diff --git a/agent/moa_loop.py b/agent/moa_loop.py
index 182630fa2c4a..3d9373b823c5 100644
--- a/agent/moa_loop.py
+++ b/agent/moa_loop.py
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ def _maybe_apply_moa_cache_control(
 
 
 def _run_reference(
-    slot: dict[str, str],
+    slot: dict[str, Any],
     ref_messages: list[dict[str, Any]],
     *,
     temperature: float | None = None,
@@ -333,11 +333,16 @@ def _run_reference(
         # (their caching is automatic; markers are ignored harmlessly, but we
         # only decorate when the policy says the route honors them).
         messages = _maybe_apply_moa_cache_control(messages, runtime)
+        # Per-slot max_tokens takes precedence over the preset-level
+        # reference_max_tokens passed in by the caller. This lets each
+        # reference model have its own output cap independently.
+        _slot_max_tokens: int | None = slot.get("max_tokens")
+        _effective_max_tokens = _slot_max_tokens if _slot_max_tokens is not None else max_tokens
         response = call_llm(
             task="moa_reference",
             messages=messages,
             temperature=temperature,
-            max_tokens=max_tokens,
+            max_tokens=_effective_max_tokens,
             reasoning_config=_slot_reasoning_config(slot),
             **runtime,
         )
@@ -398,7 +403,7 @@ def _run_reference(
 
 
 def _run_references_parallel(
-    reference_models: list[dict[str, str]],
+    reference_models: list[dict[str, Any]],
     ref_messages: list[dict[str, Any]],
     *,
     temperature: float | None = None,
@@ -683,8 +688,8 @@ def aggregate_moa_context(
     *,
     user_prompt: str,
     api_messages: list[dict[str, Any]],
-    reference_models: list[dict[str, str]],
-    aggregator: dict[str, str],
+    reference_models: list[dict[str, Any]],
+    aggregator: dict[str, Any],
     temperature: float | None = None,
     aggregator_temperature: float | None = None,
     reference_max_tokens: int | None = None,
diff --git a/contributors/emails/rain@synth.kitchen b/contributors/emails/rain@synth.kitchen
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..de1f34f8281f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contributors/emails/rain@synth.kitchen
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+matarbot
+# PR #60391 salvage
diff --git a/hermes_cli/moa_config.py b/hermes_cli/moa_config.py
index a5401c525892..bf40976dc2ac 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/moa_config.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/moa_config.py
@@ -105,6 +105,14 @@ def _clean_slot(slot: Any) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
     effort = _clean_reasoning_effort(slot.get("reasoning_effort"))
     if effort:
         clean["reasoning_effort"] = effort
+    # Optional per-slot max_tokens: overrides the preset-level
+    # reference_max_tokens for this specific reference model. None (the
+    # default) = no cap, so existing slots are unaffected. Allows tuning
+    # each advisor's output length independently — useful when one model
+    # is verbose and another is terse.
+    slot_mt = _coerce_int_or_none(slot.get("max_tokens"))
+    if slot_mt is not None:
+        clean["max_tokens"] = slot_mt
     return clean
 
