diff --git a/great_ai/persistence/mongodb_driver.py b/great_ai/persistence/mongodb_driver.py
index 6ea4d94..5c56a92 100644
--- a/great_ai/persistence/mongodb_driver.py
+++ b/great_ai/persistence/mongodb_driver.py
@@ -143,6 +143,8 @@ class MongoDbDriver(TracingDatabaseDriver):
 
         with MongoClient[Any](self.mongo_connection_string) as client:
             count = client[self.mongo_database].traces.count_documents(**query)
+            if take == 0:
+                return [], count
 
             if skip:
                 query["skip"] = skip
diff --git a/tests/test_mongodb_queries.py b/tests/test_mongodb_queries.py
index 048fe0f..e2b984a 100644
--- a/tests/test_mongodb_queries.py
+++ b/tests/test_mongodb_queries.py
@@ -30,3 +30,11 @@ def test_mongo_date_bounds_match_stored_iso_strings(
     predicates = collection.find.call_args.kwargs["filter"]["$and"]
     assert {"created": {"$gte": "2026-01-01T00:00:00"}} in predicates
     assert {"created": {"$lte": "2026-01-02T00:00:00"}} in predicates
+
+
+def test_zero_take_preserves_count_without_fetching(
+    mongo: Tuple[MongoDbDriver, Any],
+) -> None:
+    driver, collection = mongo
+    assert driver.query(take=0) == ([], 3)
+    collection.find.assert_not_called()