diff --git a/config/grid-agent.example.json b/config/grid-agent.example.json
index 78df48b..7e28042 100644
--- a/config/grid-agent.example.json
+++ b/config/grid-agent.example.json
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 {
+  "schema_version": 1,
   "integrated": false,
   "split": false,
   "llm": {
diff --git a/config/grid-agent.integrated.example.json b/config/grid-agent.integrated.example.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..80a46a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/grid-agent.integrated.example.json
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "integrated": true,
+  "split": false,
+  "llm": {
+    "endpoint_url": "https://llm.example.invalid/v1/chat/completions"
+  },
+  "grid": {
+    "login_url": "https://grid.example.invalid/login",
+    "avatar_name": "Service Avatar"
+  },
+  "secret_files": {
+    "llm_api_key": "secrets/llm-api-key",
+    "grid_password": "secrets/grid-password"
+  },
+  "authorized_avatar_uuids": [
+    "00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000001"
+  ],
+  "storage_path": "data/grid-agent"
+}
diff --git a/config/grid-agent.split.example.json b/config/grid-agent.split.example.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63c70d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/grid-agent.split.example.json
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "integrated": false,
+  "split": true,
+  "llm": {
+    "endpoint_url": "https://llm.example.invalid/v1/chat/completions"
+  },
+  "grid": {
+    "login_url": "https://grid.example.invalid/login",
+    "avatar_name": "Service Avatar"
+  },
+  "secret_files": {
+    "llm_api_key": "secrets/llm-api-key",
+    "grid_password": "secrets/grid-password",
+    "control_operator_token": "secrets/control-operator-token",
+    "control_observer_token": "secrets/control-observer-token"
+  },
+  "authorized_avatar_uuids": [
+    "00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000001"
+  ],
+  "storage_path": "data/grid-agent",
+  "control": {
+    "listen": "127.0.0.1:9764"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/README.md b/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/README.md
index 7fdbf86..84b945f 100644
--- a/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/README.md
+++ b/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/README.md
@@ -64,3 +64,7 @@ contract are specified in
 The embedded/split cross-platform operator interface, keyboard controls,
 privacy boundary, and focused gates are documented in
 [`../../docs/grid-agent-tui.md`](../../docs/grid-agent-tui.md).
+The complete quick start, platform paths, systemd/Windows service operation,
+secret rotation, backup/upgrade/rollback, failure playbooks, resource defaults,
+and unsupported-operation list are in
+[`../../docs/grid-agent-operations.md`](../../docs/grid-agent-operations.md).
diff --git a/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/config.rs b/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/config.rs
index 383ed6a..478c7d4 100644
--- a/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/config.rs
+++ b/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/config.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ const MAX_TLS_DER_BYTES: u64 = 1024 * 1024;
 const MAX_AUTHORIZED_AVATARS: usize = 1_024;
 const MAX_QUEUE_CAPACITY: usize = 8_192;
 const MAX_BACKGROUND_TASKS: usize = 2;
+pub const CONFIG_SCHEMA_VERSION: u32 = 1;
 
 const ENV_INTEGRATED: &str = "METACRATE_AGENT_INTEGRATED";
 const ENV_SPLIT: &str = "METACRATE_AGENT_SPLIT";
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ const ENV_GRID_AVATAR_NAME: &str = "METACRATE_AGENT_GRID_AVATAR_NAME";
 const ENV_GRID_PASSWORD: &str = "METACRATE_AGENT_GRID_PASSWORD";
 const ENV_GRID_PASSWORD_FILE: &str = "METACRATE_AGENT_GRID_PASSWORD_FILE";
 const ENV_AUTHORIZED_AVATARS: &str = "METACRATE_AGENT_AUTHORIZED_AVATAR_UUIDS";
+const ENV_STORAGE_PATH: &str = "METACRATE_AGENT_STORAGE_PATH";
 const ENV_CONTROL_LISTEN: &str = "METACRATE_AGENT_CONTROL_LISTEN";
 const ENV_CONTROL_OPERATOR_TOKEN: &str = "METACRATE_AGENT_CONTROL_OPERATOR_TOKEN";
 const ENV_CONTROL_OPERATOR_TOKEN_FILE: &str = "METACRATE_AGENT_CONTROL_OPERATOR_TOKEN_FILE";
@@ -431,6 +433,57 @@ pub trait Environment {
     fn get(&self, name: &str) -> Option<String>;
 }
 
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, Eq, PartialEq)]
+pub struct PlatformPaths {
+    pub config_file: PathBuf,
+    pub data_directory: PathBuf,
+}
+
+impl PlatformPaths {
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn discover() -> Self {
+        Self::from_environment(&StdEnvironment)
+    }
+
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn from_environment(environment: &impl Environment) -> Self {
