diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli/crash-tracker.test.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli/crash-tracker.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..89a4b426c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli/crash-tracker.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+// src/cli/gateway-cli/crash-tracker.test.ts
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach, vi } from "vitest";
+import {
+  recordCrash,
+  getRecentCrashes,
+  getCrashesInLastHour,
+  clearCrashes,
+  classifyError,
+} from "./crash-tracker.js";
+
+describe("crash-tracker", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    clearCrashes();
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+  });
+
+  it("records a crash with timestamp", () => {
+    vi.setSystemTime(new Date("2026-01-29T12:00:00Z"));
+    recordCrash({
+      errorType: "fetch_failed",
+      errorMessage: "ECONNREFUSED",
+      uptimeMs: 5000,
+      backoffMs: 2000,
+      consecutiveFailures: 1,
+    });
+
+    const crashes = getRecentCrashes();
+    expect(crashes).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(crashes[0].timestamp).toBe(Date.now());
+    expect(crashes[0].errorType).toBe("fetch_failed");
+  });
+
+  it("limits to MAX_CRASH_HISTORY entries", () => {
+    for (let i = 0; i < 25; i++) {
+      recordCrash({
+        errorType: "network_error",
+        errorMessage: `Error ${i}`,
+        uptimeMs: 0,
+        backoffMs: 2000,
+        consecutiveFailures: i + 1,
+      });
+    }
+
+    const crashes = getRecentCrashes();
+    expect(crashes).toHaveLength(20);
+    expect(crashes[0].errorMessage).toBe("Error 5"); // First 5 were dropped
+  });
+
+  it("counts crashes in last hour correctly", () => {
+    vi.setSystemTime(new Date("2026-01-29T12:00:00Z"));
+    recordCrash({
+      errorType: "fetch_failed",
+      errorMessage: "a",
+      uptimeMs: 0,
+      backoffMs: 2000,
+      consecutiveFailures: 1,
+    });
+
+    vi.setSystemTime(new Date("2026-01-29T12:30:00Z"));
+    recordCrash({
+      errorType: "fetch_failed",
+      errorMessage: "b",
+      uptimeMs: 0,
+      backoffMs: 4000,
+      consecutiveFailures: 2,
+    });
+
+    // At 13:29:59, "a" is 89 min old (outside), "b" is 59 min old (inside)
+    vi.setSystemTime(new Date("2026-01-29T13:29:59Z"));
+    expect(getCrashesInLastHour()).toBe(1); // Only "b" is within last hour
+  });
+});
+
+describe("classifyError", () => {
+  it("classifies fetch failed errors", () => {
+    expect(classifyError(new Error("TypeError: fetch failed"))).toBe("fetch_failed");
+    expect(classifyError(new Error("connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:443"))).toBe("fetch_failed");
+  });
+
+  it("classifies network errors", () => {
+    expect(classifyError(new Error("read ECONNRESET"))).toBe("network_error");
+    expect(classifyError(new Error("connect ETIMEDOUT"))).toBe("network_error");
+    expect(classifyError(new Error("network unreachable"))).toBe("network_error");
+  });
+
+  it("classifies startup errors", () => {
+    expect(classifyError(new Error("startup failed: missing config"))).toBe("startup_error");
+    expect(classifyError(new Error("init error: bad credentials"))).toBe("startup_error");
+  });
+
+  it("defaults to runtime_error for unrecognized errors", () => {
+    expect(classifyError(new Error("something went wrong"))).toBe("runtime_error");
+    expect(classifyError(new Error("unexpected condition"))).toBe("runtime_error");
+  });
+
+  it("handles null/undefined safely", () => {
+    expect(classifyError(null)).toBe("unknown");
+    expect(classifyError(undefined)).toBe("unknown");
+  });
+
+  it("handles non-Error objects", () => {
+    expect(classifyError("string error")).toBe("runtime_error");
+    expect(classifyError({ message: "object error" })).toBe("runtime_error");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli/crash-tracker.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli/crash-tracker.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7fdaeb27a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli/crash-tracker.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+// src/cli/gateway-cli/crash-tracker.ts
+import { createSubsystemLogger } from "../../logging/subsystem.js";
+import { isTransientNetworkError } from "../../infra/unhandled-rejections.js";
+
+const log = createSubsystemLogger("gateway");
+
+export type CrashErrorType =
+  | "fetch_failed"
+  | "network_error"
+  | "startup_error"
+  | "runtime_error"
+  | "unknown";
+
+export type CrashRecord = {
+  timestamp: number;
+  errorType: CrashErrorType;
+  errorMessage: string;
+  uptimeMs: number;
+  backoffMs: number;
+  consecutiveFailures: number;
+};
+
+const MAX_CRASH_HISTORY = 20;
+const recentCrashes: CrashRecord[] = [];
+
+export function recordCrash(record: Omit<CrashRecord, "timestamp">): void {
+  const full: CrashRecord = { ...record, timestamp: Date.now() };
+  recentCrashes.push(full);
+  if (recentCrashes.length > MAX_CRASH_HISTORY) {
+    recentCrashes.shift();
+  }
+
+  log.error("gateway_crash", {
+    errorType: record.errorType,
+    errorMessage: record.errorMessage,
+    uptimeMs: record.uptimeMs,
+    backoffMs: record.backoffMs,
+    consecutiveFailures: record.consecutiveFailures,
+    crashesInLastHour: getCrashesInLastHour(),
+  });
+}
+
+export function getRecentCrashes(): readonly CrashRecord[] {
+  return recentCrashes;
+}
+
+export function getCrashesInLastHour(): number {
+  const oneHourAgo = Date.now() - 3600_000;
+  return recentCrashes.filter((c) => c.timestamp > oneHourAgo).length;
+}
+
+export function clearCrashes(): void {
+  recentCrashes.length = 0;
+}
+
+// Network error patterns to match in error messages
+const FETCH_FAILED_PATTERNS = ["fetch failed", "econnrefused"];
+const NETWORK_ERROR_PATTERNS = [
+  "econnreset",
+  "etimedout",
+  "enotfound",
+  "ehostunreach",
+  "enetunreach",
+  "network unreachable",
+  "socket hang up",
+];
+
+function getErrorMessage(err: unknown): string {
+  if (err instanceof Error) return err.message;
+  if (typeof err === "string") return err;
+  if (err && typeof err === "object" && "message" in err && typeof err.message === "string") {
+    return err.message;
+  }
+  return "";
+}
+
+export function classifyError(err: unknown): CrashErrorType {
+  if (!err) return "unknown";
+
+  const message = getErrorMessage(err).toLowerCase();
+
+  // Use existing transient network detection for consistency
+  if (isTransientNetworkError(err)) {
+    if (FETCH_FAILED_PATTERNS.some((p) => message.includes(p))) {
+      return "fetch_failed";
+    }
+    return "network_error";
+  }
+
+  // Also check message patterns for errors without proper error codes
+  if (FETCH_FAILED_PATTERNS.some((p) => message.includes(p))) {
+    return "fetch_failed";
+  }
+  if (NETWORK_ERROR_PATTERNS.some((p) => message.includes(p))) {
+    return "network_error";
+  }
+
+  if (message.includes("startup") || message.includes("init")) {
+    return "startup_error";
+  }
+  return "runtime_error";
+}