diff --git a/skills/observability-setup/SKILL.md b/skills/observability-setup/SKILL.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..066a956
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/observability-setup/SKILL.md
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+---
+name: observability-setup
+description: Hub-and-spoke pipeline for installing the logs + metrics + traces triad on an existing service. Decomposes into 5 phases — scale/stack intake, code-side instrumentation, scrape+ship wiring, dashboard import, alert rules. Pure-click except for env-specific values (endpoints, tokens). Reuses `_blocks/obs-structured-logs.md`, `_blocks/obs-metrics.md`, `_blocks/obs-traces.md`, `_primitives/metrics-scrape.sh`, `_primitives/log-ship.sh`.
+argument-hint: <service-or-repo-name>
+---
+
+# Observability-Setup — 5-Phase Pipeline (index)
+
+You are installing observability on an existing service or repo. The user tells
+you which service. You walk five phases, each with an `AskUserQuestion`
+click-batch. Every durable decision lands in a named file inside the target
+repo (`observability.md`, `prometheus.yml`, `otel-collector.yaml`, Grafana
+dashboard JSON, Alertmanager rules).
+
+This `SKILL.md` is the INDEX. Each phase lives in its own file and runs in
+order. Never skip a phase — skipping Phase 4 gives you metrics with no
+dashboards; skipping Phase 5 gives you dashboards nobody watches.
+
+---
+
+## Pipeline overview (5 phases + final report)
+
+| Phase | File | Purpose | AskUserQuestion |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| 1 | [phase-1-intake.md](phase-1-intake.md) | Scale / stack / log target click-batch | 1× (3 questions) |
+| 2 | [phase-2-instrument.md](phase-2-instrument.md) | Code-side SDK + config diff | 1× |
+| 3 | [phase-3-scrape-ship.md](phase-3-scrape-ship.md) | Metrics scrape + log forward wiring | 1× |
+| 4 | [phase-4-dashboards.md](phase-4-dashboards.md) | RED + USE + per-service dashboards | 1× |
+| 5 | [phase-5-alerts.md](phase-5-alerts.md) | Error rate / p99 latency / saturation | 1× |
+
+**Minimum AskUserQuestion count: 5.** (Phase 1 bundles three related questions
+into one `AskUserQuestion` call with `multiSelect` per question, per native
+protocol.)
+
+---
+
+## Variables the pipeline produces
+
+| Name | Set in | Meaning |
+|---|---|---|
+| `SERVICE` | argument | Service/repo name the user invokes the skill with |
+| `SCALE` | Phase 1 | `single-host` / `small-cluster` / `prod` |
+| `STACK` | Phase 1 | `prom-grafana` / `otel-vendor` / `better-stack` / `custom` |
+| `LOG_TARGET` | Phase 1 | `stdout-only` / `file` / `ship-loki` / `ship-datadog` / `ship-http` |
+| `LANGUAGES` | Phase 2 | Subset of `{rust, go, python, node, swift}` — SDKs to wire |
+| `SCRAPE_CFG` | Phase 3 | `prometheus.yml` / `otel-collector.yaml` path |
+| `SHIP_CMD` | Phase 3 | `log-ship.sh` invocation for the service |
+| `DASHBOARDS` | Phase 4 | List of imported / generated dashboard slugs |
+| `ALERTS` | Phase 5 | List of alert rule names |
+
+---
+
+## Final report (emit after Phase 5)
+
+```
+=== OBSERVABILITY-SETUP REPORT ===
+Service:       <SERVICE>
+Scale:         <SCALE>   Stack: <STACK>   Logs: <LOG_TARGET>
+Instrumented:  <LANGUAGES>
+Scrape cfg:    <SCRAPE_CFG>
+Ship cmd:      <SHIP_CMD>
+Dashboards:    <DASHBOARDS>
+Alerts:        <ALERTS>
+Next action:   commit + deploy + watch first 30 min of traffic
+```
+
+---
+
+## Rules (apply throughout)
+
+- **Pure-click contract.** Only values that must be typed are endpoint URLs,
+  API keys (via env, never a prompt), and the service name (intake argument).
