diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 5f1063b..8def41c 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ requires-python = ">=3.12"
 dependencies = [
     "httpx>=0.27",
     "pyyaml>=6.0",
+    "prometheus-client>=0.20",
 ]
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
diff --git a/src/agentic_node_ops/processor.py b/src/agentic_node_ops/processor.py
index a253510..427a1de 100644
--- a/src/agentic_node_ops/processor.py
+++ b/src/agentic_node_ops/processor.py
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Optional
 
+from prometheus_client import Gauge, start_http_server
+
 from .context import build_hermes_context
 from .database import Database
 from .dispatcher import NotificationDispatcher
@@ -24,6 +26,19 @@
 ALERT_OFFSET_PATH = os.environ.get(
     "ALERT_OFFSET_PATH", "/var/hermes/alerts.jsonl.offset"
 )
+METRICS_PORT = int(os.environ.get("METRICS_PORT", "8091"))
+
+# Prometheus metrics
+HERMES_ALIVE = Gauge("hermes_alive", "Hermes agent heartbeat (1 = alive, 0 = silent)")
+
+
+def _start_metrics_server() -> None:
+    """Start Prometheus metrics HTTP server in a background thread."""
+    try:
+        start_http_server(METRICS_PORT)
+        log.info("Prometheus metrics server started on port %d", METRICS_PORT)
+    except Exception as e:
+        log.error("Failed to start metrics server: %s", e)
 
 
 def read_offset(path: str) -> int:
@@ -161,6 +176,9 @@ async def _run_loop_async(
     """Internal async loop that processes alerts continuously."""
     while True:
         try:
+            # Periodic heartbeat to prove event loop is alive and not deadlocked
+            HERMES_ALIVE.set(1)
+
             count = await process_alerts_async(db=db, dispatcher=dispatcher)
             if count == 0:
                 await asyncio.sleep(poll_interval)
@@ -186,8 +204,16 @@ def run_processor_loop(
         poll_interval: Seconds to wait between polling cycles when queue is empty
     """
     log.info("Starting alert processor loop (poll interval: %ss)", poll_interval)
+
+    # Start Prometheus metrics server and set initial heartbeat
+    _start_metrics_server()
+    HERMES_ALIVE.set(1)
+
     asyncio.run(_run_loop_async(db, dispatcher, poll_interval))
 
+    # Clear heartbeat on shutdown
+    HERMES_ALIVE.set(0)
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     run_processor_loop()