diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d27550c..7a321a2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -711,6 +711,26 @@ Brio staging uses only its isolated encrypted overlay and certificate-matching a
 postgres://brio_staging_app:<secret>@makepad-postgres-brio-staging:5432/brio_staging?sslmode=verify-full&sslrootcert=/etc/brio/postgres/ca.crt
 ```
 
+Brio release evidence observes the shared database runtime without receiving a
+database or deployment credential. After deriving the public half of Brio's
+dedicated release-observer SSH key from its canonical Proton Pass item, install
+the bounded host observer once as root:
+
+```sh
+scripts/install-brio-runtime-observer.sh \
+  scripts/brio-runtime-observe.sh \
+  /secure/operator-path/brio-release-observer.pub
+```
+
+The installer creates a locked `brio-runtime-observer` account whose key is
+bound with OpenSSH `restrict` to one root-owned command. The command accepts
+only `shared-runtime-observe`; it verifies the exact healthy standalone
+`postgres/postgres` Compose unit, binds the running image content to its
+immutable reference, and returns bounded image, version, and lifecycle JSON.
+It cannot read database data, container environment or mounts, run arbitrary
+Docker commands, or mutate the host. Never install a deployment key for this
+account or mirror the observer private key to this repository.
+
 If production overrides `DEPLOY_VIF_DB_NAME` or `DEPLOY_VIF_DB_USER`, use those values in the connection URI.
 
 ## Validation
@@ -725,6 +745,7 @@ Run the static deployment checks and the disposable PostgreSQL 16 bootstrap test
 ./scripts/test-brio-deploy-guards.sh
 ./scripts/test-brio-deployment-contracts.sh
 ./scripts/test-brio-deployment-failures.sh
+./scripts/test-brio-runtime-observer.sh
 ```
 
 Run the local static checks before opening a deployment PR:
@@ -738,4 +759,5 @@ bash scripts/test-brio-encrypted-restore.sh
 bash scripts/test-brio-deploy-guards.sh
 bash scripts/test-brio-deployment-contracts.sh
 bash scripts/test-brio-deployment-failures.sh
+bash scripts/test-brio-runtime-observer.sh
 ```
diff --git a/scripts/brio-runtime-observe.sh b/scripts/brio-runtime-observe.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..ca0dd49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/brio-runtime-observe.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -Eeuo pipefail
+
+export PATH=/usr/bin:/bin
+umask 077
+
+readonly expected_command=shared-runtime-observe
+readonly expected_container=postgres-postgres-1
+readonly expected_project=postgres
+readonly expected_service=postgres
+readonly expected_image=postgres:16-alpine@sha256:57c72fd2a128e416c7fcc499958864df5301e940bca0a56f58fddf30ffc07777
+readonly expected_version=16.14
+readonly image_id_pattern='^sha256:[a-f0-9]{64}$'
+
+die() {
+  printf '%s\n' "$1" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+docker_short() {
+  timeout --signal=KILL 20s docker "$@"
+}
+
+(( EUID == 0 )) || die 'The Brio PostgreSQL runtime observer must run through its exact passwordless sudo rule.'
+[[ "${SSH_ORIGINAL_COMMAND:-}" == "${expected_command}" ]] || \
+  die 'The Brio PostgreSQL runtime observer accepts only shared-runtime-observe.'
+
+record=$(docker_short inspect --type container --format \
+  '{{.Id}}|{{.Name}}|{{.Config.Image}}|{{.Image}}|{{.State.Status}}|{{if .State.Health}}{{.State.Health.Status}}{{else}}missing{{end}}|{{.State.StartedAt}}|{{.RestartCount}}|{{index .Config.Labels "com.docker.compose.project"}}|{{index .Config.Labels "com.docker.compose.service"}}|{{index .Config.Labels "com.docker.compose.oneoff"}}|{{index .Config.Labels "com.docker.compose.config-hash"}}|{{.HostConfig.NetworkMode}}' \
+  "${expected_container}") || die 'Cannot inspect the shared PostgreSQL container.'
+IFS='|' read -r container_id container_name image runtime_image_id state health started_at restart_count \
+  compose_project compose_service compose_oneoff config_hash network_mode <<< "${record}"
+
+[[ "${container_id}" =~ ^[a-f0-9]{64}$ && "${container_name}" == "/${expected_container}" ]] || \
+  die 'Shared PostgreSQL returned an invalid container identity.'
+[[ "${image}" == "${expected_image}" && "${runtime_image_id}" =~ ${image_id_pattern} ]] || \
+  die 'Shared PostgreSQL is not running an immutable reviewed image reference.'