+- **NO HALLUCINATION (RULE 0.4).** Never invent Grafana dashboard IDs. If the
+  user wants a dashboard, either generate the JSON from `_blocks/obs-metrics.md`
+  naming conventions or link to the official exporter README. Dashboard IDs
+  from `grafana.com/dashboards/` MUST be verified via WebFetch in-session.
+- **Reuse over rewrite.** Phase 2 always cites `_blocks/obs-structured-logs.md`,
+  `_blocks/obs-metrics.md`, `_blocks/obs-traces.md`. Phase 3 invokes
+  `_primitives/metrics-scrape.sh` and `_primitives/log-ship.sh` — do not
+  re-implement their logic inline.
+- **Secrets via env (RULE 0.8).** API keys for Datadog, Better Stack, Grafana
+  Cloud, etc. ALWAYS read from env (`LOG_SHIP_DD_API_KEY`, `GF_API_KEY`). Never
+  write a token into any generated file.
+- **Constructor Pattern.** Each phase file < 100 LOC. This index < 120 LOC.
+- **Surgical Changes.** Only write to the target service repo's
+  `observability.md`, `config/prometheus.yml`, `config/otel-collector.yaml`,
+  `dashboards/*.json`, `alerts/*.yaml`. Do NOT touch application source beyond
+  the minimum init-call required by Phase 2.
+
+---
+
+## References
+
+- [phase-1-intake.md](phase-1-intake.md) · [phase-2-instrument.md](phase-2-instrument.md) · [phase-3-scrape-ship.md](phase-3-scrape-ship.md) · [phase-4-dashboards.md](phase-4-dashboards.md) · [phase-5-alerts.md](phase-5-alerts.md)
+- `_blocks/obs-structured-logs.md` — JSON-lines field taxonomy (Phase 2 + Phase 3)
+- `_blocks/obs-metrics.md` — RED / USE signal families + naming (Phase 4 + Phase 5)
+- `_blocks/obs-traces.md` — W3C traceparent + OTLP transport (Phase 2 + Phase 3)
+- `_primitives/metrics-scrape.sh` — Prometheus `/metrics` pretty-print + alert-check
+- `_primitives/log-ship.sh` — stdin → stdout+forward (Loki / Datadog / custom HTTP)
+- Prometheus docs [VERIFIED: prometheus.io/docs/]
+- OpenTelemetry docs [VERIFIED: opentelemetry.io/docs/]
+- Grafana dashboards catalog [VERIFY: grafana.com/grafana/dashboards/]
+- Better Stack docs [VERIFY: betterstack.com/docs/]
diff --git a/skills/observability-setup/phase-1-intake.md b/skills/observability-setup/phase-1-intake.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..efa1b3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/observability-setup/phase-1-intake.md
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+# Phase 1 — Intake (scale / stack / log target)
+
+Three orthogonal questions bundled into ONE `AskUserQuestion` call. Every
+subsequent phase branches on the answers.
