diff --git a/bin/__pycache__/nexus_watchdog.cpython-312.pyc b/bin/__pycache__/nexus_watchdog.cpython-312.pyc
index 20fd6b1b..e2870006 100644
Binary files a/bin/__pycache__/nexus_watchdog.cpython-312.pyc and b/bin/__pycache__/nexus_watchdog.cpython-312.pyc differ
diff --git a/bin/nexus_watchdog.py b/bin/nexus_watchdog.py
index 28df7a83..f2f5cfa3 100644
--- a/bin/nexus_watchdog.py
+++ b/bin/nexus_watchdog.py
@@ -60,6 +60,23 @@ If the heartbeat is older than --stale-threshold seconds, the
 mind is considered dead even if the process is still running
 (e.g., hung on a blocking call).
 
+KIMI HEARTBEAT
+==============
+The Kimi triage pipeline writes a cron heartbeat file after each run:
+
+  /var/run/bezalel/heartbeats/kimi-heartbeat.last
+  (fallback: ~/.bezalel/heartbeats/kimi-heartbeat.last)
+  {
+    "job": "kimi-heartbeat",
+    "timestamp": 1711843200.0,
+    "interval_seconds": 900,
+    "pid": 12345,
+    "status": "ok"
+  }
+
+If the heartbeat is stale (>2x declared interval), the watchdog reports
+a Kimi Heartbeat failure alongside the other checks.
+
 ZERO DEPENDENCIES
 =================
 Pure stdlib. No pip installs. Same machine as the nexus.
@@ -104,6 +121,10 @@ DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_PATH = Path.home() / ".nexus" / "heartbeat.json"
 DEFAULT_STALE_THRESHOLD = 300  # 5 minutes without a heartbeat = dead
 DEFAULT_INTERVAL = 60  # seconds between checks in watch mode
 
+# Kimi Heartbeat — cron job heartbeat file written by the triage pipeline
+KIMI_HEARTBEAT_JOB = "kimi-heartbeat"
+KIMI_HEARTBEAT_STALE_MULTIPLIER = 2.0  # stale at 2x declared interval
+
 GITEA_URL = os.environ.get("GITEA_URL", "https://forge.alexanderwhitestone.com")
 GITEA_TOKEN = os.environ.get("GITEA_TOKEN", "")
 GITEA_REPO = os.environ.get("NEXUS_REPO", "Timmy_Foundation/the-nexus")
@@ -345,6 +366,93 @@ def check_syntax_health() -> CheckResult:
         )
 
 
+def check_kimi_heartbeat(
+    job: str = KIMI_HEARTBEAT_JOB,
+    stale_multiplier: float = KIMI_HEARTBEAT_STALE_MULTIPLIER,
+) -> CheckResult:
+    """Check if the Kimi Heartbeat cron job is alive.
+
+    Reads the ``<job>.last`` file from the standard Bezalel heartbeat
+    directory (``/var/run/bezalel/heartbeats/`` or fallback
+    ``~/.bezalel/heartbeats/``).  The file is written atomically by the
+    cron_heartbeat module after each successful triage pipeline run.
+
+    A job is stale when:
+      ``time.time() - timestamp > stale_multiplier * interval_seconds``
+    (same rule used by ``check_cron_heartbeats.py``).
+    """
+    # Resolve heartbeat directory — same logic as cron_heartbeat._resolve
+    primary = Path("/var/run/bezalel/heartbeats")
+    fallback = Path.home() / ".bezalel" / "heartbeats"
+    env_dir = os.environ.get("BEZALEL_HEARTBEAT_DIR")
+    if env_dir:
+        hb_dir = Path(env_dir)
+    elif primary.exists():
+        hb_dir = primary
+    elif fallback.exists():
+        hb_dir = fallback
+    else:
+        return CheckResult(
+            name="Kimi Heartbeat",
+            healthy=False,
+            message="Heartbeat directory not found — no triage pipeline deployed yet",
+            details={"searched": [str(primary), str(fallback)]},
+        )
+
+    hb_file = hb_dir / f"{job}.last"
+    if not hb_file.exists():
+        return CheckResult(
+            name="Kimi Heartbeat",
+            healthy=False,
+            message=f"No heartbeat file at {hb_file} — Kimi triage pipeline has never reported",
+            details={"path": str(hb_file)},
+        )
+
+    try:
+        data = json.loads(hb_file.read_text())
+    except (json.JSONDecodeError, OSError) as e:
+        return CheckResult(
+            name="Kimi Heartbeat",
+            healthy=False,
+            message=f"Heartbeat file corrupt: {e}",
+            details={"path": str(hb_file), "error": str(e)},
+        )
+
+    timestamp = float(data.get("timestamp", 0))
+    interval = int(data.get("interval_seconds", 0))
+    raw_status = data.get("status", "unknown")
+    age = time.time() - timestamp
+
+    if interval <= 0:
+        # No declared interval — use raw timestamp age (30 min default)
+        interval = 1800
+
+    threshold = stale_multiplier * interval
+    is_stale = age > threshold
+
+    age_str = f"{int(age)}s" if age < 3600 else f"{int(age // 3600)}h {int((age % 3600) // 60)}m"
+    interval_str = f"{int(interval)}s" if interval < 3600 else f"{int(interval // 3600)}h {int((interval % 3600) // 60)}m"
+
+    if is_stale:
+        return CheckResult(
+            name="Kimi Heartbeat",
+            healthy=False,
+            message=(
+                f"Silent for {age_str} "
+                f"(threshold: {stale_multiplier}x {interval_str} = {int(threshold)}s). "
+                f"Status: {raw_status}"
+            ),
+            details=data,
+        )
+
+    return CheckResult(
+        name="Kimi Heartbeat",
+        healthy=True,
+        message=f"Alive — last beat {age_str} ago (interval {interval_str}, status={raw_status})",
+        details=data,
+    )
+
+
 # ── Gitea alerting ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 def _gitea_request(method: str, path: str, data: Optional[dict] = None) -> Any:
@@ -446,6 +554,7 @@ def run_health_checks(
         check_mind_process(),
         check_heartbeat(heartbeat_path, stale_threshold),
         check_syntax_health(),
+        check_kimi_heartbeat(),
     ]
     return HealthReport(timestamp=time.time(), checks=checks)
 
@@ -545,6 +654,14 @@ def main():
         "--json", action="store_true", dest="output_json",
         help="Output results as JSON (for integration with other tools)",
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--kimi-job", default=KIMI_HEARTBEAT_JOB,
+        help=f"Kimi heartbeat job name (default: {KIMI_HEARTBEAT_JOB})",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--kimi-stale-multiplier", type=float, default=KIMI_HEARTBEAT_STALE_MULTIPLIER,
+        help=f"Kimi heartbeat staleness multiplier (default: {KIMI_HEARTBEAT_STALE_MULTIPLIER})",
+    )
 
     args = parser.parse_args()