diff --git a/packages/adapter-utils/src/http2-bridge-admission.test.ts b/packages/adapter-utils/src/http2-bridge-admission.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ca1c0766b06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/adapter-utils/src/http2-bridge-admission.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,310 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import {
+  DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS,
+  DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS,
+  HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_RESERVED_BUDGET_BYTES,
+  HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMITTED_STREAM_BUDGET_BYTES,
+  HTTP2_BRIDGE_LIVE_SESSION_BUDGET_BYTES,
+  Http2BridgeAdmissionGate,
+  MAX_HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_CAP,
+  configureHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate,
+  getHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate,
+  http2BridgeAdmissionBudgetBytes,
+  isValidHttp2BridgeAdmissionCap,
+  resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCaps,
+  resolveMaxLiveHttp2BridgeSessions,
+  resolveMaxParallelHttp2BridgeRequests,
+} from "./http2-bridge-admission.js";
+
+describe("Http2BridgeAdmissionGate — the stream gate", () => {
+  it("admits up to the configured parallel cap and queues the rest", async () => {
+    const gate = new Http2BridgeAdmissionGate({ maxParallel: 2, maxSessions: 8 });
+
+    await gate.acquire();
+    await gate.acquire();
+    expect(gate.activeCount).toBe(2);
+    expect(gate.queuedCount).toBe(0);
+
+    let thirdAdmitted = false;
+    const thirdWaiter = gate.acquire().then((release) => {
+      thirdAdmitted = true;
+      return release;
+    });
+    await Promise.resolve();
+    expect(thirdAdmitted).toBe(false);
+    expect(gate.activeCount).toBe(2);
+    expect(gate.queuedCount).toBe(1);
+    void thirdWaiter;
+  });
+
+  it("releases slots to waiters in arrival order", async () => {
+    const gate = new Http2BridgeAdmissionGate({ maxParallel: 1, maxSessions: 8 });
+    const releaseFirst = await gate.acquire();
+
+    const order: number[] = [];
+    const p1 = gate.acquire().then((release) => {
+      order.push(1);
+      return release;
+    });
+    const p2 = gate.acquire().then((release) => {
+      order.push(2);
+      return release;
+    });
+    const p3 = gate.acquire().then((release) => {
+      order.push(3);
+      return release;
+    });
+
+    releaseFirst();
+    const release1 = await p1;
+    expect(order).toEqual([1]);
+
+    release1();
+    const release2 = await p2;
+    expect(order).toEqual([1, 2]);
+
+    release2();
+    const release3 = await p3;
+    expect(order).toEqual([1, 2, 3]);
+
+    release3();
+  });
+
+  it("a cancelled waiter leaves the queue and does not take a later slot", async () => {
+    const gate = new Http2BridgeAdmissionGate({ maxParallel: 1, maxSessions: 8 });
+    const releaseFirst = await gate.acquire();
+
+    const controller = new AbortController();
+    const cancelledWaiter = gate.acquire(controller.signal);
+    const cancelledAssertion = expect(cancelledWaiter).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(Error);
+
+    const secondWaiter = gate.acquire();
+    expect(gate.queuedCount).toBe(2);
+
+    controller.abort();
+    await cancelledAssertion;
+    expect(gate.queuedCount).toBe(1);
+
+    releaseFirst();
+    const releaseSecond = await secondWaiter;
+    expect(typeof releaseSecond).toBe("function");
+    expect(gate.activeCount).toBe(1);
+    expect(gate.queuedCount).toBe(0);
+    releaseSecond();
+  });
+
+  it("a second release call frees no second slot", async () => {
+    const gate = new Http2BridgeAdmissionGate({ maxParallel: 1, maxSessions: 8 });
+    const release = await gate.acquire();
+    release();
+    release();
+
+    const releaseA = await gate.acquire();
+    let secondAdmittedAtOnce = false;
+    const pendingB = gate.acquire().then((releaseB) => {
+      secondAdmittedAtOnce = true;
+      return releaseB;
+    });
+    await Promise.resolve();
+
+    // A double release must not free a second slot. If it had, both A and B
+    // would admit at once instead of B waiting behind A in the queue.
