diff --git a/decnet/agent/app.py b/decnet/agent/app.py
index 7b71cf6f..8302314d 100644
--- a/decnet/agent/app.py
+++ b/decnet/agent/app.py
@@ -27,9 +27,13 @@ from typing import Any, Optional
 from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
 
+import contextlib
+
 from decnet.agent import executor as _exec
 from decnet.agent import heartbeat as _heartbeat
 from decnet.agent import topology_ops as _topology_ops
+from decnet.bus.factory import get_bus
+from decnet.bus.publish import run_health_heartbeat
 from decnet.swarm.pki import DEFAULT_AGENT_DIR
 from decnet.agent.topology_store import AlreadyApplied, TopologyStore
 from decnet.config import DecnetConfig
@@ -95,15 +99,45 @@ def _ensure_collector_started() -> None:
     log.info("agent log collector started log_file=%s", DECNET_AGENT_LOG_FILE)
 
 
+_bus_heartbeat_task: Optional[asyncio.Task] = None
+
+
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def _lifespan(app: FastAPI):
     # Best-effort: if identity/bundle plumbing isn't configured (e.g. dev
     # runs or non-enrolled hosts), heartbeat.start() is a silent no-op.
     _heartbeat.start()
+
+    # Host-local bus heartbeat (system.agent.health).  Separate channel
+    # from the mTLS master-facing heartbeat above; this one lets peers on
+    # the same host (dashboard, updater) see the agent is alive without
+    # hitting its HTTPS endpoint.  Bus-disabled path is a no-op loop.
+    bus = None
+    try:
+        bus = get_bus(client_name="agent")
+        await bus.connect()
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        log.warning("agent: bus unavailable, skipping health heartbeat: %s", exc)
+        bus = None
+
+    global _bus_heartbeat_task
+    _bus_heartbeat_task = asyncio.create_task(
+        run_health_heartbeat(bus, "agent"),
+        name="agent-bus-heartbeat",
+    )
+
     try:
         yield
     finally:
         await _heartbeat.stop()
+        if _bus_heartbeat_task is not None:
+            _bus_heartbeat_task.cancel()
+            with contextlib.suppress(asyncio.CancelledError, Exception):
+                await _bus_heartbeat_task
+            _bus_heartbeat_task = None
+        if bus is not None:
+            with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+                await bus.close()
         global _collector_task
         if _collector_task is not None and not _collector_task.done():
             _collector_task.cancel()
diff --git a/decnet/bus/publish.py b/decnet/bus/publish.py
index 4849d978..8d5e15aa 100644
--- a/decnet/bus/publish.py
+++ b/decnet/bus/publish.py
@@ -7,8 +7,11 @@ loop" guarantee is audited in exactly one place.
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
+import contextlib
+import time
 from typing import Any, Callable
 
+from decnet.bus import topics as _topics
 from decnet.bus.base import BaseBus
 from decnet.logging import get_logger
 
@@ -65,3 +68,34 @@ def make_thread_safe_publisher(
             log.debug("cross-thread bus publish failed topic=%s: %s", topic, exc)
 
     return _publish
+
+
+async def run_health_heartbeat(
+    bus: BaseBus | None,
+    worker: str,
+    *,
+    interval: float = 30.0,
+    extra: Callable[[], dict[str, Any]] | None = None,
+) -> None:
+    """Publish ``system.<worker>.health`` every *interval* seconds.
+
+    Standard heartbeat loop shared across agent/forwarder/updater.  Emits
+    ``{"worker": <name>, "ts": <unix-ts>, **extra()}`` on each tick.  A
+    ``None`` bus turns the loop into a no-op sleep cycle — still cancellable
+    so the caller can use the same ``asyncio.create_task``/``.cancel()``
+    pattern regardless of bus state.
+
+    Cancellation-safe: unwraps the ``CancelledError`` so callers awaiting
+    the task during shutdown see a clean exit.
+    """
+    topic = _topics.system_health(worker)
+    with contextlib.suppress(asyncio.CancelledError):
+        while True:
+            payload: dict[str, Any] = {"worker": worker, "ts": time.time()}
+            if extra is not None:
+                try:
+                    payload.update(extra())
+                except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+                    log.debug("heartbeat extra() failed worker=%s: %s", worker, exc)
+            await publish_safely(bus, topic, payload, event_type=_topics.SYSTEM_HEALTH)
+            await asyncio.sleep(interval)
diff --git a/decnet/swarm/log_forwarder.py b/decnet/swarm/log_forwarder.py
index 0a873431..0e3d129f 100644
--- a/decnet/swarm/log_forwarder.py
+++ b/decnet/swarm/log_forwarder.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ losing the log tail, and vice versa.
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
+import contextlib
 import os
 import pathlib
 import sqlite3
@@ -28,6 +29,8 @@ import ssl
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import Optional
 
