diff --git a/py/api/admin.py b/py/api/admin.py
index ea8362a..22f954b 100644
--- a/py/api/admin.py
+++ b/py/api/admin.py
@@ -15,9 +15,11 @@ from aiohttp import web
 from .scan_job import ScanJob
 
 try:
-    from ...utils.validators import validate_result_timeout
+    from ...utils.parallel import map_parallel
+    from ...utils.validators import validate_result_timeout, validate_worker_threads
 except ImportError:
-    from utils.validators import validate_result_timeout
+    from utils.parallel import map_parallel
+    from utils.validators import validate_result_timeout, validate_worker_threads
 
 try:
     from ...database.operations import PromptDatabase
@@ -601,6 +603,8 @@ class AdminRoutesMixin:
                     "settings": {
                         "result_timeout": PromptManagerConfig.RESULT_TIMEOUT,
                         "webui_display_mode": PromptManagerConfig.WEBUI_DISPLAY_MODE,
+                        "worker_threads": PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS,
+                        "cpu_count": PromptManagerConfig.max_worker_threads(),
                         "gallery_root_paths": root_paths,
                         "gallery_root_path": root_paths[0] if root_paths else "",
                         "monitored_directories": [
@@ -645,6 +649,15 @@ class AdminRoutesMixin:
                     )
             if "webui_display_mode" in data:
                 PromptManagerConfig.WEBUI_DISPLAY_MODE = data["webui_display_mode"]
+            if "worker_threads" in data:
+                try:
+                    PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS = validate_worker_threads(
+                        data["worker_threads"], PromptManagerConfig.max_worker_threads()
+                    )
+                except ValueError as ve:
+                    return web.json_response(
+                        {"success": False, "error": str(ve)}, status=400
+                    )
 
             new_roots, error = self._parse_gallery_roots(data)
             if error:
@@ -738,7 +751,14 @@ class AdminRoutesMixin:
         monitoring = dict(gallery.get("monitoring") or {})
         monitoring["directories"] = list(GalleryConfig.MONITORING_DIRECTORIES)
         gallery["monitoring"] = monitoring
-        config_data = {**existing, "web_ui": web_ui, "gallery": gallery}
+        performance = dict(existing.get("performance") or {})
+        performance["worker_threads"] = PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS
+        config_data = {
+            **existing,
+            "web_ui": web_ui,
+            "gallery": gallery,
+            "performance": performance,
+        }
         try:
             write_private_json(config_file, config_data)
             self.logger.info(f"Settings saved to {config_file}")
@@ -1255,16 +1275,21 @@ class AdminRoutesMixin:
         return _collect_media_files(output_dirs, IMAGE_EXTENSIONS + VIDEO_EXTENSIONS)
 
     def _extract_batch_metadata_sync(self, file_batch):
-        """Extract metadata from a batch of files in one executor call."""
-        results = []
-        for media_file in file_batch:
+        """Extract metadata from a batch of files in one executor call.
+
+        Files are read on ``PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS`` threads:
+        Pillow decodes the whole image to reach trailing text chunks and
+        releases the GIL while doing so.
+        """
+        from ..config import PromptManagerConfig
+
+        def extract(media_file):
             try:
-                results.append(
-                    (media_file, self._extract_comfyui_metadata(str(media_file)))
-                )
+                return (media_file, self._extract_comfyui_metadata(str(media_file)))
             except Exception:
-                results.append((media_file, {}))
-        return results
+                return (media_file, {})
+
+        return map_parallel(extract, file_batch, PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS)
 
     def _ingest_scan_batch_sync(self, batch_results):
         """Store the prompts found in a metadata batch (blocking DB work)."""
diff --git a/py/api/images.py b/py/api/images.py
index f7902fa..3372179 100644
--- a/py/api/images.py
+++ b/py/api/images.py
@@ -15,6 +15,11 @@ from PIL import Image, UnidentifiedImageError
 from .prompts import bad_request, parse_page_params, publish_image_paths
 from .prompts import safe_error_message as _safe_error
 
+try:
+    from ...utils.parallel import map_parallel
+except ImportError:
+    from utils.parallel import map_parallel
+
 # Only these file types are ever served by the image routes, regardless of
 # what sits inside an allowed directory (defence in depth for the gallery).
 IMAGE_EXTENSIONS = frozenset(
@@ -91,6 +96,21 @@ MAX_SCAN_DEPTH = 12
 MAX_THUMBNAIL_FILES = 10_000
 