+    expect(secondAdmittedAtOnce).toBe(false);
+    expect(gate.activeCount).toBe(1);
+    expect(gate.queuedCount).toBe(1);
+
+    releaseA();
+    const releaseB = await pendingB;
+    releaseB();
+  });
+
+  it("a release after every waiter left leaves the gate idle", async () => {
+    const gate = new Http2BridgeAdmissionGate({ maxParallel: 1, maxSessions: 8 });
+    const release = await gate.acquire();
+
+    const controller = new AbortController();
+    const waiter = gate.acquire(controller.signal);
+    const rejection = expect(waiter).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(Error);
+    controller.abort();
+    await rejection;
+    expect(gate.queuedCount).toBe(0);
+
+    release();
+    expect(gate.activeCount).toBe(0);
+    expect(gate.queuedCount).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("Http2BridgeAdmissionGate — the session counter", () => {
+  it("a session acquire past the cap returns null and never waits", () => {
+    const gate = new Http2BridgeAdmissionGate({ maxParallel: 64, maxSessions: 1 });
+    const release = gate.tryAcquireSession();
+    expect(typeof release).toBe("function");
+
+    const second = gate.tryAcquireSession();
+    expect(second).toBeNull();
+    expect(gate.activeSessionCount).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  it("a released session slot goes to the next session acquire", () => {
+    const gate = new Http2BridgeAdmissionGate({ maxParallel: 64, maxSessions: 1 });
+    const release = gate.tryAcquireSession();
+    expect(gate.tryAcquireSession()).toBeNull();
+
+    release?.();
+    expect(gate.activeSessionCount).toBe(0);
+
+    const next = gate.tryAcquireSession();
+    expect(typeof next).toBe("function");
+    expect(gate.activeSessionCount).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  it("a second session release call frees no second slot", () => {
+    const gate = new Http2BridgeAdmissionGate({ maxParallel: 64, maxSessions: 1 });
+    const release = gate.tryAcquireSession();
+    release?.();
+    release?.();
+    expect(gate.activeSessionCount).toBe(0);
+
+    const next = gate.tryAcquireSession();
+    expect(typeof next).toBe("function");
+    const overflow = gate.tryAcquireSession();
+    expect(overflow).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe("isValidHttp2BridgeAdmissionCap", () => {
+  it.each([0, -1, 1.5, NaN, Infinity, -Infinity, 65, "64", null, undefined, {}, []])(
+    "rejects %p",
+    (value) => {
+      expect(isValidHttp2BridgeAdmissionCap(value)).toBe(false);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it.each([1, 32, MAX_HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_CAP])("accepts %p", (value) => {
+    expect(isValidHttp2BridgeAdmissionCap(value)).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("resolveMaxParallelHttp2BridgeRequests and resolveMaxLiveHttp2BridgeSessions", () => {
+  it.each([0, -1, 1.5, NaN, Infinity, -Infinity, 65])(
+    "rejects a zero, negative, non-integer, non-finite, or out-of-range override %p and returns the default",
+    (value) => {
+      const rejectedParallel: unknown[] = [];
+      expect(
+        resolveMaxParallelHttp2BridgeRequests(value, (rejected) => rejectedParallel.push(rejected)),
+      ).toBe(DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS);
+      expect(rejectedParallel).toEqual([value]);
+
+      const rejectedSessions: unknown[] = [];
+      expect(
+        resolveMaxLiveHttp2BridgeSessions(value, (rejected) => rejectedSessions.push(rejected)),
+      ).toBe(DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS);
+      expect(rejectedSessions).toEqual([value]);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it("uses the default for an absent or null override and reports nothing", () => {
+    const rejected: unknown[] = [];
+    expect(resolveMaxParallelHttp2BridgeRequests(undefined, (v) => rejected.push(v))).toBe(
+      DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS,
+    );
+    expect(resolveMaxParallelHttp2BridgeRequests(null, (v) => rejected.push(v))).toBe(
+      DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS,
+    );
+    expect(rejected).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("passes a valid override through unchanged and reports nothing", () => {
+    const rejected: unknown[] = [];
+    expect(resolveMaxParallelHttp2BridgeRequests(32, (v) => rejected.push(v))).toBe(32);
+    expect(resolveMaxLiveHttp2BridgeSessions(4, (v) => rejected.push(v))).toBe(4);
+    expect(rejected).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("the joint budget rule", () => {
+  it("the default cap pair fits the reserved budget", () => {
+    const total = http2BridgeAdmissionBudgetBytes(
+      DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS,