+[[ "${state}" == running && "${health}" == healthy ]] || die 'Shared PostgreSQL is not running and healthy.'
+[[ "${compose_project}" == "${expected_project}" && "${compose_service}" == "${expected_service}" \
+  && "${compose_oneoff}" == False && "${network_mode}" == host ]] || \
+  die 'Shared PostgreSQL has unexpected Compose identity or network mode.'
+[[ "${config_hash}" =~ ^[a-f0-9]{64}$ ]] || die 'Shared PostgreSQL has an invalid Compose configuration digest.'
+[[ "${started_at}" =~ ^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}T[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}(\.[0-9]+)?Z$ && \
+  "${restart_count}" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || \
+  die 'Shared PostgreSQL returned invalid lifecycle identity.'
+
+resolved_image_id=$(docker_short image inspect "${image}" --format '{{.Id}}') || \
+  die 'Cannot resolve the shared PostgreSQL immutable image reference.'
+[[ "${resolved_image_id}" == "${runtime_image_id}" ]] || \
+  die 'Shared PostgreSQL container content does not match its immutable image reference.'
+version_output=$(docker_short exec "${container_id}" postgres --version 2>&1) || \
+  die 'Cannot read the running PostgreSQL version.'
+(( ${#version_output} <= 128 )) || die 'Shared PostgreSQL returned an oversized runtime version.'
+[[ "${version_output}" =~ ^postgres\ \(PostgreSQL\)\ (16\.[0-9]+)(\.[0-9]+)?$ ]] || \
+  die 'Shared PostgreSQL returned an unexpected runtime version.'
+version=${BASH_REMATCH[1]}${BASH_REMATCH[2]:-}
+[[ "${version}" == "${expected_version}" ]] || die 'Shared PostgreSQL is not running the reviewed 16.14 runtime.'
+
+python3 - "${image}" "${runtime_image_id}" "${version}" "${container_id}" \
+  "${started_at}" "${restart_count}" "${config_hash}" <<'PY'
+import json
+import sys
+
+image, image_id, version, container_id, started_at, restart_count, config_hash = sys.argv[1:]
+payload = {
+    "schema": "makepad.brio.runtime-host-observation.v1",
+    "hostRole": "database",
+    "components": [{
+        "name": "postgres",
+        "orchestrator": "compose",
+        "unit": "postgres/postgres",
+        "image": image,
+        "runtimeImageID": image_id,
+        "configDigest": f"sha256:{config_hash}",
+        "version": version,
+        "state": "running",
+        "health": "healthy",
+        "instanceID": f"sha256:{container_id}",
+        "startedAt": started_at,
+        "restartCount": int(restart_count),
+    }],
+}
+print(json.dumps(payload, sort_keys=True, separators=(",", ":")))
+PY
diff --git a/scripts/install-brio-runtime-observer.sh b/scripts/install-brio-runtime-observer.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0c6f728
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/install-brio-runtime-observer.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -Eeuo pipefail
+
+export PATH=/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
+export LANG=C
+export LC_ALL=C
+umask 077
+
+readonly observer_user=brio-runtime-observer
+readonly observer_home=/var/lib/brio-runtime-observer
+readonly observer_command=/usr/local/libexec/makepad/brio-postgres-runtime-observe
+readonly sudoers_path=/etc/sudoers.d/brio-postgres-runtime-observer
+
+die() {
+  printf '%s\n' "$1" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+(( EUID == 0 )) || die 'Run this installer as root on the PostgreSQL host.'
+[[ $# == 2 ]] || die 'usage: install-brio-runtime-observer.sh OBSERVER_SCRIPT ED25519_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE'
+for command_name in cmp docker getent id install mktemp passwd python3 ssh-keygen stat timeout useradd visudo wc; do
+  command -v "${command_name}" >/dev/null || die "Missing required installer command: ${command_name}."
+done
+source_script=$1
+public_key_file=$2
+[[ -f "${source_script}" && ! -L "${source_script}" ]] || die 'Observer source must be a regular file.'
+[[ -f "${public_key_file}" && ! -L "${public_key_file}" ]] || die 'Observer public key must be a regular file.'
+[[ $(wc -c < "${source_script}") -le 65536 ]] || die 'Observer source is unexpectedly large.'
+[[ $(wc -c < "${public_key_file}") -le 1024 ]] || die 'Observer public key file is unexpectedly large.'
+
+read -r key_type key_body key_extra < "${public_key_file}"
+[[ "${key_type}" == ssh-ed25519 && "${key_body}" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9+/]+={0,3}$ && -z "${key_extra:-}" ]] || \
+  die 'Expected exactly one OpenSSH Ed25519 public key without trailing fields.'