+        if cfg!(windows) {
+            let config = environment
+                .get("APPDATA")
+                .map_or_else(|| PathBuf::from("config"), PathBuf::from);
+            let data = environment
+                .get("LOCALAPPDATA")
+                .map_or_else(|| PathBuf::from("data"), PathBuf::from);
+            return Self {
+                config_file: config.join("MetaCrate/grid-agent.json"),
+                data_directory: data.join("MetaCrate/grid-agent"),
+            };
+        }
+        if cfg!(target_os = "macos") {
+            let home = environment
+                .get("HOME")
+                .map_or_else(|| PathBuf::from("."), PathBuf::from);
+            return Self {
+                config_file: home.join("Library/Application Support/MetaCrate/grid-agent.json"),
+                data_directory: home.join("Library/Application Support/MetaCrate/grid-agent"),
+            };
+        }
+        let home = environment
+            .get("HOME")
+            .map_or_else(|| PathBuf::from("."), PathBuf::from);
+        let config = environment
+            .get("XDG_CONFIG_HOME")
+            .map_or_else(|| home.join(".config"), PathBuf::from);
+        let data = environment
+            .get("XDG_DATA_HOME")
+            .map_or_else(|| home.join(".local/share"), PathBuf::from);
+        Self {
+            config_file: config.join("metacrate/grid-agent.json"),
+            data_directory: data.join("metacrate/grid-agent"),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 #[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Default)]
 pub struct StdEnvironment;
 
@@ -553,6 +606,10 @@ pub enum ConfigError {
         path: PathBuf,
         reason: String,
     },
+    UnsupportedSchemaVersion {
+        found: u32,
+        supported: u32,
+    },
     Missing {
         field: &'static str,
         required_for: &'static str,
@@ -606,6 +663,10 @@ impl fmt::Display for ConfigError {
                     path.display()
                 )
             }
+            Self::UnsupportedSchemaVersion { found, supported } => write!(
+                formatter,
+                "configuration schema version {found} is unsupported; this binary accepts version {supported}; migrate a copy before replacing the active configuration"
+            ),
             Self::Missing {
                 field,
                 required_for,
@@ -652,6 +713,7 @@ impl Error for ConfigError {}
 #[derive(Clone, Default, Deserialize)]
 #[serde(default, deny_unknown_fields)]
 struct FileConfig {
+    schema_version: Option<u32>,
     integrated: Option<bool>,
     split: Option<bool>,
     llm: RawLlm,
@@ -801,6 +863,14 @@ fn resolve<E: Environment>(
     environment: &E,
     config_path: Option<&Path>,
 ) -> Result<AgentConfig, ConfigError> {
+    if let Some(found) = raw.schema_version
+        && found != CONFIG_SCHEMA_VERSION
+    {
+        return Err(ConfigError::UnsupportedSchemaVersion {
+            found,
+            supported: CONFIG_SCHEMA_VERSION,
+        });
+    }
     let integrated = environment_boolean(environment, ENV_INTEGRATED)?
         .or(raw.integrated)
         .unwrap_or(false);
@@ -1116,9 +1186,11 @@ fn resolve<E: Environment>(
         authorized_avatar_uuids,
         timeouts,
         limits,
-        storage_path: raw
-            .storage_path
-            .unwrap_or_else(|| PathBuf::from("data/grid-agent")),
+        storage_path: environment
+            .get(ENV_STORAGE_PATH)
+            .map(PathBuf::from)
+            .or(raw.storage_path)
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| PlatformPaths::from_environment(environment).data_directory),
         behavior: BehaviorSettings {
             heartbeat: checked_duration(
                 "behavior.heartbeat_seconds",
@@ -1272,6 +1344,21 @@ fn resolve_path(base: &Path, path: &Path) -> PathBuf {
 }
 
 fn read_secret(field: &'static str, path: &Path) -> Result<SecretString, ConfigError> {
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    {
+        use std::os::unix::fs::MetadataExt as _;
+        let metadata = fs::symlink_metadata(path).map_err(|error| ConfigError::Io {
+            field,
+            path: path.to_owned(),
+            reason: error.to_string(),
+        })?;
+        if metadata.mode() & 0o077 != 0 {
+            return Err(ConfigError::InvalidSecret {
+                field,
+                reason: "secret file must not grant group or other permissions (use mode 0600 or stricter)",
+            });
+        }
+    }
     let bytes = read_bounded_regular_file(field, path, MAX_SECRET_BYTES)?;
     let value = String::from_utf8(bytes).map_err(|_| ConfigError::InvalidSecret {
         field,