+      DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS,
+    );
+    expect(total).toBe(189_792_192);
+    expect(total).toBeLessThanOrEqual(HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_RESERVED_BUDGET_BYTES);
+  });
+
+  it("an over-budget pair of 64 parallel streams and 64 live sessions returns both defaults and reports a rejection", () => {
+    const rejections: Array<{ maxParallel: number; maxSessions: number; totalBytes: number }> = [];
+    const resolved = resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCaps(
+      { maxParallel: 64, maxSessions: 64 },
+      (rejection) => rejections.push(rejection),
+    );
+
+    expect(resolved).toEqual({
+      maxParallel: DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS,
+      maxSessions: DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS,
+    });
+    expect(rejections).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(rejections[0]).toMatchObject({ maxParallel: 64, maxSessions: 64, totalBytes: 1_129_316_288 });
+    expect(rejections[0].totalBytes).toBeGreaterThan(HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_RESERVED_BUDGET_BYTES);
+  });
+
+  it("a valid over-default pair inside the reserved budget passes through unchanged", () => {
+    const rejections: unknown[] = [];
+    const resolved = resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCaps(
+      { maxParallel: 1, maxSessions: 9 },
+      (rejection) => rejections.push(rejection),
+    );
+
+    expect(resolved).toEqual({ maxParallel: 1, maxSessions: 9 });
+    expect(rejections).toEqual([]);
+    expect(http2BridgeAdmissionBudgetBytes(1, 9)).toBeLessThanOrEqual(HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_RESERVED_BUDGET_BYTES);
+  });
+
+  it("a pair that fails the joint rule never keeps one override and gives both defaults", () => {
+    // maxParallel=1 is a legal per-field override, but paired with maxSessions=64
+    // the total still blows the reserved budget. The failed pair must not keep
+    // the legal maxParallel override.
+    const resolved = resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCaps({ maxParallel: 1, maxSessions: 64 });
+    expect(resolved).toEqual({
+      maxParallel: DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS,
+      maxSessions: DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("the joint rule computes the total from the byte constants, not from a stored value", () => {
+    expect(http2BridgeAdmissionBudgetBytes(1, 0)).toBe(HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMITTED_STREAM_BUDGET_BYTES);
+    expect(http2BridgeAdmissionBudgetBytes(0, 1)).toBe(HTTP2_BRIDGE_LIVE_SESSION_BUDGET_BYTES);
+    expect(http2BridgeAdmissionBudgetBytes(2, 3)).toBe(
+      2 * HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMITTED_STREAM_BUDGET_BYTES + 3 * HTTP2_BRIDGE_LIVE_SESSION_BUDGET_BYTES,
+    );
+
+    const first = http2BridgeAdmissionBudgetBytes(10, 1);
+    const second = http2BridgeAdmissionBudgetBytes(20, 2);
+    expect(second).toBe(2 * first);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("the process-wide admission gate instance", () => {
+  it("returns the same gate instance across calls until reconfigured", () => {
+    const configured = configureHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate({ maxParallel: 2, maxSessions: 2 });
+    expect(getHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate()).toBe(configured);
+    expect(getHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate()).toBe(configured);
+  });
+
+  it("configureHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate replaces the instance and routes the pair through the joint resolver", () => {
+    const previous = getHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate();
+    const rejections: unknown[] = [];
+    const next = configureHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate(
+      { maxParallel: 64, maxSessions: 64 },
+      (rejection) => rejections.push(rejection),
+    );
+
+    expect(next).not.toBe(previous);
+    expect(next.maxParallel).toBe(DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS);
+    expect(next.maxSessions).toBe(DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS);
+    expect(rejections).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(getHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate()).toBe(next);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/adapter-utils/src/http2-bridge-admission.ts b/packages/adapter-utils/src/http2-bridge-admission.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b1df57a2d79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/adapter-utils/src/http2-bridge-admission.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,396 @@
+/**
+ * The process-wide admission gate for the host HTTP/2 sandbox bridge.
