diff --git a/docs/GITEA_MENTION_HEARTBEAT.md b/docs/GITEA_MENTION_HEARTBEAT.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..345ebd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/GITEA_MENTION_HEARTBEAT.md
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+# Gitea @mention Heartbeat for VPS Agents
+
+Fixes [timmy-home#579](https://forge.alexanderwhitestone.com/Timmy_Foundation/timmy-home/issues/579):
+Ezra and Bezalel do not respond to Gitea @mention tagging.
+
+## Problem
+
+Two compounding root causes:
+1. Ezra/Bezalel not in `AGENT_USERS` — mentions detected but silently dropped
+2. Dispatch queue is Mac-local — VPS agents have no process reading it
+
+## Solution
+
+VPS-native heartbeat: each agent polls Gitea for unread notifications every 5 minutes,
+dispatches work locally via `hermes chat`, and posts results back as issue comments.
+
+## Quick Deploy
+
+```bash
+# On Mac:
+cd timmy-home/scripts
+
+# Deploy to Ezra
+bash setup-vps-heartbeat.sh --agent ezra --host root@143.198.27.163
+
+# Deploy to Bezalel
+bash setup-vps-heartbeat.sh --agent bezalel --host root@159.203.146.185
+```
+
+## Manual Setup on VPS
+
+```bash
+# 1. Copy script
+scp gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh root@VPS:/usr/local/bin/
+
+# 2. Create token file
+ssh root@VPS 'mkdir -p ~/.config/gitea'
+ssh root@VPS 'echo "YOUR_GITEA_TOKEN" > ~/.config/gitea/ezra-token'
+ssh root@VPS 'chmod 600 ~/.config/gitea/ezra-token'
+
+# 3. Add cron
+ssh root@VPS '(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "*/5 * * * * /usr/local/bin/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh --agent ezra --token-file ~/.config/gitea/ezra-token") | crontab -'
+
+# 4. Test
+ssh root@VPS '/usr/local/bin/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh --agent ezra --token-file ~/.config/gitea/ezra-token'
+```
+
+## How It Works
+
+```
+┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
+│  Gitea       │────►│  Heartbeat (cron 5m)  │────►│  hermes chat │
+│  @ezra       │     │  Poll notifications   │     │  (local)     │
+│  mention     │     │  Filter for agent     │     │              │
+└──────────────┘     │  Dispatch via hermes  │     └──────────────┘
+                     │  Post result back     │
+                     └──────────────────────┘
+```
+
+1. Cron runs every 5 minutes
+2. Polls Gitea `/notifications` for unread items
+3. Filters for mentions of the agent name
+4. Dispatches to local `hermes chat` with issue context
+5. Posts the response as a Gitea comment
+6. Marks notification as read
+
+## Monitoring
+
+```bash
+# Watch logs
+ssh root@ezra 'tail -f ~/.hermes/logs/ezra-heartbeat.log'
+
+# Check cron
+ssh root@ezra 'crontab -l | grep heartbeat'
+
+# Test manually
+ssh root@ezra '/usr/local/bin/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh --agent ezra --token-file ~/.config/gitea/ezra-token'
+```
+
+## Files
+
+- `gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh` — main heartbeat script (runs on VPS)
+- `setup-vps-heartbeat.sh` — deployment helper (runs on Mac)
diff --git a/scripts/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh b/scripts/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..6182c16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh — Generic Gitea @mention heartbeat for VPS agents
+#
+# Polls Gitea for unread notifications mentioning this agent, dispatches