@@ -1462,6 +1549,12 @@ mod tests {
         let mut file = fs::File::create(&path).expect("create test file");
         file.write_all(contents.as_bytes())
             .expect("write test file");
+        #[cfg(unix)]
+        {
+            use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt as _;
+            fs::set_permissions(&path, fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o600))
+                .expect("restrict test file");
+        }
         path
     }
 
@@ -1527,6 +1620,50 @@ mod tests {
         let _ = fs::remove_file(config_path);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn schema_storage_precedence_and_platform_paths_are_explicit() {
+        let unsupported = temporary_file(
+            "unsupported-schema.json",
+            r#"{"schema_version":2,"llm":{"endpoint_url":"https://llm.invalid/chat","api_key":"placeholder"}}"#,
+        );
+        assert!(matches!(
+            ConfigLoader::new()
+                .with_file(&unsupported)
+                .with_environment(MapEnvironment::default())
+                .load(),
+            Err(ConfigError::UnsupportedSchemaVersion {
+                found: 2,
+                supported: CONFIG_SCHEMA_VERSION
+            })
+        ));
+        let environment = MapEnvironment::from_pairs([
+            (ENV_LLM_ENDPOINT, "https://llm.invalid/chat"),
+            (ENV_LLM_API_KEY, "placeholder"),
+            (ENV_STORAGE_PATH, "operator-data"),
+            ("HOME", "/operator"),
+        ]);
+        let config = ConfigLoader::new()
+            .with_environment(environment.clone())
+            .load()
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(config.storage_path, PathBuf::from("operator-data"));
+        let paths = PlatformPaths::from_environment(&environment);
+        assert!(paths.config_file.ends_with("grid-agent.json"));
+        assert!(paths.data_directory.ends_with("grid-agent"));
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    #[test]
+    fn group_readable_secret_files_fail_closed() {
+        use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt as _;
+        let secret = temporary_file("insecure-secret", "secret");
+        fs::set_permissions(&secret, fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o640)).unwrap();
+        assert!(matches!(
+            read_secret("test.secret", &secret),
+            Err(ConfigError::InvalidSecret { .. })
+        ));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn endpoint_debug_redacts_credentials_and_query() {
         let endpoint = EndpointUrl::parse(
diff --git a/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/lib.rs b/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/lib.rs
index 4308c6e..ea1cdcf 100644
--- a/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/lib.rs
@@ -79,9 +79,10 @@ pub use build::{
     BuildService, BuildShape, BuildToolBackend, BuildValidation, PrimReceipt, build_policy_tools,
 };
 pub use config::{
-    AgentConfig, BehaviorSettings, ConfigError, ConfigLoader, ControlSettings,
-    ConversationSettings, EndpointUrl, Environment, GridConnection, Limits, LlmConnection,
-    MapEnvironment, OperatingMode, RemoteTlsSettings, SecretString, StdEnvironment, Timeouts,
+    AgentConfig, BehaviorSettings, CONFIG_SCHEMA_VERSION, ConfigError, ConfigLoader,
+    ControlSettings, ConversationSettings, EndpointUrl, Environment, GridConnection, Limits,
+    LlmConnection, MapEnvironment, OperatingMode, PlatformPaths, RemoteTlsSettings, SecretString,
+    StdEnvironment, Timeouts,
 };
 pub use control_plane::{
     AuditEventView, CONTROL_PROTOCOL_VERSION, ControlContext, ControlError, ControlErrorBody,
diff --git a/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/main.rs b/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/main.rs
index bdd9a12..a84c767 100644
--- a/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/src/main.rs
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ enum Operation {
     RunOnce,
     Tui,
     TuiClient,
+    PrintPaths,
 }
 
 #[derive(Default)]
@@ -56,10 +57,14 @@ fn options() -> Result<Option<Options>, CliError> {
         }
         if argument == "--help" || argument == "-h" {
             println!(
-                "metacrate-grid-agent [--config PATH] [--check-config | --run-once | --tui | --tui-client]\n\
-                 Configuration precedence: defaults < JSON < secret files < environment."
+                "metacrate-grid-agent [--config PATH] [--check-config | --run-once | --tui | --tui-client | --print-paths]\n\
+                 Configuration precedence: defaults < JSON < secret files < environment.\n\
+                 With no --config, the platform default is used when it exists."
