diff --git a/dankserver/compose.yaml b/dankserver/compose.yaml
index 3ccdf10..ec654dc 100644
--- a/dankserver/compose.yaml
+++ b/dankserver/compose.yaml
@@ -147,25 +147,8 @@ services:
       retries: 3
 
 
-  # ═══════════════════════════════════════════════
-  # Node Exporter — host metrics
-  # ═══════════════════════════════════════════════
-  node-exporter:
-    image: prom/node-exporter:latest
-    container_name: node-exporter
-    restart: unless-stopped
-    network_mode: host
-    pid: host
-    volumes:
-      - /proc:/host/proc:ro
-      - /sys:/host/sys:ro
-      - /:/rootfs:ro
-    command:
-      - --path.procfs=/host/proc
-      - --path.sysfs=/host/sys
-      - --path.rootfs=/rootfs
-    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "wget", "--spider", "-q", "http://localhost:9100/metrics"]
-      interval: 30s
-      timeout: 10s
-      retries: 3
+  # node-exporter left this file on 2026-09-16 for
+  # dankserver/observability/quadlet/node-exporter.container: a compose-only
+  # container does not survive a reboot here — it died `Exited (143)` and stayed
+  # dead, leaving Prometheus' node-dankserver job scraping nothing — and the
+  # compose form bound the wildcard address. One owner per container name.
diff --git a/dankserver/observability/quadlet/node-exporter.container b/dankserver/observability/quadlet/node-exporter.container
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..97a5cbf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dankserver/observability/quadlet/node-exporter.container
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Quadlet unit: node-exporter (rootless, boot-persistent) — DANKSERVER.
+#
+# Install path on dankserver: ~/.config/containers/systemd/node-exporter.container
+# Unit name: node-exporter.service (container name: node-exporter)
+#
+# WHY THIS FILE EXISTS. Until 2026-09-16 the Dankserver node-exporter ran only
+# from `dankserver/compose.yaml` (the "Observability" block, `restart:
+# unless-stopped`). Rootless Podman does not restart bare containers after the
+# explicit stop that shutdown performs, so it died at a reboot and stayed dead:
+# `podman ps -a` showed it `Exited (143)` and Prometheus' `node-dankserver` job
+# had been scraping nothing since. The compose entry also bound the default
+# wildcard address, which is the unauthenticated-metrics-API-on-every-interface
+# posture that was already removed on Dankclaw. This unit replaces both: one
+# owner per container name (the compose service is deleted), explicit listen
+# addresses, and a generator-provided boot path.
+#
+# HOST NAMESPACE. Networking and PID in the host's namespaces: the collectors
+# report the host's own interfaces, connections, processes and cgroups. The
+# host's /proc, /sys and / are mounted read-only under /host and /rootfs, and
+# node_exporter writes nothing.
+#
+# LISTEN ADDRESSES. Exactly two:
+#   - 127.0.0.1:9100   for host-local probes
+#   - 192.168.0.235:9100 for Prometheus, which scrapes this host from Dankclaw
+#     (shared/prometheus/prometheus.yml, job "node-dankserver"). It cannot use
+#     loopback across hosts, and node_exporter has no authentication, so the
+#     wildcard bind stays off the table. This is the same deliberate LAN
+#     listener posture the observability runbook documents.
+#
+# MIRROR. Keep this file in step with dankclaw/observability/quadlet/
+# node-exporter.container; only the Description and the LAN address differ.
+
+[Unit]
+Description=Prometheus node exporter (Dankserver host metrics)
+After=network-online.target
+Wants=network-online.target
+
+[Container]
+ContainerName=node-exporter
+Image=docker.io/prom/node-exporter:latest
+Network=host
+PodmanArgs=--pid=host
+Exec=--path.procfs=/host/proc --path.sysfs=/host/sys --path.rootfs=/rootfs --web.listen-address=127.0.0.1:9100 --web.listen-address=192.168.0.235:9100
+Volume=/proc:/host/proc:ro
+Volume=/sys:/host/sys:ro
+Volume=/:/rootfs:ro
+HealthCmd=wget --spider -q http://localhost:9100/metrics
+HealthInterval=30s
+HealthTimeout=10s
+HealthRetries=3
+HealthStartPeriod=30s
+
+[Service]
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=10
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=default.target
diff --git a/scripts/deploy-plan.py b/scripts/deploy-plan.py
index 40e249a..918acce 100755
--- a/scripts/deploy-plan.py
+++ b/scripts/deploy-plan.py
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ DANKSERVER_SERVICES = {
     "lidarr",
     "readarr",
     "frank-medium",
+    "node-exporter",
 }
 