 
diff --git a/tests/agent/test_moa_slot_max_tokens.py b/tests/agent/test_moa_slot_max_tokens.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..1b3a6813c300
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/agent/test_moa_slot_max_tokens.py
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+"""Tests for per-slot max_tokens in MoA reference calls.
+
+Verifies that a ``max_tokens`` field on a reference slot dict takes
+precedence over the preset-level ``reference_max_tokens``, and that
+slot-level max_tokens=None falls back to the preset-level cap.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+
+import pytest
+
+
+class TestRunReferenceSlotMaxTokens:
+    """_run_reference should prefer slot-level max_tokens over preset-level."""
+
+    def test_slot_max_tokens_overrides_preset_level(self):
+        """When slot has max_tokens, it overrides the preset-level cap."""
+        from agent.moa_loop import _run_reference
+
+        captured_kwargs: dict = {}
+
+        def fake_call_llm(**kwargs):
+            captured_kwargs.update(kwargs)
+            mock_resp = MagicMock()
+            mock_resp.choices = [MagicMock(message=MagicMock(content="advice"))]
+            mock_resp.usage = None
+            return mock_resp
+
+        slot = {"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro", "max_tokens": 600}
+
+        with patch("agent.moa_loop._slot_runtime", return_value={"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro"}), \
+             patch("agent.moa_loop.call_llm", side_effect=fake_call_llm), \
+             patch("agent.moa_loop._maybe_apply_moa_cache_control", side_effect=lambda msgs, rt: msgs):
+            _run_reference(slot, [{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}], max_tokens=2000)
+
+        assert captured_kwargs.get("max_tokens") == 600
+
+    def test_slot_max_tokens_absent_falls_back_to_preset(self):
+        """When slot has no max_tokens, the preset-level cap is used."""
+        from agent.moa_loop import _run_reference
+
+        captured_kwargs: dict = {}
+
+        def fake_call_llm(**kwargs):
+            captured_kwargs.update(kwargs)
+            mock_resp = MagicMock()
+            mock_resp.choices = [MagicMock(message=MagicMock(content="advice"))]
+            mock_resp.usage = None
+            return mock_resp
+
+        slot = {"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro"}
+
+        with patch("agent.moa_loop._slot_runtime", return_value={"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro"}), \
+             patch("agent.moa_loop.call_llm", side_effect=fake_call_llm), \
+             patch("agent.moa_loop._maybe_apply_moa_cache_control", side_effect=lambda msgs, rt: msgs):
+            _run_reference(slot, [{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}], max_tokens=2000)
+
+        assert captured_kwargs.get("max_tokens") == 2000
+
+    def test_both_none_means_uncapped(self):
+        """When neither slot nor preset has max_tokens, it's None (uncapped)."""
+        from agent.moa_loop import _run_reference
+
+        captured_kwargs: dict = {}
+
+        def fake_call_llm(**kwargs):
+            captured_kwargs.update(kwargs)
+            mock_resp = MagicMock()
+            mock_resp.choices = [MagicMock(message=MagicMock(content="advice"))]
+            mock_resp.usage = None
+            return mock_resp
+
+        slot = {"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro"}
+
+        with patch("agent.moa_loop._slot_runtime", return_value={"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro"}), \
+             patch("agent.moa_loop.call_llm", side_effect=fake_call_llm), \
+             patch("agent.moa_loop._maybe_apply_moa_cache_control", side_effect=lambda msgs, rt: msgs):
+            _run_reference(slot, [{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}], max_tokens=None)
+
+        assert captured_kwargs.get("max_tokens") is None
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_moa_config.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_moa_config.py
index e6b4714e2256..88c7896f1556 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_moa_config.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_moa_config.py
@@ -461,3 +461,79 @@ def test_validate_moa_payload_rejects_non_dict():
     assert validate_moa_payload(None)
     assert validate_moa_payload([1, 2])
     assert validate_moa_payload({"presets": {"p": "not-a-dict"}})
+
+
+# ── Per-slot max_tokens ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_slot_max_tokens_preserved():
+    """A max_tokens field on a reference slot survives normalization."""
+    cfg = normalize_moa_config(
+        {
+            "presets": {
+                "p": {
+                    "reference_models": [
+                        {"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro", "max_tokens": 600},
+                        {"provider": "openai-codex", "model": "gpt-5.5"},
+                    ],
+                    "aggregator": {"provider": "openrouter", "model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4.8"},
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    )
+    refs = cfg["presets"]["p"]["reference_models"]
+    assert refs[0] == {"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro", "max_tokens": 600}
+    assert refs[1] == {"provider": "openai-codex", "model": "gpt-5.5"}
+
+
+def test_slot_max_tokens_coerced_from_string():
+    """Hand-edited YAML string '600' coerces to int on a slot."""
+    cfg = normalize_moa_config(
+        {
+            "presets": {
+                "p": {
+                    "reference_models": [
+                        {"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro", "max_tokens": "600"},
+                    ],
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    )
+    refs = cfg["presets"]["p"]["reference_models"]
+    assert refs[0]["max_tokens"] == 600
+
+
+def test_slot_max_tokens_invalid_dropped():
+    """Non-positive / non-numeric slot max_tokens is dropped (slot kept)."""
+    for bad in (0, -5, "abc", "", None):
+        cfg = normalize_moa_config(
+            {
+                "presets": {
+                    "p": {
+                        "reference_models": [
+                            {"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro", "max_tokens": bad},
+                        ],
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        )
+        ref = cfg["presets"]["p"]["reference_models"][0]
+        assert "max_tokens" not in ref, bad
+        assert ref["provider"] == "openrouter"
+
+
+def test_slot_max_tokens_absent_by_default():
+    """Slots without max_tokens don't get the field — backward compat."""
+    cfg = normalize_moa_config(
+        {
+            "presets": {
+                "p": {
+                    "reference_models": [
+                        {"provider": "openrouter", "model": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro"},
+                    ],
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    )
+    ref = cfg["presets"]["p"]["reference_models"][0]
+    assert "max_tokens" not in ref