diff --git a/src/backend/automations/engine.ts b/src/backend/automations/engine.ts
index 1998ec871..354f90647 100644
--- a/src/backend/automations/engine.ts
+++ b/src/backend/automations/engine.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
 import { createCurrentAutomationRepository } from "../database/repositories/factory.js";
 import { statsLogger } from "../utils/logger.js";
 import { resolveHostById } from "../hosts/host-resolver.js";
+import { notifyAutomationInternalEvent } from "../hosts/automation-events.js";
 import { executeStep } from "./actions/index.js";
 import type { StepExecutionContext, StepResult } from "./actions/types.js";
 import { compare } from "./conditions.js";
@@ -267,21 +268,20 @@ export class AutomationEngine {
       // its own failure, so the event is not emitted for runs that this event
       // already started.
       if (request.triggerType !== "internal_event") {
-        import("../hosts/automation-events.js")
-          .then(({ notifyAutomationInternalEvent }) =>
-            notifyAutomationInternalEvent(
-              "automation_failed",
-              automation.userId,
-              undefined,
-              {
-                automationId: automation.id,
-                automationName: automation.name,
-                runId: run.id,
-                error: error ?? null,
-              },
-            ),
-          )
-          .catch(() => undefined);
+        // Emitted onto the bus rather than imported from hosts/: the bus is
+        // fire-and-forget, so this no longer needs the lazy-import dance that
+        // was working around the repositories cycle.
+        notifyAutomationInternalEvent(
+          "automation_failed",
+          automation.userId,
+          undefined,
+          {
+            automationId: automation.id,
+            automationName: automation.name,
+            runId: run.id,
+            error: error ?? null,
+          },
+        );
       }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/backend/automations/scheduler.ts b/src/backend/automations/scheduler.ts
index 2b2cc9458..6a35c770f 100644
--- a/src/backend/automations/scheduler.ts
+++ b/src/backend/automations/scheduler.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ import { hasDwelled, isCoolingDown } from "./conditions.js";
 import { pollDockerEvents } from "./docker-watcher.js";
 import { AutomationEngine } from "./engine.js";
 import { reconcileHeadlessViewers } from "./headless-viewer.js";
+import {
+  subscribeAutomationTriggers,
+  unsubscribeAutomationTriggers,
+} from "./triggers.js";
 
 /**
  * The one timer the automations feature owns.
@@ -32,6 +36,10 @@ let ticking = false;
 export function startAutomationScheduler(): void {
   if (tickTimer) return;
 
+  // Event-driven triggers come through the bus; the interval below only drives
+  // the schedule-based ones.
+  subscribeAutomationTriggers();
+
   startupTimer = setTimeout(() => {
     void tick();
   }, STARTUP_DELAY_MS);
@@ -48,6 +56,7 @@ export function stopAutomationScheduler(): void {
   if (startupTimer) clearTimeout(startupTimer);
   tickTimer = null;
   startupTimer = null;
+  unsubscribeAutomationTriggers();
 }
 
 /** Exposed for tests; the interval calls this. */
diff --git a/src/backend/automations/triggers.ts b/src/backend/automations/triggers.ts
index ed88f5502..6df0751a2 100644
--- a/src/backend/automations/triggers.ts
+++ b/src/backend/automations/triggers.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import {
   type MetricsSnapshot,
 } from "./conditions.js";
 import { AutomationEngine } from "./engine.js";
+import { pluginEvents, TOPICS } from "../plugins/events.js";
 
 /**
  * Matches events against automation triggers and decides what fires.
@@ -346,6 +347,43 @@ export async function onInternalEvent(event: InternalEvent): Promise<void> {
   }
 }
 
