diff --git a/.woodpecker/vector-test.yaml b/.woodpecker/vector-test.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aace88e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.woodpecker/vector-test.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+when:
+  - event: pull_request
+
+steps:
+  - name: vector-test
+    image: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/timberio/vector:0.57.0-debian
+    commands:
+      # Dummy creds + writable dirs so the full topologies build; the unit tests
+      # only exercise the transforms (sources are not started).
+      - export CLICKHOUSE_USER=ci CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD=ci
+      - export NATS_PRODUCER_PASSWORD=ci NATS_CONSUMER_PASSWORD=ci
+      - mkdir -p /vector-data-dir /etc/vault-ca
+      - cp /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt /etc/vault-ca/ca.crt
+      # Transform tier + VM ingest: unit-tested transforms.
+      - vector test apps/base/logging/vector/aggregator.yaml apps/base/logging/vector/aggregator-tests.yaml
+      - vector test apps/base/logging/vector/vm-ingest.yaml apps/base/logging/vector/vm-ingest-tests.yaml
+      # Agent + archiver have no transforms to unit-test; validate they build.
+      - vector validate --no-environment apps/base/logging/vector/agent.yaml
+      - vector validate --no-environment apps/base/logging/vector/archiver.yaml
+    backend_options:
+      kubernetes:
+        serviceAccountName: default
+        resources:
+          requests:
+            memory: 256Mi
+            cpu: 250m
+          limits:
+            memory: 1Gi
+            cpu: 1
diff --git a/apps/base/clickhouse-system/kustomization.yaml b/apps/base/clickhouse-system/kustomization.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5122f9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/clickhouse-system/kustomization.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
+kind: Kustomization
+
+resources:
+  - namespace.yaml
diff --git a/apps/base/clickhouse-system/namespace.yaml b/apps/base/clickhouse-system/namespace.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..519dfb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/clickhouse-system/namespace.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Namespace
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: clickhouse-system
+  name: clickhouse-system
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/cephrgw.yaml b/apps/base/logging/cephrgw.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee1bd8e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/cephrgw.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+# S3 bucket (Ceph RGW) for the long-term raw-log archive, provisioned by the
+# in-estate cephrgw-operator. The archiver Vector deployment writes here.
+apiVersion: ceph.unkin.net/v1alpha1
+kind: ObjectStoreUser
+metadata:
+  name: logs-archive-owner
+  namespace: logging
+spec:
+  displayName: "Logging raw-archive bucket owner"
+  maxBuckets: 5
+  quota:
+    enabled: true
+    # 5 TiB soft cap; real retention is enforced RGW-side by a bucket lifecycle
+    # policy (see PR notes) — the operator does not manage lifecycle.
+    maxSizeBytes: 5497558138880
+---
+apiVersion: ceph.unkin.net/v1alpha1
+kind: Bucket
+metadata:
+  name: logs-archive
+  namespace: logging
+spec:
+  bucketName: logs-archive
+  ownerRef: logs-archive-owner
+  versioning: false
+  tags:
+    app: logging
+    purpose: raw-log-archive
+  # Keep the bucket (and its objects) if this CR is ever deleted.
+  retainOnDelete: true
+---
+apiVersion: ceph.unkin.net/v1alpha1
+kind: BucketAccess
+metadata:
+  name: logs-archive-writer
+  namespace: logging
+spec:
+  bucketRef: logs-archive
+  level: read-write
+  # Operator writes AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID / AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY (+ RGW_UID,
+  # S3_ENDPOINT, BUCKET_NAME) into this Secret; the archiver consumes it.
+  secretName: logs-archive-s3
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/clickhouseinstallation.yaml b/apps/base/logging/clickhouseinstallation.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f6b63f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/clickhouseinstallation.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+---
+apiVersion: clickhouse.altinity.com/v1
+kind: ClickHouseInstallation
+metadata:
+  name: logs
+  namespace: logging
+spec:
+  defaults:
+    templates:
+      dataVolumeClaimTemplate: data-volume
+      serviceTemplate: chi-service
+      podTemplate: clickhouse
+  configuration:
+    users:
+      # Password hash is sourced from the Vault-synced clickhouse-credentials
+      # Secret; the plaintext never lands in git or the ClickHouse config.
+      vector/password_sha256_hex:
+        valueFrom:
+          secretKeyRef:
+            name: clickhouse-credentials
+            key: password_sha256_hex
+      vector/networks/ip:
+        - "::/0"
+      vector/profile: default
+      vector/quota: default
+      # Allow the vector user to create the logs database/table (bootstrap Job)
+      # and to INSERT. Restrict the built-in default user to loopback only.
+      vector/access_management: "1"
+      default/networks/ip:
+        - "127.0.0.1"
+        - "::1"
+    profiles:
+      default/max_memory_usage: "10000000000"
+      default/max_execution_time: "120"
+    clusters:
+      - name: logs
+        layout:
+          shardsCount: 1
+          replicasCount: 1
+  templates:
+    volumeClaimTemplates:
+      - name: data-volume
+        spec:
+          storageClassName: cephrbd-fast-delete
+          accessModes:
+            - ReadWriteOnce
+          resources:
+            requests:
+              # 3d TTL on logs.raw. At ~130 GiB/day raw, ClickHouse LZ4/ZSTD
+              # (~6x on log text) stores ~20-25 GiB/day => ~60-75 GiB/3d, plus
+              # merge headroom (~2x peak). logs.raw is the only table. 150Gi
+              # gives comfortable headroom; long-term data lives in S3, not here.
+              storage: 150Gi
+    serviceTemplates:
+      - name: chi-service
+        generateName: "clickhouse-{chi}"
+        spec:
+          type: ClusterIP
+          ports:
+            - name: http
+              port: 8123
+            - name: tcp
+              port: 9000
+    podTemplates:
+      - name: clickhouse
+        spec:
+          securityContext:
+            fsGroup: 101
+            runAsUser: 101
+            runAsGroup: 101
+          containers:
+            - name: clickhouse
+              image: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/clickhouse/clickhouse-server:24.8
+              resources:
+                requests:
+                  cpu: 500m
+                  memory: 2Gi
+                limits:
+                  cpu: "2"
+                  memory: 8Gi
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/gateway.yaml b/apps/base/logging/gateway.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb072dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/gateway.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+---
+# Log ingestion endpoint for puppet-managed VMs (and any non-k8s client).
+# Reuses the internal Traefik gateway + cert-manager + external-dns pattern so
+# VMs reach the Vector aggregator's HTTP source over TLS at a DNS name they can
+# resolve. The puppet-side Vector rollout ships NDJSON to
+# https://logs-ingest.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/ (a later task).
+apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
+kind: Gateway
+metadata:
+  name: logs-ingest
+  namespace: logging
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: vector-aggregator
+    app.kubernetes.io/component: ingest
+    traefik.io/instance: internal
+  annotations:
+    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: vault-issuer
+    cert-manager.io/common-name: logs-ingest.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net
+    cert-manager.io/private-key-size: "4096"
+    external-dns.alpha.kubernetes.io/hostname: logs-ingest.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net
+    external-dns.alpha.kubernetes.io/target: 198.18.200.4
+spec:
+  gatewayClassName: traefik-internal
+  listeners:
+    - name: http
+      port: 80
+      protocol: HTTP
+      hostname: logs-ingest.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net
+      allowedRoutes:
+        namespaces:
+          from: Same
+    - name: https
+      port: 443
+      protocol: HTTPS
+      hostname: logs-ingest.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net
+      allowedRoutes:
+        namespaces:
+          from: Same
+      tls:
+        mode: Terminate
+        certificateRefs:
+          - group: ""
+            kind: Secret
+            name: logs-ingest-tls
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/httproute.yaml b/apps/base/logging/httproute.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2400863
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/httproute.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+---
+apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
+kind: HTTPRoute
+metadata:
+  name: logs-ingest-http-redirect
+  namespace: logging
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: vector-aggregator
+    app.kubernetes.io/component: ingest
+spec:
+  hostnames:
+    - logs-ingest.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net
+  parentRefs:
+    - group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
+      kind: Gateway
+      name: logs-ingest
+      sectionName: http
+  rules:
+    - filters:
+        - type: RequestRedirect
+          requestRedirect:
+            scheme: https
+            statusCode: 301
+      matches:
+        - path:
+            type: PathPrefix
+            value: /
+---
+apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
+kind: HTTPRoute
+metadata:
+  name: logs-ingest
+  namespace: logging
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: vector-aggregator
+    app.kubernetes.io/component: ingest
+spec:
+  hostnames:
+    - logs-ingest.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net
+  parentRefs:
+    - group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
+      kind: Gateway
+      name: logs-ingest
+      sectionName: https
+  rules:
+    - backendRefs:
+        - group: ""
+          kind: Service
+          name: vector-vm-ingest
+          port: 8080
+          weight: 1
+      matches:
+        - path:
+            type: PathPrefix
+            value: /
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/job_clickhouse-schema.yaml b/apps/base/logging/job_clickhouse-schema.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff36675
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/job_clickhouse-schema.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+---
+# Declarative ClickHouse schema bootstrap. Runs as an ArgoCD PostSync hook so it
+# executes after the ClickHouseInstallation is reconciled, and re-runs on every
+# sync (idempotent CREATE ... IF NOT EXISTS). Edit the DDL here to evolve the
+# schema; the Vector aggregator writes to logs.raw with skip_unknown_fields, so
+# adding columns is backward-compatible.
+apiVersion: batch/v1
+kind: Job
+metadata:
+  name: clickhouse-schema
+  namespace: logging
+  annotations:
+    argocd.argoproj.io/hook: PostSync
+    argocd.argoproj.io/hook-delete-policy: BeforeHookCreation
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: clickhouse-schema
+    app.kubernetes.io/component: bootstrap
+spec:
+  backoffLimit: 20
+  activeDeadlineSeconds: 1800
+  ttlSecondsAfterFinished: 3600
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app.kubernetes.io/name: clickhouse-schema
+        vector.dev/exclude: "true"
+    spec:
+      restartPolicy: OnFailure
+      securityContext:
+        runAsNonRoot: true
+        runAsUser: 101
+        runAsGroup: 101
+      containers:
+        - name: clickhouse-schema
+          image: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/clickhouse/clickhouse-server:24.8
+          securityContext:
+            allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
+            readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
+            capabilities:
+              drop:
+                - ALL
+          env:
+            - name: HOME
+              value: /tmp
+            - name: CLICKHOUSE_USER
+              valueFrom:
+                secretKeyRef:
+                  name: clickhouse-credentials
+                  key: username
+            - name: CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD
+              valueFrom:
+                secretKeyRef:
+                  name: clickhouse-credentials
+                  key: password
+          command:
+            - /bin/bash
+            - -ec
+            - |
+              host=clickhouse-logs.logging.svc.cluster.local
+              echo "Waiting for ClickHouse at ${host}:9000 ..."
+              until clickhouse-client --host "$host" --port 9000 \
+                  --user "$CLICKHOUSE_USER" --password "$CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD" \
+                  --query "SELECT 1" >/dev/null 2>&1; do
+                echo "  not ready, retrying in 5s"; sleep 5
+              done
+              echo "Applying schema ..."
+              clickhouse-client --host "$host" --port 9000 \
+                --user "$CLICKHOUSE_USER" --password "$CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD" \
+                --multiquery <<'EOSQL'
+              CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS logs;
+
+              CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS logs.raw
+              (
+                  timestamp  DateTime64(3)           DEFAULT now64(3),
+                  host       LowCardinality(String)  DEFAULT '',
+                  source     LowCardinality(String)  DEFAULT '',
+                  namespace  LowCardinality(String)  DEFAULT '',
+                  pod        String                  DEFAULT '',
+                  container  LowCardinality(String)  DEFAULT '',
+                  stream     LowCardinality(String)  DEFAULT '',
+                  severity   LowCardinality(String)  DEFAULT '',
+                  message    String                  DEFAULT '',
+                  labels     Map(LowCardinality(String), String),
+                  fields     Map(LowCardinality(String), String)
+              )
+              ENGINE = MergeTree
+              PARTITION BY toDate(timestamp)
+              ORDER BY (source, namespace, host, timestamp)
+              TTL toDateTime(timestamp) + INTERVAL 3 DAY
+              SETTINGS index_granularity = 8192;
+              EOSQL
+              echo "Schema applied."
+          resources:
+            requests:
+              cpu: 50m
+              memory: 128Mi
+            limits:
+              cpu: 500m
+              memory: 512Mi
+          volumeMounts:
+            - name: tmp
+              mountPath: /tmp
+      volumes:
+        - name: tmp
+          emptyDir: {}
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/kustomization.yaml b/apps/base/logging/kustomization.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4fd721f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/kustomization.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+---
+apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
+kind: Kustomization
+
+resources:
+  - namespace.yaml
+  - vaultauth.yaml
+  - vaultstaticsecret.yaml
+  - clickhouseinstallation.yaml
+  - job_clickhouse-schema.yaml
+  - nats-bootstrap-job.yaml
+  - cephrgw.yaml
+  - gateway.yaml
+  - httproute.yaml
+
+# Vector pipelines are the single source of truth (also validated by
+# `vector test` in CI). Mounted into each tier via `existingConfigMaps`.
+configMapGenerator:
+  # Tunable JetStream stream limits (the nats-bootstrap Job reads these and does
+  # create-or-update). Hash suffix is INTENTIONALLY left on: editing a value
+  # renames the ConfigMap, which rewrites the Job's env reference, which changes
+  # the PostSync hook Job's spec and forces Argo to re-run it -> new limits apply.