+ *
+ * The host holds sandbox request bytes and host response bytes in host
+ * memory for every admitted stream and every live bridge session. No
+ * per-request bound stops the host from holding an unbounded number of
+ * streams or sessions at once. This module owns two process-wide caps: a cap
+ * on parallel admitted streams, and a cap on live bridge sessions. Each cap
+ * bounds a known per-unit byte cost, so the pair of caps bounds the host's
+ * worst-case retained bytes for the bridge.
+ *
+ * A per-field cap is not a bound on the pair. The joint budget rule in
+ * {@link resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCaps} is the required security control:
+ * it validates the resolved pair as one policy, not as two independent
+ * fields, and it fails closed to both defaults when the pair does not fit.
+ *
+ * This module imports no other bridge module. It owns the byte budget
+ * constants so the joint rule has one home for the numbers it checks.
+ */
+
+/** The target host memory budget for the bridge admission gate. */
+export const HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_MEMORY_TARGET_BYTES = 256 * 1024 * 1024;
+
+/**
+ * The reserved budget the joint rule checks against. The gate holds back 25
+ * percent of {@link HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_MEMORY_TARGET_BYTES} for
+ * JavaScript object overhead and allocator behavior, so a resolved cap pair
+ * that spends the full reserved budget still leaves headroom under the
+ * target.
+ */
+export const HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_RESERVED_BUDGET_BYTES = Math.floor(
+  HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_MEMORY_TARGET_BYTES * 0.75,
+);
+
+/**
+ * The worst-case bytes one admitted stream holds in host memory at once: the
+ * request body buffer the handler holds during the forward call
+ * (262,144 bytes), the response read chunks (262,144 bytes), the response
+ * concatenation buffer or the queued response after the read (262,144
+ * bytes), the in-flight DATA bytes on the HTTP/2 stream window (65,535
+ * bytes, the protocol default), and one decompressed header list (16,384
+ * bytes, the host's header-size limit). The three body terms each match
+ * `DEFAULT_SANDBOX_CALLBACK_BRIDGE_MAX_BODY_BYTES` in
+ * `sandbox-callback-bridge.ts`.
+ */
+export const HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMITTED_STREAM_BUDGET_BYTES = 262_144 + 262_144 + 262_144 + 65_535 + 16_384;
+
+/**
+ * The worst-case bytes one live bridge session holds in host memory at once.
+ * This matches `DEFAULT_HTTP2_BRIDGE_MAX_BUFFERED_READ_BYTES` in
+ * `http2-bridge-server.ts`. That file imports this constant so the wrapper
+ * cap and this reservation cannot drift apart.
+ */
+export const HTTP2_BRIDGE_LIVE_SESSION_BUDGET_BYTES = 16 * 1024 * 1024;
+
+/**
+ * The default cap on parallel admitted streams. Paired with
+ * {@link DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS} this spends
+ * {@link HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMITTED_STREAM_BUDGET_BYTES} times this many bytes of
+ * the reserved budget.
+ */
+export const DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS = 64;
+
+/**
+ * The default cap on live bridge sessions. Paired with
+ * {@link DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS} this spends
+ * {@link HTTP2_BRIDGE_LIVE_SESSION_BUDGET_BYTES} times this many bytes of the
+ * reserved budget.