             );
             return Ok(None);
+        } else if argument == "--version" || argument == "-V" {
+            println!("metacrate-grid-agent {}", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"));
+            return Ok(None);
         }
         if argument == "--check-config" {
             set_operation(&mut result, Operation::CheckConfig)?;
@@ -69,6 +74,8 @@ fn options() -> Result<Option<Options>, CliError> {
             set_operation(&mut result, Operation::Tui)?;
         } else if argument == "--tui-client" {
             set_operation(&mut result, Operation::TuiClient)?;
+        } else if argument == "--print-paths" {
+            set_operation(&mut result, Operation::PrintPaths)?;
         } else if argument == "--config" {
             let path = arguments
                 .next()
@@ -99,8 +106,20 @@ async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
     let Some(options) = options()? else {
         return Ok(());
     };
+    let platform_paths = metacrate_grid_agent::PlatformPaths::discover();
+    if options.operation == Operation::PrintPaths {
+        println!("config={}", platform_paths.config_file.display());
+        println!("data={}", platform_paths.data_directory.display());
+        return Ok(());
+    }
     let mut loader = ConfigLoader::new();
-    if let Some(path) = options.config {
+    let config_path = options.config.or_else(|| {
+        platform_paths
+            .config_file
+            .is_file()
+            .then_some(platform_paths.config_file)
+    });
+    if let Some(path) = config_path {
         loader = loader.with_file(path);
     }
     let config = loader.load()?;
diff --git a/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/tests/operations_packaging.rs b/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/tests/operations_packaging.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0965812
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/metacrate-grid-agent/tests/operations_packaging.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+use metacrate_grid_agent::{CONFIG_SCHEMA_VERSION, ConfigLoader};
+use serde_json::Value;
+use std::fs;
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+
+fn workspace() -> PathBuf {
+    PathBuf::from(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"))
+        .parent()
+        .and_then(Path::parent)
+        .expect("workspace")
+        .to_path_buf()
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn examples_are_versioned_placeholder_only_and_offline_validation_has_no_io_peer() {
+    let root = workspace();
+    for name in [
+        "grid-agent.example.json",
+        "grid-agent.integrated.example.json",
+        "grid-agent.split.example.json",
+    ] {
+        let bytes = fs::read(root.join("config").join(name)).expect("example");
+        let value: Value = serde_json::from_slice(&bytes).expect("valid JSON");
+        assert_eq!(value["schema_version"], CONFIG_SCHEMA_VERSION);
+        let text = String::from_utf8(bytes).unwrap();
+        for forbidden in ["Bearer ", "sk-", "password123", "SECRET_CANARY"] {
+            assert!(!text.contains(forbidden), "{name} contains {forbidden}");
+        }
+    }
+    let offline = root.join("config/grid-agent.example.json");
+    let config = ConfigLoader::new().with_file(offline).load().unwrap();
+    assert!(config.grid.is_none());
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn service_and_installers_preserve_state_secrets_and_graceful_shutdown() {
+    let root = workspace();
+    let unit = fs::read_to_string(
+        root.join("packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/systemd/metacrate-grid-agent.service"),
+    )
+    .unwrap();
+    for required in [
+        "ExecStartPre=",
+        "--check-config",
+        "KillSignal=SIGINT",
+        "ProtectSystem=strict",
+        "NoNewPrivileges=true",
+        "ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/metacrate/grid-agent",
+    ] {
+        assert!(unit.contains(required), "unit lacks {required}");
+    }
+    for forbidden in ["API_KEY=", "PASSWORD=", "TOKEN="] {
+        assert!(!unit.contains(forbidden), "unit embeds {forbidden}");
+    }
+    let shell = fs::read_to_string(root.join("packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/install.sh")).unwrap();
+    let powershell =
+        fs::read_to_string(root.join("packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/install.ps1")).unwrap();
+    assert!(shell.contains("metacrate-grid-agent.new"));
+    assert!(powershell.contains("metacrate-grid-agent.new.exe"));
+    for forbidden in ["grid-agent.json\"", "conversations/", "audit/", "secrets/"] {
+        assert!(!shell.contains(forbidden));
+        assert!(!powershell.contains(forbidden));
+    }
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn runbook_release_evidence_and_gitea_platform_policy_are_complete() {
+    let root = workspace();
+    let runbook = fs::read_to_string(root.join("docs/grid-agent-operations.md")).unwrap();
+    for required in [
+        "Quick start",
+        "Windows service operation",
+        "Linux systemd",
+        "Threat",
+        "privacy",
+        "Resource defaults",
+        "Failure playbooks",
+        "unsupported",
+        "upgrade",
+        "rollback",
+        "orphan",
+        "rotation",
+        "firewall",
+        "readiness",
+    ] {
+        assert!(
+            runbook.to_lowercase().contains(&required.to_lowercase()),
+            "runbook lacks {required}"
+        );
+    }
+    let evidence = fs::read_to_string(root.join("docs/grid-agent-release-evidence.md")).unwrap();
+    assert!(evidence.contains("28,658,000 bytes"));
+    assert!(evidence.contains("192 unique Cargo"));
+    assert!(evidence.contains("no CLR/Mono/.NET"));
+    for workflow in ["ci.yml", "release.yml"] {
+        let text = fs::read_to_string(root.join(".gitea/workflows").join(workflow)).unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            text.lines()
+                .filter(|line| line.contains("runs-on:"))
+                .all(|line| line.contains("ubuntu-latest"))
+        );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/docs/grid-agent-operations.md b/docs/grid-agent-operations.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b32856
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/grid-agent-operations.md
@@ -0,0 +1,262 @@
+# MetaCrate grid-agent operations
+
+This is the operator runbook for the portable `metacrate-grid-agent` binary.