+  # Sizing assumes ~1500 events/s avg @ ~1 KiB/event with S2 compression (~4x):
+  # ~33 GiB/day compressed -> ~100 GiB/3d per replica. max_bytes 130 GiB sits
+  # under the 180Gi/node PVC (see values-nats.yaml). Raising retention beyond the
+  # PVC requires bumping BOTH max_bytes here and fileStore PVC size in values.
+  - name: nats-stream-limits
+    literals:
+      - max_age=72h
+      - max_bytes=139586437120
+      - dupe_window=2m
+  - name: vector-agent-config
+    files:
+      - agent.yaml=vector/agent.yaml
+    options:
+      disableNameSuffixHash: true
+  - name: vector-aggregator-config
+    files:
+      - aggregator.yaml=vector/aggregator.yaml
+    options:
+      disableNameSuffixHash: true
+  - name: vector-vm-ingest-config
+    files:
+      - vm-ingest.yaml=vector/vm-ingest.yaml
+    options:
+      disableNameSuffixHash: true
+  - name: vector-archiver-config
+    files:
+      - archiver.yaml=vector/archiver.yaml
+    options:
+      disableNameSuffixHash: true
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/namespace.yaml b/apps/base/logging/namespace.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ccca01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/namespace.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Namespace
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: logging
+  name: logging
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/nats-bootstrap-job.yaml b/apps/base/logging/nats-bootstrap-job.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e2fc68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/nats-bootstrap-job.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+---
+# Declarative JetStream provisioning: the LOGS stream + durable consumers.
+# ArgoCD PostSync hook, idempotent create-or-UPDATE, re-runs each sync.
+#
+# Stream LOGS: file storage, 3 replicas, retention=limits (NOT workqueue) so the
+# transform tier AND the archiver each independently see every message — reading
+# never deletes; only max-age/max-bytes do. S2 compression is on (logs compress
+# well). Replay window = max-age (3d default). Beyond that, the S3 archive is the
+# ONLY long-term source — everything else is gone after 3 days (accepted design).
+#
+# TUNABLE LIMITS LIVE IN A CONFIGMAP (nats-stream-limits): max_age, max_bytes,
+# dupe_window. Change the ConfigMap and re-sync — this Job re-runs and applies
+# the new limits via `nats stream edit` (no manual surgery). The ConfigMap is
+# generated with a content-hash suffix (kustomize), so editing it changes both
+# the ConfigMap name AND this Job's env reference → the PostSync hook Job's spec
+# changes and Argo re-runs it (belt-and-suspenders on top of hooks running each
+# sync; hook-delete-policy=BeforeHookCreation recreates it every time).
+#
+# Consumers (independent offsets = true fan-out):
+#   transform  -> whole log stream, feeds the ClickHouse transform tier
+#   archiver   -> configurable security-relevant subset, feeds the S3 archiver.
+#                 Default filter is Vault audit (logs.k8s.vault.>); ADD subjects
+#                 by editing ARCHIVE_SUBJECTS (space-separated -> repeated
+#                 --filter). Exact default set is an open decision for Ben.
+#
+# Runbook (replay):
+#   (a) reprocess from JetStream (within max-age, 3d): scale the transform tier
+#       to 0, then `nats consumer rm LOGS transform` and re-run this Job
+#       (recreates at DeliverAll), or `nats consumer edit`/`--replay` from a
+#       start seq/time.
+#   (b) long-horizon (beyond JetStream): re-ingest S3 archive objects back
+#       through the transform tier (vector aws_s3 source or a one-shot Job).
+apiVersion: batch/v1
+kind: Job
+metadata:
+  name: nats-bootstrap
+  namespace: logging
+  annotations:
+    argocd.argoproj.io/hook: PostSync
+    argocd.argoproj.io/hook-delete-policy: BeforeHookCreation
+  labels:
+    app.kubernetes.io/name: nats-bootstrap
+    app.kubernetes.io/component: bootstrap
+spec:
+  backoffLimit: 20
+  activeDeadlineSeconds: 1800
+  ttlSecondsAfterFinished: 3600
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app.kubernetes.io/name: nats-bootstrap
+        vector.dev/exclude: "true"
+    spec:
+      restartPolicy: OnFailure
+      securityContext:
+        runAsNonRoot: true
+        runAsUser: 1000
+        runAsGroup: 1000
+      containers:
+        - name: nats-bootstrap
+          image: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/natsio/nats-box:0.18.0
+          securityContext:
+            allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
+            readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
+            capabilities:
+              drop:
+                - ALL
+          env:
+            - name: HOME
+              value: /tmp
+            - name: NATS_URL
+              value: "nats://nats.logging.svc.cluster.local:4222"
+            - name: NATS_ADMIN_PASSWORD
+              valueFrom:
+                secretKeyRef:
+                  name: nats-auth
+                  key: admin_password
+            # Tunable stream limits — sourced from the ConfigMap.
+            - name: MAX_AGE
+              valueFrom:
+                configMapKeyRef:
+                  name: nats-stream-limits
+                  key: max_age
+            - name: MAX_BYTES
+              valueFrom:
+                configMapKeyRef:
+                  name: nats-stream-limits
+                  key: max_bytes
+            - name: DUPE_WINDOW
+              valueFrom:
+                configMapKeyRef:
+                  name: nats-stream-limits
+                  key: dupe_window
+            # Space-separated subject filters for the archiver consumer.
+            - name: ARCHIVE_SUBJECTS
+              value: "logs.k8s.vault.>"
+          command:
+            - /bin/sh
+            - -ec
+            - |
+              export NATS_USER=log-admin NATS_PASSWORD="$NATS_ADMIN_PASSWORD"
+              echo "Waiting for NATS + JetStream ..."
+              until nats --server "$NATS_URL" account info >/dev/null 2>&1; do
+                echo "  not ready, retry in 5s"; sleep 5
+              done
+
+              echo "Ensuring stream LOGS (max_age=$MAX_AGE max_bytes=$MAX_BYTES dupe=$DUPE_WINDOW) ..."
+              # Create if absent; otherwise converge the mutable limits from the
+              # ConfigMap. (storage/retention/replicas are immutable, set only on
+              # create.)
+              nats stream add LOGS \
+                --subjects='logs.>' --storage=file --replicas=3 \
+                --retention=limits --discard=old --compression=s2 \
+                --max-age="$MAX_AGE" --max-bytes="$MAX_BYTES" \
+                --max-msgs=-1 --max-msgs-per-subject=-1 --max-msg-size=-1 \
+                --max-consumers=-1 --dupe-window="$DUPE_WINDOW" --defaults 2>/dev/null \
+              && echo "  created" \
+              || nats stream edit -f LOGS \
+                --subjects='logs.>' --discard=old --compression=s2 \
+                --max-age="$MAX_AGE" --max-bytes="$MAX_BYTES" \
+                --max-msgs=-1 --max-msgs-per-subject=-1 --max-msg-size=-1 \
+                --max-consumers=-1 --dupe-window="$DUPE_WINDOW"
+
+              echo "Ensuring consumer transform ..."
