diff --git a/scripts/telegram-bridge.js b/scripts/telegram-bridge.js
index c51a5529a47..27d5d7ba4dc 100755
--- a/scripts/telegram-bridge.js
+++ b/scripts/telegram-bridge.js
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ if (!API_KEY) { console.error("NVIDIA_API_KEY required"); process.exit(1); }
 let offset = 0;
 const activeSessions = new Map(); // chatId → message history
 
+const COOLDOWN_MS = 5000;
+const lastMessageTime = new Map();
+const busyChats = new Set();
+
 // ── Telegram API helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────
 
 function tgApi(method, body) {
@@ -198,6 +202,24 @@ async function poll() {
           continue;
         }
 
+        // Rate limiting: per-chat cooldown
+        const now = Date.now();
+        const lastTime = lastMessageTime.get(chatId) || 0;
+        if (now - lastTime < COOLDOWN_MS) {
+          const wait = Math.ceil((COOLDOWN_MS - (now - lastTime)) / 1000);
+          await sendMessage(chatId, `Please wait ${wait}s before sending another message.`, msg.message_id);
+          continue;
+        }
+
+        // Per-chat serialization: reject if this chat already has an active session
+        if (busyChats.has(chatId)) {
+          await sendMessage(chatId, "Still processing your previous message.", msg.message_id);
+          continue;
+        }
+
+        lastMessageTime.set(chatId, now);
+        busyChats.add(chatId);
+
         // Send typing indicator
         await sendTyping(chatId);
 
@@ -212,6 +234,8 @@ async function poll() {
         } catch (err) {
           clearInterval(typingInterval);
           await sendMessage(chatId, `Error: ${err.message}`, msg.message_id);
+        } finally {
+          busyChats.delete(chatId);
         }
       }
     }
@@ -219,8 +243,8 @@ async function poll() {
     console.error("Poll error:", err.message);
   }
 
-  // Continue polling
-  setTimeout(poll, 100);
+  // Continue polling (1s floor prevents tight-loop resource waste)
+  setTimeout(poll, 1000);
 }
 
 // ── Main ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────