diff --git a/scripts/zulip-monitor.sh b/scripts/zulip-monitor.sh
index 114dfa7..812f039 100755
--- a/scripts/zulip-monitor.sh
+++ b/scripts/zulip-monitor.sh
@@ -46,26 +46,69 @@ else
 fi
 
 # ── Platform A: pi (Abiba) ──
-PI_HEALTH=$(curl -sf --connect-timeout 5 http://localhost:9200/health 2>/dev/null || echo "{}")
-PI_CONNECTED=$(echo "$PI_HEALTH" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d.get('connected',False))" 2>/dev/null)
-PI_ERROR=$(echo "$PI_HEALTH" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d.get('last_error') or '')" 2>/dev/null)
-PI_RETRIES=$(echo "$PI_HEALTH" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d.get('retry_count',0))" 2>/dev/null)
+# Probes the pi Zulip extension health endpoint (:9200/health, served by the
+# extension's startHealthServer; shape documented in zulip-health.prose.md).
+# FAIL-SAFE contract (pinned by tests/zulip-monitor-abiba.sh): connection state
+# lives NESTED at zulip.connected / zulip.last_error — there is no top-level
+# `connected` and no retry counter in the payload. A fetch error, non-2xx
+# response, empty/unparseable body, or payload missing a boolean
+# zulip.connected is a PROBE FAILURE: it alerts and NEVER calls pm2 restart.
+# pm2 restart runs ONLY on affirmative zulip.connected=false.
+# -- abiba-leg-start (verbatim-extracted by tests/zulip-monitor-abiba.sh)
+PI_HTTP=$(curl -s -o /dev/null --connect-timeout 5 --max-time 10 -w '%{http_code}' http://localhost:9200/health 2>/dev/null || echo "000")
+PI_BODY=$(curl -s --connect-timeout 5 --max-time 10 http://localhost:9200/health 2>/dev/null || true)
+PI_STATE=$(printf '%s' "$PI_BODY" | python3 -c '
+import sys, json
+code = sys.argv[1]
+body = sys.stdin.read()
+try:
+    d = json.loads(body)
+except Exception:
+    sys.stdout.write("probe-failed|unparseable body")
+    sys.exit(0)
+if not code.startswith("2"):
+    sys.stdout.write("probe-failed|HTTP %s" % code)
+    sys.exit(0)
+if not isinstance(d, dict) or not isinstance(d.get("zulip"), dict):
+    sys.stdout.write("probe-failed|missing zulip.connected")
+    sys.exit(0)
+z = d["zulip"]
+if "connected" not in z or not isinstance(z["connected"], bool):
+    sys.stdout.write("probe-failed|missing or non-boolean zulip.connected")
+    sys.exit(0)
+err = z.get("last_error") or ""
+if z["connected"]:
+    if err:
+        sys.stdout.write("degraded|%s" % err)
+    else:
+        sys.stdout.write("healthy|%s" % z.get("messages_processed", 0))
+else:
+    sys.stdout.write("disconnected|")
+' "$PI_HTTP" 2>/dev/null) || PI_STATE="probe-failed|python error"
+PI_VERDICT=${PI_STATE%%|*}
+PI_DETAIL=${PI_STATE#*|}
 
-if [ "$PI_CONNECTED" != "True" ]; then
-  notify "🔴" "Abiba pi extension DISCONNECTED — restarting"
-  pm2 restart abiba-zulip 2>/dev/null || true
-  ISSUES=$((ISSUES + 1))
-  echo "  Abiba: ❌ Disconnected — restarted" >> "$LOG"
-elif [ -n "$PI_ERROR" ]; then
-  notify "🟡" "Abiba pi extension error: ${PI_ERROR:0:100}"
-  echo "  Abiba: 🟡 Error: ${PI_ERROR:0:100}" >> "$LOG"
-elif [ "$PI_RETRIES" -ge 3 ]; then
-  notify "🟡" "Abiba pi extension: $PI_RETRIES retries — restarting"
-  pm2 restart abiba-zulip 2>/dev/null || true
-  echo "  Abiba: 🟡 $PI_RETRIES retries — restarted" >> "$LOG"
-else
-  echo "  Abiba: ✅ Connected (processed=$(echo "$PI_HEALTH" | python3 -c "import sys,json; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d.get('messages_processed',0))" 2>/dev/null))" >> "$LOG"
-fi
+case "$PI_VERDICT" in
+  healthy)
+    echo "  Abiba: ✅ Connected (processed=$PI_DETAIL)" >> "$LOG" ;;