 
+def _worker_threads():
+    """Configured thread count for thumbnail work.
+
+    Imported lazily because py.config imports this package.
+    """
+    from ..config import PromptManagerConfig
+
+    return PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS
+
+
+def _thumbnail_batch_size(workers):
+    """Files per executor job: enough to keep every worker thread busy."""
+    return max(4, workers * 2)
+
+
 def _write_image_thumbnail(src, dst, thumbnail_size):
     """Resize *src* into *dst* (blocking PIL work)."""
     with Image.open(src) as img:
@@ -754,10 +774,8 @@ class ImageRoutesMixin:
         start = _time.monotonic()
         targets = self._thumbnail_targets(output_path, thumbnails_dir)
         stats = _new_thumbnail_stats()
-        for src, dst, is_video in targets:
-            _record_thumbnail_result(
-                stats, self._generate_one(src, dst, thumbnail_size, is_video)
-            )
+        for result in self._generate_batch(targets, thumbnail_size):
+            _record_thumbnail_result(stats, result)
         payload = _thumbnail_complete_payload(len(targets), stats, start)
         payload["success"] = True
         payload["thumbnails_path"] = _public_path(thumbnails_dir)
@@ -786,6 +804,18 @@ class ImageRoutesMixin:
             self.logger.warning(f"Thumbnail scan capped at {MAX_THUMBNAIL_FILES}")
         return targets
 
+    def _generate_batch(self, targets, thumbnail_size):
+        """Create thumbnails for ``targets`` on the configured worker threads.
+
+        Blocking; returns one result dict per target, in order.
+        """
+
+        def one(target):
+            src, dst, is_video = target
+            return self._generate_one(src, dst, thumbnail_size, is_video)
+
+        return map_parallel(one, targets, _worker_threads())
+
     def _generate_one(self, src, dst, thumbnail_size, is_video):
         """Create one thumbnail (blocking). Never raises; returns a result dict."""
         result = {
@@ -861,7 +891,7 @@ class ImageRoutesMixin:
         return response
 
     async def _stream_thumbnails(self, response, targets, thumbnail_size):
-        """Process *targets* one per executor job, emitting SSE after each."""
+        """Process *targets* in worker-thread batches, emitting SSE per file."""
         total = len(targets)
         video_count = sum(1 for _, _, is_video in targets if is_video)
         connected = await self._emit_sse(
@@ -882,26 +912,31 @@ class ImageRoutesMixin:
             return
         stats = _new_thumbnail_stats()
         start = _time.monotonic()
-        for index, (src, dst, is_video) in enumerate(targets, start=1):
-            result = await self._run_in_executor(
-                self._generate_one, src, dst, thumbnail_size, is_video
+        batch_size = _thumbnail_batch_size(_worker_threads())
+        index = 0
+        for batch_start in range(0, total, batch_size):
+            batch = targets[batch_start : batch_start + batch_size]
+            results = await self._run_in_executor(
+                self._generate_batch, batch, thumbnail_size
             )
-            _record_thumbnail_result(stats, result)
-            if result["action"] == "error":
-                await self._emit_sse(
+            for result in results:
+                index += 1
+                _record_thumbnail_result(stats, result)
+                if result["action"] == "error":
+                    await self._emit_sse(
+                        response,
+                        "file_error",
+                        {"file": result["file"], "error": result["error"]},
+                    )
+                connected = await self._emit_sse(
                     response,
-                    "file_error",
-                    {"file": result["file"], "error": result["error"]},
+                    "progress",
+                    _thumbnail_progress_payload(index, total, stats, result, start),
                 )
-            connected = await self._emit_sse(
-                response,
-                "progress",
-                _thumbnail_progress_payload(index, total, stats, result, start),
-            )
-            if not connected:
-                self.logger.info("Thumbnail client disconnected; stopping early")
-                return
-            await asyncio.sleep(0)  # let other requests run between files
+                if not connected:
+                    self.logger.info("Thumbnail client disconnected; stopping early")
+                    return
+            await asyncio.sleep(0)  # let other requests run between batches
         payload = _thumbnail_complete_payload(total, stats, start)
         await self._emit_sse(response, "complete", payload)
         self.logger.info(payload["message"])
diff --git a/py/config.py b/py/config.py
index 87b03d2..de8f56f 100644
--- a/py/config.py
+++ b/py/config.py
@@ -504,6 +504,29 @@ class PromptManagerConfig:
     MAX_SEARCH_RESULTS = 100
     ENABLE_FUZZY_SEARCH = False  # Requires fuzzywuzzy
     AUTO_BACKUP_INTERVAL = 24  # Hours
+    # Threads for the output scan and thumbnail generation; half the cores by
+    # default so ComfyUI's own generation keeps CPU headroom. 1..max_worker_threads().
+    WORKER_THREADS = max(1, (os.cpu_count() or 1) // 2)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def max_worker_threads(cls) -> int:
+        """Largest accepted worker-thread count: the detected core count."""
+        return os.cpu_count() or 1
+
+    @classmethod
+    def clamp_worker_threads(cls, value, fallback: int) -> int:
+        """Coerce a worker count from config.json into ``[1, max_worker_threads()]``.
+
+        Non-numeric values (and booleans) return ``fallback`` so a hand-edited
+        file cannot disable the setting.
+        """
+        if isinstance(value, bool):
+            return fallback
+        if isinstance(value, str) and value.strip().isdigit():
+            value = int(value.strip())
+        if not isinstance(value, int):
+            return fallback
+        return max(1, min(value, cls.max_worker_threads()))
 
