diff --git a/gui.py b/gui.py
index 29ad951..17d40d4 100644
--- a/gui.py
+++ b/gui.py
@@ -502,6 +502,7 @@ class App:
         ai_client.comms_log_callback = self._on_comms_entry
         ai_client.tool_log_callback = self._on_tool_log
         mcp_client.perf_monitor_callback = self.perf_monitor.get_metrics
+        self.perf_monitor.alert_callback = self._on_performance_alert
 
     # ---------------------------------------------------------------- project loading
 
@@ -755,6 +756,17 @@ class App:
         """Called from background thread when a tool call completes."""
         session_logger.log_tool_call(script, result, None)
 
+    def _on_performance_alert(self, message: str):
+        """Called by PerformanceMonitor when a threshold is exceeded."""
+        alert_text = f"[PERFORMANCE ALERT] {message}. Please consider optimizing recent changes or reducing load."
+        # Inject into history as a 'System' message or similar
+        with self._pending_history_adds_lock:
+            self._pending_history_adds.append({
+                "role": "System",
+                "content": alert_text,
+                "ts": project_manager.now_ts()
+            })
+
     def _flush_pending_comms(self):
         """Called every frame from the main render loop."""
         with self._pending_comms_lock:
diff --git a/performance_monitor.py b/performance_monitor.py
index bd0fdf9..bf0fbb5 100644
--- a/performance_monitor.py
+++ b/performance_monitor.py
@@ -17,6 +17,16 @@ class PerformanceMonitor:
         self._last_input_time = None
         self._input_lag_ms = 0.0
         
+        # Alerts
+        self.alert_callback = None
+        self.thresholds = {
+            'frame_time_ms': 33.3,  # < 30 FPS
+            'cpu_percent': 80.0,
+            'input_lag_ms': 100.0
+        }
+        self._last_alert_time = 0
+        self._alert_cooldown = 30  # seconds
+        
         # Start CPU usage monitoring thread
         self._stop_event = threading.Event()
         self._cpu_thread = threading.Thread(target=self._monitor_cpu, daemon=True)
@@ -48,6 +58,8 @@ class PerformanceMonitor:
         if self._last_input_time is not None:
             self._input_lag_ms = (end_time - self._last_input_time) * 1000.0
             self._last_input_time = None
+
+        self._check_alerts()
         
         elapsed_since_fps = end_time - self._fps_last_time
         if elapsed_since_fps >= 1.0:
@@ -55,6 +67,27 @@ class PerformanceMonitor:
             self._frame_count = 0
             self._fps_last_time = end_time
 
+    def _check_alerts(self):
+        if not self.alert_callback:
+            return
+        
+        now = time.time()
+        if now - self._last_alert_time < self._alert_cooldown:
+            return
+
+        metrics = self.get_metrics()
+        alerts = []
+        if metrics['last_frame_time_ms'] > self.thresholds['frame_time_ms']:
+            alerts.append(f"Frame time high: {metrics['last_frame_time_ms']:.1f}ms")
+        if metrics['cpu_percent'] > self.thresholds['cpu_percent']:
+            alerts.append(f"CPU usage high: {metrics['cpu_percent']:.1f}%")
+        if metrics['input_lag_ms'] > self.thresholds['input_lag_ms']:
+            alerts.append(f"Input lag high: {metrics['input_lag_ms']:.1f}ms")
+
+        if alerts:
+            self._last_alert_time = now
+            self.alert_callback("; ".join(alerts))
+
     def get_metrics(self):
         with self._cpu_lock:
             cpu_usage = self._cpu_usage
diff --git a/tests/test_performance_monitor.py b/tests/test_performance_monitor.py
index ec05193..79877ca 100644
--- a/tests/test_performance_monitor.py
+++ b/tests/test_performance_monitor.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import unittest
 import time
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock
 from performance_monitor import PerformanceMonitor
 
 class TestPerformanceMonitor(unittest.TestCase):
@@ -33,5 +34,18 @@ class TestPerformanceMonitor(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertGreaterEqual(metrics['input_lag_ms'], 20)
         self.assertLess(metrics['input_lag_ms'], 40)
 
+    def test_alerts_triggering(self):
+        mock_callback = MagicMock()
+        self.monitor.alert_callback = mock_callback
+        self.monitor.thresholds['frame_time_ms'] = 5.0  # Low threshold
+        self.monitor._alert_cooldown = 0  # No cooldown for test
+        
+        self.monitor.start_frame()
+        time.sleep(0.01)  # 10ms > 5ms
+        self.monitor.end_frame()
+        
+        mock_callback.assert_called_once()
+        self.assertIn("Frame time high", mock_callback.call_args[0][0])
+
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     unittest.main()