+let unsubscribers: Array<() => void> = [];
+
+/**
+ * Subscribes the engine to the event bus.
+ *
+ * The hosts modules publish onto the bus and know nothing about automations;
+ * this is the other half of that arrangement, and it is what keeps the edge
+ * one-directional (automations may import repositories, hosts modules must not
+ * import automations).
+ *
+ * Handlers are async and the bus is fire-and-forget, so a rejection here is
+ * logged by the bus rather than surfacing to whichever host feature emitted.
+ */
+export function subscribeAutomationTriggers(): void {
+  if (unsubscribers.length > 0) return;
+
+  unsubscribers = [
+    pluginEvents.on(TOPICS.hostMetrics, (payload) =>
+      onMetrics(payload as MetricEvent),
+    ),
+    pluginEvents.on(TOPICS.hostStatus, (payload) =>
+      onStatus(payload as StatusEvent),
+    ),
+    pluginEvents.on(TOPICS.hostHealthCheck, (payload) =>
+      onHealthCheck(payload as HealthEvent),
+    ),
+    pluginEvents.on(TOPICS.internalEvent, (payload) =>
+      onInternalEvent(payload as InternalEvent),
+    ),
+  ];
+}
+
+export function unsubscribeAutomationTriggers(): void {
+  for (const unsubscribe of unsubscribers) unsubscribe();
+  unsubscribers = [];
+}
+
 /**
  * Hosts that an enabled automation watches, so the poller knows to collect
  * metrics for them even when nobody is looking.
diff --git a/src/backend/hosts/automation-events.ts b/src/backend/hosts/automation-events.ts
index 662b5c612..d4935e36b 100644
--- a/src/backend/hosts/automation-events.ts
+++ b/src/backend/hosts/automation-events.ts
@@ -1,17 +1,24 @@
 /**
- * One-line hand-off from any hosts feature to the automations engine for a
- * generic named event (not tied to metrics polling).
+ * One-line hand-off from any hosts feature to anything listening for a generic
+ * named event (not tied to metrics polling).
  *
- * Fire-and-forget and imported lazily: a failure in the automations layer
- * must never disturb the caller, and a static import would create a cycle
- * (automations reads repositories, which several hosts modules also pull in).
- *
- * PLUGIN-EVENT: this whole module is the "publish an internal event" half of
- * the phase-2 ctx.events bus. Once that exists, callers should emit onto
- * ctx.events instead of calling this directly, and the automations engine
- * subscribes there rather than being imported ad hoc.
+ * This now publishes onto the ctx.events bus rather than reaching into the
+ * automations engine directly. The two properties callers relied on are
+ * unchanged: it is fire-and-forget, and it creates no static edge to the
+ * automations layer (which reads repositories that several hosts modules also
+ * pull in, so a static import would close a cycle). The automations engine
+ * subscribes to the bus at start-up instead -- see automations/triggers.ts.
  */
 
+import { pluginEvents, TOPICS } from "../plugins/events.js";
+
+export interface InternalEventPayload {
+  event: string;
+  userId: string;
+  hostId?: number;
+  details?: Record<string, unknown>;
+}
+
 export function notifyAutomationInternalEvent(
   event: string,
   userId: string,
@@ -19,9 +26,10 @@ export function notifyAutomationInternalEvent(
   details?: Record<string, unknown>,
 ): void {
   if (!userId) return;
-  import("../automations/triggers.js")
-    .then((triggers) =>
-      triggers.onInternalEvent({ event, userId, hostId, details }),
-    )
-    .catch(() => {});
+  pluginEvents.emit(TOPICS.internalEvent, {
+    event,
+    userId,
+    hostId,
+    details,
+  } satisfies InternalEventPayload);
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/hosts/host-session-status.ts b/src/backend/hosts/host-session-status.ts
index 06a90d2a6..b9406c584 100644
--- a/src/backend/hosts/host-session-status.ts
+++ b/src/backend/hosts/host-session-status.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
+import { pluginEvents, TOPICS } from "../plugins/events.js";
+
 type HostSessionStatusListener = (hostId: number, online: boolean) => void;
 