+
+## 1a — Emit AskUserQuestion (one call, three questions)
+
+```json
+{
+  "questions": [
+    {
+      "question": "Deployment scale?",
+      "header": "Scale",
+      "multiSelect": false,
+      "options": [
+        {"label": "Single-host",    "description": "One VM / container. Prom + Grafana + app on one box. < 100 rps. Retention 7-15 d."},
+        {"label": "Small-cluster",  "description": "2-10 nodes. Central Prom, node_exporter everywhere. OTel Collector optional."},
+        {"label": "Prod",           "description": ">10 nodes OR regulated. Remote-write storage, HA Prom, vendor or Mimir/Tempo."}
+      ]
+    },
+    {
+      "question": "Target stack?",
+      "header": "Stack",
+      "multiSelect": false,
+      "options": [
+        {"label": "Prom + Grafana",     "description": "Self-host. Prometheus + node_exporter + Grafana + optional Loki + optional Tempo."},
+        {"label": "OTel + vendor",      "description": "OTel Collector in front of Honeycomb / Datadog / Grafana Cloud / Lightstep."},
+        {"label": "Better Stack",       "description": "Logs + Uptime + Heartbeat SaaS. Lowest ops, USD-priced per GB."},
+        {"label": "Custom",             "description": "CloudWatch / GCP Ops / Elastic / Splunk — describe in followup."}
+      ]
+    },
+    {
+      "question": "Log destination?",
+      "header": "Logs",
+      "multiSelect": false,
+      "options": [
+        {"label": "stdout-only",        "description": "Dev / single-host. Container runtime captures, no shipper."},
+        {"label": "File + rotate",      "description": "journald or logrotate on disk. Read via SSH when debugging."},
+        {"label": "Ship to Loki",       "description": "Vector / Fluent Bit → Loki (self-host) or Grafana Cloud Logs."},
+        {"label": "Ship to Datadog",    "description": "Datadog Agent or direct HTTP intake via log-ship.sh."},
+        {"label": "Ship to custom HTTP","description": "Generic JSON POST via log-ship.sh --target http."}
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+## 1b — Store answers
+
+- First answer → `SCALE` ∈ {`single-host`, `small-cluster`, `prod`}
+- Second answer → `STACK` ∈ {`prom-grafana`, `otel-vendor`, `better-stack`, `custom`}
+- Third answer → `LOG_TARGET` ∈ {`stdout-only`, `file`, `ship-loki`, `ship-datadog`, `ship-http`}
+
+## 1c — Immediate sanity checks (emit as plain message, no clicks)
+
+- If `SCALE == single-host` AND `STACK == otel-vendor`: warn — vendor OTel
+  Collector is overkill for one host; suggest Prom+Grafana OR direct vendor
+  SDK. Ask user to confirm or switch.
+- If `STACK == better-stack` AND `LOG_TARGET == ship-loki`: warn — Better
+  Stack is its own log backend, shipping to Loki duplicates cost. Ask user
+  to confirm or switch.
+- If `SCALE == prod` AND `LOG_TARGET == stdout-only`: warn — prod without
+  shipping loses logs on node death. Ask user to confirm or switch.
+
+Sanity-check confirmations are free-text "ok" / "switch to X" — no extra
+AskUserQuestion needed (the user's next message resolves them).
+
+## Verify-criterion
+
+- `SCALE`, `STACK`, `LOG_TARGET` all set to one of their enumerated values.
+- Any sanity-check warnings either confirmed or resolved by an answer-revise.
+- If any variable is unset — re-ask the failing one only; do not fall through.
diff --git a/skills/observability-setup/phase-2-instrument.md b/skills/observability-setup/phase-2-instrument.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fe951b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/observability-setup/phase-2-instrument.md
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+# Phase 2 — Code-side instrumentation (SDK + config diff)
+
+Decide WHICH SDK to wire per language, emit the init-call diff, and cite the
+behavioural blocks that govern field names.
+
+## 2a — Detect languages in the target service
+
+Run (via Bash):
+
+```bash
+{ ls "$SERVICE_DIR"/Cargo.toml 2>/dev/null && echo rust; } ; \
+{ ls "$SERVICE_DIR"/go.mod     2>/dev/null && echo go; } ; \
+{ ls "$SERVICE_DIR"/pyproject.toml "$SERVICE_DIR"/requirements*.txt 2>/dev/null && echo python; } ; \
+{ ls "$SERVICE_DIR"/package.json 2>/dev/null && echo node; } ; \
+{ ls "$SERVICE_DIR"/Package.swift 2>/dev/null && echo swift; }
+```
+
+Store de-duplicated result as `LANGUAGES` (≥1; if 0 — halt, ask user to point
+to the actual service directory).
