diff --git a/cayceops/components/monitor/__init__.py b/cayceops/components/monitor/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d0ac07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cayceops/components/monitor/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+"""monitor package."""
diff --git a/cayceops/components/monitor/monitor.py b/cayceops/components/monitor/monitor.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e82f018
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cayceops/components/monitor/monitor.py
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+"""monitor — static status page builder.
+
+Reads the shared database and renders a self-contained HTML file (no external
+assets, no JS, everything escaped). Contains NO sensitive data: daemon health,
+proposal queue counts, and recent audit activity (actor/action/result only —
+no email bodies, no detail payloads, no URLs).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import html
+from datetime import UTC, datetime
+
+from sqlalchemy import func, select
+
+from cayceops.config import Config
+from cayceops.db import session_scope
+from cayceops.models import (
+    AuditEntry,
+    ContentItem,
+    DaemonRun,
+    MailMessage,
+    Proposal,
+    ProposalStatus,
+)
+
+DAEMONS = ("scanner", "executor", "maild", "publisher", "monitor")
+
+_STYLE = """<style>
+ body{font-family:ui-monospace,Menlo,monospace;background:#0a0908;color:#f2ece0;margin:2rem}
+ h1{color:#c9a84c;font-weight:600} h2{color:#c9a84c;margin-top:2rem;font-size:1.1rem}
+ table{border-collapse:collapse;margin:.5rem 0} td,th{border:1px solid #333;padding:.35rem .8rem;text-align:left}
+ .ok{color:#6fce6f}.error{color:#ef6b6b}.muted{color:#888;font-size:.85rem}
+ .card{display:inline-block;background:#141210;border:1px solid #2a2a2a;border-radius:8px;padding:.8rem 1.4rem;margin:.3rem}
+</style>"""
+
+
+def _fmt_ts(dt) -> str:
+    return dt.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%SZ") if dt else "—"
+
+
+def _daemon_rows(sess) -> str:
+    rows = []
+    for name in DAEMONS:
+        last = (
+            sess.query(DaemonRun)
+            .filter(DaemonRun.daemon == name)
+            .order_by(DaemonRun.started_at.desc())
+            .first()
+        )
+        if last is None:
+            rows.append(f"<tr><td>{name}</td><td class=muted>never run</td><td>—</td></tr>")
+        else:
+            cls = "ok" if last.status == "ok" else "error"
+            rows.append(
+                f"<tr><td>{html.escape(name)}</td>"
+                f"<td class={cls}>{html.escape(last.status)}</td>"
+                f"<td>{_fmt_ts(last.finished_at or last.started_at)}</td></tr>"
+            )
+    return "<table><tr><th>daemon</th><th>last status</th><th>last run</th></tr>" + "".join(rows) + "</table>"
+
+
+def _queue_cards(sess) -> str:
+    counts = dict(sess.query(Proposal.status, func.count(Proposal.id)).group_by(Proposal.status).all())
+    cards = [
+        f'<div class=card>{html.escape(status.value)}: <strong>{counts.get(status, 0)}</strong></div>'
+        for status in ProposalStatus
+    ]
+    return "".join(cards)
+
+
+def _recent_audit(sess, limit: int = 20) -> str:
+    rows = []
+    for entry in sess.query(AuditEntry).order_by(AuditEntry.ts.desc()).limit(limit).all():
+        cls = "ok" if entry.result == "ok" else "error"
+        rows.append(
+            f"<tr><td>{_fmt_ts(entry.ts)}</td><td>{html.escape(entry.actor)}</td>"
+            f"<td>{html.escape(entry.action)}</td><td class={cls}>{html.escape(entry.result)}</td></tr>"
+        )
+    body = "".join(rows) or "<tr><td colspan=4 class=muted>no activity yet</td></tr>"
+    return (
+        "<table><tr><th>time (utc)</th><th>actor</th><th>action</th><th>result</th></tr>"
+        + body
+        + "</table>"
+    )
+
+
+def _build(cfg: Config, sess) -> str:
+    now = datetime.now(UTC)
+    mail_unprocessed = (
+        sess.query(func.count(MailMessage.id))
+        .filter(
+            MailMessage.direction == "in",
+            MailMessage.draft_status.in_(["drafted", "none"]),
+            MailMessage.classification.isnot(None),
+        )
+        .scalar()
+    )
+    content_pending = (
+        sess.query(func.count(ContentItem.id))
+        .filter(ContentItem.status.in_(["draft", "approved"]))
+        .scalar()
+    )
+    generated = _fmt_ts(now)
+
+    page = f"""<!doctype html>
+<html lang=en><head><meta charset=utf-8><title>cayce-ops status</title>{_STYLE}</head>
+<body>
+<h1>cayce-ops · status</h1>
+<p class=muted>generated {generated} · static page, no sensitive data by design</p>
+
+<h2>daemon health</h2>
+{_daemon_rows(sess)}
+
+<h2>proposal queue</h2>
+{_queue_cards(sess)}
+
+<h2>gates</h2>
+<div class=card>mail drafts awaiting approval: <strong>{mail_unprocessed}</strong></div>
+<div class=card>content items draft/approved: <strong>{content_pending}</strong></div>
+
+<h2>recent audit activity</h2>
+{_recent_audit(sess)}
+
+<p class=muted>audit entries: {sess.scalar(select(func.count(AuditEntry.id)))} total</p>
+</body></html>"""
+
+    import os
+
+    os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(cfg.monitor_output) or ".", exist_ok=True)
+    with open(cfg.monitor_output, "w", encoding="utf-8") as fh:
+        fh.write(page)
+    return cfg.monitor_output
+
+
+def build(cfg: Config | None = None) -> int:
+    """CLI entry: render the status page inside a DaemonRun bookkeeping wrap."""