+export interface HostSessionStatusPayload {
+  hostId: number;
+  online: boolean;
+}
+
 export class HostSessionStatus {
   private counts = new Map<number, number>();
   private listeners = new Set<HostSessionStatusListener>();
@@ -32,6 +39,12 @@ export class HostSessionStatus {
 
   private emit(hostId: number, online: boolean): void {
     for (const listener of this.listeners) listener(hostId, online);
+    // Also published as a topic so plugins (and anything else on the bus) can
+    // observe session status without holding a reference to this singleton.
+    pluginEvents.emit(TOPICS.hostSessionStatus, {
+      hostId,
+      online,
+    } satisfies HostSessionStatusPayload);
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/backend/hosts/metrics/automation-bridge.ts b/src/backend/hosts/metrics/automation-bridge.ts
index a3c6fee89..b559c7af1 100644
--- a/src/backend/hosts/metrics/automation-bridge.ts
+++ b/src/backend/hosts/metrics/automation-bridge.ts
@@ -1,27 +1,50 @@
 /**
- * One-line hand-off from the metrics poller to the automations engine.
+ * One-line hand-off from the metrics poller onto the ctx.events bus.
  *
  * The poller is already a very large module, so the hooks it calls live here
- * instead. Everything is fire-and-forget and imported lazily: a failure in the
- * automations layer must never disturb metric collection, and a static import
- * would create a cycle (automations reads repositories, which the metrics
- * module also pulls in).
+ * instead. Everything is fire-and-forget: a failure in a subscriber must never
+ * disturb metric collection, and publishing onto the bus creates no static edge
+ * to the automations layer (which reads repositories the metrics module also
+ * pulls in).
  *
  * For the generic (non-metrics) internal event notifier, see
  * `hosts/automation-events.ts` -- that one is shared across features.
  */
 
+import { pluginEvents, TOPICS } from "../../plugins/events.js";
 import type { MetricsSnapshot } from "../../automations/conditions.js";
 
+export interface HostMetricsPayload {
+  hostId: number;
+  ownerUserId: string;
+  metrics: MetricsSnapshot;
+}
+
+export interface HostStatusPayload {
+  hostId: number;
+  ownerUserId: string;
+  online: boolean;
+}
+
+export interface HostHealthCheckPayload {
+  hostId: number;
+  userId: string;
+  checkId: string;
+  ok: boolean;
+  detail?: string;
+}
+
 export function notifyAutomationMetrics(
   hostId: number,
   ownerUserId: string,
   metrics: MetricsSnapshot,
 ): void {
   if (!ownerUserId) return;
-  import("../../automations/triggers.js")
-    .then((triggers) => triggers.onMetrics({ hostId, ownerUserId, metrics }))
-    .catch(() => {});
+  pluginEvents.emit(TOPICS.hostMetrics, {
+    hostId,
+    ownerUserId,
+    metrics,
+  } satisfies HostMetricsPayload);
 }
 
 export function notifyAutomationStatus(
@@ -30,9 +53,11 @@ export function notifyAutomationStatus(
   online: boolean,
 ): void {
   if (!ownerUserId) return;
-  import("../../automations/triggers.js")
-    .then((triggers) => triggers.onStatus({ hostId, ownerUserId, online }))
-    .catch(() => {});
+  pluginEvents.emit(TOPICS.hostStatus, {
+    hostId,
+    ownerUserId,
+    online,
+  } satisfies HostStatusPayload);
 }
 
