diff --git a/deploy/compose.production.yml b/deploy/compose.production.yml
index 3fe9530..0bdda30 100644
--- a/deploy/compose.production.yml
+++ b/deploy/compose.production.yml
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ services:
         - CMD
         - node
         - -e
-        - fetch('http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/health/database').then(r=>{if(!r.ok)process.exit(1)}).catch(()=>process.exit(1))
+        - fetch('http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/health').then(r=>{if(!r.ok)process.exit(1)}).catch(()=>process.exit(1))
       interval: 15s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 8
diff --git a/deploy/compose.staging.yml b/deploy/compose.staging.yml
index e2ecb61..92425af 100644
--- a/deploy/compose.staging.yml
+++ b/deploy/compose.staging.yml
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ services:
         - CMD
         - node
         - -e
-        - fetch('http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/health/database').then(r=>{if(!r.ok)process.exit(1)}).catch(()=>process.exit(1))
+        - fetch('http://127.0.0.1:3000/api/health').then(r=>{if(!r.ok)process.exit(1)}).catch(()=>process.exit(1))
       interval: 15s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 8
diff --git a/docs/DEPLOYMENT.md b/docs/DEPLOYMENT.md
index b159d51..4f48034 100644
--- a/docs/DEPLOYMENT.md
+++ b/docs/DEPLOYMENT.md
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ The workflow:
 4. creates a timestamped JSON backup if the staging database exists;
 5. applies additive, repeatable migrations;
 6. starts the application and scheduler with the new image;
-7. waits for `/api/health/database` to report healthy;
+7. waits for `/api/health` to report healthy;
 8. retains the logs and exits unsuccessfully if health verification fails.
 
 The outage covers backup, migration, and container startup. Migrations may also
diff --git a/src/lib/server/site-access.test.ts b/src/lib/server/site-access.test.ts
index 72d76a6..20b6bf6 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/site-access.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/site-access.test.ts
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ describe('isLaunchGateExempt', () => {
 		'/contact',
 		'/auth/discord',
 		'/auth/discord/callback',
+		'/api/health',
 		'/api/health/database',
 		'/api/internal/notifications',
 		'/_app/immutable/entry/start.js',
@@ -88,7 +89,6 @@ describe('isLaunchGateExempt', () => {
 		'/coming-soon/preview',
 		'/sign-in/help',
 		'/auth',
-		'/api/health',
 		'/api/internal',
 		'/favicon.png'
 	])('does not exempt %s', (pathname) => {
diff --git a/src/lib/server/site-access.ts b/src/lib/server/site-access.ts
index ac0c79d..133b4eb 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/site-access.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/site-access.ts
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ export function isLaunchGateExempt(pathname: string) {
 		pathname === '/dmca' ||
 		pathname === '/contact' ||
 		pathname.startsWith('/auth/') ||
+		pathname === '/api/health' ||
 		pathname.startsWith('/api/health/') ||
 		pathname.startsWith('/api/internal/') ||
 		pathname.startsWith('/_app/') ||
diff --git a/src/routes/api/health.test.ts b/src/routes/api/health.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f85c3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/routes/api/health.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+
+const state = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+	row: { healthy: 1 } as { healthy?: number },
+	err: null as Error | null
+}));
+
+vi.mock('$lib/server/database', () => ({
+	getDatabase: vi.fn(async () => {
+		if (state.err) {
+			throw state.err;
+		}
+
+		return {
+			prepare: async () => ({
+				get: async () => state.row
+			})
+		};
+	})
+}));
+
+import { GET } from './health/+server';
+
+describe('GET /api/health', () => {
+	let originalBuildNumber: string | undefined;
+	let originalCommitSha: string | undefined;
+	let originalImage: string | undefined;
+
+	beforeEach(() => {
+		state.row = { healthy: 1 };
+		state.err = null;
