diff --git a/mcp_server/docker-compose.yml b/mcp_server/docker-compose.yml
index 0909a589..6a4ba16f 100644
--- a/mcp_server/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/mcp_server/docker-compose.yml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ services:
       - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
       - MODEL_NAME=${MODEL_NAME}
       - PATH=/root/.local/bin:${PATH}
-      - SEMAPHORE_LIMIT=${SEMAPHORE_LIMIT}
+      - SEMAPHORE_LIMIT=${SEMAPHORE_LIMIT:-10}
     ports:
       - "8000:8000" # Expose the MCP server via HTTP for SSE transport
     command: ["uv", "run", "graphiti_mcp_server.py", "--transport", "sse"]