — raw cross-checked claims:)\n\n"
+        + bullet_lines
+    )
+else:
+    report = await agent(
+        f'Write a clear, well-organized report answering: "{question}".\n\n'
+        f"You already have everything you need below — do NOT use any tools (no web search, "
+        f"no web fetch, no retrieving anything). Write the report DIRECTLY from these "
+        f"cross-checked claims, citing the source for each point:\n\n{bullet_lines}\n\n"
+        f"Structure it with a short summary followed by the details. Note any open questions.",
+        label="synthesize",
+        phase="Synthesize",
+    )
 
 return {
     "question": question,
diff --git a/src/workflow/runtime.py b/src/workflow/runtime.py
index 25cefeef..e9d4c6ff 100644
--- a/src/workflow/runtime.py
+++ b/src/workflow/runtime.py
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 
 import asyncio
 import inspect
+import os
+import re
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from typing import Any, Callable, Mapping, Optional
 
@@ -313,6 +315,36 @@ def _close_coroutines(items) -> None:
                 item.close()
 
 
+def _resolve_default_budget(meta: WorkflowMeta) -> Optional[int]:
+    """The workflow's own token ceiling when the caller set none (#283).
+
+    Resolution order:
+
+    1. ``CLAWCODEX_<NAME>_TOKEN_BUDGET`` env var (name uppercased,
+       non-alphanumerics → ``_`` — e.g. deep-research reads
+       ``CLAWCODEX_DEEP_RESEARCH_TOKEN_BUDGET``). ``0`` disables the
+       default entirely; malformed values are ignored.
+    2. ``meta.default_budget`` — a positive int literal in the meta block.
+    """
+    env_key = (
+        "CLAWCODEX_"
+        + re.sub(r"[^A-Za-z0-9]+", "_", meta.name).upper().strip("_")
+        + "_TOKEN_BUDGET"
+    )
+    raw_env = os.environ.get(env_key)
+    if raw_env is not None:
+        try:
+            value = int(raw_env)
+        except ValueError:
+            pass  # malformed — fall through to the meta default
+        else:
+            return value if value > 0 else None
+    declared = meta.raw.get("default_budget")
+    if isinstance(declared, int) and not isinstance(declared, bool) and declared > 0:
+        return declared
+    return None
+
+
 async def run_workflow(
     source: str,
     *,
@@ -340,6 +372,12 @@ async def run_workflow(
     meta = extract_meta(source)
 
     scheduler = scheduler if scheduler is not None else Scheduler(max_concurrent)
+    # A workflow may declare its own ceiling via ``meta.default_budget``
+    # (#283: deep-research burned ~888k tokens on a verbose model with no
+    # cap). Applied only when the caller set no budget — an explicit
+    # budget_total or an inherited parent Budget (nested workflow()) wins.
+    if budget is None and budget_total is None:
+        budget_total = _resolve_default_budget(meta)
     budget = budget if budget is not None else Budget(budget_total)
     journal = Journal(resume)
     progress = WorkflowProgress(meta.phases, on_change=on_progress)
diff --git a/tests/workflow/test_research_budget.py b/tests/workflow/test_research_budget.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..835e599f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/workflow/test_research_budget.py
@@ -0,0 +1,208 @@
+"""#283 — deep-research token budget: meta default + graceful degradation.
+
+Covers the engine-side ``meta.default_budget`` resolution (with the
+``CLAWCODEX_<NAME>_TOKEN_BUDGET`` env override) and the bundled
+deep-research script's budget-aware Verify gating: when the remaining
+budget can't afford the full verify fan-out, unaffordable claims pass
+through unverified (logged), and Synthesize still runs.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import pathlib
+from types import SimpleNamespace
+
+import pytest
+
+from src.workflow.runtime import _resolve_default_budget, run_workflow
+from src.workflow.sandbox import extract_meta
+from src.workflow.types import AgentOutcome
+
+_DEEP_RESEARCH = (
+    pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+    / "src"
+    / "workflow"
+    / "bundled"
+    / "deep_research.py"
+).read_text()
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _no_ambient_budget_env(monkeypatch):
+    """A developer's exported override must not change test meaning."""
