diff --git a/scripts/chat_web.py b/scripts/chat_web.py
index ffaf7da..4ccc582 100644
--- a/scripts/chat_web.py
+++ b/scripts/chat_web.py
@@ -109,6 +109,11 @@ class WorkerPool:
         print(f"Initializing worker pool with {self.num_gpus} GPUs...")
         if self.num_gpus > 1:
             assert device_type == "cuda", "Only CUDA supports multiple workers/GPUs. cpu|mps does not."
+        if device_type == "cuda" and self.num_gpus > torch.cuda.device_count():
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"--num-gpus {self.num_gpus} exceeds available GPUs ({torch.cuda.device_count()}). "
+                "Use a value <= torch.cuda.device_count()."
+            )
 
         for gpu_id in range(self.num_gpus):