+
+## 2b — Emit AskUserQuestion (one call)
+
+```json
+{
+  "questions": [
+    {
+      "question": "Instrumentation style?",
+      "header": "Style",
+      "multiSelect": false,
+      "options": [
+        {"label": "Full (logs+metrics+traces)", "description": "Wire all three legs. Recommended for any service talking to another."},
+        {"label": "Logs + metrics only",        "description": "Skip traces. OK for background workers without fan-out."},
+        {"label": "Metrics-only",               "description": "Minimal. Only if you already have a separate log shipper."},
+        {"label": "Traces-only",                "description": "Rare — only if logs+metrics already ship via external agent."}
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+Store as `STYLE`.
+
+## 2c — Per-language SDK table (reference, no user click)
+
+| Lang | Logs | Metrics | Traces |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| rust | `tracing` + `tracing-subscriber` json fmt | `metrics` + `metrics-exporter-prometheus` OR `opentelemetry-rust` | `opentelemetry` + `opentelemetry-otlp` + `tracing-opentelemetry` |
+| go | `log/slog` + `slog.NewJSONHandler` | `prometheus/client_golang` OR `go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric` | `go.opentelemetry.io/otel` + auto-instrument |
+| python | `structlog` + `JSONRenderer` | `prometheus-client` OR `opentelemetry-sdk` | `opentelemetry-sdk` + `opentelemetry-instrumentation-<lib>` |
+| node | `pino` | `prom-client` OR `@opentelemetry/sdk-metrics` | `@opentelemetry/sdk-node` + auto-instrumentations |
+| swift | `swift-log` + JSON backend | (server-side only) `swift-otel` | `swift-otel` |
+
+Detailed field taxonomy and forbiddens → `_blocks/obs-structured-logs.md`,
+`_blocks/obs-metrics.md`, `_blocks/obs-traces.md`. Cite these files; do NOT
+duplicate their content in the generated code.
+
+## 2d — Generate init diffs
+
+For each language in `LANGUAGES`, emit a unified-diff patch to the target
+service's entrypoint (`main.rs`, `main.go`, `app.py`, `index.ts`, `main.swift`)
+that:
+
+1. Initializes the chosen logger (JSON formatter, `level` from env, stdout).
+2. If `STYLE` includes metrics: starts a `/metrics` HTTP endpoint on a dedicated
+   port (default 9090 or env `METRICS_PORT`).
+3. If `STYLE` includes traces: initializes OTel tracer provider with OTLP
+   exporter pointing at `${OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT:-http://localhost:4318}`.
+4. Injects `trace_id` + `span_id` into every log record (integration between
+   logger and tracer — language-specific; see the three reference blocks).
+
+Do NOT edit application-level handler code in this phase — only the init
+path. Handler-level spans belong to a follow-up task.
+
+## Verify-criterion
+
+- `LANGUAGES` non-empty.
+- `STYLE` set.
+- A diff exists for every language in `LANGUAGES`.
+- Every diff cites the relevant `_blocks/obs-*.md` file in a comment.
+- No diff contains a hard-coded token, endpoint, or service name literal —
+  everything via env vars.
diff --git a/skills/observability-setup/phase-3-scrape-ship.md b/skills/observability-setup/phase-3-scrape-ship.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..911c937
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/observability-setup/phase-3-scrape-ship.md
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+# Phase 3 — Scrape + ship wiring
+
+Produce two concrete config artefacts in the target repo:
+- `config/prometheus.yml` (or `config/otel-collector.yaml` if `STACK == otel-vendor`)
+- `config/log-ship.env` — env-var bundle for `_primitives/log-ship.sh`
+
+## 3a — Emit AskUserQuestion (one call)
+
+```json
+{
+  "questions": [
+    {
+      "question": "Scrape / collect topology?",
+      "header": "Topology",
+      "multiSelect": false,
+      "options": [
+        {"label": "Prometheus pulls /metrics",      "description": "Prom-native. App exposes 9090. Standard for prom-grafana."},
+        {"label": "OTel Collector sidecar",         "description": "Per-host collector. App → collector → backend. Uniform for logs+metrics+traces."},
+        {"label": "OTel Collector central gateway", "description": "One collector pool for the cluster. HA, scales, single ingress point."},
+        {"label": "Vendor agent (Datadog / BS)",    "description": "Vendor-supplied agent does discovery + shipping. Lowest ops."}
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+Store as `TOPOLOGY`.
