diff --git a/packages/cli/src/cli.ts b/packages/cli/src/cli.ts
index b9b3142a..d60eab05 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/cli.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/cli.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  * Usage: node cli.cjs <command> [args]
  */
 
-import { loadConfig, saveConfig, resolveModel, AgentType, type ModelProfile } from './core/index.js';
+import { loadConfig, saveConfig, resolveModel, resolveMaxAgents, AgentType, TaskComplexity, type ModelProfile } from './core/index.js';
 
 const args = process.argv.slice(2);
 const command = args[0];
@@ -24,6 +24,32 @@ const COMMANDS: Record<string, () => void> = {
       console.log(model);
     }
   },
+  'resolve-max-agents': () => {
+    const projectDir = process.cwd();
+    const config = loadConfig(projectDir);
+    const profile = (args[1] as ModelProfile) || config.execution.model_profile as ModelProfile;
+
+    const fileCountIdx = args.indexOf('--file-count');
+    const fileCount = fileCountIdx >= 0 ? parseInt(args[fileCountIdx + 1], 10) : 0;
+    if (fileCountIdx >= 0 && (isNaN(fileCount) || fileCount < 0)) {
+      console.error('--file-count must be a non-negative integer');
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+
+    const complexityIdx = args.indexOf('--complexity');
+    const complexityArg = complexityIdx >= 0 ? args[complexityIdx + 1] : TaskComplexity.MEDIUM;
+    if (!Object.values(TaskComplexity).includes(complexityArg as TaskComplexity)) {
+      console.error(`Invalid complexity: ${complexityArg}. Must be: simple, medium, complex`);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+
+    const result = resolveMaxAgents(profile, fileCount, complexityArg as TaskComplexity);
+    if (args.includes('--raw')) {
+      process.stdout.write(String(result));
+    } else {
+      console.log(result);
+    }
+  },
   'config-get': () => {
     const key = args[1];
     if (!key) { console.error('Usage: config-get <key>'); process.exit(1); }
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/core/config.ts b/packages/cli/src/core/config.ts
index e9439429..e5e83f18 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/core/config.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/core/config.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   type Model,
   type ModelProfile,
   type AgentType,
+  TaskComplexity,
   DEFAULT_CONFIG,
   MODEL_PROFILES,
   PARALLELISM_LIMITS,
@@ -84,12 +85,17 @@ export function saveConfig(projectDir: string, config: MaxsimConfig): void {
 /** Resolve max agents for a profile, applying the small-project scaling rule from PROJECT.md §7.4. */
 export function resolveMaxAgents(
   profile: ModelProfile,
-  projectFileCount: number
+  projectFileCount: number,
+  complexity: TaskComplexity = TaskComplexity.MEDIUM,
 ): number {
   const limits = PARALLELISM_LIMITS[profile];
-  if (projectFileCount < 10) return Math.min(5, limits.max_agents);
-  if (projectFileCount < 25) return Math.min(Math.floor(limits.max_agents / 2), limits.typical_range[1]);
-  return limits.max_agents;
+  let cap: number;
+  if (projectFileCount < 10) cap = Math.min(5, limits.max_agents);
+  else if (projectFileCount < 25) cap = Math.min(Math.floor(limits.max_agents / 2), limits.typical_range[1]);
+  else cap = limits.max_agents;
+
+  if (complexity === TaskComplexity.SIMPLE) return Math.max(1, Math.floor(cap / 2));
+  return cap;
 }
 
 /** Resolve the model for a given profile and agent type, with optional per-agent overrides. */
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/core/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/core/index.ts
index 30f0cdba..eaa4d127 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/core/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/core/index.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ export {
   AgentType,
   Model,
   ModelProfile,
+  TaskComplexity,
   VerificationGate,
   VerificationResult,
   TaskState,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/core/types.ts b/packages/cli/src/core/types.ts
index 22030f59..b2a447db 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/core/types.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/core/types.ts
@@ -81,6 +81,14 @@ export const ModelProfile = {
 } as const;
 export type ModelProfile = (typeof ModelProfile)[keyof typeof ModelProfile];
 