     @classmethod
     def get_config(cls) -> Dict[str, Any]:
@@ -536,6 +559,7 @@ class PromptManagerConfig:
                 "max_search_results": cls.MAX_SEARCH_RESULTS,
                 "enable_fuzzy_search": cls.ENABLE_FUZZY_SEARCH,
                 "auto_backup_interval": cls.AUTO_BACKUP_INTERVAL,
+                "worker_threads": cls.WORKER_THREADS,
             },
             "gallery": GalleryConfig.get_config(),
             "integrations": IntegrationConfig.get_config(),
@@ -664,6 +688,10 @@ class PromptManagerConfig:
             cls.ENABLE_FUZZY_SEARCH = performance["enable_fuzzy_search"]
         if "auto_backup_interval" in performance:
             cls.AUTO_BACKUP_INTERVAL = performance["auto_backup_interval"]
+        if "worker_threads" in performance:
+            cls.WORKER_THREADS = cls.clamp_worker_threads(
+                performance["worker_threads"], cls.WORKER_THREADS
+            )
 
         # Update gallery config
         if "gallery" in new_config:
diff --git a/tests/test_api_admin.py b/tests/test_api_admin.py
index 1f5b2e2..13b4de9 100644
--- a/tests/test_api_admin.py
+++ b/tests/test_api_admin.py
@@ -1629,5 +1629,79 @@ class TestOutputScanIsABackgroundJob(AdminAPITestCase):
         self.assertEqual(data["last_event"]["type"], "error")
 