+              nats consumer add LOGS transform \
+                --pull --filter='logs.>' --deliver=all --ack=explicit \
+                --max-deliver=-1 --replay=instant --defaults 2>/dev/null \
+              || echo "  transform already exists"
+
+              echo "Ensuring consumer archiver (filters: $ARCHIVE_SUBJECTS) ..."
+              filter_args=""
+              for s in $ARCHIVE_SUBJECTS; do filter_args="$filter_args --filter=$s"; done
+              # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+              nats consumer add LOGS archiver \
+                --pull $filter_args --deliver=all --ack=explicit \
+                --max-deliver=-1 --replay=instant --defaults 2>/dev/null \
+              || echo "  archiver already exists"
+
+              echo "Done."
+              nats stream info LOGS
+          resources:
+            requests:
+              cpu: 50m
+              memory: 64Mi
+            limits:
+              cpu: 500m
+              memory: 256Mi
+          volumeMounts:
+            - name: tmp
+              mountPath: /tmp
+      volumes:
+        - name: tmp
+          emptyDir: {}
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/vaultauth.yaml b/apps/base/logging/vaultauth.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf3b375
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/vaultauth.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+---
+apiVersion: secrets.hashicorp.com/v1beta1
+kind: VaultAuth
+metadata:
+  name: default
+  namespace: logging
+spec:
+  allowedNamespaces:
+    - logging
+  kubernetes:
+    audiences:
+      - vault
+    role: default
+    serviceAccount: default
+    tokenExpirationSeconds: 600
+  method: kubernetes
+  mount: k8s/au/syd1
+  vaultConnectionRef: vso-system/default
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/vaultstaticsecret.yaml b/apps/base/logging/vaultstaticsecret.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..45b56ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/vaultstaticsecret.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+---
+# ClickHouse credentials for the `vector` user.
+#
+# Seed the Vault KV entry once (values are NOT stored in git), e.g.:
+#   PW=$(openssl rand -base64 24)
+#   HASH=$(printf '%s' "$PW" | sha256sum | cut -d' ' -f1)
+#   vault kv put kv/kubernetes/namespace/logging/default/clickhouse-credentials \
+#     username=vector password="$PW" password_sha256_hex="$HASH"
+#
+# The `logging/default` ServiceAccount reads this path via the templated
+# `policies/kv/kubernetes/default.yaml` policy (k8s auth role `default`), so no
+# terraform-vault change is required — only the value above must be written.
+apiVersion: secrets.hashicorp.com/v1beta1
+kind: VaultStaticSecret
+metadata:
+  name: clickhouse-credentials
+  namespace: logging
+spec:
+  destination:
+    create: true
+    name: clickhouse-credentials
+    overwrite: true
+  hmacSecretData: true
+  mount: kv
+  path: kubernetes/namespace/logging/default/clickhouse-credentials
+  refreshAfter: 5m
+  type: kv-v2
+  vaultAuthRef: default
+---
+# NATS JetStream auth. Distinct passwords for the producer (edge), consumer
+# (transform tier + archiver) and admin (bootstrap Job) users. Seed once:
+#   for k in admin producer consumer; do declare P_$k=$(openssl rand -base64 24); done
+#   vault kv put kv/kubernetes/namespace/logging/default/nats-auth \
+#     admin_password="$P_admin" producer_password="$P_producer" consumer_password="$P_consumer"
+apiVersion: secrets.hashicorp.com/v1beta1
+kind: VaultStaticSecret
+metadata:
+  name: nats-auth
+  namespace: logging
+spec:
+  destination:
+    create: true
+    name: nats-auth
+    overwrite: true
+  hmacSecretData: true
+  mount: kv
+  path: kubernetes/namespace/logging/default/nats-auth
+  refreshAfter: 5m
+  type: kv-v2
+  vaultAuthRef: default
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/vector/agent.yaml b/apps/base/logging/vector/agent.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..efbc35f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/vector/agent.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+# Vector EDGE agent pipeline (DaemonSet) — thin publisher, single source of
+# truth. Mounted via existingConfigMaps (NOT the chart's customConfig, whose
+# Helm `tpl` pass collides with Vector's own {{ }} / ${ } syntax). Tails all pod
+# logs, attaches only routing tokens, publishes to JetStream. No parsing.
+data_dir: /vector-data-dir
+
+api:
+  enabled: false
+
+sources:
+  kubernetes_logs:
+    type: kubernetes_logs
+
+transforms:
+  # Routing metadata only: NATS-subject-safe namespace + container tokens.
+  keymeta:
+    type: remap
+    inputs:
+      - kubernetes_logs
+    source: |
+      ns = to_string(.kubernetes.pod_namespace || "unknown") ?? "unknown"
+      .ns_token = replace(ns, r'[^a-zA-Z0-9_-]', "_")
+      cont = to_string(.kubernetes.container_name || "unknown") ?? "unknown"
+      .cont_token = replace(cont, r'[^a-zA-Z0-9_-]', "_")
+
+sinks:
+  to_jetstream:
+    type: nats
+    inputs:
+      - keymeta
+    url: nats://nats.logging.svc.cluster.local:4222
+    connection_name: vector-agent
+    subject: "logs.k8s.{{ ns_token }}.{{ cont_token }}"
+    jetstream:
+      enabled: true
+    auth:
+      strategy: user_password
+      user_password:
+        user: log-producer
+        password: ${NATS_PRODUCER_PASSWORD}
+    encoding:
+      codec: json
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/vector/aggregator-tests.yaml b/apps/base/logging/vector/aggregator-tests.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8a194fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/vector/aggregator-tests.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+---
+# `vector test` unit tests for the aggregator transforms. Merged with
+# aggregator.yaml in CI (.woodpecker/vector-test.yaml). This is the pattern the
+# per-app parsing follow-ups extend: add a test per new transform here.