+The binary has no dependency on systemd, a Windows service manager, a CLR,
+Python, Node.js, a provider SDK, or a shell at runtime. Linux service files and
+install helpers are packaging conveniences around the same foreground process
+and versioned control protocol.
+
+## Quick start and modes
+
+Build the credential-free binary and validate the example without contacting a
+grid or LLM:
+
+```sh
+cargo build --locked --release -p metacrate-grid-agent
+target/release/metacrate-grid-agent --config config/grid-agent.example.json --check-config
+target/release/metacrate-grid-agent --config config/grid-agent.example.json --run-once
+```
+
+`--check-config` parses files, resolves secret files/environment, validates all
+bounds and TLS files, then exits before constructing the grid or LLM clients.
+The example is fake/offline mode (`integrated=false`, `split=false`) and all
+credential-looking values are placeholders.
+
+For live foreground or an embedded TUI, build intentionally:
+
+```sh
+cargo build --locked --release -p metacrate-grid-agent --features live-grid
+target/release/metacrate-grid-agent --config /path/to/grid-agent.json
+target/release/metacrate-grid-agent --config /path/to/grid-agent.json --tui
+```
+
+Set `integrated=true` for the foreground and embedded-TUI commands. Set
+`split=true` for a headless service, then run the same binary as the TUI client:
+
+```sh
+metacrate-grid-agent --config /path/to/grid-agent.json
+metacrate-grid-agent --config /path/to/grid-agent.json --tui-client
+```
+
+The TUI client and service must use the same control address and operator token.
+`--tui-client` never needs the grid password or LLM key. `--run-once` performs
+one supervised readiness/login and clean logout cycle. `--print-paths` prints
+the platform defaults without loading configuration. If `--config` is omitted,
+the default file is used only when it already exists:
+
+| Platform | Configuration | Non-secret state |
+|---|---|---|
+| Linux/Unix | `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/metacrate/grid-agent.json`, otherwise `$HOME/.config/metacrate/grid-agent.json` | `$XDG_DATA_HOME/metacrate/grid-agent`, otherwise `$HOME/.local/share/metacrate/grid-agent` |
+| macOS | `$HOME/Library/Application Support/MetaCrate/grid-agent.json` | `$HOME/Library/Application Support/MetaCrate/grid-agent` |
+| Windows | `%APPDATA%\MetaCrate\grid-agent.json` | `%LOCALAPPDATA%\MetaCrate\grid-agent` |
+
+`METACRATE_AGENT_STORAGE_PATH` overrides the state directory. Relative paths in
+a JSON document resolve relative to that document where specified; service
+deployments should use absolute paths.
+
+## Endpoint, grid identity, and authority
+
+`llm.endpoint_url` is the exact OpenAI-compatible chat-completions URL. It is
+not a base URL: MetaCrate does not append a path, discover models, select a
+provider, or rewrite query parameters. `llm.api_key` is sent as the bearer key
+only to that exact origin; redirects are refused. Prefer
+`METACRATE_AGENT_LLM_API_KEY_FILE` over inline JSON or direct environment text.
+
+Live modes require `grid.login_url`, `grid.avatar_name`, and a password from
+`METACRATE_AGENT_GRID_PASSWORD_FILE`. `authorized_avatar_uuids` contains exact
+grid UUIDs, never display names. Text claiming an authorized identity grants no
+authority. Public chat can request bounded informational work and safe public
+LSL delivery; movement, teleport, building, roaming changes, and administration
+remain policy-gated and require an authenticated authorized IM, operator action,
+or a narrowly bound scheduler grant as documented in the policy matrix.
+
+## Configuration contract and migration
+
+The JSON root uses `"schema_version": 1`. Omitting it is accepted as legacy
+version 1. Any other value fails before startup with a migration message. There
+is no automatic in-place migration: copy the file, update the copy using the
+release notes/example, validate the copy, then atomically select it. Unknown
+fields fail closed. Installers never overwrite or migrate operator files.
+
+Precedence, lowest to highest, is:
+
+1. bounded built-in defaults;
+2. JSON configuration;
+3. secret files named by JSON;
+4. environment-referenced secret files;
+5. direct environment values.
+
+Mode, endpoints, credentials, authorization UUIDs, TLS, storage, queue/resource
+limits, reconnect policy, behavior, and interaction settings are restart-only.
+Runtime control can pause/resume autonomy, toggle the roaming job, decide an
+existing approval, cancel an active action, expire/delete conversation state,
+inject an operator message, reconnect, or shut down; it does not silently
+rewrite the configuration. A future reloadable field must be explicitly added
+to the versioned control/config contract.
+
+## Secrets and privacy
+
+Threat model: grid residents, object/avatar/inventory metadata, capability
+replies, model output, public chat, IM text, and persisted files are untrusted.