+  degraded)
+    notify "🟡" "Abiba pi extension error: ${PI_DETAIL:0:100}"
+    echo "  Abiba: 🟡 Error: ${PI_DETAIL:0:100}" >> "$LOG" ;;
+  disconnected)
+    notify "🔴" "Abiba pi extension DISCONNECTED — restarting"
+    pm2 restart abiba-zulip 2>/dev/null || true
+    ISSUES=$((ISSUES + 1))
+    echo "  Abiba: ❌ Disconnected — restarted" >> "$LOG" ;;
+  probe-failed)
+    notify "🟠" "Abiba pi extension health probe FAILED (${PI_DETAIL}; HTTP $PI_HTTP) — NOT restarting, manual check needed"
+    ISSUES=$((ISSUES + 1))
+    echo "  Abiba: ⚠️ Probe failed (${PI_DETAIL}; HTTP $PI_HTTP) — NOT restarted" >> "$LOG" ;;
+  *)
+    notify "🟠" "Abiba pi extension health probe returned unexpected verdict (${PI_STATE}) — NOT restarting, manual check needed"
+    ISSUES=$((ISSUES + 1))
+    echo "  Abiba: ⚠️ Unexpected probe verdict (${PI_STATE}) — NOT restarted" >> "$LOG" ;;
+esac
+# -- abiba-leg-end
 
 # ── Platform B: Tanko (DSH dsh-web on amdpve CT 112) ──
 # Direct SSH to 192.168.68.122 is not a dependency of this monitor — per-worker
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/zulip-health-connected.json b/tests/fixtures/zulip-health-connected.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..61ecc6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/fixtures/zulip-health-connected.json
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+{
+    "status": "ok",
+    "platform": "pi",
+    "agent": "abiba",
+    "zulip": {
+        "connected": true,
+        "site": "https://chat.sysloggh.net",
+        "email": "abiba-bot@chat.sysloggh.net",
+        "queue_id": "ee7f8b6d-9d53-48a7-ad58-f6e999771001",
+        "bot_user_id": 21,
+        "messages_processed": 0,
+        "skipped": 0,
+        "last_error": null
+    },
+    "circuit_breaker": {
+        "state": "CLOSED",
+        "failures": 0,
+        "successes": 5,
+        "totalRequests": 5,
+        "failureRate": "0.000",
+        "openedAt": null
+    },
+    "workers": [],
+    "worker_count": 0
+}
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/zulip-health-disconnected.json b/tests/fixtures/zulip-health-disconnected.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0296d77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/fixtures/zulip-health-disconnected.json
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+{
+    "status": "down",
+    "platform": "pi",
+    "agent": "abiba",
+    "zulip": {
+        "connected": false,
+        "site": "https://chat.sysloggh.net",
+        "email": "abiba-bot@chat.sysloggh.net",
+        "queue_id": null,
+        "bot_user_id": null,
+        "messages_processed": 0,
+        "skipped": 0,
+        "last_error": "Zulip API error 401: queue registration failed"
+    },
+    "circuit_breaker": {
+        "state": "CLOSED",
+        "failures": 0,
+        "successes": 0,
+        "totalRequests": 0,
+        "failureRate": "0.000",
+        "openedAt": null
+    },
+    "workers": [],
+    "worker_count": 0
+}
diff --git a/tests/zulip-monitor-abiba.sh b/tests/zulip-monitor-abiba.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..8f8ae25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/zulip-monitor-abiba.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,211 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# tests/zulip-monitor-abiba.sh — regression test pinning the producer→consumer
+# contract between the pi Zulip extension's :9200/health payload and the Abiba
+# leg of scripts/zulip-monitor.sh.