+# work locally via hermes, and posts results back as issue comments.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh --agent ezra --token-file ~/.config/gitea/ezra-token
+#   gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh --agent bezalel --token-file ~/.config/gitea/bezalel-token
+#
+# Install on VPS:
+#   cp gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh /usr/local/bin/
+#   chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh
+#   # Add to crontab: */5 * * * * /usr/local/bin/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh --agent ezra --token-file ~/.config/gitea/ezra-token
+#
+# Ref: timmy-home#579
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# --- Defaults ---
+BASE="${GITEA_API_BASE:-https://forge.alexanderwhitestone.com/api/v1}"
+LOG_DIR="${HOME}/.hermes/logs"
+MAX_DISPATCH=3
+DISPATCH_TIMEOUT=600  # 10 minutes
+
+# --- Parse args ---
+AGENT=""
+TOKEN_FILE=""
+
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case "$1" in
+        --agent)     AGENT="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        --token-file) TOKEN_FILE="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        --base)      BASE="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        --log-dir)   LOG_DIR="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        --timeout)   DISPATCH_TIMEOUT="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        *)           echo "Unknown arg: $1" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+if [ -z "$AGENT" ] || [ -z "$TOKEN_FILE" ]; then
+    echo "Usage: $0 --agent <name> --token-file <path>" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ ! -f "$TOKEN_FILE" ]; then
+    echo "Token file not found: $TOKEN_FILE" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+TOKEN=*** "$TOKEN_FILE" | tr -d '[:space:]')
+mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR"
+LOG="$LOG_DIR/${AGENT}-heartbeat.log"
+LOCKFILE="/tmp/${AGENT}-heartbeat.lock"
+PROCESSED_FILE="/tmp/${AGENT}-mentions-processed.txt"
+
+touch "$PROCESSED_FILE"
+
+# --- Helpers ---
+log() { echo "[$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] $*" | tee -a "$LOG"; }
+
+post_comment() {
+    local repo="$1" issue_num="$2" body="$3"
+    local payload
+    payload=$(python3 -c "import json,sys; print(json.dumps({'body': sys.argv[1]}))" "$body")
+    curl -sf -X POST \
+        -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" \
+        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+        -d "$payload" \
+        "$BASE/repos/$repo/issues/$issue_num/comments" > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
+}
+
+dispatch_local() {
+    local prompt="$1"
+    # Try hermes chat first, fall back to direct echo
+    if command -v hermes &>/dev/null; then
+        timeout "$DISPATCH_TIMEOUT" hermes chat -p "$prompt" 2>/dev/null || echo "Dispatch timed out after ${DISPATCH_TIMEOUT}s"
+    else
+        echo "hermes CLI not available — cannot dispatch locally"
+    fi
+}
+
+# --- Lock ---
+if [ -f "$LOCKFILE" ]; then
+    lock_age=$(( $(date +%s) - $(stat -c %Y "$LOCKFILE" 2>/dev/null || stat -f %m "$LOCKFILE" 2>/dev/null || echo 0) ))
+    if [ "$lock_age" -lt 300 ]; then
+        log "SKIP: previous run still active (lock age: ${lock_age}s)"
+        exit 0
+    else
+        log "WARN: stale lock (${lock_age}s), removing"
+        rm -f "$LOCKFILE"
+    fi
+fi
+trap 'rm -f "$LOCKFILE"' EXIT
+touch "$LOCKFILE"
+
+# --- Poll notifications ---
+log "Polling mentions for @$AGENT..."
