diff --git a/apps/api/src/index.ts b/apps/api/src/index.ts
index 46e902a..23863b4 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/index.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/index.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ import { Elysia } from "elysia"
 const REDIS_URL = process.env.REDIS_URL ?? "redis://localhost:6379"
 const PORT = Number(process.env.PORT_API ?? "8191")
 const POOL_SIZE = Number(process.env.BROWSER_POOL_SIZE ?? "3")
+// How long acquire() will poll for a free browser before rejecting with PoolExhaustedError.
+// 15s covers a full CF challenge burst with pool=3 (queue depth 7, slowest finishes at ~12s).
+// Tune lower for fast-fail feedback in dev; tune higher for very heavy upstream targets.
+const ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT_MS = Number(process.env.BROWSER_ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT_MS ?? "15000")
 const SESSION_TTL = Number(process.env.SESSION_TTL_SECONDS ?? "3600")
 
 // Single embedded pool — no BullMQ / worker process required.
@@ -25,7 +29,7 @@ async function initPool() {
     console.warn("[api] session cache unavailable — Tier 2 disabled:", err instanceof Error ? err.message : err)
   }
 
-  pool = new BrowserPool({ poolSize: POOL_SIZE })
+  pool = new BrowserPool({ poolSize: POOL_SIZE, acquireTimeoutMs: ACQUIRE_TIMEOUT_MS })
   await pool.init()
   pool.startHealthCheck()
   console.log(`[api] ready — all ${POOL_SIZE} browser${POOL_SIZE === 1 ? "" : "s"} warm`)
diff --git a/packages/browser/src/pool.ts b/packages/browser/src/pool.ts
index d2993d3..2e3dc59 100644
--- a/packages/browser/src/pool.ts
+++ b/packages/browser/src/pool.ts
@@ -28,10 +28,22 @@ interface PoolEntry extends PoolBrowser {
 export class BrowserPool {
   private entries: PoolEntry[] = []
   private poolSize: number
+  private acquireTimeoutMs: number
+  private pollIntervalMs: number
   private healthInterval: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null
 
-  constructor({ poolSize }: { poolSize: number }) {
+  constructor({
+    poolSize,
+    acquireTimeoutMs = 15_000,
+    pollIntervalMs = 100,
+  }: {
+    poolSize: number
+    acquireTimeoutMs?: number
+    pollIntervalMs?: number
+  }) {
     this.poolSize = poolSize
+    this.acquireTimeoutMs = acquireTimeoutMs
+    this.pollIntervalMs = pollIntervalMs
   }
 
   async init(): Promise<void> {
@@ -111,7 +123,7 @@ export class BrowserPool {
 
       if (tryAcquire()) return
 
-      const deadline = Date.now() + 5000
+      const deadline = Date.now() + this.acquireTimeoutMs
       const poll = setInterval(() => {
         if (tryAcquire()) {
           clearInterval(poll)
@@ -121,7 +133,7 @@ export class BrowserPool {
           clearInterval(poll)
           reject(new PoolExhaustedError())
         }
-      }, 100)
+      }, this.pollIntervalMs)
     })
   }