+    monkeypatch.delenv("CLAWCODEX_DEEP_RESEARCH_TOKEN_BUDGET", raising=False)
+
+
+def _meta(name="deep-research", **raw):
+    return SimpleNamespace(name=name, raw=raw)
+
+
+class TestResolveDefaultBudget:
+    def test_meta_default_applies(self):
+        assert _resolve_default_budget(_meta(default_budget=400000)) == 400000
+
+    def test_no_default_returns_none(self):
+        assert _resolve_default_budget(_meta()) is None
+
+    def test_non_positive_or_bool_defaults_ignored(self):
+        assert _resolve_default_budget(_meta(default_budget=0)) is None
+        assert _resolve_default_budget(_meta(default_budget=-5)) is None
+        assert _resolve_default_budget(_meta(default_budget=True)) is None
+        assert _resolve_default_budget(_meta(default_budget="300000")) is None
+
+    def test_env_override_wins(self, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setenv("CLAWCODEX_DEEP_RESEARCH_TOKEN_BUDGET", "123456")
+        assert _resolve_default_budget(_meta(default_budget=400000)) == 123456
+
+    def test_env_zero_disables(self, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setenv("CLAWCODEX_DEEP_RESEARCH_TOKEN_BUDGET", "0")
+        assert _resolve_default_budget(_meta(default_budget=400000)) is None
+
+    def test_malformed_env_falls_back_to_meta(self, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setenv("CLAWCODEX_DEEP_RESEARCH_TOKEN_BUDGET", "lots")
+        assert _resolve_default_budget(_meta(default_budget=400000)) == 400000
+
+    def test_bundled_deep_research_declares_a_default(self):
+        meta = extract_meta(_DEEP_RESEARCH)
+        assert _resolve_default_budget(meta) == 400000
+
+
+class TestMetaDefaultWiring:
+    async def test_meta_default_reaches_the_script(self, runner):
+        source = (
+            'meta = {"name": "t", "description": "d", "default_budget": 1234}\n'
+            "return {'total': budget.total}\n"
+        )
+        result = await run_workflow(source, runner=runner)
+        assert result.error is None
+        assert result.value == {"total": 1234}
+
+    async def test_explicit_budget_beats_meta_default(self, runner):
+        source = (
+            'meta = {"name": "t", "description": "d", "default_budget": 1234}\n'
+            "return {'total': budget.total}\n"
+        )
+        result = await run_workflow(source, runner=runner, budget_total=99)
+        assert result.value == {"total": 99}
+
+
+def _research_handler(search_tokens: int, claim_count: int = 3):
+    """A runner handler producing deterministic search/verify/synthesize
+    outcomes with controllable token spend."""
+
+    def handler(spec, index):
+        schema_props = (spec.schema or {}).get("properties", {})
+        if "claims" in schema_props:
+            return AgentOutcome(
+                structured={
+                    "claims": [
+                        {"claim": f"claim {index}-{i}", "source": f"https://s/{index}/{i}"}
+                        for i in range(claim_count)
+                    ]
+                },
+                tokens=search_tokens,
+            )
+        if "verdict" in schema_props:
+            return AgentOutcome(
+                structured={"verdict": "supported", "reason": "checks out"},
+                tokens=1000,
+            )
+        return AgentOutcome(text="the report", tokens=1000)
+
+    return handler
+
+
+class TestDeepResearchDegradation:
+    async def test_tight_budget_skips_verification_but_synthesizes(self, make_runner):
+        # 4 searches x 4k = 16k spent of 20k; remaining 4k < the 40k
+        # synthesize reserve -> zero verifiers, everything passes through.
