diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7e39b31..945edcf 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -66,6 +66,28 @@ commands.
 - [docs/configuration.md](docs/configuration.md) — env vars + strategy file layout
 - [docs/test-specification.md](docs/test-specification.md) — test plan (236 tests)
 
+## E2E live tests — preflight gate
+
+`npm run test:e2e-live` runs against the testnet Nostr relay, L3 aggregator,
+IPFS gateway, Fulcrum, and Market API. Before any container is spawned, the
+suite probes those services via `@unicitylabs/infra-probe` and aborts up-front
+if any are unreachable — saving 10–15-minute container-spawn cycles that would
+otherwise surface infra outages as opaque test timeouts.
+
+| Env var | Default | Effect |
+|---|---|---|
+| `TRADER_E2E_SKIP_PREFLIGHT` | unset | Set to `1` to bypass the gate entirely (escape hatch when iterating on TS/test-only changes that don't need infra) |
+| `TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_STRICT` | unset | Set to `1` to also fail on `degraded` (default warns and proceeds — e2e timeouts absorb mild slowness) |
+| `TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_NETWORK` | `testnet` | One of `testnet`, `mainnet`, `dev`. Other values throw at startup |
+| `TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_TIMEOUT_MS` | `30000` | Per-probe ceiling. Must be a positive finite number; NaN/0/negative throw at startup |
+
+Ad-hoc probing without invoking vitest:
+
+```sh
+npm run preflight           # pretty-printed
+npm run preflight:json      # one-line JSON for scripting
+```
+
 ## Status
 
 Restored from `pre-trader-cut-v1` tag of agentic-hosting (Phase b decoupling).
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 213e642..0d77f7b 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
         "@types/uuid": "^10.0.0",
         "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^8.24.0",
         "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^8.24.0",
+        "@unicitylabs/infra-probe": "^0.3.0",
         "@vitest/coverage-v8": "^3.0.0",
         "eslint": "^9.20.0",
         "tsup": "^8.4.0",
@@ -955,6 +956,35 @@
         "@jridgewell/sourcemap-codec": "^1.4.14"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@noble/curves": {
+      "version": "1.9.7",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@noble/curves/-/curves-1.9.7.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-gbKGcRUYIjA3/zCCNaWDciTMFI0dCkvou3TL8Zmy5Nc7sJ47a0jtOeZoTaMxkuqRo9cRhjOdZJXegxYE5FN/xw==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "@noble/hashes": "1.8.0"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": "^14.21.3 || >=16"
+      },
+      "funding": {
+        "url": "https://paulmillr.com/funding/"
+      }
+    },
+    "node_modules/@noble/hashes": {
+      "version": "1.8.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@noble/hashes/-/hashes-1.8.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-jCs9ldd7NwzpgXDIf6P3+NrHh9/sD6CQdxHyjQI+h/6rDNo88ypBxxz45UDuZHz9r3tNz7N/VInSVoVdtXEI4A==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "engines": {
+        "node": "^14.21.3 || >=16"
+      },
+      "funding": {
+        "url": "https://paulmillr.com/funding/"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@pkgjs/parseargs": {
       "version": "0.11.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@pkgjs/parseargs/-/parseargs-0.11.0.tgz",
@@ -1598,6 +1628,23 @@
         "url": "https://opencollective.com/eslint"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/@unicitylabs/infra-probe": {
+      "version": "0.3.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@unicitylabs/infra-probe/-/infra-probe-0.3.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-lul/bpMmJmguDchCxmJGaO/rBWjOs+dHbSP0brnxRbc/QvLF/tJqqZpvJIgqRMwQziWB4fWPvYu1cwqDFNcE6w==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "dependencies": {
+        "@noble/curves": "^1.6.0",
+        "ws": "^8.18.0"
+      },
+      "bin": {
+        "unicity-infra-probe": "bin/unicity-infra-probe.mjs"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=20.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/@unicitylabs/sphere-sdk": {
       "resolved": "../sphere-sdk",
       "link": true
@@ -4237,6 +4284,28 @@
         "url": "https://github.com/chalk/ansi-styles?sponsor=1"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/ws": {
+      "version": "8.20.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/ws/-/ws-8.20.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-sAt8BhgNbzCtgGbt2OxmpuryO63ZoDk/sqaB/znQm94T4fCEsy/yV+7CdC1kJhOU9lboAEU7R3kquuycDoibVA==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=10.0.0"
+      },
+      "peerDependencies": {
+        "bufferutil": "^4.0.1",
+        "utf-8-validate": ">=5.0.2"
+      },
+      "peerDependenciesMeta": {
+        "bufferutil": {
+          "optional": true
+        },
+        "utf-8-validate": {
+          "optional": true
+        }
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/yocto-queue": {
       "version": "0.1.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/yocto-queue/-/yocto-queue-0.1.0.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index f289a51..80f0586 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
     "test:watch": "vitest",
     "test:coverage": "vitest run --coverage",
     "test:e2e-live": "vitest run --config vitest.e2e-live.config.ts",
+    "preflight": "unicity-infra-probe --network testnet",
+    "preflight:json": "unicity-infra-probe --network testnet --format json",
     "lint": "eslint .",
     "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit && tsc --noEmit -p tsconfig.test.json"
   },
@@ -28,6 +30,7 @@
     "@types/uuid": "^10.0.0",
     "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^8.24.0",
     "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^8.24.0",
+    "@unicitylabs/infra-probe": "^0.3.0",
     "@vitest/coverage-v8": "^3.0.0",
     "eslint": "^9.20.0",
     "tsup": "^8.4.0",
diff --git a/test/e2e-live/global-setup.ts b/test/e2e-live/global-setup.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a4aa08d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/e2e-live/global-setup.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+/**
+ * Vitest globalSetup for the e2e-live suite.
