diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 760d29e..9f86684 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -25,7 +25,10 @@ SESSION_SECRET=change-me-too
 # installation env vars and bearer tokens at rest
 MASTER_KEY=change-me-to-a-random-string-of-at-least-32-characters
 
-# Resource caps applied to every installed MCP container (same limit for all, no per-installation override in V1)
+# Resource caps applied to every installed MCP container (same limit for all, no per-installation
+# override in V1). Set either to 0 to disable that cap — needed on hosts that can't enforce cgroup
+# limits for nested containers (e.g. an unprivileged, OpenRC-based LXC with no systemd to delegate
+# cgroup controllers; `docker run` fails outright there if a limit is requested).
 CONTAINER_MEMORY_MB=512
 CONTAINER_CPUS=1
 
diff --git a/LESSONS.md b/LESSONS.md
index 00540fb..9b96099 100644
--- a/LESSONS.md
+++ b/LESSONS.md
@@ -30,6 +30,21 @@ build failed with "BuildKit is enabled but the buildx component is missing or br
 confirmed on the first real build attempt. Fixed by also copying
 `/usr/local/libexec/docker/cli-plugins/docker-buildx` from the same `docker:27-cli` image.
 
+## Per-container memory/CPU cgroup limits need the host to delegate controllers
+
+`docker run --memory=...` fails outright ("error setting cgroup config... memory.max: no
+such file or directory") on a host where `cgroup.subtree_control` isn't populated down to
+where the container's cgroup lives. Confirmed on an unprivileged, OpenRC-based nested LXC
+(Alpine, no systemd) with `nesting=1`: systemd normally does this delegation automatically
+at boot; OpenRC doesn't, so `cgroup.subtree_control` stays empty at the LXC's own root and
+no controller is ever available to nested Docker containers. `CONTAINER_MEMORY_MB`/
+`CONTAINER_CPUS` can both be set to `0` to skip asking for a cap at all — on a host like this
+the outer LXC's own memory limit (if Proxmox/systemd-nspawn/etc. sets one) is the only
+enforced ceiling either way. Properly fixing the delegation means moving every process
+already in the LXC's root cgroup into a leaf scope and then writing the wanted controllers
+to the root's `cgroup.subtree_control` — not done here, since it's a live production LXC and
+restructuring its cgroup tree wasn't something to risk without asking first.
+
 ## Nixpacks silently picks its own default runtime version
 
 Nixpacks does not fail when a repo's `engines`/version requirement isn't met — it silently falls back to its own default (e.g. picked Node 18 for a repo requiring Node >=20 in `Social-MCP`). The build goes green, then the container crashes at runtime (`crypto is not defined`, missing globals, etc.).
diff --git a/apps/server/src/docker/containers.ts b/apps/server/src/docker/containers.ts
index 04a15c4..701fe3d 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/docker/containers.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/docker/containers.ts
@@ -39,8 +39,12 @@ export async function runInstallationContainer(installation: Installation): Prom
     HostConfig: {
       RestartPolicy: { Name: "unless-stopped" },
       NetworkMode: config.mcpNetworkName,
-      Memory: config.containerMemoryMb * 1024 * 1024,
-      NanoCpus: Math.round(config.containerCpus * 1e9),
+      // 0 disables the cap: some hosts (e.g. an unprivileged, OpenRC-based nested LXC with no
+      // systemd to delegate cgroup controllers) can't enforce per-container memory/CPU limits
+      // at all — `docker run` there fails outright trying to write memory.max. Confirmed on a
+      // real deploy; the outer host's own cap (if any) is the only ceiling in that case.
+      ...(config.containerMemoryMb > 0 ? { Memory: config.containerMemoryMb * 1024 * 1024 } : {}),
+      ...(config.containerCpus > 0 ? { NanoCpus: Math.round(config.containerCpus * 1e9) } : {}),
     },
   });