+        runner = make_runner(handler=_research_handler(search_tokens=4000, claim_count=1))
+        result = await run_workflow(
+            _DEEP_RESEARCH,
+            runner=runner,
+            args={"question": "what is up?"},
+            budget_total=20000,
+        )
+        assert result.error is None, result.error
+        assert result.value["report"] == "the report"
+        # 4 distinct claims (one per angle), none dropped.
+        assert result.value["claims_verified"] == result.value["claims_gathered"] == 4
+        # 4 search agents + 1 synthesize; NO verify agents launched.
+        assert runner.call_count == 5
+
+    async def test_partial_budget_verifies_what_it_can_afford(self, make_runner):
+        # 4 searches x 10k = 40k spent of 100k; remaining 60k - 40k
+        # reserve = 20k at ~10k/verifier -> 2 of 4 claims verified, the
+        # other 2 pass through unverified.
+        runner = make_runner(handler=_research_handler(search_tokens=10000, claim_count=1))
+        result = await run_workflow(
+            _DEEP_RESEARCH,
+            runner=runner,
+            args={"question": "what is up?"},
+            budget_total=100000,
+        )
+        assert result.error is None, result.error
+        assert result.value["claims_verified"] == 4  # 2 verified + 2 pass-through
+        # 4 search + 2 verify + 1 synthesize.
+        assert runner.call_count == 7
+
+    async def test_no_budget_verifies_everything(self, make_runner):
+        runner = make_runner(handler=_research_handler(search_tokens=10000, claim_count=1))
+        result = await run_workflow(
+            _DEEP_RESEARCH,
+            runner=runner,
+            args={"question": "what is up?"},
+            budget_total=None,
+        )
+        # The meta default (400k) applies — far above this run's spend,
+        # so all 4 claims are verified.
+        assert result.error is None, result.error
+        assert result.value["claims_verified"] == 4
+        assert runner.call_count == 9  # 4 search + 4 verify + 1 synthesize
+
+    async def test_failed_verifier_passes_claim_through(self, make_runner):
+        calls = {"verify": 0}
+
+        def handler(spec, index):
+            schema_props = (spec.schema or {}).get("properties", {})
+            if "claims" in schema_props:
+                return AgentOutcome(
+                    structured={"claims": [{"claim": f"c{index}", "source": "https://s"}]},
+                    tokens=10,
+                )
+            if "verdict" in schema_props:
+                calls["verify"] += 1
+                if calls["verify"] == 1:
+                    return AgentOutcome(error="verifier crashed")
+                return AgentOutcome(
+                    structured={"verdict": "supported", "reason": "ok"}, tokens=10
+                )
+            return AgentOutcome(text="the report", tokens=10)
+
+        runner = make_runner(handler=handler)
+        result = await run_workflow(
+            _DEEP_RESEARCH,
+            runner=runner,
+            args={"question": "q?"},
+        )
+        assert result.error is None, result.error
+        # The crashed verifier's claim is NOT dropped.
+        assert result.value["claims_verified"] == 4
+
+    async def test_wave_overshoot_falls_back_to_raw_claims(self, make_runner):
+        # The verbose-model incident profile: spend within the
+        # already-launched Search wave blows past the whole budget
+        # (4 x 120k > 400k). The run must still produce a report-shaped
+        # result — the raw claims — instead of failing after full spend.
+        runner = make_runner(handler=_research_handler(search_tokens=120000, claim_count=1))
+        result = await run_workflow(
+            _DEEP_RESEARCH,
+            runner=runner,
+            args={"question": "what is up?"},
+        )
+        assert result.error is None, result.error
+        assert "raw cross-checked claims" in result.value["report"]
+        assert "claim" in result.value["report"]  # the bullets made it in
+        assert result.value["claims_verified"] == 4  # all pass through
+        # 4 search agents only — no verify, no synthesize agent.
+        assert runner.call_count == 4