diff --git a/pkg/ml/backend_mlx.go b/pkg/ml/backend_mlx.go
index f4af0d1..7ef9f64 100644
--- a/pkg/ml/backend_mlx.go
+++ b/pkg/ml/backend_mlx.go
@@ -18,11 +18,12 @@ import (
 
 // MLXBackend implements Backend for native Metal inference via mlx-c.
 type MLXBackend struct {
-	model   *model.GemmaModel
-	tok     *tokenizer.Tokenizer
-	caches  []cache.Cache
-	sampler sample.Sampler
-	mu      sync.Mutex
+	model      *model.GemmaModel
+	tok        *tokenizer.Tokenizer
+	caches     []cache.Cache
+	sampler    sample.Sampler
+	mu         sync.Mutex
+	modelBytes uint64 // model size at load time, for memory budget
 }
 
 // NewMLXBackend loads a model from a safetensors directory and creates
@@ -43,16 +44,18 @@ func NewMLXBackend(modelPath string) (*MLXBackend, error) {
 	mlx.SetCacheLimit(16 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024)  // 16 GB allocator cache
 	mlx.SetMemoryLimit(24 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024)  // 24 GB hard cap
 
+	modelMB := mlx.GetActiveMemory() / 1024 / 1024
 	slog.Info("mlx: model loaded",
 		"layers", m.NumLayers(),
-		"memory_mb", mlx.GetActiveMemory()/1024/1024,
+		"memory_mb", modelMB,
 	)
 
 	return &MLXBackend{
-		model:   m,
-		tok:     m.Tokenizer(),
-		caches:  m.NewCache(),
-		sampler: sample.New(0.1, 0, 0, 0), // default low temp
+		model:      m,
+		tok:        m.Tokenizer(),
+		caches:     m.NewCache(),
+		sampler:    sample.New(0.1, 0, 0, 0), // default low temp
+		modelBytes: mlx.GetActiveMemory(),
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -114,9 +117,10 @@ func (b *MLXBackend) Generate(ctx context.Context, prompt string, opts GenOpts)
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Full cleanup between requests
+	// Cleanup between requests
 	runtime.GC()
 	mlx.ClearCache()
+	b.checkMemory()
 	return b.tok.Decode(output), nil
 }
 
@@ -200,12 +204,29 @@ func (b *MLXBackend) Chat(ctx context.Context, messages []Message, opts GenOpts)
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Full cleanup between requests
+	// Cleanup between requests
 	runtime.GC()
 	mlx.ClearCache()
+	b.checkMemory()
 	return b.tok.Decode(output), nil
 }
 
+// checkMemory logs Metal memory usage and forces cleanup if it exceeds budget.
+func (b *MLXBackend) checkMemory() {
+	active := mlx.GetActiveMemory()
+	budget := b.modelBytes * 3 // 3× model size = danger zone
+	if active > budget {
+		slog.Warn("mlx: memory over budget, forcing cleanup",
+			"active_mb", active/1024/1024,
+			"model_mb", b.modelBytes/1024/1024,
+			"peak_mb", mlx.GetPeakMemory()/1024/1024,
+		)
+		runtime.GC()
+		runtime.GC() // double GC to run finalizers
+		mlx.ClearCache()
+	}
+}
+
 // Name returns the backend identifier.
 func (b *MLXBackend) Name() string { return "mlx" }