diff --git a/docs/configuration.md b/docs/configuration.md
index 0c94d010..04699b2a 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/configuration.md
@@ -2158,7 +2158,8 @@ When a user is idle for longer than a configured threshold, nanobot **proactivel
 {
   "agents": {
     "defaults": {
-      "idleCompactAfterMinutes": 15
+      "idleCompactAfterMinutes": 15,
+      "idleCompactCheckIntervalSeconds": 0
     }
   }
 }
@@ -2167,11 +2168,12 @@ When a user is idle for longer than a configured threshold, nanobot **proactivel
 | Option | Default | Description |
 |--------|---------|-------------|
 | `agents.defaults.idleCompactAfterMinutes` | `15` | Minutes of idle time before auto-compaction starts. Set to `0` to disable. The default is close to a typical LLM KV cache expiry window, so stale sessions get compacted before the user returns. |
+| `agents.defaults.idleCompactCheckIntervalSeconds` | `0` | Minimum number of seconds between scans for idle sessions. |
 
 `sessionTtlMinutes` remains accepted as a legacy alias for backward compatibility, but `idleCompactAfterMinutes` is the preferred config key going forward.
 
 How it works:
-1. **Idle detection**: On each idle tick (~1 s), checks all sessions for expiration.
+1. **Idle detection**: On each idle tick (~1 s), checks all sessions for expiration, subject to the minimum interval set by `idleCompactCheckIntervalSeconds`.
 2. **Background compaction**: Idle sessions summarize the older live prefix via LLM and keep the most recent legal suffix (currently 8 messages).
 3. **Summary injection**: When the user returns, the summary is injected as runtime context (one-shot, not persisted) alongside the retained recent suffix.
 4. **Restart-safe resume**: The summary is also mirrored into session metadata so it can still be recovered after a process restart.
diff --git a/nanobot/agent/loop.py b/nanobot/agent/loop.py
index eab6f92e..84b1f8d7 100644
--- a/nanobot/agent/loop.py
+++ b/nanobot/agent/loop.py
@@ -297,6 +297,7 @@ class AgentLoop:
         runtime_model_publisher: Callable[[str, str | None], None] | None = None,
         restart_mode: str = "auto",
         local_trigger_store: Any | None = None,
+        idle_compact_check_interval_seconds: int = 0,
     ):
         from nanobot.config.schema import ToolsConfig
 
@@ -445,6 +446,8 @@ class AgentLoop:
             consolidator=self.consolidator,
             session_ttl_minutes=session_ttl_minutes,
         )
+        self._idle_compact_check_interval_s = idle_compact_check_interval_seconds
+        self._next_idle_compact_check_at = time.monotonic()
         if model_preset:
             self.set_model_preset(model_preset, publish_update=False)
         self._register_default_tools(provider_snapshot_loader=provider_snapshot_loader)
@@ -500,6 +503,7 @@ class AgentLoop:
             unified_session=defaults.unified_session,
             disabled_skills=defaults.disabled_skills,
             session_ttl_minutes=defaults.session_ttl_minutes,
+            idle_compact_check_interval_seconds=defaults.idle_compact_check_interval_seconds,
             consolidation_ratio=defaults.consolidation_ratio,
             tools_config=config.tools,
             model_presets=preset_helpers.configured_model_presets(config),
@@ -1081,6 +1085,18 @@ class AgentLoop:
             logger.error("LLM returned error: {}", (result.final_content or "")[:200])
         return result.final_content, result.tools_used, result.messages, result.stop_reason, result.had_injections
 