+tests:
+  - name: subject_routes_k8s_vs_vm
+    inputs:
+      - insert_at: route
+        type: log
+        log_fields:
+          subject: "logs.k8s.shop.web"
+          message: "routed"
+    outputs:
+      - extract_from: route.k8s
+        conditions:
+          - type: vrl
+            source: |
+              assert_eq!(.message, "routed")
+
+  - name: k8s_log_is_normalised
+    inputs:
+      - insert_at: k8s_shape
+        type: log
+        log_fields:
+          message: "hello from pod"
+          stream: "stdout"
+          timestamp: "2026-07-27T00:00:00Z"
+          kubernetes.pod_name: "web-abc"
+          kubernetes.pod_namespace: "shop"
+          kubernetes.container_name: "web"
+          kubernetes.pod_node_name: "node-1"
+    outputs:
+      - extract_from: k8s_shape
+        conditions:
+          - type: vrl
+            source: |
+              assert_eq!(.source, "k8s")
+              assert_eq!(.namespace, "shop")
+              assert_eq!(.pod, "web-abc")
+              assert_eq!(.container, "web")
+              assert_eq!(.host, "node-1")
+              assert_eq!(.stream, "stdout")
+              assert_eq!(.message, "hello from pod")
+
+  - name: vm_log_is_normalised
+    inputs:
+      - insert_at: vm_shape
+        type: log
+        log_fields:
+          message: "sshd started"
+          host: "vm-db-1"
+          severity: "info"
+          role: "database"
+    outputs:
+      - extract_from: vm_shape
+        conditions:
+          - type: vrl
+            source: |
+              assert_eq!(.source, "vm")
+              assert_eq!(.host, "vm-db-1")
+              assert_eq!(.severity, "info")
+              assert_eq!(.message, "sshd started")
+              assert_eq!(.labels.role, "database")
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/vector/aggregator.yaml b/apps/base/logging/vector/aggregator.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f22b849
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/vector/aggregator.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+---
+# Vector TRANSFORM tier (the "brain") — single source of truth, also validated
+# by `vector test` in CI. Consumes the whole log stream from JetStream via the
+# durable `transform` consumer (at-least-once; durable offsets tracked by
+# JetStream), routes by subject, normalises into the logs.raw columns, and is
+# the ONLY ClickHouse writer. Per-app parsing is added here as follow-ups:
+# insert a transform and append its id to the clickhouse sink `inputs` — no edge
+# or VM rollout required.
+#
+# Durability model: JetStream (3d / 130 GiB, S2-compressed) is the SOLE
+# durability layer and the replay window. This
+# tier is stateless (no PVC, memory buffer). If ClickHouse is down the sink
+# blocks (when_full=block); back-pressure stops the source pulling, so unpulled
+# messages stay in JetStream and are redelivered. NB: Vector's NATS source has
+# no end-to-end acks (acks on receipt), so a pod killed mid-outage can lose the
+# in-memory buffer's worth of already-pulled events — accepted for a stateless,
+# autoscalable tier.
+data_dir: /vector-data-dir
+
+api:
+  enabled: true
+  address: 0.0.0.0:8686
+
+sources:
+  js_in:
+    type: nats
+    url: nats://nats.logging.svc.cluster.local:4222
+    connection_name: vector-transform
+    subject: "logs.>"
+    jetstream:
+      stream: LOGS
+      consumer: transform
+    auth:
+      strategy: user_password
+      user_password:
+        user: log-consumer
+        password: ${NATS_CONSUMER_PASSWORD}
+    decoding:
+      codec: json
+
+transforms:
+  route:
+    type: route
+    inputs:
+      - js_in
+    route:
+      k8s: 'starts_with(to_string(.subject) ?? "", "logs.k8s.")'
+      vm: 'starts_with(to_string(.subject) ?? "", "logs.vm.")'
+
+  k8s_shape:
+    type: remap
+    inputs:
+      - route.k8s
+    source: |
+      ts = .timestamp || now()
+      node = to_string(.kubernetes.pod_node_name || "") ?? ""
+      ns = to_string(.kubernetes.pod_namespace || "") ?? ""
+      pod = to_string(.kubernetes.pod_name || "") ?? ""
+      container = to_string(.kubernetes.container_name || "") ?? ""
+      strm = to_string(.stream || "") ?? ""
+      msg = to_string(.message || "") ?? ""
+      lbls = object(.kubernetes.pod_labels) ?? {}
+      . = {
+        "timestamp": ts,
+        "host": node,
+        "source": "k8s",
+        "namespace": ns,
+        "pod": pod,
+        "container": container,
+        "stream": strm,
+        "severity": "",
+        "message": msg,
+        "labels": lbls,
+        "fields": {}
+      }
+
+  vm_shape:
+    type: remap
+    inputs:
+      - route.vm
+    source: |
+      ts = .timestamp || .ts || now()
+      host = to_string(.host || .hostname || "") ?? ""
+      msg = to_string(.message || .msg || "") ?? ""
+      sev = to_string(.severity || .level || "") ?? ""
+      role = to_string(.role || "") ?? ""
+      lbls = {}
+      if role != "" {
+        lbls = {"role": role}
+      }
+      . = {
+        "timestamp": ts,
+        "host": host,
+        "source": "vm",
+        "namespace": "",
+        "pod": "",
+        "container": "",
+        "stream": "",
+        "severity": sev,
+        "message": msg,
+        "labels": lbls,
+        "fields": {}
+      }
+
+sinks:
+  clickhouse:
+    type: clickhouse
+    inputs:
+      - k8s_shape
+      - vm_shape
+    endpoint: http://clickhouse-logs.logging.svc.cluster.local:8123
+    database: logs
+    table: raw
+    skip_unknown_fields: true
+    date_time_best_effort: true
+    auth:
+      strategy: basic
+      user: "${CLICKHOUSE_USER}"
+      password: "${CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD}"
+    batch:
+      max_events: 500000
+      max_bytes: 134217728
+      timeout_secs: 10
+    # Stateless: in-memory buffer, block on full so back-pressure reaches the
+    # JetStream pull source (which then stops acking). JetStream is durability.
+    buffer:
+      type: memory
+      max_events: 2000
+      when_full: block
+    healthcheck:
+      enabled: true
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/vector/archiver.yaml b/apps/base/logging/vector/archiver.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..60b5102
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/vector/archiver.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+---
+# Vector ARCHIVER tier — long-term raw-log backup to S3 (Ceph RGW). Independent
+# durable JetStream consumer (`archiver`) so its offsets/lag are fully isolated
+# from the ClickHouse transform path (archive lag can never stall ingest — true
+# fan-out). Writes RAW, pre-transform events (as they sit in JetStream) as
+# gzipped NDJSON, partitioned by subject + date. This is the long-horizon replay
+# source beyond JetStream's 3d retention window.
+data_dir: /vector-data-dir
+
+api:
+  enabled: true
+  address: 0.0.0.0:8686
+
+sources:
+  js_archive:
+    type: nats
+    url: nats://nats.logging.svc.cluster.local:4222
+    connection_name: vector-archiver
+    subject: "logs.>"
+    jetstream:
+      stream: LOGS
+      consumer: archiver
+    auth:
+      strategy: user_password
+      user_password:
+        user: log-consumer
+        password: ${NATS_CONSUMER_PASSWORD}
+    decoding:
+      codec: json
+
+sinks:
+  s3:
+    type: aws_s3
+    inputs:
+      - js_archive
+    bucket: logs-archive
+    endpoint: https://s3.ceph.unkin.net
+    region: us-east-1
+    force_path_style: true
+    tls:
+      ca_file: /etc/vault-ca/ca.crt
+    # AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID / AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY come from the logs-archive-s3
+    # Secret (cephrgw-operator) via envFrom on the deployment.
