diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ed0c76c..bb0b6b1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -255,6 +255,20 @@ These commands work in Discord, Telegram, and WhatsApp:
 
 **Access control note:** before routing, channel clients apply sender pairing allowlist checks.
 
+## 🔌 Plugin Security
+
+TinyClaw can load local plugins from `~/.tinyclaw/plugins`, but plugins are **disabled by default**.
+
+- Enable plugins: `TINYCLAW_PLUGINS_ENABLED=1`
+- Hook timeout (ms): `TINYCLAW_PLUGIN_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS` (default `1500`)
+- Activate timeout (ms): `TINYCLAW_PLUGIN_ACTIVATE_TIMEOUT_MS` (default `3000`)
+
+Security model:
+
+- Plugins are fully trusted local code.
+- Do not install plugins from untrusted sources.
+- Plugin code runs with the same permissions as the TinyClaw process.
+
 ## 🤖 Using Agents
 
 ### Routing Messages
diff --git a/src/lib/plugins.ts b/src/lib/plugins.ts
index 27a7bd2..9e82a6d 100644
--- a/src/lib/plugins.ts
+++ b/src/lib/plugins.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ import path from 'path';
 import { TINYCLAW_HOME } from './config';
 import { log } from './logging';
 
+const PLUGINS_ENABLED = process.env.TINYCLAW_PLUGINS_ENABLED === '1';
+const PLUGIN_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS = Number(process.env.TINYCLAW_PLUGIN_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS || 1500);
+const PLUGIN_ACTIVATE_TIMEOUT_MS = Number(process.env.TINYCLAW_PLUGIN_ACTIVATE_TIMEOUT_MS || 3000);
+
 // Types
 export interface PluginEvent {
     type: string;
@@ -54,6 +58,20 @@ interface LoadedPlugin {
 const loadedPlugins: LoadedPlugin[] = [];
 const eventHandlers = new Map<string, Array<(event: PluginEvent) => void>>();
 
+async function withTimeout<T>(promise: Promise<T>, timeoutMs: number, label: string): Promise<T> {
+    let timeoutHandle: NodeJS.Timeout | undefined;
+    const timeoutPromise = new Promise<never>((_, reject) => {
+        timeoutHandle = setTimeout(() => {
+            reject(new Error(`${label} timed out after ${timeoutMs}ms`));
+        }, timeoutMs);
+    });
+    try {
+        return await Promise.race([promise, timeoutPromise]);
+    } finally {
+        if (timeoutHandle) clearTimeout(timeoutHandle);
+    }
+}
+
 /**
  * Create the plugin context passed to activate() functions.
  */
@@ -80,6 +98,11 @@ function createPluginContext(pluginName: string): PluginContext {
  *   - hooks: Hooks                        (optional)
  */
 export async function loadPlugins(): Promise<void> {
+    if (!PLUGINS_ENABLED) {
+        log('INFO', 'Plugins disabled (set TINYCLAW_PLUGINS_ENABLED=1 to enable)');
+        return;
+    }
+
     const pluginsDir = path.join(TINYCLAW_HOME, 'plugins');
 
     if (!fs.existsSync(pluginsDir)) {
@@ -119,7 +142,11 @@ export async function loadPlugins(): Promise<void> {
             // Call activate() if present
             if (typeof pluginModule.activate === 'function') {
                 const ctx = createPluginContext(pluginName);
-                await pluginModule.activate(ctx);
+                await withTimeout(
+                    Promise.resolve(pluginModule.activate(ctx)),
+                    PLUGIN_ACTIVATE_TIMEOUT_MS,
+                    `plugin '${pluginName}' activate`
+                );
             }
 
             // Store hooks if present
@@ -146,10 +173,18 @@ export async function runOutgoingHooks(message: string, ctx: HookContext): Promi
     let text = message;
     let metadata: HookMetadata = {};
 
+    if (!PLUGINS_ENABLED || loadedPlugins.length === 0) {
+        return { text, metadata };
+    }
+
     for (const plugin of loadedPlugins) {
         if (plugin.hooks?.transformOutgoing) {
             try {
-                const result = await plugin.hooks.transformOutgoing(text, ctx);
+                const result = await withTimeout(
+                    Promise.resolve(plugin.hooks.transformOutgoing(text, ctx)),
+                    PLUGIN_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS,
+                    `plugin '${plugin.name}' transformOutgoing`
+                );
                 if (typeof result === 'string') {
                     text = result;
                 } else {
@@ -172,10 +207,18 @@ export async function runIncomingHooks(message: string, ctx: HookContext): Promi
     let text = message;
     let metadata: HookMetadata = {};
 