+
+notifications=$(curl -sf \
+    -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" \
+    "$BASE/notifications?status-types=unread&limit=20" 2>/dev/null || echo "[]")
+
+if [ "$notifications" = "[]" ] || [ -z "$notifications" ]; then
+    log "No unread notifications"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# Parse notifications
+dispatched=0
+
+echo "$notifications" | python3 -c "
+import json, sys
+try:
+    notifs = json.loads(sys.stdin.buffer.read())
+except:
+    sys.exit(0)
+for n in notifs:
+    subject = n.get('subject', {})
+    repo = n.get('repository', {}).get('full_name', '')
+    title = subject.get('title', '')
+    url = subject.get('latest_comment_url', '') or subject.get('url', '')
+    nid = n.get('id', '')
+    # Only process if the subject title or URL mentions our agent
+    title_lower = title.lower()
+    if '${AGENT}' in title_lower or '@${AGENT}' in title_lower:
+        print(f'{nid}|{repo}|{title}|{url}')
+    else:
+        # Check comment body for mentions
+        print(f'SKIP|{nid}|{repo}|{title}|{url}')
+" 2>/dev/null | while IFS='|' read -r flag_or_nid rest; do
+
+    if [ "$flag_or_nid" = "SKIP" ]; then
+        continue
+    fi
+
+    nid="$flag_or_nid"
+    repo=$(echo "$rest" | cut -d'|' -f1)
+    title=$(echo "$rest" | cut -d'|' -f2)
+    url=$(echo "$rest" | cut -d'|' -f3)
+
+    [ -z "$nid" ] && continue
+
+    # Skip if already processed
+    grep -q "^${nid}$" "$PROCESSED_FILE" && continue
+
+    # Extract issue number
+    issue_num=$(echo "$url" | grep -o '/issues/[0-9]*' | grep -o '[0-9]*' || echo "")
+
+    if [ -z "$issue_num" ]; then
+        log "SKIP: could not extract issue number from $url"
+        echo "$nid" >> "$PROCESSED_FILE"
+        continue
+    fi
+
+    log "FOUND: $repo #$issue_num — $title"
+
+    # Get comment body
+    comment_body=""
+    if [ -n "$url" ]; then
+        comment_body=$(curl -sf -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" "$url" 2>/dev/null | \
+            python3 -c "import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d.get('body','')[:2000])" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    fi
+
+    # Post acknowledgment
+    post_comment "$repo" "$issue_num" "🔵 **@$AGENT picking up this task** via VPS heartbeat.
+
+Dispatched: $(date -u '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')
+Agent: $AGENT
+Host: $(hostname)"
+
+    # Build dispatch prompt
+    prompt="You are @$AGENT, an AI agent on the Timmy Foundation team.
+
+You were mentioned in Gitea issue #$issue_num in repo $repo.
+
+ISSUE: $title
+
+COMMENT THAT MENTIONED YOU:
+$comment_body
+
+YOUR TASK:
+1. Read the mention carefully
+2. If asked a question, answer it directly
+3. If asked to do work, do it (create a PR if code changes are needed)
+4. Post your response as a comment on the issue using the Gitea API
+5. Be concise and actionable
+
+When done, summarize what you did."
+
+    # Dispatch locally
+    log "DISPATCH: $repo #$issue_num to local hermes (timeout: ${DISPATCH_TIMEOUT}s)"
+    result=$(dispatch_local "$prompt" 2>&1 || echo "Dispatch failed")
+
+    # Post result
+    if [ -n "$result" ] && [ "$result" != "Dispatch failed" ]; then
+        escaped=$(echo "$result" | head -50 | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.dumps(sys.stdin.read())[1:-1])" 2>/dev/null || echo "See agent logs")
+        post_comment "$repo" "$issue_num" "🟢 **@$AGENT response:**
+
+$escaped
+
+---
+Completed: $(date -u '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')"
+    else
+        post_comment "$repo" "$issue_num" "🔴 **@$AGENT dispatch failed or timed out.**
+
+Timeout: ${DISPATCH_TIMEOUT}s
+Timestamp: $(date -u '+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ')
+
+The task may need manual attention."