 
+class TestWorkerThreadsSetting(AdminAPITestCase):
+    """The worker-thread count is exposed, validated, persisted and used by the scan."""
+
+    async def test_get_settings_reports_worker_threads_and_cpu_count(self):
+        data = await (
+            await self.client.request("GET", "/prompt_manager/settings")
+        ).json()
+        settings = data["settings"]
+        self.assertEqual(
+            settings["cpu_count"], PromptManagerConfig.max_worker_threads()
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(settings["worker_threads"], PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS)
+        self.assertGreaterEqual(settings["worker_threads"], 1)
+
+    async def test_save_persists_worker_threads_under_performance(self):
+        self._write_config({"performance": {"max_search_results": 25}})
+
+        resp = await self.client.request(
+            "POST", "/prompt_manager/settings", json={"worker_threads": 1}
+        )
+
+        self.assertEqual(resp.status, 200)
+        self.assertEqual(PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS, 1)
+        saved = self._read_config()
+        self.assertEqual(saved["performance"]["worker_threads"], 1)
+        self.assertEqual(saved["performance"]["max_search_results"], 25)
+
+    async def test_save_rejects_more_threads_than_cores(self):
+        before = PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS
+        too_many = PromptManagerConfig.max_worker_threads() + 1
+
+        resp = await self.client.request(
+            "POST", "/prompt_manager/settings", json={"worker_threads": too_many}
+        )
+
+        self.assertEqual(resp.status, 400)
+        self.assertFalse((await resp.json())["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS, before)
+
+    async def test_scan_reads_metadata_on_several_threads(self):
+        import threading
+        import time
+
+        for i in range(8):
+            _write_png(self.output_dir / f"gen{i}.png", prompt_text=f"prompt {i}")
+        GalleryConfig.MONITORING_DIRECTORIES = [str(self.output_dir)]
+        PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS = 4
+        seen = set()
+        lock = threading.Lock()
+        original = self.api._extract_comfyui_metadata
+
+        def recording(path):
+            with lock:
+                seen.add(threading.current_thread().name)
+            time.sleep(0.05)
+            return original(path)
+
+        self.api._extract_comfyui_metadata = recording
+
+        body = await (await self.client.request("POST", "/prompt_manager/scan")).text()
+
+        self.assertIn('"added": 8', body)
+        self.assertGreaterEqual(len(seen), 2)
+
+    async def test_scan_with_one_worker_still_completes(self):
+        _write_png(self.output_dir / "gen.png", prompt_text="solo")
+        GalleryConfig.MONITORING_DIRECTORIES = [str(self.output_dir)]
+        PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS = 1
+
+        body = await (await self.client.request("POST", "/prompt_manager/scan")).text()
+
+        self.assertIn('"added": 1', body)
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()
diff --git a/tests/test_api_images.py b/tests/test_api_images.py
index c6c6d4b..0e83a69 100644
--- a/tests/test_api_images.py
+++ b/tests/test_api_images.py
@@ -380,6 +380,64 @@ class ThumbnailTestCase(ImageAPITestCase):
 class TestThumbnailProgressStream(ThumbnailTestCase):
     """POST /prompt_manager/images/generate-thumbnails/progress (SSE)."""
 
+    def _record_threads(self):
+        """Make every thumbnail write record its thread and take a moment."""
+        import threading
+        import time
+
+        from py.api import images as images_module
+
+        seen = set()
+        lock = threading.Lock()
+        original = images_module._write_image_thumbnail
+
+        def recording(src, dst, size):
+            with lock:
+                seen.add(threading.current_thread().name)
+            time.sleep(0.05)
+            return original(src, dst, size)
+
+        images_module._write_image_thumbnail = recording
+        self.addCleanup(setattr, images_module, "_write_image_thumbnail", original)
+        return seen
+
+    async def test_thumbnails_are_generated_on_several_threads(self):
+        from py.config import PromptManagerConfig
+
+        for i in range(8):
+            make_png(self.output_dir / f"p{i}.png", size=(64, 64))
+        orig = PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS
+        PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS = 4
+        self.addCleanup(setattr, PromptManagerConfig, "WORKER_THREADS", orig)
+        seen = self._record_threads()
+
+        resp = await self.client.request("POST", self.PROGRESS_URL)
+        events = parse_sse(await resp.text())
+
+        names = [e for e, _ in events]
+        self.assertEqual(names.count("progress"), 8)
+        self.assertEqual(dict(events)["complete"]["count"], 8)
+        self.assertGreaterEqual(len(seen), 2)
+        for i in range(8):
+            self.assertTrue(self._thumb_path(f"p{i}").is_file())
+
+    async def test_blocking_endpoint_also_uses_the_worker_threads(self):
+        from py.config import PromptManagerConfig
+
+        for i in range(8):
+            make_png(self.output_dir / f"p{i}.png", size=(64, 64))
+        orig = PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS
+        PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS = 4
+        self.addCleanup(setattr, PromptManagerConfig, "WORKER_THREADS", orig)
+        seen = self._record_threads()
+
+        resp = await self.client.request(
+            "POST", "/prompt_manager/images/generate-thumbnails", json={}
+        )
+
+        self.assertEqual((await resp.json())["count"], 8)
+        self.assertGreaterEqual(len(seen), 2)
+
     async def test_get_is_method_not_allowed(self):
         # The stream writes thumbnails, so a plain GET (prefetch, link
         # preview, <img src>) must not be able to trigger it.
@@ -409,8 +467,9 @@ class TestThumbnailProgressStream(ThumbnailTestCase):
             self.assertTrue(self._thumb_path(name).is_file(), name)
         with Image.open(self._thumb_path("a")) as thumb:
             self.assertLessEqual(max(thumb.size), 150)
-        # PIL work ran in the executor, once per file, plus the scan.
-        self.assertEqual(calls.count("_generate_one"), 3)
+        # PIL work ran in the executor in batches (never on the loop), plus the scan.
+        self.assertGreaterEqual(calls.count("_generate_batch"), 1)
+        self.assertNotIn("_generate_one", calls)
         self.assertIn("_thumbnail_targets", calls)
 