+    if (!PLUGINS_ENABLED || loadedPlugins.length === 0) {
+        return { text, metadata };
+    }
+
     for (const plugin of loadedPlugins) {
         if (plugin.hooks?.transformIncoming) {
             try {
-                const result = await plugin.hooks.transformIncoming(text, ctx);
+                const result = await withTimeout(
+                    Promise.resolve(plugin.hooks.transformIncoming(text, ctx)),
+                    PLUGIN_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS,
+                    `plugin '${plugin.name}' transformIncoming`
+                );
                 if (typeof result === 'string') {
                     text = result;
                 } else {
diff --git a/src/queue-processor.ts b/src/queue-processor.ts
index 9af949f..d0d8684 100644
--- a/src/queue-processor.ts
+++ b/src/queue-processor.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import {
 import { log, emitEvent } from './lib/logging';
 import { parseAgentRouting, findTeamForAgent, getAgentResetFlag, extractTeammateMentions } from './lib/routing';
 import { invokeAgent } from './lib/invoke';
-import { loadPlugins, runIncomingHooks, runOutgoingHooks, HookMetadata } from './lib/plugins';
+import { loadPlugins, runIncomingHooks, runOutgoingHooks } from './lib/plugins';
 import { jsonrepair } from 'jsonrepair';
 
 /** Parse JSON with automatic repair for malformed content (e.g. bad escapes). */
@@ -53,6 +53,15 @@ const conversations = new Map<string, Conversation>();
 
 const MAX_CONVERSATION_MESSAGES = 50;
 
+function sanitizeResponseMetadata(metadata: Record<string, unknown>): Record<string, unknown> {
+    const allowed: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+    const parseMode = metadata.parseMode;
+    if (parseMode === 'MarkdownV2') {
+        allowed.parseMode = parseMode;
+    }
+    return allowed;
+}
+
 // Clean up orphaned files from processing/ on startup
 function recoverOrphanedFiles() {
     for (const f of fs.readdirSync(QUEUE_PROCESSING).filter(f => f.endsWith('.json'))) {
@@ -181,6 +190,7 @@ async function completeConversation(conv: Conversation): Promise<void> {
 
     // Run outgoing hooks
     const { text: hookedResponse, metadata } = await runOutgoingHooks(finalResponse, { channel: conv.channel, sender: conv.sender, messageId: conv.messageId, originalMessage: conv.originalMessage });
+    const safeMetadata = sanitizeResponseMetadata(metadata);
 
     // Write to outgoing queue
     const responseData: ResponseData = {
@@ -191,7 +201,7 @@ async function completeConversation(conv: Conversation): Promise<void> {
         timestamp: Date.now(),
         messageId: conv.messageId,
         files: outboundFiles.length > 0 ? outboundFiles : undefined,
-        metadata: Object.keys(metadata).length > 0 ? metadata : undefined,
+        metadata: Object.keys(safeMetadata).length > 0 ? safeMetadata : undefined,
     };
 
     const responseFile = conv.channel === 'heartbeat'
@@ -359,6 +369,7 @@ async function processMessage(messageFile: string): Promise<void> {
 
             // Run outgoing hooks
             const { text: hookedResponse, metadata } = await runOutgoingHooks(finalResponse, { channel, sender, messageId, originalMessage: rawMessage });
+            const safeMetadata = sanitizeResponseMetadata(metadata);
 
             const responseData: ResponseData = {
                 channel,
@@ -369,7 +380,7 @@ async function processMessage(messageFile: string): Promise<void> {
                 messageId,
                 agent: agentId,
                 files: outboundFiles.length > 0 ? outboundFiles : undefined,
-                metadata: Object.keys(metadata).length > 0 ? metadata : undefined,
+                metadata: Object.keys(safeMetadata).length > 0 ? safeMetadata : undefined,
             };
 
             const responseFile = channel === 'heartbeat'