+    key_prefix: "raw/{{ subject }}/%Y/%m/%d/"
+    compression: gzip
+    encoding:
+      codec: json
+    framing:
+      method: newline_delimited
+    filename_time_format: "%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ"
+    filename_append_uuid: true
+    batch:
+      max_bytes: 134217728
+      timeout_secs: 300
+    buffer:
+      type: memory
+      max_events: 5000
+      when_full: block
+    # Disabled so slow BucketAccess credential propagation doesn't crash-loop
+    # the pod; RGW reachability is proven by the operator's own health.
+    healthcheck:
+      enabled: false
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/vector/vm-ingest-tests.yaml b/apps/base/logging/vector/vm-ingest-tests.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fed2928
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/vector/vm-ingest-tests.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+# `vector test` unit tests for the VM-ingest routing transform.
+tests:
+  - name: host_token_is_subject_safe
+    inputs:
+      - insert_at: tag
+        type: log
+        log_fields:
+          host: "db1.syd1.example.net"
+          message: "sshd accepted"
+    outputs:
+      - extract_from: tag
+        conditions:
+          - type: vrl
+            source: |
+              assert_eq!(.host_token, "db1_syd1_example_net")
+
+  - name: missing_host_defaults_to_unknown
+    inputs:
+      - insert_at: tag
+        type: log
+        log_fields:
+          message: "no host field"
+    outputs:
+      - extract_from: tag
+        conditions:
+          - type: vrl
+            source: |
+              assert_eq!(.host_token, "unknown")
diff --git a/apps/base/logging/vector/vm-ingest.yaml b/apps/base/logging/vector/vm-ingest.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e2b069
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/base/logging/vector/vm-ingest.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+---
+# Vector VM-INGEST tier — the VM front door. Thin: accepts NDJSON over HTTPS
+# (behind the logs-ingest Gateway) from puppet-managed VMs, attaches only a
+# routing token, and publishes into JetStream (subject logs.vm.<host>). No
+# parsing here — shaping happens in the transform tier after JetStream, so VM
+# logs get the same durability/replay/fan-out as k8s logs.
+data_dir: /vector-data-dir
+
+api:
+  enabled: true
+  address: 0.0.0.0:8686
+
+sources:
+  vm_http:
+    type: http_server
+    address: 0.0.0.0:8080
+    path: /
+    method: POST
+    decoding:
+      codec: json
+    framing:
+      method: newline_delimited
+
+transforms:
+  # Routing metadata only: derive a NATS-subject-safe host token.
+  tag:
+    type: remap
+    inputs:
+      - vm_http
+    source: |
+      host = to_string(.host || .hostname || "unknown") ?? "unknown"
+      .host_token = replace(host, r'[^a-zA-Z0-9_-]', "_")
+
+sinks:
+  to_jetstream:
+    type: nats
+    inputs:
+      - tag
+    url: nats://nats.logging.svc.cluster.local:4222
+    connection_name: vector-vm-ingest
+    subject: "logs.vm.{{ host_token }}"
+    jetstream:
+      enabled: true
+    auth:
+      strategy: user_password
+      user_password:
+        user: log-producer
+        password: ${NATS_PRODUCER_PASSWORD}
+    encoding:
+      codec: json
diff --git a/apps/overlays/au-syd1/clickhouse-system/kustomization.yaml b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/clickhouse-system/kustomization.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..498f573
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/clickhouse-system/kustomization.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
+kind: Kustomization
+
+namespace: clickhouse-system
+
+resources:
+  - ../../../base/clickhouse-system
+
+helmCharts:
+  - name: altinity-clickhouse-operator
+    repo: https://helm.altinity.com
+    version: "0.27.2"
+    releaseName: clickhouse-operator
+    namespace: clickhouse-system
+    valuesFile: values.yaml
diff --git a/apps/overlays/au-syd1/clickhouse-system/values.yaml b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/clickhouse-system/values.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee144fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/clickhouse-system/values.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+# Altinity ClickHouse operator. Cluster-scoped: watches ClickHouseInstallation
+# resources in all namespaces (the logs cluster lives in the `logging` namespace).
+# CRDs are installed at runtime by the chart's crdHook Job.
+#
+# All images are pulled through the artifactapi dockerhub remote (no direct
+# upstream). Upstream official images are used; no Docker Hardened Image variant
+# is adopted (DHI is subscription-gated and served from a private org namespace
+# not reachable via the anonymous artifactapi dockerhub proxy).
+crdHook:
+  image:
+    repository: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/bitnami/kubectl
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      cpu: 50m
+      memory: 64Mi
+    limits:
+      cpu: 250m
+      memory: 128Mi
+
+operator:
+  image:
+    repository: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/altinity/clickhouse-operator
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      cpu: 100m
+      memory: 256Mi
+    limits:
+      cpu: 500m
+      memory: 512Mi
+
+metrics:
+  image:
+    repository: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/altinity/metrics-exporter
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      cpu: 50m
+      memory: 64Mi
+    limits:
+      cpu: 250m
+      memory: 256Mi
diff --git a/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/kustomization.yaml b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/kustomization.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a81c658
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/kustomization.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+---
+apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
+kind: Kustomization
+
+namespace: logging
+
+resources:
+  - ../../../base/logging
+
+helmCharts:
+  # Dedicated JetStream NATS cluster — the durable log bus.
+  - name: nats
+    repo: https://nats-io.github.io/k8s/helm/charts
+    version: "2.14.2"
+    releaseName: nats
+    namespace: logging
+    valuesFile: values-nats.yaml
+  # Edge agent (DaemonSet): tails every pod's logs, publishes to JetStream.
+  - name: vector
+    repo: https://helm.vector.dev
+    version: "0.57.0"
+    releaseName: vector-agent
+    namespace: logging
+    valuesFile: values-vector-agent.yaml
+  # VM ingest (Deployment): HTTP NDJSON front door -> JetStream.
+  - name: vector
+    repo: https://helm.vector.dev
+    version: "0.57.0"
+    releaseName: vector-vm-ingest
+    namespace: logging
+    valuesFile: values-vector-vm-ingest.yaml
+  # Transform tier (StatefulSet): JetStream consumer -> shape -> ClickHouse.
+  - name: vector
+    repo: https://helm.vector.dev
+    version: "0.57.0"
+    releaseName: vector-aggregator
+    namespace: logging
+    valuesFile: values-vector-aggregator.yaml
+  # Archiver (Deployment): independent JetStream consumer -> raw logs to S3.
+  - name: vector
+    repo: https://helm.vector.dev
+    version: "0.57.0"
+    releaseName: vector-archiver
+    namespace: logging
+    valuesFile: values-vector-archiver.yaml
diff --git a/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-nats.yaml b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-nats.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..956ebd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-nats.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+# Dedicated JetStream-enabled NATS cluster for the log bus. Deliberately NOT
+# shared with app messaging (streamstack et al. run their own NATS in their own
+# repo) — a separate cluster isolates logging blast-radius from app messaging
+# and lets us size retention/storage purely for the log outage-buffer + replay
+# use-case.