+ *
+ * Runs ONCE before any test file. If the preflight throws, vitest aborts
+ * the entire run before spawning any Docker containers — saving the
+ * 10-15-minute round trip we'd otherwise eat on a relay outage or
+ * unreachable aggregator.
+ */
+
+import { runPreflight } from './preflight.js';
+
+export async function setup(): Promise<void> {
+  await runPreflight();
+}
diff --git a/test/e2e-live/infra-probe.d.ts b/test/e2e-live/infra-probe.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da3b901
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/e2e-live/infra-probe.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+/**
+ * Ambient declaration for @unicitylabs/infra-probe — the package ships
+ * pure-ESM .mjs without bundled .d.ts. Only typed to the surface our
+ * preflight uses; the full report shape is re-typed locally in preflight.ts
+ * with `as Report` so changes upstream surface as type errors there.
+ */
+declare module '@unicitylabs/infra-probe' {
+  export interface ProbeOptions {
+    network?: 'testnet' | 'mainnet' | 'dev';
+    only?: string[];
+    timeoutMs?: number;
+    aggregatorApiKey?: string;
+  }
+  export function runProbes(options?: ProbeOptions): Promise<unknown>;
+  export function exitCodeForReport(report: unknown): number;
+  export const SERVICES: readonly string[];
+}
diff --git a/test/e2e-live/preflight.ts b/test/e2e-live/preflight.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..784832e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/e2e-live/preflight.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+/**
+ * Preflight infrastructure check for the e2e-live suite.
+ *
+ * Wraps `@unicitylabs/infra-probe` to verify that every Unicity Network
+ * service the e2e-live tests depend on (Nostr relay, L3 Aggregator, IPFS
+ * gateway, L1 Fulcrum, Market API) is reachable and functional BEFORE
+ * spawning any Docker containers or burning faucet quota.
+ *
+ * Failure modes the probe catches that the e2e suite would otherwise hit
+ * as opaque timeouts 5-15 minutes deep into a run:
+ *   - Nostr relay silently dropping kind:30078 / kind:1059 publishes
+ *     (the symptom of the 2026-04-30 outage that motivated this gate)
+ *   - Aggregator API key rejection / rate-limit
+ *   - IPFS gateway 5xx
+ *   - Fulcrum chain tip stale (L1 stuck) → token-create races
+ *   - Market API down → no intent discovery at all
+ *
+ * Environment knobs:
+ *   TRADER_E2E_SKIP_PREFLIGHT=1     — bypass the gate entirely (escape hatch)
+ *   TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_STRICT=1   — also fail on `degraded` (default: warn-only)
+ *   TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_NETWORK    — override the network (default: testnet)
+ *   TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_TIMEOUT_MS — per-probe ceiling (default: 30000)
+ */
+
+import { runProbes } from '@unicitylabs/infra-probe';
+
+interface Check {
+  readonly name: string;
+  readonly status: 'pass' | 'warn' | 'fail';
+  readonly latencyMs: number;
+  readonly message: string;
+}
+
+interface Service {
+  readonly service: string;
+  readonly endpoint: string;
+  readonly status: 'healthy' | 'degraded' | 'unreachable' | 'error';
+  readonly latencyMs: number;
+  readonly checks: Check[];
+  readonly error?: string;
+}
+
+interface Report {
+  readonly services: Service[];
+  readonly summary: {
+    readonly total: number;
+    readonly healthy: number;
+    readonly degraded: number;
+    readonly unreachable: number;
+  };
+}
+
+function statusIcon(status: Service['status']): string {
+  if (status === 'healthy') return '✓';
+  if (status === 'degraded') return '⚠';
+  return '✗';
+}
+
+function checkIcon(status: Check['status']): string {
+  if (status === 'pass') return '✓';
+  if (status === 'warn') return '⚠';
+  return '✗';
+}
+
+function logReport(report: Report): void {
+  for (const svc of report.services) {
+    console.log(
+      `[preflight] ${statusIcon(svc.status)} ${svc.service.padEnd(11)} ${svc.endpoint} (${svc.status}, ${svc.latencyMs}ms)`,
+    );
+    if (svc.error) {
+      console.log(`[preflight]     error: ${svc.error}`);
+    }
+    for (const c of svc.checks) {
+      const icon = checkIcon(c.status);
+      console.log(`[preflight]     ${icon} ${c.name.padEnd(20)} ${c.latencyMs}ms  ${c.message}`);
+    }
+  }
+  const { total, healthy, degraded, unreachable } = report.summary;
+  console.log(
+    `[preflight] summary: ${healthy}/${total} healthy, ${degraded} degraded, ${unreachable} unreachable`,
+  );
+}
+
+export async function runPreflight(): Promise<void> {
+  if (process.env['TRADER_E2E_SKIP_PREFLIGHT'] === '1') {
+    console.log('[preflight] SKIPPED (TRADER_E2E_SKIP_PREFLIGHT=1)');
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // Validate network enum locally rather than blind-cast. The upstream
+  // `runProbes` would also throw on an unknown network, but tightening here
+  // makes the contract local and immune to upstream silent enum extensions.
