diff --git a/src/tools/AGENTS.md b/src/tools/AGENTS.md
index 76934a9..15d5f84 100644
--- a/src/tools/AGENTS.md
+++ b/src/tools/AGENTS.md
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ The tools module implements all 15 AI agent tools in BashKit. These tools bridge
 | File | Purpose |
 |------|---------|
 | `bash.ts` | Execute shell commands with timeout and output limits |
-| `read.ts` | Read files and list directories with pagination support |
+| `read.ts` | Read files and list directories with pagination, per-line truncation (2000 chars), and total output truncation (60K chars) |
 | `write.ts` | Write files with size limits and path restrictions |
 | `edit.ts` | String-based find/replace editing with uniqueness validation |
 | `glob.ts` | Pattern-based file discovery using find command |
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ const DEFAULT_CACHEABLE = [
 ### Test Coverage
 Located at `/tests/tools/`:
 - `bash.test.ts` -- Command execution, timeouts, output truncation
-- `read.test.ts` -- File reading, directory listing, pagination, binary detection
+- `read.test.ts` -- File reading, directory listing, pagination, binary detection, line/output truncation
 - `write.test.ts` -- File creation, overwriting, size limits
 - `edit.test.ts` -- String replacement, uniqueness validation, replace_all
 - `glob.test.ts` -- Pattern matching, path filtering
diff --git a/src/tools/read.ts b/src/tools/read.ts
index 96432a8..9033550 100644
--- a/src/tools/read.ts
+++ b/src/tools/read.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ import {
   debugStart,
   isDebugEnabled,
 } from "../utils/debug";
+import { middleTruncate } from "../utils/helpers";
+
+const DEFAULT_MAX_LINE_LENGTH = 2000;
+const DEFAULT_MAX_OUTPUT_LENGTH = 60000;
 
 export interface ReadTextOutput {
   type: "text";
@@ -52,6 +56,7 @@ Usage:
 - By default, it reads up to 500 lines starting from the beginning of the file
 - You can optionally specify a line offset and limit (especially handy for long files)
 - Results are returned with line numbers starting at 1
+- Any lines longer than 2000 characters will be truncated
 - This tool can only read text files, not binary files (images, PDFs, etc.)
 - This tool can only read files, not directories. To read a directory, use an ls command via the Bash tool.
 - It is always better to speculatively read multiple potentially useful files in parallel
@@ -157,12 +162,26 @@ export function createReadTool(sandbox: Sandbox, config?: ToolConfig) {
         const endLine = limit ? startLine + limit : allLines.length;
         const selectedLines = allLines.slice(startLine, endLine);
 
-        const lines = selectedLines.map((line, i) => ({
+        // Per-line truncation (silent, like Claude Code's MAX_LINE_LENGTH)
+        const maxLineLength =
+          config?.maxLineLength ?? DEFAULT_MAX_LINE_LENGTH;
+        const truncatedLines = selectedLines.map((line) =>
+          line.length > maxLineLength
+            ? line.slice(0, maxLineLength) + "…"
+            : line,
+        );
+
+        const lines = truncatedLines.map((line, i) => ({
           line_number: startLine + i + 1,
           content: line,
         }));
 