+#
+# WHY THIS TEST EXISTS: 2026-09-09 live incident. The monitor parsed the health
+# payload at the WRONG nesting level (d.get('connected') at top level, while the
+# extension serves zulip.connected) so PI_CONNECTED was always False and every
+# monitor run restarted a healthy bot: pm2 showed restarts=8 with the process
+# created 2026-09-09T09:35:09Z, the monitor log recorded four ❌ Abiba verdicts
+# (04:23, 05:35, 06:55, 09:35 UTC) and zero ✅, while the Zulip server answered
+# HTTP 200 and the bot logged a clean connect plus continuing heartbeats. The
+# watchdog was the fault, not the connection. This test makes that class of
+# regression fail loudly instead of silently restarting healthy services.
+#
+# CONTRACT UNDER TEST (must hold for scripts/zulip-monitor.sh):
+#   * Connection state is NESTED: zulip.connected (boolean) and zulip.last_error
+#     live inside the `zulip` object. There is NO top-level `connected` and NO
+#     retry counter anywhere in the payload (verified against the extension's
+#     startHealthServer handler) — the old retry_count branch was dropped.
+#   * zulip.connected=true                  -> log "✅ Connected", NO pm2 restart.
+#   * zulip.connected=false                 -> alert, pm2 restart abiba-zulip.
+#   * fetch error / non-2xx / empty body / unparseable body / missing or
+#     non-boolean zulip.connected           -> "⚠️ Probe failed" alert with a
+#     "NOT restarting" label, NO pm2 restart. A parse miss must never kill a
+#     healthy service.
+#   * zulip.connected=true with last_error  -> degraded 🟡 warning, no restart.
+#
+# HOW: the Abiba leg of the shipped script sits between the
+# `# -- abiba-leg-start` / `# -- abiba-leg-end` marker comments. This runner
+# extracts that block verbatim and executes it with a stubbed curl (fixture body
+# + HTTP code), recorded notify()/pm2 shims, and a temp $LOG. If the markers
+# disappear (fix reverted or renamed) extraction yields nothing and the suite
+# fails — the bug cannot return silently.
+#
+# Usage: bash tests/zulip-monitor-abiba.sh [path/to/zulip-monitor.sh]
+# Exit 0 iff every check passes.
+#
+# shellcheck disable=SC2034,SC2329,SC1090
+# LOG/ISSUES and the notify/pm2/curl stubs below are consumed at runtime by
+# the leg extracted between the marker comments and `source`d in each case;
+# the static analyzer cannot see across that dynamic source, so it flags them.
+set -uo pipefail
+
+ROOT=$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)
+SCRIPT=${1:-"$ROOT/scripts/zulip-monitor.sh"}
+FIXTURES="$ROOT/tests/fixtures"
+TMP=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$TMP"' EXIT
+
+PASS=0
+FAIL=0
+ok()  { PASS=$((PASS + 1)); printf '  \033[32m✔\033[0m %s\n' "$1"; }
+bad() { FAIL=$((FAIL + 1)); printf '  \033[31m✘\033[0m %s\n' "$1"; }
+
+echo "== tests/zulip-monitor-abiba.sh — Abiba leg vs :9200/health producer contract =="
+echo "target script: $SCRIPT"
+
+# --- structural guards -------------------------------------------------------
+if ! grep -q '^# -- abiba-leg-start' "$SCRIPT"; then
+  echo "✘ FATAL: $SCRIPT has no '# -- abiba-leg-start' marker — the fix has been reverted or renamed."