+    fi
+
+    # Mark notification as read
+    curl -sf -X PATCH \
+        -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" \
+        "$BASE/notifications/threads/$nid" > /dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+    # Mark as processed
+    echo "$nid" >> "$PROCESSED_FILE"
+
+    dispatched=$((dispatched + 1))
+    log "DISPATCHED: $repo #$issue_num ($dispatched/$MAX_DISPATCH)"
+
+    if [ "$dispatched" -ge "$MAX_DISPATCH" ]; then
+        log "CAPPED: reached $MAX_DISPATCH dispatches"
+        break
+    fi
+
+    sleep 2
+done
+
+if [ "$dispatched" -eq 0 ]; then
+    log "No new mentions for @$AGENT"
+else
+    log "Completed $dispatched dispatch(es) for @$AGENT"
+fi
diff --git a/scripts/setup-vps-heartbeat.sh b/scripts/setup-vps-heartbeat.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..da81bf9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/setup-vps-heartbeat.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# setup-vps-heartbeat.sh — Deploy Gitea mention heartbeat on a VPS agent box
+#
+# Usage:
+#   setup-vps-heartbeat.sh --agent ezra --host root@143.198.27.163
+#   setup-vps-heartbeat.sh --agent bezalel --host root@159.203.146.185
+#
+# What it does:
+# 1. Copies gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh to the VPS
+# 2. Creates a Gitea token file (prompts if missing)
+# 3. Installs a cron job (every 5 minutes)
+# 4. Tests connectivity
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+HEARTBEAT_SCRIPT="$SCRIPT_DIR/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh"
+
+AGENT=""
+HOST=""
+
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case "$1" in
+        --agent)  AGENT="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        --host)   HOST="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        *)        echo "Unknown arg: $1" >&2; exit 1 ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+if [ -z "$AGENT" ] || [ -z "$HOST" ]; then
+    echo "Usage: $0 --agent <name> --host <user@host>" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "=== Deploying Gitea mention heartbeat for @$AGENT on $HOST ==="
+
+# 1. Copy heartbeat script
+echo "Copying heartbeat script..."
+scp -q "$HEARTBEAT_SCRIPT" "$HOST:/usr/local/bin/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh"
+ssh "$HOST" "chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh"
+
+# 2. Ensure token file exists
+echo "Checking Gitea token..."
+TOKEN_EXISTS=$(ssh "$HOST" "test -f ~/.config/gitea/${AGENT}-token && echo yes || echo no")
+if [ "$TOKEN_EXISTS" = "no" ]; then
+    echo ""
+    echo "⚠️  No token file found at ~/.config/gitea/${AGENT}-token on $HOST"
+    echo "   Create a Gitea API token for @$AGENT and save it:"
+    echo "   ssh $HOST 'mkdir -p ~/.config/gitea && echo YOUR_TOKEN > ~/.config/gitea/${AGENT}-token && chmod 600 ~/.config/gitea/${AGENT}-token'"
+    echo ""
+    echo "   Token needs: issue (read/write), notification (read) permissions"
+    echo ""
+fi
+
+# 3. Install cron job
+echo "Installing cron job (every 5 minutes)..."
+CRON_LINE="*/5 * * * * /usr/local/bin/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh --agent $AGENT --token-file ~/.config/gitea/${AGENT}-token >> ~/.hermes/logs/${AGENT}-heartbeat-cron.log 2>&1"
+
+# Check if cron already has this line
+EXISTING=$(ssh "$HOST" "crontab -l 2>/dev/null | grep -c '${AGENT}-heartbeat' || echo 0")
+if [ "$EXISTING" -gt 0 ]; then
+    echo "Cron job already exists, updating..."
+    ssh "$HOST" "crontab -l 2>/dev/null | grep -v '${AGENT}-heartbeat' | { cat; echo '$CRON_LINE'; } | crontab -"
+else
+    echo "Adding cron job..."
+    ssh "$HOST" "(crontab -l 2>/dev/null || true; echo '$CRON_LINE') | crontab -"
+fi
+
+# 4. Ensure log directory
+ssh "$HOST" "mkdir -p ~/.hermes/logs"
+
+# 5. Test connectivity
+echo ""
+echo "Testing Gitea API connectivity..."
+TEST_RESULT=$(ssh "$HOST" "curl -sf -H \"Authorization: token \$(cat ~/.config/gitea/${AGENT}-token 2>/dev/null || echo 'MISSING')\" 'https://forge.alexanderwhitestone.com/api/v1/user' 2>/dev/null | python3 -c \"import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d.get('login','ERROR'))\" 2>/dev/null || echo 'FAILED'")
+echo "  Token belongs to: $TEST_RESULT"
+
+# 6. Dry run
+echo ""
+echo "Running dry test..."
