diff --git a/bun.lock b/bun.lock
index 3a6fd44..3b983db 100644
--- a/bun.lock
+++ b/bun.lock
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
       "name": "@hasna/loops",
       "dependencies": {
         "@aws-sdk/client-secrets-manager": "^3.1083.0",
-        "@hasna/contracts": "0.5.2",
+        "@hasna/contracts": "0.10.0",
         "@hasna/events": "^0.1.9",
         "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.29.0",
         "@openrouter/ai-sdk-provider": "2.9.1",
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@
 
     "@aws/lambda-invoke-store": ["@aws/lambda-invoke-store@0.3.0", "", {}, "sha512-sl4Bm6yiMNYrZKkqqDFWN0UfnWhlS8ivKxrYl+6t0gCLrqr8y3B2IqZZbFRkfaVVp7C/baApyh71P+LeE1A2sQ=="],
 
-    "@hasna/contracts": ["@hasna/contracts@0.5.2", "", { "dependencies": { "commander": "^13.1.0", "zod": "^3.25.76" }, "bin": { "contracts": "dist/cli/index.js", "contracts-cli": "dist/cli/index.js" } }, "sha512-R7NBm91oMOWQVnfIyh7QTEPuWbVycGaObzKFJd1je5RNjXsLuPASqCfr9heJ7nuugn9xxFBCCRQCxHg9/VeJrg=="],
+    "@hasna/contracts": ["@hasna/contracts@0.10.0", "", { "dependencies": { "commander": "^13.1.0", "zod": "^3.25.76" }, "bin": { "contracts": "dist/cli/index.js", "contracts-cli": "dist/cli/contracts-cli.js" } }, "sha512-TYu3qumRLtEwW7elFwfyvGjPIo12XNivkooR5QTsXTUUK6D837e2Jv8xJtwiLd9e6FDW+qGcbd58Y5all3s4Cg=="],
 
     "@hasna/events": ["@hasna/events@0.1.9", "", { "dependencies": { "commander": "^13.1.0" }, "bin": { "events": "dist/cli/index.js", "hasna-events": "dist/cli/index.js" } }, "sha512-9QSXLESDmuqF1esec0DmbOrwjMZgB/r+PRUwYLb2drECDElF9xNx8FBAUzKAMUw0hyS20rsndOIKvYtc3XNlpA=="],
 
