diff --git a/tests/test_import_flow.py b/tests/test_import_flow.py
index 81296f5..3262a0d 100644
--- a/tests/test_import_flow.py
+++ b/tests/test_import_flow.py
@@ -1328,3 +1328,34 @@ def test_adopt_files_already_in_the_library(client):
     assert (root / "Tolkien/Der Hobbit/01.mp3").exists()  # nothing moved
     assert client.get(f"/api/import/library/{lib}").json()["items"] == []
     assert [h["event"] for h in client.get("/api/history").json()] == ["adopted"] * 2
+
+
+def test_health_reports_problems_as_codes(client, monkeypatch):
+    from wordarr import connect
+    from wordarr.metadata import hardcover
+    monkeypatch.setattr(hardcover, "TOKEN", "")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(connect, "ABS_URL", "http://abs")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(connect, "ABS_TOKEN", "")
+    gone = client.tmp_path / "gone"
+    client.post("/api/libraries", json={
+        "name": "Weg", "media_type": "ebook", "root_path": str(gone)})
+    client.post("/api/libraries", json={
+        "name": "Da", "media_type": "ebook", "root_path": str(client.downloads)})
+
+    issues = client.get("/api/system/health").json()
+    assert {(i["code"], i.get("name")) for i in issues} == {
+        ("library.missing", "Weg"), ("hardcover.token", None), ("abs.incomplete", None)}
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(hardcover, "TOKEN", "x")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(connect, "ABS_URL", "")
+    gone.mkdir()
+    assert client.get("/api/system/health").json() == []
+
+
+def test_recent_logs_newest_first(client):
+    import logging
+    logging.getLogger("wordarr.test").info("first")
+    logging.getLogger("wordarr.test").warning("second")
+    rows = client.get("/api/system/logs").json()
+    assert [r["message"] for r in rows[:2]] == ["second", "first"]
+    assert rows[0]["level"] == "WARNING"
diff --git a/wordarr/api/system.py b/wordarr/api/system.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..384fab8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wordarr/api/system.py
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends
+from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
+
+from .. import config, connect, logs
+from ..db import Library, get_session
+from ..metadata import hardcover
+
+router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/system", tags=["system"])
+
+
+def _dir_problem(path: Path) -> str | None:
+    if not path.is_dir():
+        return "missing"
+    if not os.access(path, os.W_OK | os.X_OK):
+        return "readonly"
+    return None
+
+
+@router.get("/health")
+def health(session: Session = Depends(get_session)):
+    """Problems only, as codes the UI translates; an empty list means healthy."""
+    issues = []
+    if problem := _dir_problem(config.DOWNLOAD_DIR):
+        issues.append({"code": f"download.{problem}", "level": "error",
+                       "path": str(config.DOWNLOAD_DIR)})
+    for lib in session.scalars(select(Library).order_by(Library.name)):
+        if problem := _dir_problem(Path(lib.root_path)):
+            issues.append({"code": f"library.{problem}", "level": "error",
+                           "name": lib.name, "path": lib.root_path})
+    if not hardcover.TOKEN:
+        issues.append({"code": "hardcover.token", "level": "warning"})
+    if bool(connect.ABS_URL) != bool(connect.ABS_TOKEN):
+        issues.append({"code": "abs.incomplete", "level": "warning"})
+    return issues
+
+
+@router.get("/logs")
+def recent_logs():
+    """Newest first."""
+    return list(reversed(logs.RECORDS))
diff --git a/wordarr/logs.py b/wordarr/logs.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b9551ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wordarr/logs.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+"""Keep the latest log records in memory for the system page."""
+import collections
+import datetime
+import logging
+
+# shortcut: lost on restart, write to /config if older entries are ever needed
+RECORDS: collections.deque[dict] = collections.deque(maxlen=200)
+
+
+class _Buffer(logging.Handler):
+    def emit(self, record: logging.LogRecord) -> None:
+        RECORDS.append({
+            "at": datetime.datetime.fromtimestamp(record.created, datetime.UTC).isoformat(),
+            "level": record.levelname,
+            "logger": record.name,
+            "message": self.format(record),
+        })
+
+
+def install() -> None:
+    """A handler on root would silence the last-resort stderr output, so
+    basicConfig keeps the container log. uvicorn's loggers do not propagate,
+    its errors are caught on uvicorn.error itself."""
+    if any(isinstance(h, _Buffer) for h in logging.getLogger().handlers):
+        return
+    logging.basicConfig(format="%(levelname)s:%(name)s: %(message)s")
+    logging.getLogger("wordarr").setLevel(logging.INFO)
+    buffer = _Buffer(logging.INFO)
+    logging.getLogger().addHandler(buffer)
+    logging.getLogger("uvicorn.error").addHandler(buffer)
diff --git a/wordarr/main.py b/wordarr/main.py
index c9cd3c3..b8d2e45 100644
--- a/wordarr/main.py
+++ b/wordarr/main.py
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from fastapi import FastAPI
 from fastapi.staticfiles import StaticFiles
 
-from . import db, version
-from .api import fs, history, imports, libraries, requests, search
+from . import db, logs, version
+from .api import fs, history, imports, libraries, requests, search, system
+
+logs.install()
 
 
 @asynccontextmanager
@@ -22,6 +24,7 @@ app.include_router(requests.router)
 app.include_router(imports.router)
 app.include_router(fs.router)
 app.include_router(history.router)
+app.include_router(system.router)
 
 
 @app.get("/api/version")