diff --git a/bin/rate_limiter.py b/bin/rate_limiter.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..56f69c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/rate_limiter.py
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+Shared rate limiter for NetVM scripts.
+
+Any .py script can use this to avoid hitting Muse rate limits:
+    from rate_limiter import rate_limit_wait
+    rate_limit_wait("opm")  # blocks until allowed
+
+Uses a token bucket per agent stored in /tmp (persists across invocations,
+not across reboots). Default: 1 op per 3s sustained, burst of 5, max ~20/min.
+"""
+import json
+import time
+import os
+
+RATE_LIMIT_FILE = "/tmp/netvm-rate-limit.json"
+RATE_LIMIT_INTERVAL = 3.0  # seconds between ops
+RATE_LIMIT_BURST = 5
+RATE_LIMIT_MAX_PER_MIN = 20
+
+def _load_state():
+    try:
+        with open(RATE_LIMIT_FILE) as f:
+            return json.load(f)
+    except:
+        return {}
+
+def _save_state(state):
+    try:
+        # Atomic write via temp file
+        tmp = RATE_LIMIT_FILE + ".tmp"
+        with open(tmp, "w") as f:
+            json.dump(state, f)
+        os.rename(tmp, RATE_LIMIT_FILE)
+    except:
+        pass
+
+def rate_limit_wait(agent, interval=RATE_LIMIT_INTERVAL, burst=RATE_LIMIT_BURST):
+    """
+    Block until the agent is allowed to perform an operation.
+    Returns the time waited in seconds (0 if no wait needed).
+    """
+    state = _load_state()
+    now = time.time()
+
+    # Prune old entries
+    recent_key = f"{agent}_recent"
+    recent = state.get(recent_key, [])
+    recent = [t for t in recent if now - t < 60]
+
+    # Check burst limit (max per minute)
+    if len(recent) >= RATE_LIMIT_MAX_PER_MIN:
+        wait = 60 - (now - recent[0]) + 1
+        if wait > 0:
+            time.sleep(wait)
+            # Refresh after wait
+            state = _load_state()
+            recent = state.get(recent_key, [])
+            recent = [t for t in recent if time.time() - t < 60]
+
+    # Check interval limit
+    last = state.get(agent, 0)
+    now = time.time()
+    if now - last < interval:
+        wait = interval - (now - last)
+        time.sleep(wait)
+
+    # Record this operation
+    now = time.time()
+    state[agent] = now
+    recent.append(now)
+    state[recent_key] = recent
+    _save_state(state)
+    return 0
+
+def rate_limit_check(agent):
+    """
+    Non-blocking check. Returns (allowed: bool, wait_seconds: float).
+    """
+    state = _load_state()
+    now = time.time()
+    recent = state.get(f"{agent}_recent", [])
+    recent = [t for t in recent if now - t < 60]
+
+    if len(recent) >= RATE_LIMIT_MAX_PER_MIN:
+        wait = 60 - (now - recent[0]) + 1
+        return False, max(0, wait)
+
+    last = state.get(agent, 0)
+    if now - last < RATE_LIMIT_INTERVAL:
+        return False, RATE_LIMIT_INTERVAL - (now - last)
+
+    return True, 0