+    def _check_expired_sessions_if_due(self) -> None:
+        """Scan idle sessions no more often than the configured interval."""
+        now = time.monotonic()
+        if now < self._next_idle_compact_check_at:
+            return
+        self._next_idle_compact_check_at = now + self._idle_compact_check_interval_s
+        self.auto_compact.check_expired(
+            self._schedule_background,
+            self.runtime_for_session,
+            active_session_keys=self._pending_queues.keys(),
+        )
+
     async def run(self) -> None:
         """Run the agent loop, dispatching messages as tasks to stay responsive to /stop."""
         self._running = True
@@ -1092,11 +1108,7 @@ class AgentLoop:
                 try:
                     msg = await asyncio.wait_for(self.bus.consume_inbound(), timeout=1.0)
                 except asyncio.TimeoutError:
-                    self.auto_compact.check_expired(
-                        self._schedule_background,
-                        self.runtime_for_session,
-                        active_session_keys=self._pending_queues.keys(),
-                    )
+                    self._check_expired_sessions_if_due()
                     continue
                 except asyncio.CancelledError:
                     # Preserve real task cancellation so shutdown can complete cleanly.
diff --git a/nanobot/config/schema.py b/nanobot/config/schema.py
index 8d264ce6..452c5406 100644
--- a/nanobot/config/schema.py
+++ b/nanobot/config/schema.py
@@ -154,6 +154,10 @@ class AgentDefaults(Base):
         validation_alias=AliasChoices("idleCompactAfterMinutes", "sessionTtlMinutes"),
         serialization_alias="idleCompactAfterMinutes",
     )  # Auto-compact idle threshold in minutes (0 = disabled)
+    idle_compact_check_interval_seconds: int = Field(
+        default=0,
+        ge=0,
+    )  # Minimum interval in seconds between scans for idle sessions
     consolidation_ratio: float = Field(
         default=0.5,
         ge=0.1,
diff --git a/tests/agent/test_auto_compact.py b/tests/agent/test_auto_compact.py
index ce0f2205..af27ab6e 100644
--- a/tests/agent/test_auto_compact.py
+++ b/tests/agent/test_auto_compact.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from nanobot.agent.loop import AgentLoop
 from nanobot.bus.events import InboundMessage
 from nanobot.bus.queue import MessageBus
 from nanobot.command import CommandContext
-from nanobot.config.schema import AgentDefaults
+from nanobot.config.schema import AgentDefaults, Config
 from nanobot.providers.base import LLMResponse
 
 
@@ -180,12 +180,64 @@ class TestSessionTTLConfig:
         assert data["idleCompactAfterMinutes"] == 30
         assert "sessionTtlMinutes" not in data
 
+    def test_idle_scan_interval_defaults_to_zero(self):
+        """The default should preserve a scan on every idle tick."""
+        defaults = AgentDefaults()
+        assert defaults.idle_compact_check_interval_seconds == 0
+
+    def test_idle_scan_interval_uses_camel_case_config_key(self):
+        """The JSON config should use the standard camelCase alias."""
+        defaults = AgentDefaults.model_validate({"idleCompactCheckIntervalSeconds": 10})
+        assert defaults.idle_compact_check_interval_seconds == 10
+        data = defaults.model_dump(mode="json", by_alias=True)
+        assert data["idleCompactCheckIntervalSeconds"] == 10
+
     def test_session_file_cap_is_internal_constant(self):
         """Session file cap should remain an internal constant, not a config field."""
         from nanobot.session.manager import FILE_MAX_MESSAGES
         assert FILE_MAX_MESSAGES == 2000
 
 
+class TestIdleScanThrottling:
+    """Test scheduling of full idle-session scans."""
+
+    def test_configured_idle_scan_interval_throttles_checks(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        """The configured interval should reach the loop and gate session scans."""
+        ticks = iter((1_000.0, 1_000.0, 1_009.999, 1_010.0))
+        monkeypatch.setattr("nanobot.agent.loop.time.monotonic", lambda: next(ticks))
+        config = Config.model_validate({
+            "agents": {
+                "defaults": {
+                    "workspace": str(tmp_path),
+                    "idleCompactCheckIntervalSeconds": 10,
+                }
+            }
+        })
+        provider = MagicMock()
+        provider.get_default_model.return_value = "test-model"
+        loop = AgentLoop.from_config(config, provider=provider)
+        loop.auto_compact.check_expired = MagicMock()
+
+        loop._check_expired_sessions_if_due()
+        loop.auto_compact.check_expired.assert_called_once()
+        loop._check_expired_sessions_if_due()
+        loop.auto_compact.check_expired.assert_called_once()
+        loop._check_expired_sessions_if_due()
+
+        assert loop.auto_compact.check_expired.call_count == 2
+
+    def test_default_idle_scan_interval_checks_every_tick(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        """The zero default should leave each idle tick eligible to scan."""
+        monkeypatch.setattr("nanobot.agent.loop.time.monotonic", lambda: 1_000.0)
+        loop = _make_loop(tmp_path)
+        loop.auto_compact.check_expired = MagicMock()
+
+        loop._check_expired_sessions_if_due()
+        loop._check_expired_sessions_if_due()
+
+        assert loop.auto_compact.check_expired.call_count == 2
+
+
 class TestAgentLoopTTLParam:
     """Test that AutoCompact receives and stores session_ttl_minutes."""