+[[ $(wc -l < "${public_key_file}") -eq 1 ]] || die 'Observer public key file must contain exactly one line.'
+ssh-keygen -l -f "${public_key_file}" >/dev/null || die 'Observer public key is not valid OpenSSH key material.'
+
+if ! id "${observer_user}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  useradd --system --user-group --create-home --home-dir "${observer_home}" --shell /bin/bash "${observer_user}"
+fi
+account_record=$(getent passwd "${observer_user}") || die 'Observer account could not be read.'
+IFS=: read -r account_name _ account_uid _ _ account_home account_shell <<< "${account_record}"
+[[ "${account_name}" == "${observer_user}" && "${account_uid}" =~ ^[1-9][0-9]*$ && \
+  "${account_uid}" -lt 1000 && "${account_home}" == "${observer_home}" && \
+  "${account_shell}" == /bin/bash && "$(id -gn "${observer_user}")" == "${observer_user}" && \
+  "$(id -nG "${observer_user}")" == "${observer_user}" ]] || die 'Observer account identity is unsafe.'
+passwd --lock "${observer_user}" >/dev/null
+read -r _ password_state _ <<< "$(passwd --status "${observer_user}")"
+[[ "${password_state}" == L ]] || die 'Observer account password is not locked.'
+
+install -d -o root -g root -m 0755 /usr/local/libexec /usr/local/libexec/makepad
+for controlled_path in "${observer_command}" "${sudoers_path}" "${observer_home}" \
+  "${observer_home}/.ssh" "${observer_home}/.ssh/authorized_keys"; do
+  [[ ! -L "${controlled_path}" ]] || die "Refusing symbolic link at managed path: ${controlled_path}."
+done
+[[ ! -e "${observer_command}" || -f "${observer_command}" ]] || die 'Observer command path has an unsafe file type.'
+[[ ! -e "${sudoers_path}" || -f "${sudoers_path}" ]] || die 'Observer sudo rule path has an unsafe file type.'
+[[ ! -e "${observer_home}" || -d "${observer_home}" ]] || die 'Observer home has an unsafe file type.'
+[[ ! -e "${observer_home}/.ssh" || -d "${observer_home}/.ssh" ]] || die 'Observer SSH path has an unsafe file type.'
+[[ ! -e "${observer_home}/.ssh/authorized_keys" || -f "${observer_home}/.ssh/authorized_keys" ]] || \
+  die 'Observer authorized-keys path has an unsafe file type.'
+
+install -o root -g root -m 0755 -T "${source_script}" "${observer_command}"
+install -d -o root -g root -m 0755 "${observer_home}"
+install -d -o root -g root -m 0700 "${observer_home}/.ssh"
+
+authorized_keys=$(mktemp)
+sudoers_candidate=$(mktemp)
+trap 'rm -f -- "${authorized_keys}" "${sudoers_candidate}"' EXIT
+printf 'restrict,command="/usr/bin/sudo -n %s" %s %s\n' \
+  "${observer_command}" "${key_type}" "${key_body}" > "${authorized_keys}"
+install -o root -g root -m 0600 -T \
+  "${authorized_keys}" "${observer_home}/.ssh/authorized_keys"
+
+printf 'Defaults!%s env_keep += "SSH_ORIGINAL_COMMAND"\n' "${observer_command}" > "${sudoers_candidate}"
+printf '%s ALL=(root) NOPASSWD: %s\n' "${observer_user}" "${observer_command}" >> "${sudoers_candidate}"
+chmod 0440 "${sudoers_candidate}"
+visudo -cf "${sudoers_candidate}" >/dev/null
+install -o root -g root -m 0440 -T "${sudoers_candidate}" "${sudoers_path}"
+
+[[ "$(stat -c '%U:%G:%a' "${observer_command}")" == root:root:755 ]] || die 'Observer command permissions are unsafe.'
+[[ "$(stat -c '%U:%G:%a' "${sudoers_path}")" == root:root:440 ]] || die 'Observer sudo rule permissions are unsafe.'
+[[ "$(stat -c '%U:%G:%a' "${observer_home}")" == root:root:755 ]] || die 'Observer home permissions are unsafe.'
+[[ "$(stat -c '%U:%G:%a' "${observer_home}/.ssh")" == root:root:700 ]] || die 'Observer SSH directory permissions are unsafe.'
+[[ "$(stat -c '%U:%G:%a' "${observer_home}/.ssh/authorized_keys")" == \
+  root:root:600 ]] || die 'Observer authorized_keys permissions are unsafe.'
