diff --git a/tests/tools/test_web_tools_config.py b/tests/tools/test_web_tools_config.py
index 7fcf700d55..25ef647f7c 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_web_tools_config.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_web_tools_config.py
@@ -448,6 +448,54 @@ class TestParallelClientConfig:
             assert client1 is client2
 
 
+class TestWebSearchSchema:
+    """Test suite for web_search tool schema and handler wiring."""
+
+    def test_schema_exposes_optional_limit(self):
+        import tools.web_tools
+
+        limit_schema = tools.web_tools.WEB_SEARCH_SCHEMA["parameters"]["properties"]["limit"]
+
+        assert limit_schema["type"] == "integer"
+        assert limit_schema["minimum"] == 1
+        assert limit_schema["maximum"] == 100
+        assert limit_schema["default"] == 5
+        assert "limit" not in tools.web_tools.WEB_SEARCH_SCHEMA["parameters"]["required"]
+
+    def test_registered_handler_passes_limit(self):
+        import tools.web_tools
+
+        entry = tools.web_tools.registry.get_entry("web_search")
+        with patch("tools.web_tools.web_search_tool", return_value='{"success": true}') as mock_search:
+            result = entry.handler({"query": "site:example.com docs", "limit": 12})
+
+        assert result == '{"success": true}'
+        mock_search.assert_called_once_with("site:example.com docs", limit=12)
+
+    def test_registered_handler_defaults_limit_to_five(self):
+        import tools.web_tools
+
+        entry = tools.web_tools.registry.get_entry("web_search")
+        with patch("tools.web_tools.web_search_tool", return_value='{"success": true}') as mock_search:
+            result = entry.handler({"query": "docs"})
+
+        assert result == '{"success": true}'
+        mock_search.assert_called_once_with("docs", limit=5)
+
+    def test_web_search_clamps_limit_before_backend_call(self):
+        import tools.web_tools
+
+        with patch("tools.web_tools._get_backend", return_value="parallel"), \
+             patch("tools.web_tools._parallel_search", return_value={"success": True, "data": {"web": []}}) as mock_search, \
+             patch("tools.interrupt.is_interrupted", return_value=False), \
+             patch.object(tools.web_tools._debug, "log_call"), \
+             patch.object(tools.web_tools._debug, "save"):
+            result = json.loads(tools.web_tools.web_search_tool("docs", limit=500))
+
+        assert result == {"success": True, "data": {"web": []}}
+        mock_search.assert_called_once_with("docs", 100)
+
+
 class TestWebSearchErrorHandling:
     """Test suite for web_search_tool() error responses."""
 
diff --git a/tools/web_tools.py b/tools/web_tools.py
index 9e5d878da0..bc4b8703f0 100644
--- a/tools/web_tools.py
+++ b/tools/web_tools.py
@@ -1066,6 +1066,12 @@ def web_search_tool(query: str, limit: int = 5) -> str:
     Raises:
         Exception: If search fails or API key is not set
     """
+    try:
+        limit = int(limit)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        limit = 5
+    limit = min(max(limit, 1), 100)
+
     debug_call_data = {
         "parameters": {
             "query": query,
@@ -2047,13 +2053,20 @@ from tools.registry import registry, tool_error
 
 WEB_SEARCH_SCHEMA = {
     "name": "web_search",
-    "description": "Search the web for information on any topic. Returns up to 5 relevant results with titles, URLs, and descriptions.",
+    "description": "Search the web for information. Returns up to 5 results by default with titles, URLs, and descriptions. The query is passed through to the configured backend, so operators such as site:domain, filetype:pdf, intitle:word, -term, and \"exact phrase\" may work when the backend supports them.",
     "parameters": {
         "type": "object",
         "properties": {
             "query": {
                 "type": "string",
-                "description": "The search query to look up on the web"
+                "description": "The search query to look up on the web. You may include backend-supported operators such as site:example.com, filetype:pdf, intitle:word, -term, or \"exact phrase\"."
+            },
+            "limit": {
+                "type": "integer",
+                "description": "Maximum number of results to return. Defaults to 5.",
+                "minimum": 1,
+                "maximum": 100,
+                "default": 5
             }
         },
         "required": ["query"]
@@ -2081,7 +2094,7 @@ registry.register(
     name="web_search",
     toolset="web",
     schema=WEB_SEARCH_SCHEMA,
-    handler=lambda args, **kw: web_search_tool(args.get("query", ""), limit=5),
+    handler=lambda args, **kw: web_search_tool(args.get("query", ""), limit=args.get("limit", 5)),
     check_fn=check_web_api_key,
     requires_env=_web_requires_env(),
     emoji="🔍",