diff --git a/__tests__/liveness-watchdog.test.ts b/__tests__/liveness-watchdog.test.ts
index 025b419b..9bc6983e 100644
--- a/__tests__/liveness-watchdog.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/liveness-watchdog.test.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,13 @@ describe('config parsing', () => {
     expect(parseWatchdogTimeoutMs('1500')).toBe(1500);
   });
 
+  it('parseWatchdogTimeoutMs caps at the largest delay a timer can hold (#1966)', () => {
+    // Node runs a setTimeout delay above 2^31-1 ms after 1 ms instead.
+    expect(parseWatchdogTimeoutMs('2147483647')).toBe(2147483647);
+    expect(parseWatchdogTimeoutMs('2147483648')).toBe(2147483647);
+    expect(parseWatchdogTimeoutMs('3000000000')).toBe(2147483647);
+  });
+
   it('deriveCheckIntervalMs stays within [50, 2000] and scales with the timeout', () => {
     expect(deriveCheckIntervalMs(60_000)).toBe(2000); // clamped high
     expect(deriveCheckIntervalMs(500)).toBe(100); // 500/5
@@ -90,6 +97,15 @@ describe('liveness watchdog (spawned, real watchdog process)', () => {
     expect(r.signal === 'SIGKILL' || (r.signal === null && r.code !== 0 && r.code !== null)).toBe(true);
   }
 
+  it('leaves a healthy process alone when the timeout is set past what a timer can hold (#1966)', async () => {
+    const r = await runChild(
+      { CODEGRAPH_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT_MS: '3000000000' },
+      'setTimeout(() => process.exit(0), 1000);',
+      8000
+    );
+    expect(r).toEqual({ code: 0, signal: null });
+  }, 12000);
+
   it('SIGKILLs a process whose main thread wedges in a sync loop', async () => {
     const r = await runChild(
       { CODEGRAPH_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT_MS: '500' },
diff --git a/__tests__/startup-handshake.test.ts b/__tests__/startup-handshake.test.ts
index 1330c4fa..2c5b9954 100644
--- a/__tests__/startup-handshake.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/startup-handshake.test.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,24 @@ describe('parseStartupHandshakeTimeoutMs', () => {
   it('floors fractional values', () => {
     expect(parseStartupHandshakeTimeoutMs('2500.7')).toBe(2500);
   });
+
+  it('caps at the largest delay a timer can hold (#1966)', () => {
+    expect(parseStartupHandshakeTimeoutMs('2147483647')).toBe(2147483647);
+    expect(parseStartupHandshakeTimeoutMs('2147483648')).toBe(2147483647);
+    expect(parseStartupHandshakeTimeoutMs('3000000000')).toBe(2147483647);
+  });
+
+  it('does not abandon a launch at once when the timeout is set past what a timer can hold (#1966)', async () => {
+    let abandoned = false;
+    const disarm = armStartupHandshakeTimeout(
+      () => { abandoned = true; },
+      new PassThrough(),
+      parseStartupHandshakeTimeoutMs('3000000000'),
+    );
+    await sleep(100);
+    disarm();
+    expect(abandoned).toBe(false);
+  });
 });
 
 describe('armStartupHandshakeTimeout', () => {
diff --git a/src/mcp/liveness-watchdog.ts b/src/mcp/liveness-watchdog.ts
index 8e253ffa..e0f2e2e2 100644
--- a/src/mcp/liveness-watchdog.ts
+++ b/src/mcp/liveness-watchdog.ts
@@ -71,14 +71,24 @@ function isEnvTruthy(raw: string | undefined): boolean {
   return ['1', 'true', 'yes', 'on'].includes(raw.trim().toLowerCase());
 }
 
-/** Parse the timeout env, falling back to the default for missing/invalid values. */
+/**
+ * The longest delay a Node timer holds: anything above 2^31-1 ms is run after
+ * 1 ms instead (with a TimeoutOverflowWarning), so a huge value meant as
+ * "effectively never" would fire at once (#1966).
+ */
+const MAX_TIMER_DELAY_MS = 2_147_483_647;
+
+/**
+ * Parse the timeout env, falling back to the default for missing/invalid values
+ * and capping at {@link MAX_TIMER_DELAY_MS}.
+ */
 export function parseWatchdogTimeoutMs(
   raw: string | undefined,
   fallback: number = DEFAULT_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT_MS
 ): number {
   if (raw === undefined) return fallback;
   const n = Number(raw);
-  return Number.isFinite(n) && n > 0 ? n : fallback;
+  return Number.isFinite(n) && n > 0 ? Math.min(n, MAX_TIMER_DELAY_MS) : fallback;
 }
 
 /** Derive a heartbeat cadence that emits several beats inside the timeout window. */
diff --git a/src/mcp/startup-handshake.ts b/src/mcp/startup-handshake.ts
index 16f687f7..0c410dfb 100644
--- a/src/mcp/startup-handshake.ts
+++ b/src/mcp/startup-handshake.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,13 @@
  * Tune with `CODEGRAPH_STARTUP_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS`; `0` disables.
  */
 
+/**
+ * The longest delay a Node timer holds (2^31-1 ms). Kept here rather than
+ * imported from liveness-watchdog.ts because early-ppid.ts loads this module
+ * at startup and must stay free of that module's imports.
+ */
+const MAX_TIMER_DELAY_MS = 2_147_483_647;
+
 /** Default wait for the first byte of MCP traffic before assuming orphaned. */
 export const DEFAULT_STARTUP_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS = 900_000; // 15 min
 
@@ -35,14 +42,16 @@ export const STARTUP_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_ENV = 'CODEGRAPH_STARTUP_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOU
 
 /**
  * Parse the timeout env override. Missing/invalid → default; `<= 0` → `0`
- * (disabled), the same disable convention as `CODEGRAPH_PPID_POLL_MS`.
+ * (disabled), the same disable convention as `CODEGRAPH_PPID_POLL_MS`. Capped
+ * at {@link MAX_TIMER_DELAY_MS}: a larger delay makes Node fire the timer after
+ * 1 ms, abandoning a healthy launch at once (#1966).
  */
 export function parseStartupHandshakeTimeoutMs(raw: string | undefined): number {
   if (raw === undefined || raw === '') return DEFAULT_STARTUP_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS;
   const parsed = Number(raw);
   if (!Number.isFinite(parsed)) return DEFAULT_STARTUP_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS;
   if (parsed <= 0) return 0;
-  return Math.floor(parsed);
+  return Math.min(Math.floor(parsed), MAX_TIMER_DELAY_MS);
 }
 
 /**