+
+## 3b — Generate scrape config
+
+**If `TOPOLOGY == "Prometheus pulls /metrics"`** — write `config/prometheus.yml`:
+
+```yaml
+global:
+  scrape_interval: 15s
+  evaluation_interval: 15s
+scrape_configs:
+  - job_name: "$SERVICE"
+    metrics_path: /metrics
+    static_configs:
+      - targets: ["${SERVICE_HOST:-localhost}:${METRICS_PORT:-9090}"]
+  - job_name: "node"
+    static_configs:
+      - targets: ["${NODE_HOST:-localhost}:9100"]
+```
+
+Reference: `_blocks/obs-metrics.md` for label cardinality budget, naming
+conventions. Reference Prometheus config spec [VERIFIED: prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/configuration/configuration/].
+
+**If `TOPOLOGY` is an OTel variant** — write `config/otel-collector.yaml`:
+
+```yaml
+receivers:
+  otlp:
+    protocols:
+      grpc: { endpoint: 0.0.0.0:4317 }
+      http: { endpoint: 0.0.0.0:4318 }
+processors:
+  batch: {}
+  memory_limiter: { check_interval: 1s, limit_mib: 512 }
+exporters:
+  prometheusremotewrite:
+    endpoint: ${PROM_REMOTE_WRITE_URL}
+  otlphttp/traces:
+    endpoint: ${TRACES_BACKEND_URL}
+service:
+  pipelines:
+    metrics: { receivers: [otlp], processors: [memory_limiter, batch], exporters: [prometheusremotewrite] }
+    traces:  { receivers: [otlp], processors: [memory_limiter, batch], exporters: [otlphttp/traces] }
+    logs:    { receivers: [otlp], processors: [memory_limiter, batch], exporters: [otlphttp/traces] }
+```
+
+Reference OTel Collector spec [VERIFIED: opentelemetry.io/docs/collector/configuration/].
+
+**If `TOPOLOGY == "Vendor agent"`** — output the vendor install snippet
+(Datadog Agent, Better Stack Vector config, etc.) and skip to 3c.
+
+## 3c — Generate log-ship invocation
+
+Build `config/log-ship.env` referencing `_primitives/log-ship.sh` with fields
+from Phase 1's `LOG_TARGET`:
+
+```sh
+# config/log-ship.env — env bundle for _primitives/log-ship.sh
+# Source before piping app stdout:
+#   set -a && . config/log-ship.env && set +a
+#   ./app 2>&1 | ~/.claude/agents/_primitives/log-ship.sh --target $LOG_SHIP_TARGET --endpoint "$LOG_SHIP_ENDPOINT" --label "job=$SERVICE"
+
+LOG_SHIP_TARGET="${LOG_SHIP_TARGET:-stdout}"      # stdout | loki | datadog | http
+LOG_SHIP_ENDPOINT="${LOG_SHIP_ENDPOINT:-}"        # e.g. http://loki:3100/loki/api/v1/push
+# LOG_SHIP_DD_API_KEY=...   # ← put in ~/.claude/secrets/.env or service .env — NEVER in git
+# LOG_SHIP_BEARER=...       # generic HTTP target bearer — same rule
+```
+
+Map Phase 1's `LOG_TARGET` → `LOG_SHIP_TARGET`:
+- `stdout-only` → `stdout` (no endpoint)
+- `file` → `stdout` (container runtime captures; skip shipping)
+- `ship-loki` → `loki` + endpoint
+- `ship-datadog` → `datadog` + endpoint + `LOG_SHIP_DD_API_KEY` via env
+- `ship-http` → `http` + endpoint + optional `LOG_SHIP_BEARER`
+
+## 3d — Verify scrape end-to-end
+
+Before finishing the phase, invoke `_primitives/metrics-scrape.sh` against
+the freshly instrumented app:
+
+```sh
+~/.claude/agents/_primitives/metrics-scrape.sh \
+  "http://${SERVICE_HOST:-localhost}:${METRICS_PORT:-9090}/metrics" --format table
+```
+
+If the output is empty or the curl fails — HALT, report to user (likely Phase 2
+init-call mis-wired). Do NOT proceed to Phase 4 with a silent scraper.