 export function notifyAutomationHealthCheck(
@@ -43,9 +68,11 @@ export function notifyAutomationHealthCheck(
   detail?: string,
 ): void {
   if (!userId) return;
-  import("../../automations/triggers.js")
-    .then((triggers) =>
-      triggers.onHealthCheck({ hostId, userId, checkId, ok, detail }),
-    )
-    .catch(() => {});
+  pluginEvents.emit(TOPICS.hostHealthCheck, {
+    hostId,
+    userId,
+    checkId,
+    ok,
+    detail,
+  } satisfies HostHealthCheckPayload);
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/hosts/metrics/index.ts b/src/backend/hosts/metrics/index.ts
index 50bfa28ec..23ec9681a 100644
--- a/src/backend/hosts/metrics/index.ts
+++ b/src/backend/hosts/metrics/index.ts
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@ import { registerHostMetricsHistoryRoutes } from "./history-routes.js";
 import { registerProxmoxStatsRoutes } from "./proxmox-stats-routes.js";
 import { registerProxmoxStatsHistoryRoutes } from "./proxmox-stats-history-routes.js";
 import { ProxmoxPollingManager } from "./proxmox-stats-polling.js";
-// PLUGIN-EVENT: terminal session online/offline -> phase-2 ctx.events "host.session.status" topic
-import { hostSessionStatus } from "../host-session-status.js";
+import type { HostSessionStatusPayload } from "../host-session-status.js";
+import { pluginEvents, TOPICS } from "../../plugins/events.js";
 import { AlertEngine } from "./alert-engine.js";
 import {
   notifyAutomationMetrics,
@@ -225,10 +225,12 @@ class PollingManager {
   private unsubscribeHostSessionStatus: () => void;
 