+ */
+export const DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS = 8;
+
+/**
+ * The hard upper bound on either cap override, on its own. This keeps a
+ * mistyped or malicious override from removing the bound entirely. A value
+ * inside this range can still fail the joint rule below.
+ */
+export const MAX_HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_CAP = 64;
+
+/**
+ * Report whether `value` is a valid cap override: a safe integer from 1 to
+ * {@link MAX_HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_CAP}. Every other value is invalid,
+ * including a non-number, a non-integer, a non-finite number, zero, a
+ * negative number, and a number over the range.
+ */
+export function isValidHttp2BridgeAdmissionCap(value: unknown): boolean {
+  return (
+    typeof value === "number" &&
+    Number.isSafeInteger(value) &&
+    value >= 1 &&
+    value <= MAX_HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_CAP
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * A reporter the host binds to receive one invalid cap override rejection.
+ * The signal carries only the rejected value.
+ */
+export type Http2BridgeAdmissionCapOverrideRejectionReporter = (rejectedValue: unknown) => void;
+
+function resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCap(
+  override: number | null | undefined,
+  defaultValue: number,
+  onRejectedOverride?: Http2BridgeAdmissionCapOverrideRejectionReporter,
+): number {
+  if (override === undefined || override === null) {
+    return defaultValue;
+  }
+  if (!isValidHttp2BridgeAdmissionCap(override)) {
+    onRejectedOverride?.(override);
+    return defaultValue;
+  }
+  return override;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the parallel-stream cap from an optional operator override. A
+ * missing or `null` override uses
+ * {@link DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS}. A present invalid
+ * override does not fail host startup: the resolver rejects it, reports it
+ * through the optional `onRejectedOverride` reporter, and returns the
+ * default.
+ */
+export function resolveMaxParallelHttp2BridgeRequests(
+  override?: number | null,
+  onRejectedOverride?: Http2BridgeAdmissionCapOverrideRejectionReporter,
+): number {
+  return resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCap(
+    override,
+    DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS,
+    onRejectedOverride,
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolve the live-session cap from an optional operator override. Same
+ * fallback behavior as {@link resolveMaxParallelHttp2BridgeRequests}, with
+ * {@link DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS} as the default.
+ */
+export function resolveMaxLiveHttp2BridgeSessions(
+  override?: number | null,
+  onRejectedOverride?: Http2BridgeAdmissionCapOverrideRejectionReporter,
+): number {
+  return resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCap(
+    override,
+    DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS,
+    onRejectedOverride,
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Compute the worst-case retained bytes for one resolved cap pair, from the
+ * byte budget constants at call time. The caller never stores this total; it
+ * always recomputes it from the current caps and the current constants.
+ */
+export function http2BridgeAdmissionBudgetBytes(maxParallel: number, maxSessions: number): number {
+  return (
+    maxParallel * HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMITTED_STREAM_BUDGET_BYTES +
+    maxSessions * HTTP2_BRIDGE_LIVE_SESSION_BUDGET_BYTES
+  );
+}
+
+export interface Http2BridgeAdmissionCapOverrides {
+  maxParallel?: number | null;
+  maxSessions?: number | null;
+}
+
+export interface Http2BridgeAdmissionCaps {
+  maxParallel: number;
+  maxSessions: number;
+}
+
+/** One rejected cap pair, reported when the joint budget rule fails it. */
+export interface Http2BridgeAdmissionPairRejection extends Http2BridgeAdmissionCaps {
+  /** The worst-case retained bytes the rejected pair would have spent. */
+  totalBytes: number;
+}
+
+/**
+ * A reporter the host binds to receive one joint-rule rejection at error
+ * level. A warning is not a safety control: the pair this reporter carries
+ * already failed a required security condition, so the host must log it
+ * loud enough for an operator to act on it.