-        const contentStr = selectedLines.join("\n");
+        let contentStr = truncatedLines.join("\n");
+
+        // Total output cap (silent, prevents context bloat)
+        const maxOutputLength =
+          config?.maxOutputLength ?? DEFAULT_MAX_OUTPUT_LENGTH;
+        contentStr = middleTruncate(contentStr, maxOutputLength);
         const durationMs = Math.round(performance.now() - startTime);
         if (debugId) {
           debugEnd(debugId, "read", {
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index 0fdee32..b6d73d4 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ export type ToolConfig = {
   timeout?: number;
   maxFileSize?: number;
   maxOutputLength?: number;
+  maxLineLength?: number;
   allowedPaths?: string[];
   blockedCommands?: string[];
 } & SDKToolOptions;
diff --git a/tests/tools/read.test.ts b/tests/tools/read.test.ts
index dff501a..7719df8 100644
--- a/tests/tools/read.test.ts
+++ b/tests/tools/read.test.ts
@@ -279,6 +279,96 @@ describe("Read Tool", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  describe("per-line truncation", () => {
+    it("should truncate lines exceeding default max line length", async () => {
+      const longLine = "x".repeat(2500);
+      sandbox.setFile("/workspace/long-line.ts", `short\n${longLine}\nshort`);
+
+      const tool = createReadTool(sandbox);
+      const result = await executeTool(tool, {
+        file_path: "/workspace/long-line.ts",
+      });
+
+      assertSuccess<ReadSuccessOutput>(result);
+      if (result.type === "text") {
+        expect(result.lines[1].content).toHaveLength(2001); // 2000 + "…"
+        expect(result.lines[1].content.endsWith("…")).toBe(true);
+        expect(result.lines[0].content).toBe("short");
+        expect(result.lines[2].content).toBe("short");
+      }
+    });
+
+    it("should not truncate lines at exactly max length", async () => {
+      const exactLine = "x".repeat(2000);
+      sandbox.setFile("/workspace/exact.ts", exactLine);
+
+      const tool = createReadTool(sandbox);
+      const result = await executeTool(tool, {
+        file_path: "/workspace/exact.ts",
+      });
+
+      assertSuccess<ReadSuccessOutput>(result);
+      if (result.type === "text") {
+        expect(result.lines[0].content).toHaveLength(2000);
+        expect(result.lines[0].content).not.toContain("…");
+      }
+    });
+
+    it("should respect custom maxLineLength config", async () => {
+      const line = "x".repeat(200);
+      sandbox.setFile("/workspace/custom.ts", line);
+
+      const tool = createReadTool(sandbox, { maxLineLength: 100 });
+      const result = await executeTool(tool, {
+        file_path: "/workspace/custom.ts",
+      });
+
+      assertSuccess<ReadSuccessOutput>(result);
+      if (result.type === "text") {
+        expect(result.lines[0].content).toHaveLength(101); // 100 + "…"
+        expect(result.lines[0].content.endsWith("…")).toBe(true);
+      }
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe("total output truncation", () => {
+    it("should truncate total output exceeding maxOutputLength", async () => {
+      // Create a file with many lines that exceed 500 chars total
+      const fileLines = Array.from({ length: 50 }, (_, i) => `Line ${i + 1}: ${"a".repeat(20)}`);
+      const fileContent = fileLines.join("\n");
+      sandbox.setFile("/workspace/big.ts", fileContent);
+
+      const tool = createReadTool(sandbox, { maxOutputLength: 500 });
+      const result = await executeTool(tool, {
+        file_path: "/workspace/big.ts",
+        limit: 50,
+      });
+
+      assertSuccess<ReadSuccessOutput>(result);
+      if (result.type === "text") {
+        // middleTruncate adds a header + marker, so content will be longer than maxOutputLength
+        // but shorter than the original untruncated content
+        expect(result.content.length).toBeLessThan(fileContent.length);
+        expect(result.content).toContain("truncated");
+      }
+    });
+
+    it("should not truncate output within maxOutputLength", async () => {
+      sandbox.setFile("/workspace/small.ts", "line1\nline2\nline3");
+
+      const tool = createReadTool(sandbox, { maxOutputLength: 60000 });
+      const result = await executeTool(tool, {
+        file_path: "/workspace/small.ts",
+      });
+
+      assertSuccess<ReadSuccessOutput>(result);
+      if (result.type === "text") {
+        expect(result.content).toBe("line1\nline2\nline3");
+        expect(result.content).not.toContain("truncated");
+      }
+    });
+  });
+
   describe("line number formatting", () => {
     it("should return 1-indexed line numbers", async () => {
       sandbox.setFile("/workspace/test.ts", "line1\nline2\nline3");