+ssh "$HOST" "/usr/local/bin/gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh --agent $AGENT --token-file ~/.config/gitea/${AGENT}-token" 2>&1 | tail -5
+
+echo ""
+echo "=== Deployment complete for @$AGENT on $HOST ==="
+echo ""
+echo "Logs: ssh $HOST 'tail -f ~/.hermes/logs/${AGENT}-heartbeat.log'"
+echo "Cron: ssh $HOST 'crontab -l | grep ${AGENT}'"
diff --git a/tests/scripts/__init__.py b/tests/scripts/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/scripts/test_gitea_heartbeat.py b/tests/scripts/test_gitea_heartbeat.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d336756
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/scripts/test_gitea_heartbeat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+"""Tests for Gitea @mention heartbeat scripts."""
+
+import json
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from unittest.mock import patch, MagicMock
+
+import pytest
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def heartbeat_script():
+    return Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "scripts" / "gitea-mention-heartbeat.sh"
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def tmp_token(tmp_path):
+    token_file = tmp_path / "test-token"
+    token_file.write_text("fake-token-12345")
+    return token_file
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def tmp_log_dir(tmp_path):
+    log_dir = tmp_path / "logs"
+    log_dir.mkdir()
+    return log_dir
+
+
+class TestArgumentParsing:
+    def test_requires_agent(self, heartbeat_script):
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            ["bash", str(heartbeat_script), "--token-file", "/tmp/fake"],
+            capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=10,
+        )
+        assert result.returncode != 0
+
+    def test_requires_token_file(self, heartbeat_script):
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            ["bash", str(heartbeat_script), "--agent", "test"],
+            capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=10,
+        )
+        assert result.returncode != 0
+
+    def test_token_file_must_exist(self, heartbeat_script):
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            ["bash", str(heartbeat_script), "--agent", "test", "--token-file", "/nonexistent/token"],
+            capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=10,
+        )
+        assert result.returncode != 0
+
+
+class TestScriptStructure:
+    def test_has_required_functions(self, heartbeat_script):
+        content = heartbeat_script.read_text()
+        assert "post_comment" in content
+        assert "dispatch_local" in content
+        assert "log()" in content
+
+    def test_has_lock_mechanism(self, heartbeat_script):
+        content = heartbeat_script.read_text()
+        assert "LOCKFILE" in content
+        assert "trap" in content
+
+    def test_has_notification_polling(self, heartbeat_script):
+        content = heartbeat_script.read_text()
+        assert "/notifications" in content
+        assert "Authorization: token" in content
+
+    def test_has_dispatch_cap(self, heartbeat_script):
+        content = heartbeat_script.read_text()
+        assert "MAX_DISPATCH" in content
+
+    def test_has_processed_tracking(self, heartbeat_script):
+        content = heartbeat_script.read_text()
+        assert "PROCESSED_FILE" in content
+
+
+class TestSetupScript:
+    def test_setup_exists(self):
+        setup = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "scripts" / "setup-vps-heartbeat.sh"
+        assert setup.exists()
+        assert "setup-vps-heartbeat.sh" in setup.name
+
+    def test_setup_has_required_args(self):
+        setup = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "scripts" / "setup-vps-heartbeat.sh"
+        content = setup.read_text()
+        assert "--agent" in content
+        assert "--host" in content
+
+    def test_setup_installs_cron(self):
+        setup = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "scripts" / "setup-vps-heartbeat.sh"
+        content = setup.read_text()
+        assert "crontab" in content
+        assert "*/5" in content
+
+
+class TestDocumentation:
+    def test_docs_exist(self):
+        docs = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "docs" / "GITEA_MENTION_HEARTBEAT.md"
+        assert docs.exists()
+
+    def test_docs_reference_issue(self):
+        docs = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "docs" / "GITEA_MENTION_HEARTBEAT.md"
+        content = docs.read_text()
+        assert "579" in content