     async def test_corrupt_png_is_reported_and_loop_continues(self):
diff --git a/tests/test_config.py b/tests/test_config.py
index 61e5c3c..83af136 100644
--- a/tests/test_config.py
+++ b/tests/test_config.py
@@ -136,6 +136,32 @@ class TestPromptManagerConfig(unittest.TestCase):
         PromptManagerConfig.update_config({"performance": {"max_search_results": 50}})
         self.assertEqual(PromptManagerConfig.MAX_SEARCH_RESULTS, 50)
 
+    def test_worker_threads_default_is_within_the_machine(self):
+        cores = PromptManagerConfig.max_worker_threads()
+        self.assertGreaterEqual(cores, 1)
+        default = PromptManagerConfig.get_config()["performance"]["worker_threads"]
+        self.assertGreaterEqual(default, 1)
+        self.assertLessEqual(default, cores)
+        self.assertEqual(default, max(1, cores // 2))
+
+    def test_update_worker_threads_is_clamped_to_the_machine(self):
+        cores = PromptManagerConfig.max_worker_threads()
+        PromptManagerConfig.update_config({"performance": {"worker_threads": 1}})
+        self.assertEqual(PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS, 1)
+        PromptManagerConfig.update_config(
+            {"performance": {"worker_threads": cores + 50}}
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS, cores)
+        PromptManagerConfig.update_config({"performance": {"worker_threads": 0}})
+        self.assertEqual(PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS, 1)
+
+    def test_update_worker_threads_ignores_junk_from_a_hand_edited_file(self):
+        PromptManagerConfig.update_config({"performance": {"worker_threads": 1}})
+        PromptManagerConfig.update_config({"performance": {"worker_threads": "lots"}})
+        self.assertEqual(PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS, 1)
+        PromptManagerConfig.update_config({"performance": {"worker_threads": True}})
+        self.assertEqual(PromptManagerConfig.WORKER_THREADS, 1)
+
     def test_update_propagates_to_gallery(self):
         PromptManagerConfig.update_config(
             {"gallery": {"monitoring": {"enabled": False}}}
diff --git a/tests/test_utils_parallel.py b/tests/test_utils_parallel.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..46bd7e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_utils_parallel.py
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+"""Tests for utils/parallel.py: bounded thread-pool map used by long jobs."""
+
+import os
+import sys
+import threading
+import time
+import unittest
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
+
+from utils.parallel import map_parallel  # noqa: E402
+
+
+class TestMapParallel(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def test_results_keep_input_order(self):
+        def slow_square(n):
+            time.sleep(0.01 * (5 - n))  # later items finish first
+            return n * n
+
+        self.assertEqual(
+            map_parallel(slow_square, [1, 2, 3, 4], workers=4), [1, 4, 9, 16]
+        )
+
+    def test_one_worker_runs_on_the_calling_thread(self):
+        names = []
+        map_parallel(
+            lambda _: names.append(threading.current_thread().name), [1, 2, 3], 1
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(set(names), {threading.current_thread().name})
+
+    def test_several_workers_use_several_threads(self):
+        names = set()
+        lock = threading.Lock()
+
+        def record(_):
+            with lock:
+                names.add(threading.current_thread().name)
+            time.sleep(0.05)
+
+        map_parallel(record, range(8), workers=4)
+        self.assertGreaterEqual(len(names), 2)
+        self.assertNotIn(threading.current_thread().name, names)
+
+    def test_worker_count_is_capped_by_item_count_and_floor_one(self):
+        self.assertEqual(map_parallel(lambda n: n + 1, [1], workers=16), [2])
+        self.assertEqual(map_parallel(lambda n: n + 1, [1, 2], workers=0), [2, 3])
+        self.assertEqual(map_parallel(lambda n: n, [], workers=4), [])
+
+    def test_exception_propagates_to_the_caller(self):
+        def boom(n):
+            if n == 2:
+                raise ValueError("two")
+            return n
+
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            map_parallel(boom, [1, 2, 3], workers=3)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/tests/test_validators.py b/tests/test_validators.py
index 278ab10..d95407e 100644
--- a/tests/test_validators.py
+++ b/tests/test_validators.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ from utils.validators import (
     sanitize_input,
     parse_tags_string,
     validate_result_timeout,
+    validate_worker_threads,
 )
 
