diff --git a/src/lib/server/services/webhook-events.ts b/src/lib/server/services/webhook-events.ts
index f9f4ddf..242b070 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/services/webhook-events.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/services/webhook-events.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
-import { and, eq, inArray, lt } from "drizzle-orm";
+import { and, asc, eq, inArray, lt } from "drizzle-orm";
 import { db } from "../db";
 import { webhookEndpoints, webhookEvents } from "../db/schema";
 
 const EXPIRY_DAYS = 7;
+export const DEFAULT_POLL_LIMIT = 5;
+const MAX_POLL_LIMIT = 25;
 
 export async function createEvent(
 	endpointId: string,
@@ -26,7 +28,15 @@ export async function createEvent(
 	return row;
 }
 
-export async function getPendingEvents(tokenId: string, endpointId?: string) {
+function normalizePollLimit(limit?: number) {
+	if (limit === undefined || !Number.isFinite(limit)) {
+		return DEFAULT_POLL_LIMIT;
+	}
+
+	return Math.min(Math.max(Math.trunc(limit), 1), MAX_POLL_LIMIT);
+}
+
+export async function getPendingEvents(tokenId: string, endpointId?: string, limit?: number) {
 	const conditions = [
 		eq(webhookEvents.status, "pending"),
 		eq(webhookEndpoints.tokenId, tokenId),
@@ -49,7 +59,9 @@ export async function getPendingEvents(tokenId: string, endpointId?: string) {
 		})
 		.from(webhookEvents)
 		.innerJoin(webhookEndpoints, eq(webhookEvents.endpointId, webhookEndpoints.id))
-		.where(and(...conditions));
+		.where(and(...conditions))
+		.orderBy(asc(webhookEvents.receivedAt))
+		.limit(normalizePollLimit(limit));
 }
 
 export async function acknowledgeEvents(tokenId: string, eventIds: string[]) {
diff --git a/src/routes/webhooks/poll/+server.ts b/src/routes/webhooks/poll/+server.ts
index c9d1b41..6aa239a 100644
--- a/src/routes/webhooks/poll/+server.ts
+++ b/src/routes/webhooks/poll/+server.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import { getPendingEvents } from "$lib/server/services/webhook-events";
 export const GET: RequestHandler = async ({ request, url }) => {
 	const token = await requireBearer(request);
 	const endpointId = url.searchParams.get("endpointId") ?? undefined;
-	const events = await getPendingEvents(token.id, endpointId);
+	const limitParam = url.searchParams.get("limit");
+	const limit = limitParam === null ? undefined : Number(limitParam);
+	const events = await getPendingEvents(token.id, endpointId, limit);
 	return json({ events });
 };
diff --git a/tests/integration/webhook-events.test.ts b/tests/integration/webhook-events.test.ts
index f146a1e..d5a6ce4 100644
--- a/tests/integration/webhook-events.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/webhook-events.test.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,42 @@ describe("webhook-events service", () => {
 		expect(events[0].body).toEqual({ source: "linear" });
 	});
 
+	it("returns the five oldest pending events by default", async () => {
+		const { token } = await createTestToken();
+		const endpoint = await createEndpoint(token.id, { name: "Linear" });
+
+		for (let i = 0; i < 7; i++) {
+			const event = await createEvent(endpoint.id, {}, { n: i });
+			await db
+				.update(webhookEvents)
+				.set({ receivedAt: new Date(`2026-01-01T00:00:0${i}.000Z`) })
+				.where(eq(webhookEvents.id, event.id));
+		}
+
+		const events = await getPendingEvents(token.id);
+
+		expect(events).toHaveLength(5);
+		expect(events.map((event) => event.body)).toEqual([
+			{ n: 0 },
+			{ n: 1 },
+			{ n: 2 },
+			{ n: 3 },
+			{ n: 4 },
+		]);
+	});
+
+	it("allows callers to request a smaller poll batch", async () => {
+		const { token } = await createTestToken();
+		const endpoint = await createEndpoint(token.id, { name: "Linear" });
+		await createEvent(endpoint.id, {}, { n: 1 });
+		await createEvent(endpoint.id, {}, { n: 2 });
+		await createEvent(endpoint.id, {}, { n: 3 });
+
+		const events = await getPendingEvents(token.id, undefined, 2);
+
+		expect(events).toHaveLength(2);
+	});
+
 	it("does not return events belonging to another token", async () => {
 		const { token: token1 } = await createTestToken("Agent A");
 		const { token: token2 } = await createTestToken("Agent B");