+Remote peers may inject instructions, spoof names, replay approvals/call IDs,
+flood queues, delay or truncate replies, and attempt secret exfiltration. The
+service identity, local config/secret ACLs, authenticated UUID/control role,
+opaque policy authorization, generation fencing, bounded queues, and audit sink
+are trust boundaries. Host/root compromise, a malicious binary/dependency, and
+an operator deliberately approving a harmful action are outside the process
+sandbox and require OS/supply-chain/operational controls.
+
+Never place API keys, grid passwords, or control tokens in command arguments,
+unit files, wrapper XML, logs, crash-report commands, issue reports, or TUI
+screens. Secret wrappers redact `Debug` and `Display`, are not serializable, and
+normal observability stores pseudonymous correlation IDs, result codes, bounds,
+and hashes—not prompt bodies, credentials, visual pixels, or raw tool arguments.
+
+Secret files must be regular, non-symlink, bounded UTF-8 files containing one
+line. On Unix, startup rejects group/other permission bits; use mode `0600` or
+stricter and ownership by the service identity. On Windows, set an NTFS ACL that
+grants only the service identity and Administrators, for example with `icacls`;
+Rust's portable metadata API cannot prove arbitrary Windows ACL semantics, and
+FAT/network filesystems may not enforce them. Treat an unverifiable filesystem
+as unsuitable for unattended secrets.
+
+Rotate one credential at a time: write a new restricted file beside the old
+one, atomically replace or repoint the `_FILE` setting, run `--check-config`,
+then restart. Revoke the old credential only after readiness. Control observer
+and operator tokens must differ from each other and from grid/LLM credentials.
+
+## Linux systemd
+
+The hardened example is
+[`../packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/systemd/metacrate-grid-agent.service`](../packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/systemd/metacrate-grid-agent.service).
+Create the unprivileged `metacrate-agent` identity, copy (do not overwrite) an
+operator configuration to `/etc/metacrate/grid-agent.json`, create
+`/var/lib/metacrate/grid-agent`, and copy the environment-file example. The
+environment file contains only secret *paths*. Put the actual secret files in
+`/etc/metacrate/secrets`, owned by the service identity with mode `0600`.
+
+Install the unit, inspect the sandbox, validate, then start:
+
+```sh
+sudo systemd-analyze security packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/systemd/metacrate-grid-agent.service
+sudo -u metacrate-agent /usr/local/bin/metacrate-grid-agent --config /etc/metacrate/grid-agent.json --check-config
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl enable --now metacrate-grid-agent.service
+```
+
+The unit uses `SIGINT`, matching foreground Ctrl-C and the owned graceful
+shutdown path. Do not replace it with `SIGKILL`. `ProtectSystem=strict` permits
+writes only under the state directory.
+
+## Windows service operation
+
+Run the same `.exe`, JSON, control TCP protocol, and shutdown path. Portable
+foreground operation in PowerShell is the baseline:
+
+```powershell
+& 'C:\Program Files\MetaCrate\metacrate-grid-agent.exe' --config 'C:\ProgramData\MetaCrate\grid-agent.json' --check-config
+& 'C:\Program Files\MetaCrate\metacrate-grid-agent.exe' --config 'C:\ProgramData\MetaCrate\grid-agent.json'
+```
+
+For unattended use, configure a maintained Windows service wrapper (for
+example WinSW) to launch exactly that command as a dedicated low-privilege
+account and to translate SCM Stop into Ctrl-C/console control before its timeout.
+Keep secrets in separate ACL-restricted files and expose only `_FILE` paths in
+the wrapper environment. Configure restart-on-failure, not unconditional rapid
+restart. Validate as the service identity before registration. The wrapper must
+not capture environment values or command output into a world-readable log.
+The supplied PowerShell installer replaces only the executable and never state.
+
+## Control, network, and health
+
+Split control defaults to loopback TCP. A non-loopback bind is rejected unless
+an explicit Rustls certificate/private key is configured. Use host firewalls to
+allow only operator networks, protect token files, and prefer loopback plus an
+authenticated tunnel. Observer tokens are read-only. Protocol framing, role
+permissions, cancellation, event gaps, and limits are in the control-plane doc.
+
+Readiness is stricter than a TCP connection: the runtime view must show
+`transport_connected=true` and `agent_ready=true`. The TUI Overview and
+observer Runtime request are health/readiness checks; process existence alone
+is not readiness. Alert on authentication-blocked, sustained degraded/backoff,
+queue saturation/dropped-event counters, audit failure, orphan builds, and a
+stale generation.
+
+## Retention, backup, upgrade, and rollback
+
+Conversation snapshots, landmark state, and audit journals are non-secret but
+privacy-sensitive. Stop or pause mutation, take a filesystem-consistent backup
+of the configured data directory, and encrypt/restrict the backup. Do not back
+up secrets with ordinary state. Journal rotation is bounded by the configured
+observability policy; ship rotated files to restricted storage before deletion
+when retention policy requires it. Replay is diagnostic and never executes an
+action.
