diff --git a/apps/server/src/core/telemetry/client-telemetry.module.spec.ts b/apps/server/src/core/telemetry/client-telemetry.module.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..eadeba35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/server/src/core/telemetry/client-telemetry.module.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { ClientTelemetryModule } from './client-telemetry.module';
+import { VitalsController } from './vitals.controller';
+import { VitalsService } from './vitals.service';
+
+// The register() gate is the CORE of the maintainer's E1=B decision: the public,
+// unauthenticated /api/telemetry/vitals endpoint must be OFF by default, so a
+// self-host deploy has no anonymous disk-fill surface into `client_metrics`. A
+// regression that inverts the flag (or a truthiness bug where "" / "false"
+// registers the route) would silently reopen that surface — pin it here.
+describe('ClientTelemetryModule.register (E1=B gate)', () => {
+  const original = process.env.CLIENT_TELEMETRY_ENABLED;
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (original === undefined) delete process.env.CLIENT_TELEMETRY_ENABLED;
+    else process.env.CLIENT_TELEMETRY_ENABLED = original;
+  });
+
+  it('OFF by default (flag unset) — no controller, no provider (endpoint absent)', () => {
+    delete process.env.CLIENT_TELEMETRY_ENABLED;
+    const mod = ClientTelemetryModule.register();
+    expect(mod.controllers).toEqual([]);
+    expect(mod.providers).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it.each(['false', 'False', '0', '', 'yes', '1'])(
+    'stays OFF for non-"true" value %p (no route)',
+    (val) => {
+      process.env.CLIENT_TELEMETRY_ENABLED = val;
+      const mod = ClientTelemetryModule.register();
+      expect(mod.controllers).toEqual([]);
+      expect(mod.providers).toEqual([]);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it('ON only for "true" — registers VitalsController + VitalsService', () => {
+    process.env.CLIENT_TELEMETRY_ENABLED = 'true';
+    const mod = ClientTelemetryModule.register();
+    expect(mod.controllers).toContain(VitalsController);
+    expect(mod.providers).toContain(VitalsService);
+  });
+
+  it('ON is case-insensitive ("TRUE")', () => {
+    process.env.CLIENT_TELEMETRY_ENABLED = 'TRUE';
+    const mod = ClientTelemetryModule.register();
+    expect(mod.controllers).toContain(VitalsController);
+    expect(mod.providers).toContain(VitalsService);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/server/src/database/database.module.ts b/apps/server/src/database/database.module.ts
index ea56ed11..d0fb81a7 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/database/database.module.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/database/database.module.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,10 @@ import { PageListener } from '@docmost/db/listeners/page.listener';
 import { PostgresJSDialect } from 'kysely-postgres-js';
 import * as postgres from 'postgres';
 import { normalizePostgresUrl } from '../common/helpers';
-import { observeDbQuery } from '../integrations/metrics/metrics.registry';
+import {
+  observeDbQuery,
+  isMetricsEnabled,
+} from '../integrations/metrics/metrics.registry';
 import { firstSqlToken } from '../integrations/metrics/metrics.constants';
 
 @Global()
@@ -70,12 +73,16 @@ import { firstSqlToken } from '../integrations/metrics/metrics.constants';
         plugins: [new CamelCasePlugin()],
         log: (event: LogEvent) => {
           // #355 — db_query_duration_seconds, labelled by the leading SQL token
-          // (bounded cardinality). No-op when METRICS_PORT is unset. Runs for
-          // every query, independent of the dev-only debug logging below.
-          observeDbQuery(
-            firstSqlToken(event.query.sql),
-            event.queryDurationMillis / 1000,
-          );
+          // (bounded cardinality). Gated on isMetricsEnabled() so the token work
+          // (regex + Set lookup) is skipped entirely when metrics are OFF — not
+          // just observeDbQuery no-op'd — so a non-metrics deployment pays nothing
+          // per query. Runs independent of the dev-only debug logging below.
+          if (isMetricsEnabled()) {
+            observeDbQuery(
+              firstSqlToken(event.query.sql),
+              event.queryDurationMillis / 1000,
+            );
+          }
 
           if (environmentService.getNodeEnv() !== 'development') return;
           const logger = new Logger(DatabaseModule.name);
diff --git a/apps/server/src/integrations/metrics/metrics.constants.ts b/apps/server/src/integrations/metrics/metrics.constants.ts
index 16ad4950..b802e2f0 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/integrations/metrics/metrics.constants.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/integrations/metrics/metrics.constants.ts
@@ -30,28 +30,32 @@ export const JOB_BUCKETS = [
  * the full query text would blow up label cardinality; the leading keyword is a
  * finite set. Unknown/empty queries collapse to `other`.
  */
+// The bounded set of SQL leading keywords used as db_query_duration_seconds
+// labels. Module-const so it is built ONCE, not per query (this runs on every DB
+// query when metrics are enabled).
+const KNOWN_SQL_TOKENS = new Set([
+  'select',
+  'insert',
+  'update',
+  'delete',
+  'with',
+  'begin',
+  'commit',
+  'rollback',
+  'alter',
+  'create',
+  'drop',
+  'truncate',
+  'explain',
+]);
+
 export function firstSqlToken(sql: string | undefined): string {
   if (!sql) return 'other';
   // Skip leading whitespace / comments and grab the first word.
   const match = /^[\s(]*([a-zA-Z]+)/.exec(sql);
   if (!match) return 'other';
   const token = match[1].toLowerCase();
-  const known = new Set([
-    'select',
-    'insert',
-    'update',
-    'delete',
-    'with',
-    'begin',
-    'commit',
-    'rollback',
-    'alter',
-    'create',
-    'drop',
-    'truncate',
-    'explain',
-  ]);
-  return known.has(token) ? token : 'other';
+  return KNOWN_SQL_TOKENS.has(token) ? token : 'other';
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/apps/server/src/integrations/metrics/metrics.server.ts b/apps/server/src/integrations/metrics/metrics.server.ts
index 3d09547a..a5c4d3e8 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/integrations/metrics/metrics.server.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/integrations/metrics/metrics.server.ts
@@ -73,5 +73,14 @@ export function closeMetricsServer(): Promise<void> {
   if (!server) return Promise.resolve();
   return new Promise((resolve) => {
     server.close(() => resolve());
+    // server.close() stops accepting NEW connections but its callback does not
+    // fire until existing keep-alive sockets drain. The scraper (VictoriaMetrics/
+    // vmagent) holds an idle HTTP keep-alive socket, so without this the callback
+    // — and thus shutdown — would hang until the scraper disconnects or the
+    // orchestrator escalates to SIGKILL on the kill-grace window. Force-close idle
+    // keep-alive sockets so close() completes immediately, and unref so this
+    // server never keeps the event loop alive on its own.
+    server.closeIdleConnections();
+    server.unref();
   });
 }