   constructor() {
-    // PLUGIN-EVENT: subscribe to ctx.events.on("host.session.status", ...) once the
-    // phase-2 event bus exists, instead of the hostSessionStatus singleton directly.
-    this.unsubscribeHostSessionStatus = hostSessionStatus.subscribe(
-      (hostId, online) => this.setTerminalSessionOnline(hostId, online),
+    this.unsubscribeHostSessionStatus = pluginEvents.on(
+      TOPICS.hostSessionStatus,
+      (payload) => {
+        const { hostId, online } = payload as HostSessionStatusPayload;
+        this.setTerminalSessionOnline(hostId, online);
+      },
     );
     this.viewerCleanupInterval = setInterval(() => {
       this.cleanupInactiveViewers();
diff --git a/src/backend/plugins/events.ts b/src/backend/plugins/events.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..281c6c30f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/backend/plugins/events.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+/**
+ * The process-wide event bus behind ctx.events.
+ *
+ * This formalises three ad-hoc publish paths that already existed:
+ *   - hosts/automation-events.ts  (generic named internal events)
+ *   - hosts/metrics/automation-bridge.ts  (metrics-shaped siblings)
+ *   - hosts/host-session-status.ts  (the "host.session.status" topic)
+ *
+ * Each of those lazily imported the automations engine and swallowed errors,
+ * for two reasons that still apply and are preserved here:
+ *
+ *   1. Fire-and-forget. A failing subscriber must never disturb the caller. A
+ *      metrics poll or a host delete does not fail because an automation threw.
+ *   2. No static import of the automations layer. It reads repositories, which
+ *      several hosts modules also pull in, so a static edge would close a
+ *      cycle. Subscribers register themselves here instead of being reached
+ *      into.
+ *
+ * Topics are dotted strings. The internal ones the server itself publishes are
+ * listed in TOPICS; a plugin may emit and subscribe to any topic, but only
+ * topics it is allowed to see are pushed to it.
+ */
+
+import { pluginLogger } from "../utils/logger.js";
+
+export const TOPICS = {
+  /** A terminal session opened or closed against a host. */
+  hostSessionStatus: "host.session.status",
+  /** A generic named internal event (host_deleted, user_login, ...). */
+  internalEvent: "internal.event",
+  /** A metrics snapshot for one host. */
+  hostMetrics: "host.metrics",
+  /** A host went online or offline as seen by the metrics poller. */
+  hostStatus: "host.status",
+  /** A health check result. */
+  hostHealthCheck: "host.health_check",
+} as const;
+
+export type EventListener = (payload: unknown) => void;
+
+class PluginEventBus {
+  private readonly listeners = new Map<string, Set<EventListener>>();
+
+  on(topic: string, listener: EventListener): () => void {
+    let set = this.listeners.get(topic);
+    if (!set) {
+      set = new Set();
+      this.listeners.set(topic, set);
+    }
+    set.add(listener);
+
+    return () => {
+      set!.delete(listener);
+      if (set!.size === 0) this.listeners.delete(topic);
+    };
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Fire-and-forget by contract. Never throws, never returns a promise the
+   * caller is expected to await, and one bad subscriber cannot stop the others.
+   */
+  emit(topic: string, payload: unknown): void {
+    const set = this.listeners.get(topic);
+    if (!set || set.size === 0) return;
+
+    for (const listener of [...set]) {
+      try {
+        const result = listener(payload) as unknown;
+        // A listener may be async; its rejection must not become unhandled.
+        if (result && typeof (result as Promise<void>).catch === "function") {
+          void (result as Promise<void>).catch((error) =>
+            this.report(topic, error),
+          );
+        }
+      } catch (error) {
+        this.report(topic, error);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  listenerCount(topic: string): number {
+    return this.listeners.get(topic)?.size ?? 0;
+  }
+
+  /** Test seam. */
+  clear(): void {
+    this.listeners.clear();
+  }
+
+  private report(topic: string, error: unknown): void {
+    pluginLogger.error(
+      `Event listener for "${topic}" failed`,
+      error instanceof Error ? error : new Error(String(error)),
+      { operation: "plugin_events" },
+    );
+  }
+}
+
+export const pluginEvents = new PluginEventBus();
diff --git a/src/backend/tests/plugins/events.test.ts b/src/backend/tests/plugins/events.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e5ebc5375
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/backend/tests/plugins/events.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+vi.mock("../../utils/logger.js", () => ({
+  pluginLogger: {
+    debug: vi.fn(),
+    info: vi.fn(),
+    warn: vi.fn(),
+    error: vi.fn(),
+    success: vi.fn(),
+  },
+}));
+
+const { pluginEvents, TOPICS } = await import("../../plugins/events.js");
+
+describe("plugin event bus", () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    pluginEvents.clear();
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("delivers a payload to every subscriber of a topic", () => {
+    const first = vi.fn();
+    const second = vi.fn();
+
+    pluginEvents.on("topic.a", first);
+    pluginEvents.on("topic.a", second);
+    pluginEvents.emit("topic.a", { value: 1 });
+
+    expect(first).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ value: 1 });