+from decnet.bus.factory import get_bus
+from decnet.bus.publish import run_health_heartbeat
 from decnet.logging import get_logger
 from decnet.swarm import pki
 
@@ -187,6 +190,22 @@ async def run_forwarder(
         cfg.log_path, cfg.master_host, cfg.master_port, offset,
     )
 
+    # Host-local bus heartbeat (system.forwarder.health).  Peers on the
+    # same host can tail "is the log shipper alive" without hitting the
+    # master.  Bus-disabled path is a no-op loop.
+    bus = None
+    try:
+        bus = get_bus(client_name="forwarder")
+        await bus.connect()
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        log.warning("forwarder: bus unavailable, skipping heartbeat: %s", exc)
+        bus = None
+
+    heartbeat_task = asyncio.create_task(
+        run_health_heartbeat(bus, "forwarder"),
+        name="forwarder-bus-heartbeat",
+    )
+
     try:
         while stop_event is None or not stop_event.is_set():
             try:
@@ -219,6 +238,12 @@ async def run_forwarder(
                     pass
                 backoff = min(_MAX_BACKOFF, backoff * 2)
     finally:
+        heartbeat_task.cancel()
+        with contextlib.suppress(asyncio.CancelledError, Exception):
+            await heartbeat_task
+        if bus is not None:
+            with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+                await bus.close()
         store.close()
         log.info("forwarder stopped offset=%d", offset)
 
diff --git a/decnet/updater/app.py b/decnet/updater/app.py
index 5c5d8795..91cbd0e2 100644
--- a/decnet/updater/app.py
+++ b/decnet/updater/app.py
@@ -9,24 +9,67 @@ only — agent certs are rejected).
 """
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import asyncio
+import contextlib
 import os as _os
 import pathlib
+from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
+from typing import Optional
 
 from fastapi import FastAPI, File, Form, HTTPException, UploadFile
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
+from decnet.bus.factory import get_bus
+from decnet.bus.publish import run_health_heartbeat
 from decnet.logging import get_logger
 from decnet.swarm import pki
 from decnet.updater import executor as _exec
 
 log = get_logger("updater.app")
 
+
+_bus_heartbeat_task: Optional[asyncio.Task] = None
+
+
+@asynccontextmanager
+async def _lifespan(_app: FastAPI):
+    # Host-local bus heartbeat (system.updater.health).  Lets the agent
+    # and dashboard tell "updater's up" without hitting the HTTPS port.
+    # Bus-disabled path is a no-op loop; the updater serves requests
+    # either way.
+    bus = None
+    try:
+        bus = get_bus(client_name="updater")
+        await bus.connect()
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        log.warning("updater: bus unavailable, skipping heartbeat: %s", exc)
+        bus = None
+
+    global _bus_heartbeat_task
+    _bus_heartbeat_task = asyncio.create_task(
+        run_health_heartbeat(bus, "updater"),
+        name="updater-bus-heartbeat",
+    )
+    try:
+        yield
+    finally:
+        if _bus_heartbeat_task is not None:
+            _bus_heartbeat_task.cancel()
+            with contextlib.suppress(asyncio.CancelledError, Exception):
+                await _bus_heartbeat_task
+            _bus_heartbeat_task = None
+        if bus is not None:
+            with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+                await bus.close()
+
+
 app = FastAPI(
     title="DECNET Self-Updater",
     version="0.1.0",
     docs_url=None,
     redoc_url=None,
     openapi_url=None,
+    lifespan=_lifespan,
 )
 