+
+## Verify-criterion
+
+- `config/prometheus.yml` OR `config/otel-collector.yaml` written.
+- `config/log-ship.env` written (with `# NEVER in git` comment next to any
+  secret-var placeholder — RULE 0.8).
+- `metrics-scrape.sh` dry-run returns > 0 lines.
+- `TOPOLOGY` stored for Phase 5's alert-rule scope.
diff --git a/skills/observability-setup/phase-4-dashboards.md b/skills/observability-setup/phase-4-dashboards.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cca9eef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/observability-setup/phase-4-dashboards.md
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+# Phase 4 — Dashboards (RED + USE + per-service)
+
+Every metric without a dashboard is dead weight. Two mandatory dashboards,
+one optional per-service dashboard.
+
+## 4a — Emit AskUserQuestion (one call)
+
+```json
+{
+  "questions": [
+    {
+      "question": "Dashboard provisioning path?",
+      "header": "Dashboards",
+      "multiSelect": false,
+      "options": [
+        {"label": "Generate from metric names", "description": "Author JSON from _blocks/obs-metrics.md naming + RED/USE rules. Full control, no external deps."},
+        {"label": "Import from grafana.com",    "description": "Import a community dashboard by ID. Requires WebFetch to verify the ID lives + matches our metric names."},
+        {"label": "Vendor-native",              "description": "Datadog / Honeycomb / Better Stack auto-generate from instrumented metrics. No JSON files in repo."},
+        {"label": "Skip (placeholder)",         "description": "Emit dashboards/TODO.md only — revisit after launch. NOT recommended for prod."}
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+Store as `DASH_PATH`.
+
+## 4b — RED dashboard (mandatory, write regardless of `DASH_PATH` choice)
+
+Write `dashboards/red-$SERVICE.json` with three panels:
+
+1. **Rate** — `sum by(route)(rate(http_requests_total{service="$SERVICE"}[1m]))`
+2. **Errors** — `sum by(route)(rate(http_requests_total{service="$SERVICE",status=~"5.."}[1m]))` plotted alongside rate → visual error-fraction.
+3. **Duration** — `histogram_quantile(0.99, sum by(le,route)(rate(http_request_duration_seconds_bucket{service="$SERVICE"}[5m])))` for p50, p95, p99.
+
+Variables: `$service`, `$route`, `$interval` (1m / 5m / 15m).
+
+Reference `_blocks/obs-metrics.md` for naming convention (`_total`, `_seconds`,
+`_bucket`, `le` label) — do NOT invent alternate names.
+
+## 4c — USE dashboard (mandatory, write regardless)
+
+Write `dashboards/use-node.json` with four rows (all backed by `node_exporter`
+metrics — confirmed names from [VERIFIED: github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/tree/master/docs]):
+
+1. **CPU utilization** — `100 - avg by(instance)(rate(node_cpu_seconds_total{mode="idle"}[5m])) * 100`
+2. **Memory utilization** — `(1 - node_memory_MemAvailable_bytes / node_memory_MemTotal_bytes) * 100`
+3. **Disk saturation** — `rate(node_disk_io_time_weighted_seconds_total[5m])` per device
+4. **Network errors** — `rate(node_network_receive_errs_total[5m])` + `rate(node_network_transmit_errs_total[5m])`
+
+## 4d — Per-service dashboard (optional — only if `DASH_PATH == "Generate from metric names"`)
+
+Run `_primitives/metrics-scrape.sh --format json` against the service,
+extract the distinct metric names, and emit one panel per metric group (group
+= metric name minus `_bucket` / `_sum` / `_count` suffix). This is
+mechanical — no creativity, no invented names.