+    from cayceops.config import load
+    from cayceops.db import engine
+
+    cfg = cfg or load()
+    try:
+        with session_scope() as sess:
+            run_row = DaemonRun(daemon="monitor")
+            sess.add(run_row)
+            sess.flush()
+            try:
+                out = _build(cfg, sess)
+            except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001 — daemon boundary
+                run_row.status = "error"
+                run_row.detail = {"error": str(exc)[:300]}
+                run_row.finished_at = datetime.now(UTC)
+                return 1
+            run_row.status = "ok"
+            run_row.detail = {"output": out}
+            run_row.finished_at = datetime.now(UTC)
+        print(out)
+        return 0
+    finally:
+        engine().dispose()
diff --git a/tests/test_monitor.py b/tests/test_monitor.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a6e2222
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_monitor.py
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+"""monitor tests — page renders, no sensitive data, escapes input."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from cayceops.components.monitor import monitor
+from cayceops.models import ContentItem, DaemonRun, MailMessage, Proposal
+
+
+def _seed(sess):
+    sess.add(DaemonRun(daemon="scanner", status="ok", detail={"proposed": 3}))
+    sess.add(Proposal(kind="affiliate", title="Title with <script>alert(1)</script>"))
+    sess.add(
+        MailMessage(
+            direction="in",
+            from_addr="secret-person@private.example.org",
+            subject="private subject",
+            classification="approval",
+            draft_status="drafted",
+        )
+    )
+    sess.add(ContentItem(theme="atm-fees", channel="nostr", caption="caption", status="draft"))
+    sess.flush()
+
+
+def test_build_renders_all_sections(cfg, sess, tmp_path):
+    _seed(sess)
+    out = tmp_path / "status.html"
+    monitor._build(cfg(CAYCE_OPS_MONITOR_OUTPUT=str(out)), sess)
+    page = out.read_text()
+
+    assert "daemon health" in page
+    assert "proposal queue" in page
+    assert "recent audit activity" in page
+    assert "scanner" in page
+    assert "proposed: <strong>1</strong>" in page
+    assert "mail drafts awaiting approval: <strong>1</strong>" in page
+
+
+def test_build_leaks_no_sensitive_data(cfg, sess, tmp_path):
+    _seed(sess)
+    out = tmp_path / "status.html"
+    monitor._build(cfg(CAYCE_OPS_MONITOR_OUTPUT=str(out)), sess)
+    page = out.read_text()
+
+    assert "secret-person@private.example.org" not in page  # no addresses
+    assert "private subject" not in page  # no subjects
+    assert "caption" not in page  # no content bodies
+    assert "Title with" not in page  # proposal titles not rendered
+
+
+def test_build_escapes_injected_content(cfg, sess, tmp_path):
+    from datetime import UTC, datetime
+
+    from cayceops.models import AuditEntry
+
+    sess.add(
+        AuditEntry(
+            ts=datetime.now(UTC),
+            actor="<script>x</script>",
+            action="probe",
+            detail={},
+        )
+    )
+    sess.flush()
+    out = tmp_path / "status.html"
+    monitor._build(cfg(CAYCE_OPS_MONITOR_OUTPUT=str(out)), sess)
+    page = out.read_text()
+    assert "<script>x</script>" not in page
+    assert "&lt;script&gt;x&lt;/script&gt;" in page