diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/va/valkey/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/va/valkey/package.nix
index 1fc0b641f97f..1f34c513541b 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/va/valkey/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/va/valkey/package.nix
@@ -97,12 +97,17 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     sed -i '/^proc wait_load_handlers_disconnected/{n ; s/wait_for_condition 50 100/wait_for_condition 50 500/; }' \
       tests/support/util.tcl
 
+    CLIENTS="$NIX_BUILD_CORES"
+    if (( $CLIENTS > 4)); then
+      CLIENTS=4
+    fi
+
     # Skip some more flaky tests.
     # Skip test requiring custom jemalloc (unit/memefficiency).
     ./runtest \
       --no-latency \
       --timeout 2000 \
-      --clients $NIX_BUILD_CORES \
+      --clients "$CLIENTS" \
       --tags -leaks \
       --skipunit unit/memefficiency \
       --skipunit integration/failover \