+fullnameOverride: nats
+
+config:
+  cluster:
+    enabled: true
+    replicas: 3
+  jetstream:
+    enabled: true
+    fileStore:
+      pvc:
+        # Sized for 3d retention: ~100 GiB/3d compressed (see
+        # nats-stream-limits ConfigMap) + file-store WAL/index/overhead, kept
+        # safely above the 130 GiB max_bytes cap. 3 replicas => ~0.5 TiB total
+        # provisioned on cephrbd-fast-delete. NB: this is the honest number for
+        # the assumed ~1500 events/s; higher real volume needs a bigger PVC +
+        # max_bytes together, else discard=old truncates retention below 3d.
+        size: 180Gi
+        storageClassName: cephrbd-fast-delete
+  # Per-user auth with publish/subscribe separation. Passwords are injected as
+  # env vars from the Vault-synced nats-auth Secret (NATS expands $VAR in config).
+  merge:
+    authorization:
+      users:
+        # Bootstrap Job (stream/consumer management) — full JetStream API.
+        - user: log-admin
+          password: $NATS_ADMIN_PASSWORD
+        # Edge publishers (k8s DaemonSet + VM ingest) — publish only.
+        - user: log-producer
+          password: $NATS_PRODUCER_PASSWORD
+          permissions:
+            publish:
+              allow:
+                - "logs.>"
+            subscribe:
+              allow:
+                - "_INBOX.>"
+        # Consumers (transform tier + archiver) — pull + ack only, no publish
+        # to log subjects.
+        - user: log-consumer
+          password: $NATS_CONSUMER_PASSWORD
+          permissions:
+            publish:
+              allow:
+                - "$JS.API.CONSUMER.>"
+                - "$JS.API.STREAM.INFO.>"
+                - "$JS.ACK.LOGS.>"
+            subscribe:
+              allow:
+                - "_INBOX.>"
+
+container:
+  # Pulled through the artifactapi dockerhub remote (upstream official nats;
+  # no DHI variant available for nats).
+  image:
+    repository: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/library/nats
+    tag: 2.14.2-alpine
+  env:
+    NATS_ADMIN_PASSWORD:
+      valueFrom:
+        secretKeyRef:
+          name: nats-auth
+          key: admin_password
+    NATS_PRODUCER_PASSWORD:
+      valueFrom:
+        secretKeyRef:
+          name: nats-auth
+          key: producer_password
+    NATS_CONSUMER_PASSWORD:
+      valueFrom:
+        secretKeyRef:
+          name: nats-auth
+          key: consumer_password
+  resources:
+    requests:
+      cpu: 250m
+      memory: 512Mi
+    limits:
+      cpu: "2"
+      memory: 4Gi
+
+# Roll the StatefulSet when nats-auth changes.
+podTemplate:
+  merge:
+    metadata:
+      annotations:
+        reloader.stakater.com/auto: "true"
+
+# Config-reloader sidecar image, also through artifactapi.
+reloader:
+  image:
+    repository: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/natsio/nats-server-config-reloader
+    tag: "0.23.0"
+
+natsBox:
+  enabled: false
diff --git a/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-agent.yaml b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-agent.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bff67a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-agent.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+# Vector EDGE agent (DaemonSet) — thin publisher. Tails every node's pod logs
+# (incl. control-plane via the blanket toleration) and publishes them into
+# JetStream over the Vector NATS sink. No parsing; only a routing subject token
+# is attached. Shaping happens in the transform tier after JetStream.
+role: Agent
+fullnameOverride: vector-agent
+
+# Pulled through the artifactapi dockerhub remote; distroless-libc (no DHI —
+# subscription-gated/private-namespace, not reachable via the anon proxy).
+image:
+  repository: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/timberio/vector
+  tag: 0.57.0-distroless-libc
+
+rbac:
+  create: true
+serviceAccount:
+  create: true
+
+podLabels:
+  vector.dev/exclude: "true"
+
+tolerations:
+  - operator: Exists
+
+env:
+  - name: NATS_PRODUCER_PASSWORD
+    valueFrom:
+      secretKeyRef:
+        name: nats-auth
+        key: producer_password
+
+resources:
+  requests:
+    cpu: 100m
+    memory: 256Mi
+  limits:
+    cpu: "1"
+    memory: 1Gi
+
+service:
+  enabled: false
+
+# Pipeline is the single source of truth in apps/base/logging/vector/agent.yaml,
+# mounted via existingConfigMaps (avoids the chart's customConfig Helm-tpl pass).
+dataDir: /vector-data-dir
+existingConfigMaps:
+  - vector-agent-config
+
+workloadResourceAnnotations:
+  reloader.stakater.com/auto: "true"
diff --git a/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-aggregator.yaml b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-aggregator.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4ee0d14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-aggregator.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+# Vector TRANSFORM tier (STATELESS Deployment) — the "brain": sole ClickHouse
+# writer, owns all transforms, holds the only ClickHouse + NATS-consumer creds.
+#
+# Stateless by design: a JetStream pull consumer with NO PVC and NO disk buffer.
+# JetStream is the sole durability layer. On a ClickHouse outage the clickhouse
+# sink blocks (buffer when_full=block), back-pressure stops the source pulling,
+# and unpulled messages stay in JetStream for redelivery. Because Vector's NATS
+# source does NOT support end-to-end acknowledgements (it acks on receipt, not
+# after the sink), the only at-risk window is the in-memory buffer's worth of
+# already-pulled events if a pod is killed mid-outage — the accepted trade for a
+# horizontally-autoscalable stateless tier. Multiple replicas share the one
+# durable consumer `transform` (JetStream pull consumers distribute work), so
+# HPA is safe.
+role: Stateless-Aggregator
+fullnameOverride: vector-aggregator
+
+image:
+  repository: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/timberio/vector
+  tag: 0.57.0-distroless-libc
+
+# Horizontal autoscaling on CPU — safe with N replicas on one durable consumer.
+autoscaling:
+  enabled: true
+  minReplicas: 2
+  maxReplicas: 8
+  targetCPUUtilizationPercentage: 70
+
+workloadResourceAnnotations:
+  reloader.stakater.com/auto: "true"
+
+podLabels:
+  vector.dev/exclude: "true"
+
+# Pipeline is the single source of truth in apps/base/logging/vector/
+# aggregator.yaml (unit-tested by `vector test` in CI), mounted via
+# existingConfigMaps. No persistence — stateless.
+dataDir: /vector-data-dir
+existingConfigMaps:
+  - vector-aggregator-config
+
+# The ONLY place ClickHouse + NATS-consumer creds are consumed.