 
@@ -293,5 +294,24 @@ class TestValidateResultTimeout(unittest.TestCase):
             validate_result_timeout(True)
 
 
+class TestValidateWorkerThreads(unittest.TestCase):
+    """validate_worker_threads(value, max_workers) -> int in [1, max_workers]."""
+
+    def test_accepts_ints_and_digit_strings_within_range(self):
+        self.assertEqual(validate_worker_threads(1, 8), 1)
+        self.assertEqual(validate_worker_threads(8, 8), 8)
+        self.assertEqual(validate_worker_threads("4", 8), 4)
+
+    def test_rejects_out_of_range_bool_and_junk(self):
+        for value in (0, -1, 9, True, False, "x", None, 2.5, [2]):
+            with self.assertRaises(ValueError, msg=repr(value)):
+                validate_worker_threads(value, 8)
+
+    def test_max_of_one_only_accepts_one(self):
+        self.assertEqual(validate_worker_threads(1, 1), 1)
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            validate_worker_threads(2, 1)
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()
diff --git a/utils/parallel.py b/utils/parallel.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b183dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/utils/parallel.py
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+"""Bounded thread-pool map for the long jobs (output scan, thumbnails).
+
+Threads, not processes: this code runs inside ComfyUI's server, where forking
+a CUDA-initialised, multi-threaded process is unsafe and the spawn start
+method would re-import ComfyUI's main module in every child. Pillow releases
+the GIL while decoding, resizing and encoding, so threads still scale close
+to linearly for both jobs.
+"""
+
+from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
+
+
+def map_parallel(func, items, workers):
+    """Apply ``func`` to every item on up to ``workers`` threads, keeping order.
+
+    ``workers`` of 1 (or fewer) runs on the calling thread with no pool. An
+    exception in ``func`` propagates to the caller, so callers that must
+    survive bad input wrap ``func`` themselves.
+    """
+    items = list(items)
+    workers = max(1, int(workers or 1))
+    if workers == 1 or len(items) <= 1:
+        return [func(item) for item in items]
+    max_workers = min(workers, len(items))
+    with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers, thread_name_prefix="pm-worker") as pool:
+        return list(pool.map(func, items))
diff --git a/utils/validators.py b/utils/validators.py
index 5d98157..107b5ed 100644
--- a/utils/validators.py
+++ b/utils/validators.py
@@ -130,6 +130,35 @@ def validate_result_timeout(timeout) -> int:
     return timeout
 
 
+def validate_worker_threads(value, max_workers) -> int:
+    """
+    Validate the worker-thread count for the output scan and thumbnail jobs.
+
+    Args:
+        value: Raw value from the settings request body
+        max_workers: Detected core count; the largest accepted value
+
+    Returns:
+        The thread count as an int in ``[1, max_workers]``
+
+    Raises:
+        ValueError: If the value is not a whole number in that range
+    """
+    if isinstance(value, bool):
+        raise ValueError("Worker threads must be a whole number")
+
+    if isinstance(value, str) and value.strip().isdigit():
+        value = int(value.strip())
+
+    if not isinstance(value, int):
+        raise ValueError("Worker threads must be a whole number")
+
+    if value < 1 or value > max_workers:
+        raise ValueError(f"Worker threads must be between 1 and {max_workers}")
+
+    return value
+
+
 def validate_tags(tags: Union[str, List[str], None]) -> bool:
     """
     Validate tags input.
diff --git a/web/admin.html b/web/admin.html
index dc8b073..5bbaba4 100644
--- a/web/admin.html
+++ b/web/admin.html
@@ -411,6 +411,21 @@
                     </div>
                 </div>
 
