diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c06d5a9d0..73a8e719b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -247,6 +247,9 @@ Access: http://localhost:2026
 
 The unified nginx endpoint is same-origin by default and does not emit browser CORS headers. If you run a split-origin or port-forwarded browser client, set `GATEWAY_CORS_ORIGINS` to comma-separated exact origins such as `http://localhost:3000`; the Gateway then applies the CORS allowlist and matching CSRF origin checks.
 
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> The Gateway holds run state (RunManager and the stream bridge) in process, so production defaults to a single Gateway worker (`GATEWAY_WORKERS=1`). Raising the worker count without a shared cross-worker stream bridge — which is not yet available — breaks run cancellation, SSE reconnects, request de-duplication, and IM channels, because nginx uses no sticky sessions and each worker keeps its own run state. Scale a single worker up with more CPU/RAM (or move the database and sandbox onto dedicated tiers) instead of raising `GATEWAY_WORKERS`.
+
 See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for detailed Docker development guide.
 
 #### Option 2: Local Development
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_compose_default_workers.py b/backend/tests/test_compose_default_workers.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..93f173a4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_compose_default_workers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+"""Regression test for the Docker Compose default Gateway worker count.
+
+The Gateway holds run state (RunManager and the stream bridge) in process, so
+the default deployment must run a single Uvicorn worker. Running more than one
+worker without a shared cross-worker stream bridge breaks run cancellation, SSE
+reconnects, request de-duplication, and IM channels (nginx has no sticky
+sessions, so requests scatter across workers that each keep their own run
+state). This test pins the safe default so it cannot silently regress to a
+multi-worker default, while still allowing operators to override it once a
+shared stream bridge exists.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import re
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import yaml
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+COMPOSE_PATH = REPO_ROOT / "docker" / "docker-compose.yaml"
+
+
+def _gateway_command() -> str:
+    """Return the gateway service command as a single string."""
+    compose = yaml.safe_load(COMPOSE_PATH.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    command = compose["services"]["gateway"]["command"]
+    # ``command`` may load as a scalar string or a list depending on YAML style.
+    if isinstance(command, list):
+        command = " ".join(str(part) for part in command)
+    return command
+
+
+def test_gateway_defaults_to_single_worker():
+    """With GATEWAY_WORKERS unset, the worker count must default to 1."""
+    command = _gateway_command()
+    match = re.search(r"GATEWAY_WORKERS:-(\d+)", command)
+    assert match is not None, f"gateway command must set a GATEWAY_WORKERS default; got: {command}"
+    assert match.group(1) == "1", f"default Gateway worker count must be 1, got {match.group(1)}"
+
+
+def test_gateway_worker_count_remains_overridable():
+    """The worker count must stay configurable, not hard-coded to 1."""
+    command = _gateway_command()
+    assert "${GATEWAY_WORKERS:-1}" in command, f"worker count must use ${{GATEWAY_WORKERS:-1}} so operators can override it; got: {command}"
diff --git a/docker/docker-compose.yaml b/docker/docker-compose.yaml
index 7455902e9..746bfe3ee 100644
--- a/docker/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/docker/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -72,7 +72,13 @@ services:
         UV_INDEX_URL: ${UV_INDEX_URL:-https://pypi.org/simple}
         UV_EXTRAS: ${UV_EXTRAS:-}
     container_name: deer-flow-gateway
-    command: sh -c "cd backend && PYTHONPATH=. uv run uvicorn app.gateway.app:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8001 --workers ${GATEWAY_WORKERS:-4}"
+    # Gateway hosts the agent runtime with in-process RunManager + StreamBridge
+    # singletons -- run state lives in this worker's memory. Default to a single
+    # worker: with >1 worker and no nginx sticky sessions, run cancel, SSE
+    # reconnect, request dedup, and per-worker IM channel services all break
+    # across workers until a shared (e.g. redis) stream bridge lands, which is
+    # not yet implemented. Override GATEWAY_WORKERS only once that is in place.
+    command: sh -c "cd backend && PYTHONPATH=. uv run uvicorn app.gateway.app:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8001 --workers ${GATEWAY_WORKERS:-1}"
     volumes:
       - ${DEER_FLOW_CONFIG_PATH}:/app/backend/config.yaml:ro
       - ${DEER_FLOW_EXTENSIONS_CONFIG_PATH}:/app/backend/extensions_config.json:ro