diff --git a/frontend/public/locales/en-GB/translation.json b/frontend/public/locales/en-GB/translation.json
index 843d0b69d..783b66905 100644
--- a/frontend/public/locales/en-GB/translation.json
+++ b/frontend/public/locales/en-GB/translation.json
@@ -261,7 +261,10 @@
       "description": "Configure general application preferences.",
       "autoUnzip": "Auto-unzip API responses",
       "autoUnzipDescription": "Automatically extract files from ZIP responses",
-      "autoUnzipTooltip": "Automatically extract ZIP files returned from API operations. Disable to keep ZIP files intact. This does not affect automation workflows."
+      "autoUnzipTooltip": "Automatically extract ZIP files returned from API operations. Disable to keep ZIP files intact. This does not affect automation workflows.",
+      "autoUnzipFileLimit": "Auto-unzip file limit",
+      "autoUnzipFileLimitDescription": "Maximum number of files to extract from ZIP",
+      "autoUnzipFileLimitTooltip": "Only unzip if the ZIP contains this many files or fewer. Set higher to extract larger ZIPs."
     },
     "hotkeys": {
       "title": "Keyboard Shortcuts",
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/shared/config/configSections/GeneralSection.tsx b/frontend/src/components/shared/config/configSections/GeneralSection.tsx
index 059e7674f..07f71c484 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/shared/config/configSections/GeneralSection.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/shared/config/configSections/GeneralSection.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,19 @@
-import React from 'react';
-import { Paper, Stack, Switch, Text, Tooltip } from '@mantine/core';
+import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
+import { Paper, Stack, Switch, Text, Tooltip, NumberInput } from '@mantine/core';
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
 import { usePreferences } from '../../../../contexts/PreferencesContext';
 
+const DEFAULT_AUTO_UNZIP_FILE_LIMIT = 4;
+
 const GeneralSection: React.FC = () => {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const { preferences, updatePreference } = usePreferences();
+  const [fileLimitInput, setFileLimitInput] = useState<number | string>(preferences.autoUnzipFileLimit);
+
+  // Sync local state with preference changes
+  useEffect(() => {
+    setFileLimitInput(preferences.autoUnzipFileLimit);
+  }, [preferences.autoUnzipFileLimit]);
 
   return (
     <Stack gap="lg">
@@ -39,6 +47,39 @@ const GeneralSection: React.FC = () => {
               />
             </div>
           </Tooltip>
+
+          <Tooltip
+            label={t('settings.general.autoUnzipFileLimitTooltip', 'Only unzip if the ZIP contains this many files or fewer. Set higher to extract larger ZIPs.')}
+            multiline
+            w={300}
+            withArrow
+          >
+            <div style={{ display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'space-between', cursor: 'help' }}>
+              <div>
+                <Text fw={500} size="sm">
+                  {t('settings.general.autoUnzipFileLimit', 'Auto-unzip file limit')}
+                </Text>
+                <Text size="xs" c="dimmed" mt={4}>
+                  {t('settings.general.autoUnzipFileLimitDescription', 'Maximum number of files to extract from ZIP')}
+                </Text>
+              </div>
+              <NumberInput
+                value={fileLimitInput}
+                onChange={setFileLimitInput}
+                onBlur={() => {
+                  const numValue = Number(fileLimitInput);
+                  const finalValue = (!fileLimitInput || isNaN(numValue) || numValue < 1 || numValue > 100) ? DEFAULT_AUTO_UNZIP_FILE_LIMIT : numValue;
+                  setFileLimitInput(finalValue);
+                  updatePreference('autoUnzipFileLimit', finalValue);
+                }}
+                min={1}
+                max={100}
+                step={1}
+                disabled={!preferences.autoUnzip}
+                style={{ width: 90 }}
+              />
+            </div>
+          </Tooltip>
         </Stack>
       </Paper>
     </Stack>
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/tools/shared/useToolResources.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/tools/shared/useToolResources.ts
index 219bda255..366730885 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/tools/shared/useToolResources.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/tools/shared/useToolResources.ts
@@ -85,8 +85,15 @@ export const useToolResources = () => {
 
   const extractZipFiles = useCallback(async (zipBlob: Blob, skipAutoUnzip = false): Promise<File[]> => {
     try {
-      // Check if auto-unzip is disabled (unless explicitly skipped like in automation)
-      if (!skipAutoUnzip && !preferences.autoUnzip) {
+      // Check if we should extract based on preferences
+      const shouldExtract = await zipFileService.shouldUnzip(
+        zipBlob,
+        preferences.autoUnzip,
+        preferences.autoUnzipFileLimit,
+        skipAutoUnzip
+      );
+
+      if (!shouldExtract) {
         return [new File([zipBlob], 'result.zip', { type: 'application/zip' })];
       }
 