+  const VALID_NETWORKS = ['testnet', 'mainnet', 'dev'] as const;
+  type Network = (typeof VALID_NETWORKS)[number];
+  const rawNetwork = process.env['TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_NETWORK'] ?? 'testnet';
+  if (!(VALID_NETWORKS as readonly string[]).includes(rawNetwork)) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Preflight: invalid TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_NETWORK="${rawNetwork}". ` +
+        `Must be one of: ${VALID_NETWORKS.join(', ')}.`,
+    );
+  }
+  const network = rawNetwork as Network;
+
+  // Validate timeoutMs. `Number('abc')` returns NaN; `Number('-1')` returns -1;
+  // `Number('0')` returns 0. All of these would propagate to the upstream
+  // probe's setTimeout and either fire immediately (NaN coerces to 1ms in Node)
+  // or never fire (0 = no timeout in setTimeout's contract). Both produce
+  // misleading "preflight failed" results from a typo. Reject loudly.
+  const rawTimeoutMs = process.env['TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_TIMEOUT_MS'] ?? '30000';
+  const timeoutMs = Number(rawTimeoutMs);
+  if (!Number.isFinite(timeoutMs) || timeoutMs <= 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Preflight: invalid TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_TIMEOUT_MS="${rawTimeoutMs}". ` +
+        `Must be a positive finite number (milliseconds).`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  const strict = process.env['TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_STRICT'] === '1';
+
+  console.log(
+    `[preflight] probing ${network} infrastructure (timeout=${timeoutMs}ms, strict=${strict})...`,
+  );
+  const startedAt = Date.now();
+
+  const report = (await runProbes({ network, timeoutMs })) as Report;
+  const elapsed = Date.now() - startedAt;
+
+  logReport(report);
+  console.log(`[preflight] completed in ${elapsed}ms`);
+
+  const { unreachable, degraded } = report.summary;
+  const downServices = report.services
+    .filter((s) => s.status === 'unreachable' || s.status === 'error')
+    .map((s) => `${s.service}=${s.status}`);
+  const slowServices = report.services
+    .filter((s) => s.status === 'degraded')
+    .map((s) => `${s.service}=${s.status}`);
+
+  if (unreachable > 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Preflight failed: ${unreachable} service(s) unreachable [${downServices.join(', ')}]. ` +
+        `Set TRADER_E2E_SKIP_PREFLIGHT=1 to bypass (not recommended — tests will likely hang).`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (degraded > 0) {
+    if (strict) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Preflight failed (strict mode): ${degraded} service(s) degraded [${slowServices.join(', ')}]. ` +
+          `Unset TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_STRICT or set TRADER_E2E_SKIP_PREFLIGHT=1 to bypass.`,
+      );
+    }
+    console.warn(
+      `[preflight] WARNING: ${degraded} service(s) degraded [${slowServices.join(', ')}] — ` +
+        `tests may be slow or intermittently fail. Set TRADER_E2E_PREFLIGHT_STRICT=1 to fail-fast on this.`,
+    );
+  }
+}
diff --git a/vitest.e2e-live.config.ts b/vitest.e2e-live.config.ts
index bfcae6c..940a1c3 100644
--- a/vitest.e2e-live.config.ts
+++ b/vitest.e2e-live.config.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ import { defineConfig } from 'vitest/config';
 export default defineConfig({
   test: {
     include: ['test/e2e-live/**/*.test.ts'],
+    // Run @unicitylabs/infra-probe before any test file. Aborts the run
+    // up-front if the testnet Nostr relay / aggregator / IPFS / Fulcrum /
+    // market is unreachable, instead of consuming a 10-15-minute container
+    // spawn cycle to discover the same failure as an opaque timeout.
+    // Bypass: TRADER_E2E_SKIP_PREFLIGHT=1.
+    globalSetup: ['./test/e2e-live/global-setup.ts'],
     testTimeout: 180_000,
     hookTimeout: 300_000,
     pool: 'forks',