+  exit 1
+fi
+if ! grep -q '^# -- abiba-leg-end' "$SCRIPT"; then
+  echo "✘ FATAL: $SCRIPT has no '# -- abiba-leg-end' marker."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+LEG="$TMP/leg.sh"
+awk '/^# -- abiba-leg-start/{f=1; next}
+     /^# -- abiba-leg-end/{f=0; next}
+     f' "$SCRIPT" > "$LEG"
+if [ ! -s "$LEG" ]; then
+  echo "✘ FATAL: extracted Abiba leg is empty."
+  exit 1
+fi
+echo "== structural =="
+if bash -n "$SCRIPT"; then ok "syntax: bash -n $SCRIPT"; else bad "syntax: bash -n $SCRIPT failed"; fi
+if bash -n "$LEG"; then ok "syntax: extracted leg parses (bash -n)"; else bad "syntax: extracted leg fails bash -n"; fi
+
+# --- per-case harness ---------------------------------------------------------
+CURRENT_NAME=""
+CURRENT_DIR=""
+
+# $1 case name, $2 http-code, $3 body (file path or literal)
+run_case() {
+  local name="$1" http="$2" body_src="$3" body
+  CURRENT_NAME="$name"
+  CURRENT_DIR=$(mktemp -d "$TMP/case.XXXXXX")
+  if [ -f "$body_src" ]; then
+    body=$(cat "$body_src")
+  else
+    body="$body_src"
+  fi
+  (
+    LOG="$CURRENT_DIR/log"; ISSUES=0
+    notify() { printf 'ALERT [%s] %s\n' "$1" "$2" >> "$CURRENT_DIR/alerts"; }
+    pm2()    { printf 'PM2 %s\n' "$*"    >> "$CURRENT_DIR/pm2"; }
+    curl() {
+      local url=""
+      for a in "$@"; do case "$a" in http*) url="$a";; esac; done
+      case "$url" in
+        *:9200/health*)
+          case " $* " in
+            *"-w"*) printf '%s' "$http" ;;   # -w '%{http_code}' code probe
+            *)      printf '%s' "$body"  ;;   # body probe
+          esac ;;
+        *)
+          printf 'UNEXPECTED-CURL %s\n' "$*" >> "$CURRENT_DIR/unexpected-curl"
+          return 7 ;;
+      esac
+      return 0
+    }
+    source "$LEG"
+  )
+}
+
+assert_log_has() {
+  if grep -qF -- "$1" "$CURRENT_DIR/log"; then ok "$CURRENT_NAME — log has: $1"; else bad "$CURRENT_NAME — log MISSING: $1"; fi
+}
+assert_log_lacks() {
+  if grep -qF -- "$1" "$CURRENT_DIR/log"; then bad "$CURRENT_NAME — log must NOT contain: $1"; else ok "$CURRENT_NAME — log correctly lacks: $1"; fi
+}
+assert_alert_has() {
+  if grep -qF -- "$1" "$CURRENT_DIR/alerts"; then ok "$CURRENT_NAME — alert sent: $1"; else bad "$CURRENT_NAME — alert MISSING: $1"; fi
+}
+assert_alert_empty() {
+  if [ ! -s "$CURRENT_DIR/alerts" ]; then ok "$CURRENT_NAME — no alert sent (quiet healthy path)"; else bad "$CURRENT_NAME — unexpected alert: $(cat "$CURRENT_DIR/alerts")"; fi
+}
+assert_pm2_restarted() {
+  if grep -qF "PM2 restart abiba-zulip" "$CURRENT_DIR/pm2"; then ok "$CURRENT_NAME — pm2 restart abiba-zulip was called"; else bad "$CURRENT_NAME — expected pm2 restart abiba-zulip, pm2 log: $(cat "$CURRENT_DIR/pm2" 2>/dev/null)"; fi
+}
+assert_no_restart() {
+  if [ ! -s "$CURRENT_DIR/pm2" ]; then ok "$CURRENT_NAME — NO pm2 restart (fail-safe holds)"; else bad "$CURRENT_NAME — pm2 was called but must NOT be: $(cat "$CURRENT_DIR/pm2")"; fi
+}
+assert_no_unexpected_curl() {