+
+Release installation replaces only the binary. The POSIX and PowerShell helpers
+stage a temporary executable then move it into place; neither touches config,
+secrets, conversations, landmarks, or journals. For upgrade: back up state,
+install the new binary, validate the existing config, stop gracefully, start,
+and verify readiness. For rollback: stop gracefully, restore the prior binary,
+restore state only when the new version changed it incompatibly, validate, and
+start. Never run two service generations against one writable data directory.
+
+## Failure playbooks
+
+- Authentication blocked: pause retries, verify login URL/avatar and rotate the
+  password file; never paste it into logs. Force reconnect after correction.
+- LLM unavailable/rate limited: autonomy remains bounded; verify the exact URL,
+  firewall/DNS, and key. Multimodal rejection falls back to the textual scene
+  summary without resending the large image.
+- Maintenance/disconnect: allow generation fencing and bounded backoff. Stale
+  inference/mutation results are discarded; do not bypass reconnect controls.
+- Emergency: use operator Pause first, Cancel the exact active action when
+  appropriate, then Graceful Shutdown. Ctrl-C/SIGINT follows the same cleanup.
+- Orphan build: keep the reported object IDs, inspect ownership in-world, and
+  manually recover only those IDs. Never bulk-delete by name or proximity.
+- Corrupt persistence: preserve the quarantined file for restricted diagnosis;
+  the service recovers an older valid generation or starts fail-closed. Do not
+  hand-edit a live journal.
+- Full disk/audit backpressure: pause autonomy, free space according to retention
+  policy, and restart only after the audit path is writable. Policy fails closed
+  when required audit records cannot be accepted.
+
+## Resource defaults and unsupported operations
+
+The example records all current queue, message, conversation, tool, behavior,
+reconnect, and interaction defaults. Important defaults include 256 grid events,
+32 control commands, 512 observations, four concurrent inference requests,
+16 tool calls, 512 active senders/sessions, a 1 MiB transport body, and bounded
+10-second shutdown. Vision defaults to a 320x180 synthetic image with bounded
+entities, triangles, texture work, PNG bytes, time, and concurrency.
+
+Unsupported by design: arbitrary raw packets or agent-control flags, arbitrary
+shell/subprocess execution, provider SDK/model discovery, remote plaintext
+control, unauthenticated mutation, unrestricted walking/teleport/touch/follow,
+automatic config migration, persistence of viewport pixels, framebuffer/screen
+capture, and treating untrusted grid/LLM text as instructions or authority.
+
+## Release evidence
+
+Build the intentional graphs and retain the commands/output with the release:
+
+```sh
+cargo build --locked --release -p metacrate-grid-agent
+cargo build --locked --release -p metacrate-grid-agent --features live-grid
+cargo tree --locked -p metacrate-grid-agent --features live-grid -e normal,build
+cargo audit
+```
+
+Record the binary byte size (`stat -c %s` on Linux or `Get-Item ... .Length` on
+PowerShell) and the `cargo tree` inventory. Reject CLR/scripting/provider SDK,
+subprocess adapters, Skia/GPU, or undeclared native libraries on the agent path.
+The consolidated Gitea gate runs only on `ubuntu-latest`; Windows portability is
+proved by the existing cross-target compile/static gate rather than a Windows
+Gitea runner.
+
+The milestone baseline is recorded in
+[grid-agent-release-evidence.md](grid-agent-release-evidence.md).
+
+Related contracts: [architecture](grid-agent-architecture.md),
+[policy](grid-agent-policy.md), [session](grid-agent-session.md),
+[control](grid-agent-control-plane.md), [observability](grid-agent-observability.md),
+[TUI](grid-agent-tui.md), and [conversation storage](grid-agent-conversation.md).
diff --git a/docs/grid-agent-release-evidence.md b/docs/grid-agent-release-evidence.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b85d471
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/grid-agent-release-evidence.md
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# Grid-agent release evidence
+
+This checked-in measurement is the packaging baseline for milestone 14. It is
+not a downloadable artifact or a substitute for regenerating evidence for each
+release candidate.
+
+- Measured: 2026-08-18
+- Host: `aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu`
+- Rust: `rustc 1.97.1 (8bab26f4f 2026-07-14)`
+- Command: `cargo build --locked --release -p metacrate-grid-agent --features live-grid`
+- Profile: workspace `release` (`opt-level=1`, `debug=0`, incremental disabled,
+  256 codegen units to stay within the packaging memory ceiling)
+- Binary: `target/release/metacrate-grid-agent`
+- Size: 28,658,000 bytes
+- SHA-256: `c8ed694c6817ce9a897897f521e174fc8d90378ddf46565336c747e22d876dfc`
+- Normal/build dependency inventory: 192 unique Cargo package/version/path
+  identities from `cargo tree --locked -p metacrate-grid-agent --features
+  live-grid -e normal,build`
+- Dynamic ELF dependencies: the AArch64 loader, `libc`, `libm`, and `libgcc_s`
+  only. TLS's declared `aws-lc-sys` component is statically linked.