+                <!-- Performance Section -->
+                <div class="border-b border-pm pb-3">
+                    <h4 class="text-xs font-semibold text-pm-secondary mb-3 uppercase tracking-wide">Performance</h4>
+
+                    <div>
+                        <div class="flex items-center justify-between mb-1.5">
+                            <label for="workerThreads" class="text-xs font-medium text-pm-secondary">Worker threads</label>
+                            <span id="workerThreadsValue" class="text-pm-accent text-xs font-mono">1 / 1 cores</span>
+                        </div>
+                        <input type="range" id="workerThreads" min="1" max="1" step="1" value="1"
+                            class="w-full h-1.5 bg-pm-primary rounded-lg appearance-none cursor-pointer accent-[var(--pm-accent)]">
+                        <p class="text-xs text-pm-muted mt-1">Threads used by the image rescan and thumbnail generation. More threads finish sooner; fewer leave CPU for ComfyUI while it generates.</p>
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+
                 <!-- Integrations Section -->
                 <div class="border-b border-pm pb-3">
                     <h4 class="text-xs font-semibold text-pm-secondary mb-3 uppercase tracking-wide">Integrations</h4>
diff --git a/web/js/admin.js b/web/js/admin.js
index 4bfced3..0625cab 100644
--- a/web/js/admin.js
+++ b/web/js/admin.js
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
                 this.settings = {
                     resultTimeout: 5,
                     webuiDisplayMode: 'popup',
+                    workerThreads: 1,
+                    cpuCount: 1,
                 };
                 this.categories = [];
                 this.tags = [];
@@ -230,6 +232,7 @@
                 document.getElementById('wd14GeneralThreshold').addEventListener('input', (e) => {
                     document.getElementById('wd14GeneralThresholdValue').textContent = parseFloat(e.target.value).toFixed(2);
                 });
+                document.getElementById("workerThreads").addEventListener("input", () => this.renderWorkerThreads());
                 document.getElementById('wd14CharacterThreshold').addEventListener('input', (e) => {
                     document.getElementById('wd14CharacterThresholdValue').textContent = parseFloat(e.target.value).toFixed(2);
                 });
@@ -280,6 +283,10 @@
                         if (data.success && data.settings) {
                             this.settings.resultTimeout = data.settings.result_timeout ?? 5;
                             this.settings.webuiDisplayMode = data.settings.webui_display_mode || 'popup';
+                            this.settings.cpuCount = Math.max(1, parseInt(data.settings.cpu_count, 10) || 1);
+                            this.settings.workerThreads = Math.min(
+                                this.settings.cpuCount, Math.max(1, parseInt(data.settings.worker_threads, 10) || 1)
+                            );
                             this.settings.monitoredDirectories = data.settings.monitored_directories || [];
                             this.settings.galleryRootPaths = data.settings.gallery_root_paths || [];
                             // Backward compat: if server only returned old field
@@ -802,9 +809,19 @@
                 });
             }
 
+            renderWorkerThreads() {
+                const threads = document.getElementById("workerThreads");
+                document.getElementById("workerThreadsValue").textContent =
+                    `${threads.value} / ${this.settings.cpuCount} cores`;
+            }
+
             showSettingsModal() {
                 document.getElementById("resultTimeout").value = this.settings.resultTimeout;
                 document.getElementById("webuiDisplayMode").value = this.settings.webuiDisplayMode;
+                const threads = document.getElementById("workerThreads");
+                threads.max = this.settings.cpuCount;
+                threads.value = this.settings.workerThreads;
+                this.renderWorkerThreads();
                 this.renderScanPaths();
                 this.updateMonitoringStatus();
                 this.detectLoraManager();
@@ -999,10 +1016,12 @@
             async saveSettings() {
                 const timeout = parseInt(document.getElementById("resultTimeout").value);
                 const displayMode = document.getElementById("webuiDisplayMode").value;
+                const workerThreads = parseInt(document.getElementById("workerThreads").value, 10) || 1;
                 const galleryPaths = this._collectScanPaths().filter(p => p !== '');
 
                 this.settings.resultTimeout = timeout;
                 this.settings.webuiDisplayMode = displayMode;
+                this.settings.workerThreads = workerThreads;
                 this.settings.galleryRootPaths = galleryPaths;
 
                 try {
@@ -1012,6 +1031,7 @@
                         body: JSON.stringify({
                             result_timeout: timeout,
                             webui_display_mode: displayMode,
+                            worker_threads: workerThreads,
                             gallery_root_paths: galleryPaths
                         }),
                     });