diff --git a/packages/agentctx/src/cli/search.ts b/packages/agentctx/src/cli/search.ts
index 61b05d8..63bff74 100644
--- a/packages/agentctx/src/cli/search.ts
+++ b/packages/agentctx/src/cli/search.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
  */
 import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
 import { parseArgs } from "node:util";
+import { SEARCH_LIMIT_DEFAULT, SEARCH_LIMIT_MAX } from "../mcp/tools.js";
 import { openDatabase } from "../storage/db.js";
 import { resolveProjectId } from "../storage/namespace.js";
 import { searchRecords } from "../storage/search.js";
@@ -18,10 +19,7 @@ export const SEARCH_USAGE = `Usage: agentctx search <query> [options]
 
 Options:
   --type <type>   restrict to one record type (${RECORD_TYPES.join(", ")})
-  --limit <n>     maximum results (default 10, max 50)`;
-
-const LIMIT_DEFAULT = 10;
-const LIMIT_MAX = 50;
+  --limit <n>     maximum results (default ${SEARCH_LIMIT_DEFAULT}, max ${SEARCH_LIMIT_MAX})`;
 
 export async function runSearch(env: CliEnv, args: string[]): Promise<number> {
   if (args.includes("--help")) {
@@ -53,11 +51,11 @@ export async function runSearch(env: CliEnv, args: string[]): Promise<number> {
     }
     type = values.type as RecordType;
   }
-  let limit = LIMIT_DEFAULT;
+  let limit = SEARCH_LIMIT_DEFAULT;
   if (values.limit !== undefined) {
     const parsed = Number(values.limit);
-    if (!Number.isInteger(parsed) || parsed < 1 || parsed > LIMIT_MAX) {
-      env.io.err(`agentctx search: --limit must be an integer between 1 and ${LIMIT_MAX}`);
+    if (!Number.isInteger(parsed) || parsed < 1 || parsed > SEARCH_LIMIT_MAX) {
+      env.io.err(`agentctx search: --limit must be an integer between 1 and ${SEARCH_LIMIT_MAX}`);
       return 1;
     }
     limit = parsed;
diff --git a/packages/agentctx/test/cli/commands.test.ts b/packages/agentctx/test/cli/commands.test.ts
index 81f58e4..cb5a9b4 100644
--- a/packages/agentctx/test/cli/commands.test.ts
+++ b/packages/agentctx/test/cli/commands.test.ts
@@ -139,6 +139,35 @@ describe("agentctx config", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("agentctx search", () => {
+  it("rejects limits above the shared MCP/SPEC cap", async () => {
+    await main(["init", "--no-profile", "--no-mcp"], t.env);
+
+    expect(await main(["search", "caching", "--limit", "16"], t.env)).toBe(1);
+    expect(t.stderr.join("\n")).toContain("between 1 and 15");
+  });
+
+  it("accepts the documented max limit", async () => {
+    await main(["init", "--no-profile", "--no-mcp"], t.env);
+    const projectId = resolveProjectId(t.env.cwd);
+
+    const db = openDatabase(t.env.dbPath);
+    for (let i = 0; i < 20; i++) {
+      insertRecord(db, {
+        projectId,
+        type: "decision",
+        title: `Decision ${i}`,
+        body: `caching detail ${i}`,
+        source: "cli",
+      });
+    }
+    db.close();
+
+    expect(await main(["search", "caching", "--limit", "15"], t.env)).toBe(0);
+    expect(t.stdout.filter((line) => line.includes("Decision "))).toHaveLength(15);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("agentctx reset", () => {
   it("deletes only the current project's records, after confirmation", async () => {
     await main(["init", "--no-profile", "--no-mcp"], t.env);