+
+## 4e — If `DASH_PATH == "Import from grafana.com"`
+
+**NO HALLUCINATION.** Do NOT cite any dashboard ID you have not WebFetched
+this session. Walk the user through:
+
+1. Ask user for the Grafana.com dashboard URL they want (they find it; we
+   verify).
+2. `WebFetch https://grafana.com/grafana/dashboards/<id>/` and confirm:
+   - dashboard exists (non-404)
+   - datasource type matches their Prom install
+   - referenced metric names appear in our scrape output (run
+     `metrics-scrape.sh --format json`)
+3. Save the verified URL and a SHA256 of the JSON payload in
+   `dashboards/imports.md` — audit trail for re-verification.
+
+If the metric names don't match — HALT. Do NOT edit the dashboard JSON to
+"translate" names; instead, ask user to either pick a different dashboard or
+rename metrics at source (Phase 2 rerun).
+
+## 4f — If `DASH_PATH == "Vendor-native"`
+
+Emit `dashboards/README.md` noting which vendor auto-generates and pointing
+at the vendor's documentation URL (`[VERIFY: <url>]` — real URL only). Do
+NOT generate JSON in this case.
+
+## Verify-criterion
+
+- RED + USE JSON files exist in `dashboards/` (mandatory).
+- If `DASH_PATH == "Import from grafana.com"`: every imported dashboard has
+  a verified URL + SHA256 in `dashboards/imports.md`. Zero fabricated IDs.
+- `DASHBOARDS` list populated for the final report.
diff --git a/skills/observability-setup/phase-5-alerts.md b/skills/observability-setup/phase-5-alerts.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3e68c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/observability-setup/phase-5-alerts.md
@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+# Phase 5 — Alert rules (error rate / p99 latency / saturation)
+
+Alerts are the only leg that wakes a human. Keep the set small, sharp, and
+actionable. Four starter rules; expand only after running a real incident.
+
+## 5a — Emit AskUserQuestion (one call)
+
+```json
+{
+  "questions": [
+    {
+      "question": "Alert delivery channel?",
+      "header": "Channel",
+      "multiSelect": false,
+      "options": [
+        {"label": "Alertmanager → email",  "description": "Self-host Prometheus Alertmanager, SMTP relay. Simplest, free."},
+        {"label": "Alertmanager → webhook","description": "Alertmanager POSTs to our own HTTP endpoint (Telegram bot, Slack, custom)."},
+        {"label": "Better Stack Uptime",   "description": "Push-based; Better Stack runs the schedule + escalation. Paid."},
+        {"label": "PagerDuty",             "description": "Enterprise escalation + on-call rotation. Paid, SRE-grade."},
+        {"label": "Custom webhook (other)","description": "Vendor-specific (Opsgenie, VictorOps, Discord). User supplies URL."}
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+Store as `ALERT_CHANNEL`.
+
+## 5b — Write alert rules (`alerts/$SERVICE.yaml`)
+
+Four starter rules, all metric names drawn from `_blocks/obs-metrics.md`
+convention — no inventions. Reference Prometheus alerting-rules spec
+[VERIFIED: prometheus.io/docs/prometheus/latest/configuration/alerting_rules/].