@@ -97,12 +104,19 @@ export const useToolResources = () => {
       console.error('useToolResources.extractZipFiles - Error:', error);
       return [];
     }
-  }, [preferences.autoUnzip]);
+  }, [preferences.autoUnzip, preferences.autoUnzipFileLimit]);
 
   const extractAllZipFiles = useCallback(async (zipBlob: Blob, skipAutoUnzip = false): Promise<File[]> => {
     try {
-      // Check if auto-unzip is disabled (unless explicitly skipped like in automation)
-      if (!skipAutoUnzip && !preferences.autoUnzip) {
+      // Check if we should extract based on preferences
+      const shouldExtract = await zipFileService.shouldUnzip(
+        zipBlob,
+        preferences.autoUnzip,
+        preferences.autoUnzipFileLimit,
+        skipAutoUnzip
+      );
+
+      if (!shouldExtract) {
         return [new File([zipBlob], 'result.zip', { type: 'application/zip' })];
       }
 
@@ -113,7 +127,7 @@ export const useToolResources = () => {
       console.error('useToolResources.extractAllZipFiles - Error:', error);
       return [];
     }
-  }, [preferences.autoUnzip]);
+  }, [preferences.autoUnzip, preferences.autoUnzipFileLimit]);
 
   const createDownloadInfo = useCallback(async (
     files: File[],
diff --git a/frontend/src/services/preferencesService.ts b/frontend/src/services/preferencesService.ts
index 94c17a66b..b7c22094e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/services/preferencesService.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/services/preferencesService.ts
@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@ import { indexedDBManager, DATABASE_CONFIGS } from './indexedDBManager';
 
 export interface UserPreferences {
   autoUnzip: boolean;
+  autoUnzipFileLimit: number;
 }
 
 export const DEFAULT_PREFERENCES: UserPreferences = {
   autoUnzip: true,
+  autoUnzipFileLimit: 4,
 };
 
 class PreferencesService {
diff --git a/frontend/src/services/zipFileService.ts b/frontend/src/services/zipFileService.ts
index 9803c96ed..45ec39219 100644
--- a/frontend/src/services/zipFileService.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/services/zipFileService.ts
@@ -324,6 +324,48 @@ export class ZipFileService {
     return parseFloat((bytes / Math.pow(k, i)).toFixed(2)) + ' ' + sizes[i];
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Determine if a ZIP file should be extracted based on user preferences
+   *
+   * @param zipBlob - The ZIP file to check
+   * @param autoUnzip - User preference for auto-unzipping
+   * @param autoUnzipFileLimit - Maximum number of files to auto-extract
+   * @param skipAutoUnzip - Bypass preference check (for automation)
+   * @returns true if the ZIP should be extracted, false otherwise
+   */
+  async shouldUnzip(
+    zipBlob: Blob | File,
+    autoUnzip: boolean,
+    autoUnzipFileLimit: number,
+    skipAutoUnzip: boolean = false
+  ): Promise<boolean> {
+    try {
+      // Automation always extracts
+      if (skipAutoUnzip) {
+        return true;
+      }
+
+      // Check if auto-unzip is enabled
+      if (!autoUnzip) {
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      // Load ZIP and count files
+      const zip = new JSZip();
+      const zipContents = await zip.loadAsync(zipBlob);
+
+      // Count non-directory entries
+      const fileCount = Object.values(zipContents.files).filter(entry => !entry.dir).length;
+
+      // Only extract if within limit
+      return fileCount <= autoUnzipFileLimit;
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error('Error checking shouldUnzip:', error);
+      // On error, default to not extracting (safer)
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Extract all files from a ZIP archive (not limited to PDFs)
    */