+ */
+export type Http2BridgeAdmissionPairRejectionReporter = (rejection: Http2BridgeAdmissionPairRejection) => void;
+
+/**
+ * Resolve one admission cap pair from optional operator overrides.
+ *
+ * The resolver runs each per-field check first, through
+ * {@link resolveMaxParallelHttp2BridgeRequests} and
+ * {@link resolveMaxLiveHttp2BridgeSessions}. A per-field range is not a bound
+ * on the pair: each cap alone can pass its own range and the pair can still
+ * spend far more than the reserved budget. The resolver then runs the joint
+ * rule on the resolved pair:
+ *
+ * ```text
+ * (maxParallel * HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMITTED_STREAM_BUDGET_BYTES)
+ *   + (maxSessions * HTTP2_BRIDGE_LIVE_SESSION_BUDGET_BYTES)
+ *   <= HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_RESERVED_BUDGET_BYTES
+ * ```
+ *
+ * A pair that fails the joint rule returns both defaults. The resolver never
+ * keeps one override and one default: a partly-applied pair would keep an
+ * operator value the host just refused. The resolver reports a failed pair
+ * through `onRejectedPair` at error level.
+ */
+export function resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCaps(
+  overrides: Http2BridgeAdmissionCapOverrides,
+  onRejectedPair?: Http2BridgeAdmissionPairRejectionReporter,
+): Http2BridgeAdmissionCaps {
+  const maxParallel = resolveMaxParallelHttp2BridgeRequests(overrides.maxParallel);
+  const maxSessions = resolveMaxLiveHttp2BridgeSessions(overrides.maxSessions);
+  const totalBytes = http2BridgeAdmissionBudgetBytes(maxParallel, maxSessions);
+  if (totalBytes > HTTP2_BRIDGE_ADMISSION_RESERVED_BUDGET_BYTES) {
+    onRejectedPair?.({ maxParallel, maxSessions, totalBytes });
+    return {
+      maxParallel: DEFAULT_MAX_PARALLEL_HTTP2_BRIDGE_REQUESTS,
+      maxSessions: DEFAULT_MAX_LIVE_HTTP2_BRIDGE_SESSIONS,
+    };
+  }
+  return { maxParallel, maxSessions };
+}
+
+/** A queued stream waiter. `settle` resolves or rejects exactly once. */
+interface Http2BridgeAdmissionStreamWaiter {
+  settle(outcome: { release: () => void } | { error: Error }): void;
+  detachAbortListener(): void;
+}
+
+function abortErrorFor(signal: AbortSignal): Error {
+  const reason = signal.reason;
+  if (reason instanceof Error) return reason;
+  return new Error(
+    typeof reason === "string" && reason.length > 0
+      ? reason
+      : "The HTTP/2 bridge stream admission wait was aborted.",
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * The process-owned admission gate for the host HTTP/2 sandbox bridge.
+ *
+ * The stream gate is a first-in-first-out queue. `acquire` admits a caller
+ * at once while the active count is under `maxParallel`, and otherwise
+ * queues the caller. A released slot always goes to the oldest queued
+ * waiter. A queued waiter can cancel through an `AbortSignal`; a cancelled
+ * waiter leaves the queue and never takes a later slot.
+ *
+ * The session counter never queues. `tryAcquireSession` returns a release
+ * function or `null` at once. A caller that waited for a session slot would
+ * hold a partly-open channel open for an unbounded time, so the session
+ * bound fails fast instead.
+ *
+ * Every release function this gate returns is idempotent: a second call
+ * frees no second slot.
+ */
+export class Http2BridgeAdmissionGate {
+  readonly maxParallel: number;
+  readonly maxSessions: number;
+
+  private activeStreamCount = 0;
+  private activeSessions = 0;
+  private readonly queue: Http2BridgeAdmissionStreamWaiter[] = [];
+
+  constructor(options: Http2BridgeAdmissionCaps) {
+    this.maxParallel = options.maxParallel;
+    this.maxSessions = options.maxSessions;
+  }
+
+  get activeCount(): number {
+    return this.activeStreamCount;
+  }
+
+  get queuedCount(): number {
+    return this.queue.length;
+  }
+
+  get activeSessionCount(): number {
+    return this.activeSessions;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Wait for one admitted stream slot. Resolves at once when a slot is free.