+
+```yaml
+groups:
+  - name: $SERVICE-red
+    interval: 30s
+    rules:
+      - alert: HighErrorRate
+        expr: |
+          (
+            sum by(service)(rate(http_requests_total{service="$SERVICE",status=~"5.."}[5m]))
+            /
+            sum by(service)(rate(http_requests_total{service="$SERVICE"}[5m]))
+          ) > 0.05
+        for: 5m
+        labels: { severity: page, team: "$TEAM" }
+        annotations:
+          summary: "$SERVICE: 5xx > 5% for 5 min"
+          runbook: "docs/runbooks/$SERVICE.md#high-error-rate"
+
+      - alert: HighLatencyP99
+        expr: |
+          histogram_quantile(0.99,
+            sum by(le,service)(rate(http_request_duration_seconds_bucket{service="$SERVICE"}[5m]))
+          ) > ${P99_BUDGET_SEC:-1.0}
+        for: 10m
+        labels: { severity: page, team: "$TEAM" }
+        annotations:
+          summary: "$SERVICE: p99 > ${P99_BUDGET_SEC:-1.0}s for 10 min"
+          runbook: "docs/runbooks/$SERVICE.md#high-latency"
+
+  - name: node-use
+    interval: 30s
+    rules:
+      - alert: CpuSaturated
+        expr: 100 - avg by(instance)(rate(node_cpu_seconds_total{mode="idle"}[5m])) * 100 > 90
+        for: 15m
+        labels: { severity: ticket }
+        annotations:
+          summary: "{{ $labels.instance }}: CPU > 90% for 15 min"
+
+      - alert: DiskFull
+        expr: (node_filesystem_avail_bytes / node_filesystem_size_bytes) < 0.10
+        for: 5m
+        labels: { severity: page }
+        annotations:
+          summary: "{{ $labels.instance }}:{{ $labels.mountpoint }} < 10% free"
+```
+
+Budget knobs (`P99_BUDGET_SEC`, CPU %, disk %) are ENV-overridable defaults;
+tune per-service after one week of baseline data.
+
+## 5c — Alertmanager / channel wiring
+
+**If `ALERT_CHANNEL == "Alertmanager → email"`** — write `alerts/alertmanager.yml`:
+
+```yaml
+route: { group_by: ['alertname', 'service'], receiver: "mail" }
+receivers:
+  - name: mail
+    email_configs:
+      - to: "${ALERT_EMAIL}"
+        from: "${ALERT_FROM_EMAIL}"
+        smarthost: "${SMTP_HOST}:${SMTP_PORT:-587}"
+        auth_username: "${SMTP_USER}"
+        auth_password_file: "/run/secrets/smtp_password"   # never inline
+```
+
+**If `ALERT_CHANNEL == "Alertmanager → webhook"`** — use `webhook_configs`
+pointing at `$ALERT_WEBHOOK_URL` (env-supplied).
+
+**If `ALERT_CHANNEL == "Better Stack Uptime"`** — note URL in
+`alerts/README.md`; Better Stack config lives in their UI. Pair each Prom
+alert with a Better Stack Heartbeat for dead-man's-switch coverage
+[VERIFY: betterstack.com/docs/uptime/heartbeats/].
+
+**If `ALERT_CHANNEL == "PagerDuty"`** — Alertmanager `pagerduty_configs` with
+`routing_key_file` (never `routing_key:` inline — RULE 0.8).
+
+**If `ALERT_CHANNEL == "Custom webhook"`** — ask user for endpoint URL and
+whether auth is Bearer / HMAC / custom header; wire via
+`webhook_configs.http_config`.
+
+## 5d — Dead-man's-switch (all channels)
+
+Add a "YouAreAlive" alert that fires when Prom fails to scrape the service
+for 5 min. Pair with a heartbeat external monitor (Better Stack, UptimeRobot,
+or a cron that checks Alertmanager). Without it, the alerting system can
+fail silently.
+
+```yaml
+- alert: ScrapeDown
+  expr: up{job="$SERVICE"} == 0
+  for: 5m
+  labels: { severity: page }
+  annotations: { summary: "$SERVICE: Prometheus cannot scrape for 5 min" }
+```
+
+## 5e — Runbook stub (mandatory)
+
+Write `docs/runbooks/$SERVICE.md` with one section per alert name, each
+containing: symptom, first-check, rollback, escalation. Empty runbook links
+in annotations are a documented anti-pattern — fill the stub now with at
+least "TODO after first incident".
+
+## Verify-criterion
+
+- `alerts/$SERVICE.yaml` contains the four starter rules + `ScrapeDown`.
+- Delivery channel config written (or referenced in `alerts/README.md` for
+  vendor-managed channels).
+- `docs/runbooks/$SERVICE.md` stub exists with one section per alert.
+- `ALERTS` list populated for the final report.
+- No credential literal in any generated file — env / file-refs only.