+    expect(second).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ value: 1 });
+  });
+
+  it("does not deliver across topics", () => {
+    const listener = vi.fn();
+    pluginEvents.on("topic.a", listener);
+    pluginEvents.emit("topic.b", {});
+
+    expect(listener).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("emitting a topic with no subscribers is a no-op", () => {
+    expect(() => pluginEvents.emit("nobody.listening", {})).not.toThrow();
+  });
+
+  it("unsubscribes and cleans up the empty topic", () => {
+    const listener = vi.fn();
+    const off = pluginEvents.on("topic.a", listener);
+
+    expect(pluginEvents.listenerCount("topic.a")).toBe(1);
+    off();
+    expect(pluginEvents.listenerCount("topic.a")).toBe(0);
+
+    pluginEvents.emit("topic.a", {});
+    expect(listener).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("a throwing subscriber does not stop the others or the caller", async () => {
+    const after = vi.fn();
+    pluginEvents.on("topic.a", () => {
+      throw new Error("subscriber exploded");
+    });
+    pluginEvents.on("topic.a", after);
+
+    expect(() => pluginEvents.emit("topic.a", {})).not.toThrow();
+    expect(after).toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+    const { pluginLogger } = await import("../../utils/logger.js");
+    expect(pluginLogger.error).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("a rejecting async subscriber is reported, not left unhandled", async () => {
+    pluginEvents.on("topic.a", async () => {
+      throw new Error("async subscriber exploded");
+    });
+
+    expect(() => pluginEvents.emit("topic.a", {})).not.toThrow();
+    await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+
+    const { pluginLogger } = await import("../../utils/logger.js");
+    expect(pluginLogger.error).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("a subscriber added during an emit does not receive that same emit", () => {
+    const late = vi.fn();
+    pluginEvents.on("topic.a", () => {
+      pluginEvents.on("topic.a", late);
+    });
+
+    pluginEvents.emit("topic.a", {});
+    expect(late).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+    pluginEvents.emit("topic.a", {});
+    expect(late).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("exposes the internal topic names the server publishes", () => {
+    expect(TOPICS.hostSessionStatus).toBe("host.session.status");
+    expect(TOPICS.internalEvent).toBe("internal.event");
+    expect(TOPICS.hostMetrics).toBe("host.metrics");
+    expect(TOPICS.hostStatus).toBe("host.status");
+    expect(TOPICS.hostHealthCheck).toBe("host.health_check");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("hosts publishers route through the bus", () => {
+  // No vi.resetModules() here: the bus is a module singleton, and resetting
+  // would hand these imports a different instance than the one subscribed to.
+  afterEach(() => {
+    pluginEvents.clear();
+  });
+
+  it("notifyAutomationInternalEvent emits internal.event", async () => {
+    const { notifyAutomationInternalEvent } =
+      await import("../../hosts/automation-events.js");
+    const listener = vi.fn();
+    pluginEvents.on(TOPICS.internalEvent, listener);
+
+    notifyAutomationInternalEvent("host_deleted", "user-1", 42, { a: 1 });
+
+    expect(listener).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      event: "host_deleted",
+      userId: "user-1",
+      hostId: 42,
+      details: { a: 1 },
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("notifyAutomationInternalEvent ignores a missing userId", async () => {
+    const { notifyAutomationInternalEvent } =
+      await import("../../hosts/automation-events.js");
+    const listener = vi.fn();
+    pluginEvents.on(TOPICS.internalEvent, listener);
+
+    notifyAutomationInternalEvent("host_deleted", "");
+    expect(listener).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("notifyAutomationStatus and notifyAutomationMetrics emit their topics", async () => {
+    const { notifyAutomationStatus, notifyAutomationMetrics } =
+      await import("../../hosts/metrics/automation-bridge.js");
+
+    const status = vi.fn();
+    const metrics = vi.fn();
+    pluginEvents.on(TOPICS.hostStatus, status);
+    pluginEvents.on(TOPICS.hostMetrics, metrics);
+
+    notifyAutomationStatus(42, "user-1", true);
+    notifyAutomationMetrics(42, "user-1", { cpu: 10 } as never);
+
+    expect(status).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      hostId: 42,
+      ownerUserId: "user-1",
+      online: true,
+    });
+    expect(metrics).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      hostId: 42,
+      ownerUserId: "user-1",
+      metrics: { cpu: 10 },
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("hostSessionStatus publishes host.session.status on the refcount edges", async () => {
+    const { HostSessionStatus } =
+      await import("../../hosts/host-session-status.js");
+    const seen: unknown[] = [];
+    pluginEvents.on(TOPICS.hostSessionStatus, (p) => seen.push(p));
+
+    const status = new HostSessionStatus();
+    const releaseFirst = status.register(7);
+    const releaseSecond = status.register(7);
+
+    // Only the 0 -> 1 edge publishes.
+    expect(seen).toEqual([{ hostId: 7, online: true }]);
+
+    releaseFirst();
+    expect(seen).toHaveLength(1);
+
+    // ... and only the 1 -> 0 edge.
+    releaseSecond();
+    expect(seen).toEqual([
+      { hostId: 7, online: true },
+      { hostId: 7, online: false },
+    ]);
+  });
+});