diff --git a/workspace-server/internal/handlers/org.go b/workspace-server/internal/handlers/org.go
index 5f57b24c..3f360faf 100644
--- a/workspace-server/internal/handlers/org.go
+++ b/workspace-server/internal/handlers/org.go
@@ -422,6 +422,16 @@ type OrgWorkspace struct {
 	Tier     int    `yaml:"tier" json:"tier"`
 	Template string `yaml:"template" json:"template"`
 	FilesDir string `yaml:"files_dir" json:"files_dir"`
+	// Spawning gates whether this workspace (AND its descendants) gets
+	// provisioned during /org/import. Pointer so we can distinguish
+	// "explicitly set to false" from "unset" (default = spawn). Use case:
+	// the dev-tree org template declares the full team structure but a
+	// developer's local machine only has RAM for a subset; setting
+	// spawning: false on a leaf or a sub-tree root skips that branch
+	// entirely without editing the canonical template structure.
+	// Counted in countWorkspaces same as actual; subtree-skip happens
+	// at provision time in createWorkspaceTree.
+	Spawning *bool `yaml:"spawning,omitempty" json:"spawning,omitempty"`
 	// SystemPrompt is an inline override. Normally each role's system-prompt.md
 	// lives at `<files_dir>/system-prompt.md` and is copied via the files_dir
 	// template-copy step; inline overrides that path for ad-hoc workspaces.
diff --git a/workspace-server/internal/handlers/org_import.go b/workspace-server/internal/handlers/org_import.go
index 55b05eb2..2e06479f 100644
--- a/workspace-server/internal/handlers/org_import.go
+++ b/workspace-server/internal/handlers/org_import.go
@@ -42,6 +42,20 @@ import (
 // straight into the parent's child-coordinate space without doing a
 // canvas-wide absolute-position walk.
 func (h *OrgHandler) createWorkspaceTree(ws OrgWorkspace, parentID *string, absX, absY, relX, relY float64, defaults OrgDefaults, orgBaseDir string, results *[]map[string]interface{}, provisionSem chan struct{}) error {
+	// spawning: false guard — skip this workspace AND all descendants.
+	// Pointer-typed so we distinguish "explicitly false" from "unset"
+	// (unset = default to spawn). The guard sits BEFORE any side effect
+	// (no DB row, no docker provision, no children recursion) so a
+	// false-spawning subtree is genuinely a no-op except for the log line.
+	// Use case: dev-tree org template ships the full role taxonomy but a
+	// developer's machine only has RAM for a subset; a per-workspace
+	// `spawning: false` lets them narrow without editing the parent
+	// template's structure.
+	if ws.Spawning != nil && !*ws.Spawning {
+		log.Printf("Org import: skipping workspace %q (spawning=false; %d descendant workspace(s) in subtree also skipped)", ws.Name, countWorkspaces(ws.Children))
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	// Apply defaults
 	runtime := ws.Runtime
 	if runtime == "" {