+  if [ ! -s "$CURRENT_DIR/unexpected-curl" ]; then ok "$CURRENT_NAME — only :9200/health was probed"; else bad "$CURRENT_NAME — unexpected curl: $(cat "$CURRENT_DIR/unexpected-curl")"; fi
+}
+
+# --- case 1: real payload shape, zulip.connected=true -> healthy, no restart --
+echo "== case 1: connected (real producer payload: nested zulip.connected=true) =="
+run_case "connected" 200 "$FIXTURES/zulip-health-connected.json"
+assert_log_has "Abiba: ✅ Connected (processed=0)"
+assert_log_lacks "Disconnected"
+assert_alert_empty
+assert_no_restart
+assert_no_unexpected_curl
+
+# --- case 2: zulip.connected=false -> disconnected, restart -------------------
+echo "== case 2: disconnected (nested zulip.connected=false triggers restart) =="
+run_case "disconnected" 200 "$FIXTURES/zulip-health-disconnected.json"
+assert_log_has "Abiba: ❌ Disconnected — restarted"
+assert_alert_has "DISCONNECTED — restarting"
+assert_pm2_restarted
+assert_no_unexpected_curl
+
+# --- cases 3-9: probe failures must alert and MUST NOT restart ----------------
+echo "== probe-failure cases: alert 'NOT restarting', zero pm2 restarts =="
+
+run_case "empty body" 200 ""
+assert_log_has "Abiba: ⚠️ Probe failed"
+assert_log_lacks "❌ Disconnected"
+assert_alert_has "NOT restarting"
+assert_no_restart
+
+run_case "garbage body" 200 '{not valid json!!'
+assert_log_has "Abiba: ⚠️ Probe failed"
+assert_alert_has "NOT restarting"
+assert_no_restart
+
+run_case "missing zulip key" 200 '{"status":"ok","platform":"pi","agent":"abiba"}'
+assert_log_has "Probe failed"
+assert_alert_has "NOT restarting"
+assert_no_restart
+
+run_case "zulip without connected" 200 '{"status":"ok","zulip":{"last_error":null}}'
+assert_log_has "Probe failed"
+assert_alert_has "NOT restarting"
+assert_no_restart
+
+run_case "non-boolean connected" 200 '{"status":"ok","zulip":{"connected":"true"}}'
+assert_log_has "Probe failed"
+assert_alert_has "NOT restarting"
+assert_no_restart
+
+run_case "fetch failure http 000" 000 ""
+assert_log_has "Probe failed"
+assert_alert_has "NOT restarting"
+assert_no_restart
+
+run_case "non-2xx http 500" 500 '{"error":"boom"}'
+assert_log_has "Probe failed"
+assert_alert_has "NOT restarting"
+assert_no_restart
+
+# --- case 10: connected but last_error set -> degraded 🟡, no restart ---------
+echo "== case 10: degraded (connected=true but last_error set) warns, no restart =="
+run_case "degraded" 200 '{"status":"ok","zulip":{"connected":true,"last_error":"transient queue hiccup","messages_processed":3}}'
+assert_log_has "Abiba: 🟡 Error: transient queue hiccup"
+assert_log_lacks "❌ Disconnected"
+assert_no_restart
+
+# --- summary -------------------------------------------------------------------
+echo ""
+if [ "$FAIL" -eq 0 ]; then
+  echo "✅ ALL CHECKS PASSED ($PASS/$PASS) — tests/zulip-monitor-abiba.sh"
+  exit 0
+else
+  echo "❌ $FAIL CHECK(S) FAILED ($PASS passed) — tests/zulip-monitor-abiba.sh"
+  exit 1
+fi