diff --git a/backend/app/llm/__init__.py b/backend/app/llm/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/backend/app/llm/client.py b/backend/app/llm/client.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f75f2fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/llm/client.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+import httpx
+
+from app.config import settings
+
+
+class OllamaClient:
+    def __init__(self, base_url: str | None = None):
+        self._base_url = base_url or settings.ollama_base_url
+
+    async def generate(self, model: str, prompt: str, system: str | None = None) -> str:
+        payload = {"model": model, "prompt": prompt, "stream": False}
+        if system is not None:
+            payload["system"] = system
+
+        async with httpx.AsyncClient(base_url=self._base_url, timeout=120.0) as http_client:
+            response = await http_client.post("/api/generate", json=payload)
+            response.raise_for_status()
+            return response.json()["response"]
diff --git a/backend/app/llm/queue.py b/backend/app/llm/queue.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ae51a97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/llm/queue.py
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+import asyncio
+from collections.abc import Awaitable, Callable
+from typing import TypeVar
+
+T = TypeVar("T")
+
+
+class QueueFullError(Exception):
+    pass
+
+
+class LLMQueue:
+    """Bounds concurrent Ollama calls and rejects work once too much is queued."""
+
+    def __init__(self, max_concurrency: int, max_queue_depth: int):
+        self._semaphore = asyncio.Semaphore(max_concurrency)
+        self._max_queue_depth = max_queue_depth
+        self._waiting = 0
+        self._lock = asyncio.Lock()
+
+    async def submit(self, coro_factory: Callable[[], Awaitable[T]]) -> T:
+        async with self._lock:
+            if self._waiting >= self._max_queue_depth:
+                raise QueueFullError("too many seekers right now")
+            self._waiting += 1
+
+        acquired = False
+        try:
+            # _waiting counts requests queued behind the concurrency limit,
+            # not requests currently running. It must drop the instant a slot
+            # is won (before coro_factory() runs), otherwise a long-running
+            # call keeps counting against the queue depth for its whole
+            # duration and wrongly rejects callers that should have been
+            # queued. The decrement below has no `await` before it, so it
+            # can't be split by cancellation from the acquire() that preceded
+            # it - either we own a slot and will decrement, or we don't and
+            # the `finally` below decrements instead.
+            await self._semaphore.acquire()
+            acquired = True
+            self._waiting -= 1
+            return await coro_factory()
+        finally:
+            if acquired:
+                self._semaphore.release()
+            else:
+                self._waiting -= 1
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_llm_queue.py b/backend/tests/test_llm_queue.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c45767
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_llm_queue.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import asyncio
+
+import pytest
+
+from app.llm.queue import LLMQueue, QueueFullError
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_queue_runs_calls_up_to_concurrency_limit():
+    queue = LLMQueue(max_concurrency=2, max_queue_depth=10)
+    concurrent_count = 0
+    max_observed = 0
+
+    async def slow_call():
+        nonlocal concurrent_count, max_observed
+        concurrent_count += 1
+        max_observed = max(max_observed, concurrent_count)
+        await asyncio.sleep(0.05)
+        concurrent_count -= 1
+        return "done"
+
+    results = await asyncio.gather(*(queue.submit(slow_call) for _ in range(5)))
+
+    assert results == ["done"] * 5
+    assert max_observed == 2
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_queue_raises_when_depth_exceeded():
+    queue = LLMQueue(max_concurrency=1, max_queue_depth=1)
+
+    async def slow_call():
+        await asyncio.sleep(0.1)
+        return "done"
+
+    task1 = asyncio.create_task(queue.submit(slow_call))
+    task2 = asyncio.create_task(queue.submit(slow_call))
+    await asyncio.sleep(0.01)  # let task1 start running, task2 start waiting
+
+    with pytest.raises(QueueFullError):
+        await queue.submit(slow_call)
+
+    await asyncio.gather(task1, task2)