diff --git a/hasna.contract.json b/hasna.contract.json
index f41c0b7..954d153 100644
--- a/hasna.contract.json
+++ b/hasna.contract.json
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
   "class": "service",
   "contractVersion": "v1",
   "kitVersion": "0.5.2",
-  "description": "Persistent loop and workflow runner for deterministic commands and headless AI coding agents. CLI + MCP + HTTP API (loops-serve) + generated SDK. Canonical deployment modes are local, self_hosted, and cloud; self_hosted runs loops-serve against operator-owned Postgres with API-key auth.",
+  "description": "Persistent loop and workflow runner for deterministic commands and headless AI coding agents. CLI + MCP + HTTP API (loops-serve) + generated SDK. loops-serve runs against operator-owned PostgreSQL with API-key auth; the CLI client reads either a local SQLite file or the HTTP API.",
   "bins": [
     "loops",
     "loops-mcp",
@@ -13,11 +13,6 @@
     "loops-daemon",
     "loops-runner"
   ],
-  "deploymentModes": [
-    "local",
-    "self-hosted",
-    "cloud"
-  ],
   "serviceSurfaces": [
     {
       "name": "http",
@@ -25,9 +20,6 @@
       "bin": "loops-serve",
       "mcpBin": "loops-mcp",
       "authMode": "api-key",
-      "deploymentModes": [
-        "self-hosted"
-      ],
       "health": {
         "method": "GET",
         "path": "/health",
@@ -66,9 +58,17 @@
     }
   ],
   "storage": {
-    "mode": "local",
+    "backend": "postgresql",
+    "engines": [
+      "sqlite",
+      "postgresql"
+    ],
     "envPrefix": "HASNA_LOOPS_",
-    "sqlitePath": "~/.hasna/loops/loops.db"
+    "sqlitePath": "~/.hasna/loops/loops.db",
+    "pgTestGate": {
+      "envVar": "LOOPS_TEST_DATABASE_URL",
+      "command": "bun test src/lib/storage/postgres-loop-storage.test.ts"
+    }
   },
   "metadata": {
     "service": {
@@ -80,10 +80,6 @@
       "apiVersion": "v1",
       "auth": "api-key",
       "signingSecretSecretRef": "hasna/oss/loops/api-key-signing-secret",
-      "deploymentModeMapping": {
-        "contract": "self-hosted",
-        "runtime": "self_hosted"
-      },
       "databaseDsnBindings": [
         {
           "purpose": "runtime",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index b4b6431..0b7d55a 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@aws-sdk/client-secrets-manager": "^3.1083.0",
-    "@hasna/contracts": "0.5.2",
+    "@hasna/contracts": "0.10.0",
     "@hasna/events": "^0.1.9",
     "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.29.0",
     "@openrouter/ai-sdk-provider": "2.9.1",
diff --git a/scripts/check-contract-conformance.test.mjs b/scripts/check-contract-conformance.test.mjs
index 83bd42b..39d7c5f 100644
--- a/scripts/check-contract-conformance.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/check-contract-conformance.test.mjs
@@ -7,10 +7,6 @@ import {
 } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
-import {
-  LOOP_DEPLOYMENT_MODES,
-  normalizeLoopDeploymentMode,
-} from "../src/lib/mode.ts";
 import {
   formatContractConformance,
   repoRoot,
@@ -100,7 +96,7 @@ describe("Loops repository contract conformance", () => {
     expect(manifest.metadata.conformance?.binCompatibilityWaivers).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
-  test("declares the exact package, deployment, and split DSN contracts", () => {
+  test("declares the exact package, storage, and split DSN contracts", () => {
     const packageJson = readJson(join(repoRoot, "package.json"));
     const manifest = readJson(join(repoRoot, "hasna.contract.json"));
     const httpSurface = manifest.serviceSurfaces.find(
@@ -124,18 +120,23 @@ describe("Loops repository contract conformance", () => {
       types: "./dist/api/index.d.ts",
       import: "./dist/api/index.js",
     });
-    expect(httpSurface.deploymentModes).toEqual(["self-hosted"]);
-    expect(serviceMetadata.deploymentModeMapping).toEqual({
-      contract: "self-hosted",
-      runtime: "self_hosted",
-    });
-    expect(
-      LOOP_DEPLOYMENT_MODES.includes(
-        normalizeLoopDeploymentMode(
-          serviceMetadata.deploymentModeMapping.runtime,
-        ),
-      ),
-    ).toBe(true);
+    // The local|self_hosted|cloud placement axis was removed from the contract
+    // schema. These assert the dead vocabulary stays gone rather than pinning it.
+    expect(manifest.deploymentModes).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(httpSurface.deploymentModes).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(httpSurface.deploymentMode).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(serviceMetadata.deploymentModeMapping).toBeUndefined();
+
+    // The only technical switch is the SERVER data backend. `loops-serve` opens
+    // Postgres unconditionally — src/serve/index.ts resolves the runtime DSN and
+    // throws when it is absent, and imports no sqlite storage — so the active
+    // backend is postgresql. sqlite remains a supported engine for the CLI client,
+    // which is what `engines` records.
+    expect(manifest.storage.mode).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(manifest.storage.backend).toBe("postgresql");
+    expect(manifest.storage.engines).toEqual(["sqlite", "postgresql"]);
+    expect(serveSource).toContain("HASNA_LOOPS_DATABASE_URL");
+    expect(serveSource).not.toContain("storage/sqlite");
 
     expect(manifest.storage.databaseUrlSecretRef).toBeUndefined();
     expect(