+
+The audited tree contains the MetaCrate agent, the original compatibility
+crates it consumes, the pure-Rust J2K/meshing/rendering path, Tokio, Reqwest,
+Rustls, AWS-LC, terminal/serialization/bounds utilities, and their build-time
+Rust tooling. It contains no CLR/Mono/.NET runtime, Python/Node/Lua scripting
+runtime, provider SDK, Skia/GPU stack, OpenJPEG feature, shell/subprocess
+adapter, or dynamically loaded undeclared application library.
+
+Regenerate for a release candidate with the commands in
+[grid-agent-operations.md](grid-agent-operations.md), retain the full unabridged
+`cargo tree` output as CI/release evidence, compare size intentionally, and run
+the dependency-policy and consolidated required gates. Binary hashes and sizes
+will change when source, compiler, target, profile, or dependency versions
+change.
diff --git a/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/install.ps1 b/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/install.ps1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6853646
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/install.ps1
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+param(
+    [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$BuiltBinary,
+    [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$DestinationDirectory
+)
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $BuiltBinary -PathType Leaf)) {
+    throw "BuiltBinary is not a regular file"
+}
+New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $DestinationDirectory | Out-Null
+$temporary = Join-Path $DestinationDirectory ".metacrate-grid-agent.new.exe"
+Copy-Item -LiteralPath $BuiltBinary -Destination $temporary -Force
+Move-Item -LiteralPath $temporary -Destination (Join-Path $DestinationDirectory "metacrate-grid-agent.exe") -Force
+
+# Configuration, secrets, conversations, landmarks, and journals live outside
+# this directory and are deliberately never created, replaced, or removed.
diff --git a/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/install.sh b/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/install.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..3b478b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/install.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+set -eu
+
+if [ "$#" -ne 2 ]; then
+  echo "usage: install.sh BUILT_BINARY DESTINATION_PREFIX" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+source_binary=$1
+destination_prefix=$2
+test -f "$source_binary"
+install -d -m 0755 "$destination_prefix/bin"
+temporary="$destination_prefix/bin/.metacrate-grid-agent.new"
+install -m 0755 "$source_binary" "$temporary"
+mv -f "$temporary" "$destination_prefix/bin/metacrate-grid-agent"
+
+# Deliberately do not create, replace, migrate, or remove configuration,
+# secrets, conversations, landmarks, or audit journals.
diff --git a/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/systemd/grid-agent.env.example b/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/systemd/grid-agent.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e21eac1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/systemd/grid-agent.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Values here are paths and non-secret mode settings only. Never put secret
+# values in this file. Create every referenced file as mode 0600, owned by the
+# metacrate-agent service identity.
+METACRATE_AGENT_LLM_API_KEY_FILE=/etc/metacrate/secrets/llm-api-key
+METACRATE_AGENT_GRID_PASSWORD_FILE=/etc/metacrate/secrets/grid-password
+METACRATE_AGENT_CONTROL_OPERATOR_TOKEN_FILE=/etc/metacrate/secrets/control-operator-token
+METACRATE_AGENT_STORAGE_PATH=/var/lib/metacrate/grid-agent
diff --git a/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/systemd/metacrate-grid-agent.service b/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/systemd/metacrate-grid-agent.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..efece05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packaging/metacrate-grid-agent/systemd/metacrate-grid-agent.service
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=MetaCrate OpenSim grid agent
+Documentation=https://git.rfc1437.de/hugo/MetaCrate
+Wants=network-online.target
+After=network-online.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+User=metacrate-agent
+Group=metacrate-agent
+EnvironmentFile=-/etc/metacrate/grid-agent.env
+ExecStartPre=/usr/local/bin/metacrate-grid-agent --config /etc/metacrate/grid-agent.json --check-config
+ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/metacrate-grid-agent --config /etc/metacrate/grid-agent.json
+KillSignal=SIGINT
+TimeoutStopSec=30s
+Restart=on-failure
+RestartSec=5s
+NoNewPrivileges=true
+PrivateDevices=true
+PrivateTmp=true
+ProtectClock=true
+ProtectControlGroups=true
+ProtectHome=true
+ProtectHostname=true
+ProtectKernelLogs=true
+ProtectKernelModules=true
+ProtectKernelTunables=true
+ProtectSystem=strict
+ReadOnlyPaths=/etc/metacrate
+ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/metacrate/grid-agent
+RestrictAddressFamilies=AF_INET AF_INET6
+RestrictNamespaces=true
+RestrictRealtime=true
+SystemCallArchitectures=native
+UMask=0077
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target