+env:
+  - name: CLICKHOUSE_USER
+    valueFrom:
+      secretKeyRef:
+        name: clickhouse-credentials
+        key: username
+  - name: CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD
+    valueFrom:
+      secretKeyRef:
+        name: clickhouse-credentials
+        key: password
+  - name: NATS_CONSUMER_PASSWORD
+    valueFrom:
+      secretKeyRef:
+        name: nats-auth
+        key: consumer_password
+
+# Pure consumer: expose only the Vector API for debugging.
+containerPorts:
+  - name: api
+    containerPort: 8686
+    protocol: TCP
+
+service:
+  enabled: true
+  type: ClusterIP
+  ports:
+    - name: api
+      port: 8686
+      targetPort: 8686
+      protocol: TCP
+
+resources:
+  requests:
+    cpu: 250m
+    memory: 512Mi
+  limits:
+    cpu: "2"
+    memory: 2Gi
diff --git a/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-archiver.yaml b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-archiver.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..671844a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-archiver.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+# Vector ARCHIVER tier (Deployment) — independent JetStream consumer writing raw
+# logs to S3 (Ceph RGW). Isolated from the ClickHouse path (own durable
+# consumer). Pipeline: apps/base/logging/vector/archiver.yaml.
+role: Stateless-Aggregator
+fullnameOverride: vector-archiver
+replicas: 1
+
+image:
+  repository: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/timberio/vector
+  tag: 0.57.0-distroless-libc
+
+workloadResourceAnnotations:
+  reloader.stakater.com/auto: "true"
+
+podLabels:
+  vector.dev/exclude: "true"
+
+dataDir: /vector-data-dir
+existingConfigMaps:
+  - vector-archiver-config
+
+env:
+  - name: NATS_CONSUMER_PASSWORD
+    valueFrom:
+      secretKeyRef:
+        name: nats-auth
+        key: consumer_password
+
+# S3 creds (AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID / AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY) from the cephrgw-operator
+# BucketAccess Secret.
+envFrom:
+  - secretRef:
+      name: logs-archive-s3
+
+# Trust the internal unkin.net Vault-PKI CA to verify s3.ceph.unkin.net.
+# vault-ca-cert is reflected into every namespace from the certificates ns.
+extraVolumes:
+  - name: vault-ca-cert
+    secret:
+      secretName: vault-ca-cert
+extraVolumeMounts:
+  - name: vault-ca-cert
+    mountPath: /etc/vault-ca/ca.crt
+    subPath: ca.crt
+    readOnly: true
+
+service:
+  enabled: false
+
+resources:
+  requests:
+    cpu: 100m
+    memory: 256Mi
+  limits:
+    cpu: "1"
+    memory: 1Gi
diff --git a/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-vm-ingest.yaml b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-vm-ingest.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..12fe8b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/overlays/au-syd1/logging/values-vector-vm-ingest.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+# Vector VM-INGEST tier (Deployment) — VM front door. HTTP NDJSON in (behind the
+# logs-ingest Gateway), publishes into JetStream. Stateless publisher.
+# Pipeline: apps/base/logging/vector/vm-ingest.yaml (unit-tested in CI).
+role: Stateless-Aggregator
+fullnameOverride: vector-vm-ingest
+replicas: 2
+
+image:
+  repository: artifactapi.k8s.syd1.au.unkin.net/dockerhub/timberio/vector
+  tag: 0.57.0-distroless-libc
+
+workloadResourceAnnotations:
+  reloader.stakater.com/auto: "true"
+
+podLabels:
+  vector.dev/exclude: "true"
+
+dataDir: /vector-data-dir
+existingConfigMaps:
+  - vector-vm-ingest-config
+
+env:
+  - name: NATS_PRODUCER_PASSWORD
+    valueFrom:
+      secretKeyRef:
+        name: nats-auth
+        key: producer_password
+
+containerPorts:
+  - name: http-ingest
+    containerPort: 8080
+    protocol: TCP
+  - name: api
+    containerPort: 8686
+    protocol: TCP
+
+service:
+  enabled: true
+  type: ClusterIP
+  ports:
+    - name: http-ingest
+      port: 8080
+      targetPort: 8080
+      protocol: TCP
+    - name: api
+      port: 8686
+      targetPort: 8686
+      protocol: TCP
+
+resources:
+  requests:
+    cpu: 100m
+    memory: 256Mi
+  limits:
+    cpu: "1"
+    memory: 1Gi
diff --git a/argocd/applicationsets/kustomization.yaml b/argocd/applicationsets/kustomization.yaml
index 87d07c2..b54cc35 100644
--- a/argocd/applicationsets/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/argocd/applicationsets/kustomization.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ kind: Kustomization
 
 resources:
   - aitooling.yaml
+  - logging.yaml
   - observability.yaml
   - platform.yaml
   - storage.yaml
diff --git a/argocd/applicationsets/logging.yaml b/argocd/applicationsets/logging.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ea542d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/argocd/applicationsets/logging.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+---
+apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
+kind: ApplicationSet
+metadata:
+  name: logging-apps
+  namespace: argocd
+spec:
+  generators:
+    - git:
+        repoURL: https://git.unkin.net/unkin/argocd-apps
+        revision: HEAD
+        directories:
+          - path: apps/overlays/*/clickhouse-system
+          - path: apps/overlays/*/logging
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      name: 'logging-{{path[3]}}'
+    spec:
+      project: logging
+      source:
+        repoURL: https://git.unkin.net/unkin/argocd-apps
+        targetRevision: HEAD
+        path: '{{path}}'
+      destination:
+        server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
+        namespace: '{{path[3]}}'
+      syncPolicy:
+        automated:
+          prune: true
+          selfHeal: true
+        syncOptions:
+          - ServerSideApply=true
+          - CreateNamespace=false
diff --git a/argocd/projects/kustomization.yaml b/argocd/projects/kustomization.yaml
index 87d07c2..b54cc35 100644
--- a/argocd/projects/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/argocd/projects/kustomization.yaml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ kind: Kustomization
 
 resources:
   - aitooling.yaml
+  - logging.yaml
   - observability.yaml
   - platform.yaml
   - storage.yaml
diff --git a/argocd/projects/logging.yaml b/argocd/projects/logging.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..591153a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/argocd/projects/logging.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
+kind: AppProject
+metadata:
+  name: logging
+  namespace: argocd
+spec:
+  description: Centralized logging stack (ClickHouse + Vector)
+  sourceRepos:
+    - https://git.unkin.net/unkin/argocd-apps
+    - https://helm.altinity.com
+    - https://helm.vector.dev
+  destinations:
+    - namespace: 'logging'
+      server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
+    - namespace: 'clickhouse-system'
+      server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
+  clusterResourceWhitelist:
+    - group: ''
+      kind: Namespace
+    - group: 'rbac.authorization.k8s.io'
+      kind: ClusterRole
+    - group: 'rbac.authorization.k8s.io'
+      kind: ClusterRoleBinding
+    - group: 'apiextensions.k8s.io'
+      kind: CustomResourceDefinition
+  namespaceResourceWhitelist:
+    - group: '*'
+      kind: '*'