diff --git a/api/main.py b/api/main.py
index f6a024a..e226678 100644
--- a/api/main.py
+++ b/api/main.py
@@ -39,7 +39,26 @@ async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
 
 
 @app.get("/health")
-def health(): return {"status": "ok"}
+def health():
+    return {"status": "ok"}          # liveness — am I up?
+
+
+@app.get("/health/ready")
+def ready(request: Request):
+    # readiness — can I actually serve a claim? check deps.
+    checks = {}
+    try:
+        checks["mcp_host"] = bool(request.app.state.host.tools)
+    except Exception:
+        checks["mcp_host"] = False
+    try:
+        from services.index.store import get_index
+        get_index().describe_index_stats()
+        checks["pinecone"] = True
+    except Exception:
+        checks["pinecone"] = False
+    ok = all(checks.values())
+    return {"status": "ready" if ok else "degraded", "checks": checks}
 
 
 @app.middleware("http")
diff --git a/services/common/log.py b/services/common/log.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3b72f01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/common/log.py
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+import logging
+import sys
+
+import structlog
+
+logging.basicConfig(format="%(message)s", stream=sys.stdout, level=logging.INFO)
+structlog.configure(processors=[
+    structlog.processors.add_log_level,
+    structlog.processors.TimeStamper(fmt="iso"),
+    structlog.processors.JSONRenderer(),     # machine-readable JSON lines
+])
+log = structlog.get_logger()
+
+# usage anywhere:
+#   log.info("claim_decided", claim_id=cid, decision=d, approver=a, latency_ms=ms)