+cmp -s "${source_script}" "${observer_command}" || die 'Installed observer differs from the reviewed source.'
+cmp -s "${authorized_keys}" "${observer_home}/.ssh/authorized_keys" || die 'Installed authorized key differs from the reviewed candidate.'
+cmp -s "${sudoers_candidate}" "${sudoers_path}" || die 'Installed sudo rule differs from the reviewed candidate.'
+visudo -cf "${sudoers_path}" >/dev/null || die 'Installed observer sudo rule is invalid.'
diff --git a/scripts/run-ci.sh b/scripts/run-ci.sh
index a5f6788..03f113e 100755
--- a/scripts/run-ci.sh
+++ b/scripts/run-ci.sh
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ shellcheck_paths=( \
   scripts/install-keycloak-cohort-cleaner.sh \
   scripts/keycloak-cohort-capture-dispatch.sh \
   scripts/install-keycloak-cohort-capture-host.sh \
+  scripts/brio-runtime-observe.sh \
+  scripts/install-brio-runtime-observer.sh \
   scripts/verify-brio-encrypted-restore.sh \
   scripts/test-brio-bootstrap.sh \
   scripts/test-brio-db-transaction.sh \
@@ -28,6 +30,7 @@ shellcheck_paths=( \
   scripts/test-brio-deployment-contracts.sh \
   scripts/test-brio-deployment-failures.sh \
   scripts/test-brio-release-evidence.sh \
+  scripts/test-brio-runtime-observer.sh \
   scripts/test-keycloak-cohort-evidence.sh \
   scripts/test-keycloak-cohort-hardening.sh \
   scripts/capture-keycloak-cohort-backups.sh \
@@ -62,6 +65,7 @@ git diff --check
 ./scripts/test-brio-deployment-contracts.sh
 ./scripts/test-brio-deployment-failures.sh
 ./scripts/test-brio-release-evidence.sh
+./scripts/test-brio-runtime-observer.sh
 ./scripts/test-keycloak-cohort-evidence.sh
 ./scripts/test-keycloak-cohort-hardening.sh
 ./scripts/test-brio-bootstrap.sh
diff --git a/scripts/test-brio-runtime-observer.sh b/scripts/test-brio-runtime-observer.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..bac7e9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/test-brio-runtime-observer.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -Eeuo pipefail
+
+repo_root=$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)
+observer=${repo_root}/scripts/brio-runtime-observe.sh
+installer=${repo_root}/scripts/install-brio-runtime-observer.sh
+
+for path in "${observer}" "${installer}"; do
+  [[ -f "${path}" && ! -L "${path}" ]] || { echo "missing runtime observer artifact: ${path}" >&2; exit 1; }
+  bash -n "${path}"
+done
+
+for marker in \
+  'export PATH=/usr/bin:/bin' \
+  'SSH_ORIGINAL_COMMAND:-' \
+  'shared-runtime-observe' \
+  'timeout --signal=KILL 20s docker' \
+  'readonly expected_container=postgres-postgres-1' \
+  'postgres:16-alpine@sha256:57c72fd2a128e416c7fcc499958864df5301e940bca0a56f58fddf30ffc07777' \
+  'com.docker.compose.project' \
+  'com.docker.compose.service' \
+  'com.docker.compose.config-hash' \
+  'configDigest' \
+  'runtimeImageID' \
+  'postgres --version' \
+  'readonly expected_version=16.14' \
+  'makepad.brio.runtime-host-observation.v1'; do
+  grep -Fq -- "${marker}" "${observer}" || { echo "observer is missing ${marker}" >&2; exit 1; }
+done
+
+for forbidden in 'Config.Env' 'Mounts' 'docker logs'; do
+  ! grep -Fq -- "${forbidden}" "${observer}" || { echo "observer contains forbidden inspection: ${forbidden}" >&2; exit 1; }
+done
+
+for marker in \
+  'readonly observer_user=brio-runtime-observer' \
+  'export PATH=/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin' \
+  'useradd --system --user-group' \
+  'getent passwd' \
+  'id -nG' \
+  'ssh-keygen -l -f' \
+  'Refusing symbolic link at managed path' \
+  'restrict,command="/usr/bin/sudo -n %s"' \
+  'env_keep += "SSH_ORIGINAL_COMMAND"' \
+  'NOPASSWD:' \
+  'visudo -cf' \
+  'passwd --lock' \
+  'passwd --status' \
+  'root:root:700' \
+  'cmp -s'; do
+  grep -Fq -- "${marker}" "${installer}" || { echo "installer is missing ${marker}" >&2; exit 1; }
+done
+
+echo 'Brio PostgreSQL runtime observer contract passed.'