+/** Task complexity levels for agent parallelism scaling. */
+export const TaskComplexity = {
+  SIMPLE: 'simple',
+  MEDIUM: 'medium',
+  COMPLEX: 'complex',
+} as const;
+export type TaskComplexity = (typeof TaskComplexity)[keyof typeof TaskComplexity];
+
 /** Verification gate types. */
 export const VerificationGate = {
   TESTS_PASS: 'tests_pass',
diff --git a/packages/cli/tests/unit/cli.test.ts b/packages/cli/tests/unit/cli.test.ts
index 5ecf2165..00ae80a6 100644
--- a/packages/cli/tests/unit/cli.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/tests/unit/cli.test.ts
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
 import * as fs from 'node:fs';
 import * as path from 'node:path';
 import * as os from 'node:os';
-import { loadConfig, saveConfig, resolveModel, getConfigPath } from '../../src/core/config.js';
-import { AgentType, Model, ModelProfile, DEFAULT_CONFIG } from '../../src/core/types.js';
+import { loadConfig, saveConfig, resolveModel, resolveMaxAgents, getConfigPath } from '../../src/core/config.js';
+import { AgentType, Model, ModelProfile, TaskComplexity, DEFAULT_CONFIG, PARALLELISM_LIMITS } from '../../src/core/types.js';
 
 let tmpDir: string;
 
@@ -174,3 +174,23 @@ describe('config-ensure-section command logic', () => {
     expect(JSON.parse(raw)).toHaveProperty('fresh_section');
   });
 });
+
+describe('resolve-max-agents command logic', () => {
+  it('returns max agents for a large project when --file-count is provided', () => {
+    expect(resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.BALANCED, 50)).toBe(PARALLELISM_LIMITS[ModelProfile.BALANCED].max_agents);
+  });
+
+  it('defaults to file count 0 when --file-count flag is absent (small project cap applies)', () => {
+    expect(resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.BALANCED, 0)).toBe(Math.min(5, PARALLELISM_LIMITS[ModelProfile.BALANCED].max_agents));
+  });
+
+  it('invalid complexity value is not a member of TaskComplexity', () => {
+    expect(Object.values(TaskComplexity).includes('bogus' as TaskComplexity)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('all TaskComplexity values are accepted by resolveMaxAgents without throwing', () => {
+    for (const complexity of Object.values(TaskComplexity)) {
+      expect(() => resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.BALANCED, 50, complexity)).not.toThrow();
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/cli/tests/unit/config.test.ts b/packages/cli/tests/unit/config.test.ts
index 687ed11f..b1aad91b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/tests/unit/config.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/tests/unit/config.test.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import {
   resolveMaxAgents,
   getConfigPath,
 } from '../../src/core/config.js';
-import { Model, ModelProfile, AgentType, DEFAULT_CONFIG, PARALLELISM_LIMITS } from '../../src/core/types.js';
+import { Model, ModelProfile, AgentType, TaskComplexity, DEFAULT_CONFIG, PARALLELISM_LIMITS } from '../../src/core/types.js';
 
 let tmpDir: string;
 
@@ -157,4 +157,38 @@ describe('resolveMaxAgents', () => {
   it('large project (>=25 files) uses full profile max for budget profile', () => {
     expect(resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.BUDGET, 50)).toBe(PARALLELISM_LIMITS[ModelProfile.BUDGET].max_agents);
   });
+
+  it('backward compatibility: calling without complexity parameter defaults to medium', () => {
+    const withDefault = resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.BALANCED, 50);
+    const withMedium = resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.BALANCED, 50, TaskComplexity.MEDIUM);
+    expect(withDefault).toBe(withMedium);
+  });
+
+  it('complexity=simple halves the cap (rounded down, min 1)', () => {
+    const limits = PARALLELISM_LIMITS[ModelProfile.BALANCED];
+    const cap = limits.max_agents;
+    const expected = Math.max(1, Math.floor(cap / 2));
+    expect(resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.BALANCED, 50, TaskComplexity.SIMPLE)).toBe(expected);
+  });
+
+  it('complexity=complex uses the full cap', () => {
+    const limits = PARALLELISM_LIMITS[ModelProfile.BALANCED];
+    expect(resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.BALANCED, 50, TaskComplexity.COMPLEX)).toBe(limits.max_agents);
+  });
+
+  it('complexity=medium uses the same result as no complexity argument', () => {
+    expect(resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.QUALITY, 30, TaskComplexity.MEDIUM)).toBe(
+      resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.QUALITY, 30),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('complexity=simple with small project caps at minimum 1', () => {
+    expect(resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.BALANCED, 5, TaskComplexity.SIMPLE)).toBe(2);
+  });
+
+  it('complexity=simple with budget profile large project halves max_agents', () => {
+    const limits = PARALLELISM_LIMITS[ModelProfile.BUDGET];
+    const expected = Math.max(1, Math.floor(limits.max_agents / 2));
+    expect(resolveMaxAgents(ModelProfile.BUDGET, 50, TaskComplexity.SIMPLE)).toBe(expected);
+  });
 });