diff --git a/decnet/collector/worker.py b/decnet/collector/worker.py
index 2a747a23..582dc608 100644
--- a/decnet/collector/worker.py
+++ b/decnet/collector/worker.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ The ingester tails the .json file; rsyslog can consume the .log file independent
 """
 
 import asyncio
+import contextlib
 import json
 import os
 import re
@@ -15,11 +16,19 @@ import time
 from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
 from datetime import datetime
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import Any, Optional
+from typing import Any, Callable, Optional
 
+from decnet.bus import topics as _topics
+from decnet.bus.factory import get_bus
+from decnet.bus.publish import make_thread_safe_publisher
 from decnet.logging import get_logger
 from decnet.telemetry import traced as _traced, get_tracer as _get_tracer, inject_context as _inject_ctx
 
+# Collector publish signature: ``publish_fn(parsed_event_dict)``.  Callable
+# from the container-stream threads; the worker wraps it around a thread-safe
+# bus publisher that marshals onto the asyncio loop.
+CollectorPublishFn = Callable[[dict[str, Any]], None]
+
 logger = get_logger("collector")
 
 # ─── Ingestion rate limiter ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -274,7 +283,12 @@ def _reopen_if_needed(path: Path, fh: Optional[Any]) -> Any:
 
 
 @_traced("collector.stream_container")
-def _stream_container(container_id: str, log_path: Path, json_path: Path) -> None:
+def _stream_container(
+    container_id: str,
+    log_path: Path,
+    json_path: Path,
+    publish_fn: CollectorPublishFn | None = None,
+) -> None:
     """Stream logs from one container and append to the host log files."""
     import docker  # type: ignore[import]
 
@@ -309,6 +323,13 @@ def _stream_container(container_id: str, log_path: Path, json_path: Path) -> Non
                             jf = _reopen_if_needed(json_path, jf)
                             jf.write(json.dumps(parsed) + "\n")
                             jf.flush()
+                            if publish_fn is not None:
+                                try:
+                                    publish_fn(parsed)
+                                except Exception as exc:
+                                    logger.debug(
+                                        "collector: bus publish failed: %s", exc,
+                                    )
                     else:
                         logger.debug(
                             "collector: rate-limited decky=%s service=%s type=%s attacker=%s",
@@ -328,6 +349,41 @@ def _stream_container(container_id: str, log_path: Path, json_path: Path) -> Non
                     pass
 
 
+# ─── Bus plumbing ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+def _make_system_log_publisher(
+    bus: Any, loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+) -> CollectorPublishFn:
+    """Factory: returns a ``publish_fn(parsed)`` for use by stream threads.
+
+    When *bus* is ``None`` the returned callable is a no-op, so the stream
+    thread can call it unconditionally.  Otherwise each call is marshalled
+    onto *loop* (the asyncio event loop that owns the bus socket) via
+    ``make_thread_safe_publisher``.
+    """
+    raw_publish = make_thread_safe_publisher(bus, loop) if bus is not None else None
+    if raw_publish is None:
+        return lambda _parsed: None
+
+    topic = _topics.system(_topics.SYSTEM_LOG)
+
+    def _publish(parsed: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+        event_type = parsed.get("event_type", "")
+        raw_publish(
+            topic,
+            {
+                "decky": parsed.get("decky", ""),
+                "service": parsed.get("service", ""),
+                "event_type": event_type,
+                "attacker_ip": parsed.get("attacker_ip", "Unknown"),
+                "timestamp": parsed.get("timestamp", ""),
+            },
+            event_type,
+        )
+
+    return _publish
+
+
 # ─── Async collector ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 async def log_collector_worker(log_file: str) -> None:
@@ -347,6 +403,19 @@ async def log_collector_worker(log_file: str) -> None:
     active: dict[str, asyncio.Task[None]] = {}
     loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
 