 
diff --git a/tests/bus/test_heartbeat.py b/tests/bus/test_heartbeat.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5d4fcba4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/bus/test_heartbeat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+"""Shared ``run_health_heartbeat`` helper (DEBT-031 workers 7–9).
+
+Three workers (agent, forwarder, updater) publish identical
+``system.<worker>.health`` heartbeats.  Rather than copy the loop three
+times, ``decnet.bus.publish.run_health_heartbeat`` carries it.  These
+tests pin:
+
+* topic is ``system.<worker>.health`` via the builder;
+* payload carries worker name and monotonic-ish timestamp;
+* ``extra()`` hook merges per-worker fields;
+* ``None`` bus yields a benign no-op loop (still cancellable);
+* ``extra()`` failure doesn't break the tick.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+
+import pytest
+import pytest_asyncio
+
+from decnet.bus.fake import FakeBus
+from decnet.bus.publish import run_health_heartbeat
+
+
+@pytest_asyncio.fixture
+async def bus() -> FakeBus:
+    b = FakeBus()
+    await b.connect()
+    yield b
+    await b.close()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_heartbeat_publishes_under_system_worker_health(bus: FakeBus) -> None:
+    task = asyncio.create_task(
+        run_health_heartbeat(bus, "agent", interval=0.05),
+    )
+    try:
+        sub = bus.subscribe("system.*.health")
+        async with sub:
+            event = await asyncio.wait_for(sub.__anext__(), timeout=2.0)
+    finally:
+        task.cancel()
+        await asyncio.gather(task, return_exceptions=True)
+
+    assert event.topic == "system.agent.health"
+    assert event.type == "health"
+    assert event.payload["worker"] == "agent"
+    assert isinstance(event.payload["ts"], float)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_heartbeat_merges_extra_payload(bus: FakeBus) -> None:
+    task = asyncio.create_task(
+        run_health_heartbeat(
+            bus, "forwarder", interval=0.05,
+            extra=lambda: {"offset": 4096, "connected": True},
+        ),
+    )
+    try:
+        sub = bus.subscribe("system.forwarder.health")
+        async with sub:
+            event = await asyncio.wait_for(sub.__anext__(), timeout=2.0)
+    finally:
+        task.cancel()
+        await asyncio.gather(task, return_exceptions=True)
+
+    assert event.payload["offset"] == 4096
+    assert event.payload["connected"] is True
+    assert event.payload["worker"] == "forwarder"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_heartbeat_survives_extra_failure(bus: FakeBus) -> None:
+    # An extra() that blows up must not abort the heartbeat loop.
+    def _boom():
+        raise RuntimeError("extras exploded")
+
+    task = asyncio.create_task(
+        run_health_heartbeat(bus, "updater", interval=0.05, extra=_boom),
+    )
+    try:
+        sub = bus.subscribe("system.updater.health")
+        async with sub:
+            event = await asyncio.wait_for(sub.__anext__(), timeout=2.0)
+    finally:
+        task.cancel()
+        await asyncio.gather(task, return_exceptions=True)
+
+    # Base payload still present despite extra() blowing up.
+    assert event.payload["worker"] == "updater"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_heartbeat_is_cancellable_with_none_bus() -> None:
+    # Bus-disabled path: loop runs but publishes nothing.  Must still
+    # cancel cleanly so lifespan teardown doesn't hang.
+    task = asyncio.create_task(
+        run_health_heartbeat(None, "agent", interval=0.01),
+    )
+    await asyncio.sleep(0.05)
+    task.cancel()
+    await asyncio.gather(task, return_exceptions=True)
+    assert task.done()