 # FrankBook-Pro runs the *arr stack + qBittorrent inside a podman machine on
@@ -356,6 +357,16 @@ def services_for_path(path: str, target: str) -> set[str]:
                 "frank-medium": {"frank-medium"},
             }
             _add(services, *quadlet_services.get(parts[1], set()))
+        if len(parts) >= 2 and parts[1] == "observability":
+            # Dankserver's node-exporter became a Quadlet unit on 2026-09-16
+            # (serverAppConfigs-docs/Infrastructure/Observability.md): its
+            # compose service died at a reboot and stayed dead, so Prometheus'
+            # node-dankserver job had nothing to scrape.
+            if len(parts) >= 4 and parts[2] == "quadlet":
+                name = parts[3].removesuffix(".container")
+                if name == "node-exporter":
+                    _add(services, "node-exporter")
+            return services
         if len(parts) >= 2 and parts[1] == "frank-medium":
             # The vllm-radiance runtime since 2026-09-15: the quadlet file
             # above, plus the entrypoint and healthcheck it mounts straight
diff --git a/scripts/deploy-remote.sh b/scripts/deploy-remote.sh
index fb9d7ff..79f896a 100755
--- a/scripts/deploy-remote.sh
+++ b/scripts/deploy-remote.sh
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ service_is_allowed() {
         dankserver:copyparty|dankserver:jellyfin|dankserver:calibre-web|dankserver:plex|dankserver:tautulli|\
         dankserver:prowlarr|dankserver:qbittorrent|dankserver:radarr|\
         dankserver:sonarr|dankserver:lidarr|dankserver:readarr|\
-        dankserver:frank-medium|\
+        dankserver:frank-medium|dankserver:node-exporter|\
         frankbook-pro:gluetun|frankbook-pro:qbittorrent|frankbook-pro:prowlarr|\
         frankbook-pro:radarr|frankbook-pro:sonarr|frankbook-pro:lidarr|\
         frankbook-pro:readarr)
@@ -425,6 +425,10 @@ seed_grafana_env() {
 # compose services published on 0.0.0.0 and none of them authenticates.
 deploy_observability() {
     local service="$1"
+    # Observability units live under <target>/observability/quadlet: Dankclaw
+    # has five, Dankserver one (node-exporter, since 2026-09-16). The config
+    # copies below are Dankclaw-owned state and run only there.
+    local unit_dir="$TARGET/observability/quadlet"
     case "$service" in
         prometheus)
             copy_prometheus_config
@@ -448,7 +452,7 @@ deploy_observability() {
             return 2
             ;;
     esac
-    install_quadlet observability dankclaw/observability/quadlet "$service"
+    install_quadlet observability "$unit_dir" "$service"
     systemctl --user restart "$service.service"
     case "$service" in
         prometheus) wait_for_health prometheus http://127.0.0.1:9090/-/healthy 60 ;;
diff --git a/tests/observability_quadlet.bats b/tests/observability_quadlet.bats
index 16bd079..55ea31d 100755
--- a/tests/observability_quadlet.bats
+++ b/tests/observability_quadlet.bats
@@ -232,7 +232,11 @@ service_section() {
 
 @test "the deployer installs, restarts and health-checks each unit" {
     grep -q '^deploy_observability() {' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
-    grep -q 'install_quadlet observability dankclaw/observability/quadlet "$service"' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
+    # Installs from the TARGET's own tree, not a hardcoded dankclaw path: the
+    # two hosts own different observability units now (Dankclaw five, Dankserver
+    # node-exporter), so the source directory has to follow $TARGET.
+    grep -q 'local unit_dir="\$TARGET/observability/quadlet"' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
+    grep -q 'install_quadlet observability "\$unit_dir" "\$service"' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
     grep -q 'systemctl --user restart "$service.service"' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
     local svc url
     while read -r svc url; do
@@ -352,3 +356,39 @@ exprs = [t['expr'] for p in d['panels'] for t in p.get('targets', [])]
 assert any('ALERTS' in e for e in exprs), exprs
 "
 }
+
+@test "dankserver runs node-exporter as a boot-persistent unit, not from compose" {
+    # Dankserver's node-exporter ran only from compose until 2026-09-16 and died
+    # at a reboot (`Exited (143)`), leaving Prometheus' node-dankserver job
+    # scraping nothing for a day and a half. It also bound the wildcard address,
+    # which is the unauthenticated-metrics-on-every-interface posture already
+    # removed on Dankclaw.
+    local unit="$REPO_ROOT/dankserver/observability/quadlet/node-exporter.container"
+    [ -f "$unit" ]
+    grep -q '^WantedBy=default.target$' "$unit"
+    grep -q '^Restart=always$' "$unit"
+    grep -q '^Network=host$' "$unit"
+    # Exactly two listen addresses: loopback for host-local probes and this
+    # host's LAN address for Prometheus on Dankclaw. Never the wildcard — then
+    # fix the half of the sentence the runtime cannot see.
+    grep -q -- '--web.listen-address=127.0.0.1:9100' "$unit"
+    grep -q -- '--web.listen-address=192.168.0.235:9100' "$unit"
+    ! grep -qE -- '--web\.listen-address=(0\.0\.0\.0|:9100|\[::\])' "$unit"
+    # One owner per container name: the compose service must be gone, or two
+    # definitions fight over the same container.
+    ! grep -qE '^\s+node-exporter:' "$REPO_ROOT/dankserver/compose.yaml"
+    # The deploy path has to know about it on this target.
+    grep -q 'dankserver:node-exporter' "$REPO_ROOT/scripts/deploy-remote.sh"
+    run python3 "$REPO_ROOT/scripts/deploy-plan.py" --target dankserver \
+        --paths dankserver/observability/quadlet/node-exporter.container
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ "$output" = "node-exporter" ]
+}
+
+@test "the observability handler installs units from the target's own tree" {
+    # It used to hardcode dankclaw/observability/quadlet, so a dankserver unit
+    # could never be installed by the shared dispatcher.
+    local handler="$REPO_ROOT/scripts/deploy-remote.sh"
+    grep -q 'local unit_dir="$TARGET/observability/quadlet"' "$handler"
+    grep -q 'install_quadlet observability "$unit_dir" "$service"' "$handler"
+}