+    # Optional bus wiring — per-line system.log publish.  Fan-in from many
+    # container-stream threads is handled by make_thread_safe_publisher,
+    # which marshals each publish onto this loop.
+    bus = None
+    try:
+        bus = get_bus(client_name="collector")
+        await bus.connect()
+    except Exception as exc:
+        logger.warning("collector: bus unavailable, continuing without publish: %s", exc)
+        bus = None
+
+    _publish_log = _make_system_log_publisher(bus, loop)
+
     # Dedicated thread pool so long-running container log streams don't
     # saturate the default asyncio executor and starve short-lived
     # to_thread() calls elsewhere (e.g. load_state in the web API).
@@ -359,7 +428,7 @@ async def log_collector_worker(log_file: str) -> None:
             active[container_id] = asyncio.ensure_future(
                 loop.run_in_executor(
                     collector_pool, _stream_container,
-                    container_id, log_path, json_path,
+                    container_id, log_path, json_path, _publish_log,
                 ),
                 loop=loop,
             )
@@ -396,3 +465,6 @@ async def log_collector_worker(log_file: str) -> None:
         logger.error("collector error: %s", exc)
     finally:
         collector_pool.shutdown(wait=False)
+        if bus is not None:
+            with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
+                await bus.close()
diff --git a/tests/collector/__init__.py b/tests/collector/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/tests/collector/test_collector_bus.py b/tests/collector/test_collector_bus.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..493e709e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/collector/test_collector_bus.py
@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+"""Bus wiring for the collector (DEBT-031, worker 5).
+
+Collector streams logs from Docker containers in a thread pool — can't be
+exercised cleanly under pytest.  These tests pin the two things that
+actually carry the contract:
+
+1. ``_stream_container`` invokes ``publish_fn(parsed)`` right after writing
+   the JSON record, and skips publish when the hook is absent.
+2. ``_make_system_log_publisher`` routes under ``system.log`` with the
+   expected compact payload shape.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+import json
+
+import pytest
+import pytest_asyncio
+
+from decnet.bus.fake import FakeBus
+from decnet.collector.worker import (
+    _make_system_log_publisher,
+    _stream_container,
+)
+
+
+@pytest_asyncio.fixture
+async def bus() -> FakeBus:
+    b = FakeBus()
+    await b.connect()
+    yield b
+    await b.close()
+
+
+# ─── Thread-safe publisher factory ───────────────────────────────────────────
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_publisher_routes_under_system_log(bus: FakeBus) -> None:
+    loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
+    publish = _make_system_log_publisher(bus, loop)
+
+    sub = bus.subscribe("system.log")
+    async with sub:
+        publish({
+            "timestamp": "2026-04-21 10:00:00",
+            "decky": "decky-a",
+            "service": "ssh",
+            "event_type": "auth_fail",
+            "attacker_ip": "1.2.3.4",
+        })
+        event = await asyncio.wait_for(sub.__anext__(), timeout=2.0)
+
+    assert event.topic == "system.log"
+    assert event.type == "auth_fail"
+    assert event.payload == {
+        "decky": "decky-a",
+        "service": "ssh",
+        "event_type": "auth_fail",
+        "attacker_ip": "1.2.3.4",
+        "timestamp": "2026-04-21 10:00:00",
+    }
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_publisher_no_bus_is_noop() -> None:
+    # get_bus() failure path returns None → publisher is a no-op callable.
+    loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
+    publish = _make_system_log_publisher(None, loop)
+    # Must be safely invocable; no exception, no hang.
+    publish({"event_type": "anything"})
+
+
+# ─── Stream-thread integration: publish_fn wiring ────────────────────────────
+
+class _FakeContainer:
+    """Minimal duck-typed stand-in for docker.Container.logs(stream=True)."""
+
+    def __init__(self, lines: list[bytes]) -> None:
+        self._lines = lines
+
+    def logs(self, stream=True, follow=True, stdout=True, stderr=False):
+        yield from self._lines
+
+
+class _FakeDockerClient:
+    def __init__(self, container: _FakeContainer) -> None:
+        self.containers = self  # so .get() lookup below works
+        self._container = container
+
+    def get(self, _container_id: str) -> _FakeContainer:
+        return self._container
+
+
+def _make_rfc5424_line() -> str:
+    # Crafted to pass _RFC5424_RE in collector.worker.
+    return (
+        "<134>1 2026-04-21T10:00:00+00:00 decky-a ssh - auth_fail "
+        "[decnet@32473 src_ip=\"1.2.3.4\"] failed password"
+    )
+
+
+def test_stream_container_invokes_publish_fn(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    line = _make_rfc5424_line()
+    fake_container = _FakeContainer([line.encode() + b"\n"])
+    fake_client = _FakeDockerClient(fake_container)
+
+    import docker as _docker_mod
+    monkeypatch.setattr(_docker_mod, "from_env", lambda: fake_client)
+
+    captured: list[dict] = []
+    _stream_container(
+        "cid-xyz",
+        tmp_path / "decnet.log",
+        tmp_path / "decnet.json",
+        publish_fn=lambda parsed: captured.append(parsed),
+    )
+
+    # One parseable line → one publish call with the parsed dict.
+    assert len(captured) == 1
+    assert captured[0]["decky"] == "decky-a"
+    assert captured[0]["service"] == "ssh"
+    assert captured[0]["event_type"] == "auth_fail"
+
+    # JSON file still written — bus publishing is additive, not a replacement.
+    jf = (tmp_path / "decnet.json").read_text().strip().splitlines()
+    assert len(jf) == 1
+    assert json.loads(jf[0])["event_type"] == "auth_fail"
+
+
+def test_stream_container_runs_without_publish_fn(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    # Pre-bus behavior: no publish_fn, no crash, JSON still written.
+    line = _make_rfc5424_line()
+    fake_container = _FakeContainer([line.encode() + b"\n"])
+    fake_client = _FakeDockerClient(fake_container)
+
+    import docker as _docker_mod
+    monkeypatch.setattr(_docker_mod, "from_env", lambda: fake_client)
+
+    _stream_container(
+        "cid-xyz",
+        tmp_path / "decnet.log",
+        tmp_path / "decnet.json",
+    )
+
+    jf = (tmp_path / "decnet.json").read_text().strip().splitlines()
+    assert len(jf) == 1
+
+
+def test_stream_container_swallows_publish_failures(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    # Hook failure must not abort the stream thread.
+    line = _make_rfc5424_line()
+    fake_container = _FakeContainer([line.encode() + b"\n"])
+    fake_client = _FakeDockerClient(fake_container)
+
+    import docker as _docker_mod
+    monkeypatch.setattr(_docker_mod, "from_env", lambda: fake_client)
+
+    def _boom(_parsed):
+        raise RuntimeError("transport exploded")
+
+    # Must not raise.
+    _stream_container(
+        "cid-xyz",
+        tmp_path / "decnet.log",
+        tmp_path / "decnet.json",
+        publish_fn=_boom,
+    )
+
+    jf = (tmp_path / "decnet.json").read_text().strip().splitlines()
+    assert len(jf) == 1
+
+
+# ─── Bus-disabled escape hatch ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_collector_degrades_cleanly_when_bus_disabled(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+) -> None:
+    from decnet.bus.factory import get_bus
+
+    monkeypatch.setenv("DECNET_BUS_ENABLED", "false")
+    b = get_bus(client_name="collector")
+    await b.connect()
+    await b.publish("system.log", {"event_type": "auth_fail"}, event_type="auth_fail")
+    await b.close()