+		originalBuildNumber = process.env.SHD_BUILD_NUMBER;
+		originalCommitSha = process.env.SHD_COMMIT_SHA;
+		originalImage = process.env.SHD_IMAGE;
+		delete process.env.SHD_BUILD_NUMBER;
+		delete process.env.SHD_COMMIT_SHA;
+		delete process.env.SHD_IMAGE;
+	});
+
+	afterEach(() => {
+		if (originalBuildNumber === undefined) {
+			delete process.env.SHD_BUILD_NUMBER;
+		} else {
+			process.env.SHD_BUILD_NUMBER = originalBuildNumber;
+		}
+
+		if (originalCommitSha === undefined) {
+			delete process.env.SHD_COMMIT_SHA;
+		} else {
+			process.env.SHD_COMMIT_SHA = originalCommitSha;
+		}
+
+		if (originalImage === undefined) {
+			delete process.env.SHD_IMAGE;
+		} else {
+			process.env.SHD_IMAGE = originalImage;
+		}
+	});
+
+	it('returns healthy status and metadata when checks pass', async () => {
+		process.env.SHD_BUILD_NUMBER = '123';
+		process.env.SHD_COMMIT_SHA = 'abc1234';
+
+		const response = await GET();
+		const payload = await response.json();
+
+		expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+		expect(payload).toMatchObject({
+			status: 'ok',
+			status_code: 200,
+			ready: true,
+			service: 'app',
+			version: expect.any(String),
+			build_number: '123',
+			build_revision: 'abc1234',
+			checks: {
+				database: {
+					status: 'ok',
+					error: null
+				}
+			}
+		});
+	});
+
+	it('returns degraded status and 503 when DB check fails', async () => {
+		state.err = new Error('database unavailable');
+
+		const response = await GET();
+		const payload = await response.json();
+
+		expect(response.status).toBe(503);
+		expect(payload).toMatchObject({
+			status: 'degraded',
+			status_code: 503,
+			ready: false,
+			checks: {
+				database: {
+					status: 'unhealthy',
+					error: 'database unavailable'
+				}
+			}
+		});
+	});
+
+	it('uses image tag as revision when commit sha is absent', async () => {
+		process.env.SHD_IMAGE = 'shd-build-production:7';
+
+		const response = await GET();
+		const payload = await response.json();
+
+		expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+		expect(payload.build_revision).toBe('7');
+		expect(payload.build_number).toBe('0');
+	});
+});
diff --git a/src/routes/api/health/+server.ts b/src/routes/api/health/+server.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c6e784
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/routes/api/health/+server.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+import { getDatabase } from '$lib/server/database';
+import { json } from '@sveltejs/kit';
+import { version as appVersion } from '../../../../package.json';
+
+function configuredBuildNumber() {
+	const raw = process.env.SHD_BUILD_NUMBER?.trim();
+	if (!raw || !/^\d+$/.test(raw)) return '0';
+	return raw;
+}
+
+function inferredRevision() {
+	const direct = process.env.SHD_COMMIT_SHA?.trim();
+	if (direct) return direct;
+
+	const image = process.env.SHD_IMAGE?.trim();
+	if (!image) return null;
+
+	const tag = image.includes(':') ? image.split(':').slice(-1)[0] : null;
+	return tag ? tag : null;
+}
+
+export async function GET() {
+	const startedAt = new Date().toISOString();
+	let databaseStatus: 'ok' | 'unhealthy' = 'ok';
+	let databaseError: string | null = null;
+
+	try {
+		const database = await getDatabase();
+		const statement = await database.prepare('SELECT 1 AS healthy');
+		const row = await statement.get();
+		if (row?.healthy !== 1) {
+			databaseStatus = 'unhealthy';
+			databaseError = 'health-check query returned unexpected value';
+		}
+	} catch (err) {
+		databaseStatus = 'unhealthy';
+		databaseError = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+	}
+
+	const ready = databaseStatus === 'ok';
+	const responsePayload = {
+		status: 'ok',
+		service: 'app',
+		status_code: 200,
+		version: appVersion,
+		build_revision: inferredRevision(),
+		build_number: configuredBuildNumber(),
+		ready,
+		uptime_ms: process.uptime() * 1000,
+		timestamp: startedAt,
+		checks: {
+			database: {
+				status: databaseStatus,
+				error: databaseError
+			}
+		}
+	};
+
+	if (!ready) {
+		responsePayload.status = 'degraded';
+		responsePayload.status_code = 503;
+	}
+
+	return json(responsePayload, { status: ready ? 200 : 503 });
+}