+   * Otherwise queues the caller in arrival order and resolves when an
+   * earlier holder releases its slot. Rejects if `signal` aborts while the
+   * caller is still queued; an already-aborted signal rejects at once
+   * without queuing.
+   */
+  acquire(signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<() => void> {
+    if (signal?.aborted) {
+      return Promise.reject(abortErrorFor(signal));
+    }
+    if (this.activeStreamCount < this.maxParallel) {
+      this.activeStreamCount += 1;
+      return Promise.resolve(this.createStreamRelease());
+    }
+    return new Promise<() => void>((resolve, reject) => {
+      let onAbort: (() => void) | null = null;
+      const waiter: Http2BridgeAdmissionStreamWaiter = {
+        settle: (outcome) => {
+          waiter.detachAbortListener();
+          if ("release" in outcome) {
+            resolve(outcome.release);
+          } else {
+            reject(outcome.error);
+          }
+        },
+        detachAbortListener: () => {
+          if (onAbort) {
+            signal?.removeEventListener("abort", onAbort);
+            onAbort = null;
+          }
+        },
+      };
+      if (signal) {
+        onAbort = () => {
+          const index = this.queue.indexOf(waiter);
+          if (index !== -1) {
+            this.queue.splice(index, 1);
+          }
+          waiter.settle({ error: abortErrorFor(signal) });
+        };
+        signal.addEventListener("abort", onAbort, { once: true });
+      }
+      this.queue.push(waiter);
+    });
+  }
+
+  private createStreamRelease(): () => void {
+    let released = false;
+    return () => {
+      if (released) return;
+      released = true;
+      this.activeStreamCount -= 1;
+      this.admitNextWaiter();
+    };
+  }
+
+  private admitNextWaiter(): void {
+    while (this.queue.length > 0 && this.activeStreamCount < this.maxParallel) {
+      const waiter = this.queue.shift();
+      if (!waiter) break;
+      this.activeStreamCount += 1;
+      waiter.settle({ release: this.createStreamRelease() });
+    }
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Take one live-session slot if the cap allows it. Returns an idempotent
+   * release function on success, or `null` at once when the cap is already
+   * spent. Never queues.
+   */
+  tryAcquireSession(): (() => void) | null {
+    if (this.activeSessions >= this.maxSessions) {
+      return null;
+    }
+    this.activeSessions += 1;
+    let released = false;
+    return () => {
+      if (released) return;
+      released = true;
+      this.activeSessions -= 1;
+    };
+  }
+}
+
+let processHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate: Http2BridgeAdmissionGate | null = null;
+
+/**
+ * Read the process-wide admission gate, creating it on first use from the
+ * default cap pair. Every host call site shares this one instance, so one
+ * pair of caps bounds the bridge's worst-case retained bytes across the
+ * whole process.
+ */
+export function getHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate(): Http2BridgeAdmissionGate {
+  if (!processHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate) {
+    processHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate = new Http2BridgeAdmissionGate(resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCaps({}));
+  }
+  return processHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Replace the process-wide admission gate with one built from the given cap
+ * overrides. Routes the overrides through {@link resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCaps},
+ * so this call site and every other caller resolve a cap pair through the
+ * same per-field checks and the same joint budget rule.
+ */
+export function configureHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate(
+  overrides: Http2BridgeAdmissionCapOverrides,
+  onRejectedPair?: Http2BridgeAdmissionPairRejectionReporter,
+): Http2BridgeAdmissionGate {
+  processHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate = new Http2BridgeAdmissionGate(
+    resolveHttp2BridgeAdmissionCaps(overrides, onRejectedPair),
+  );
+  return processHttp2BridgeAdmissionGate;
+}