diff --git a/apps/api/src/app.ts b/apps/api/src/app.ts
index c6fd13d..4a10815 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/app.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/app.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
-import { isAuthenticatedPrincipal, type RegisteredModuleHttpRoute } from "@ekklesia/contracts";
+import {
+  isAuthenticatedPrincipal,
+  type ModuleRuntimeServices,
+  type RegisteredModuleHttpRoute,
+} from "@ekklesia/contracts";
 import type {
   AuthorizationEvaluator,
   AuthorizationStore,
@@ -28,6 +32,11 @@ export interface CreateApiAppOptions {
    * caller not exercising modules must say so explicitly (an empty frozen array), never rely on an
    * implicit fallback. */
   readonly moduleRoutes: readonly RegisteredModuleHttpRoute[];
+  /** The same frozen services object the caller's started module runtime already passed to every
+   * module's `start`/`stop` hooks (`apps/api/src/server.ts`) — reference-identical, never a fresh
+   * object built here, so a module's HTTP handlers and lifecycle hooks share exactly one
+   * `ModuleDatabase` for the lifetime of this API runtime. */
+  readonly moduleServices: ModuleRuntimeServices;
   readonly runtime: EkklesiaIdentityRuntime;
   /** Exact allowed browser origins. Never a wildcard; combined with `credentials: true`, only an
    * exact, reflected match is ever returned in `Access-Control-Allow-Origin`. Also the trusted set
@@ -147,6 +156,7 @@ export function createApiApp(options: CreateApiAppOptions): Hono {
     evaluator: options.authorization.evaluator,
     registry: options.authorization.registry,
     runtime,
+    services: options.moduleServices,
     trustedOrigins: allowedOrigins,
   });
 
diff --git a/apps/api/src/database.ts b/apps/api/src/database.ts
index b8b6b10..928b531 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/database.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/database.ts
@@ -1,26 +1,30 @@
+import type { ModuleDatabase } from "@ekklesia/contracts";
 import {
   type AuthorizationDrizzleDatabase,
   createAuthorizationDrizzleView,
 } from "@ekklesia/core/authorization";
 import { createValidatedPostgresPool, type PostgresPoolOptions } from "@ekklesia/core/database";
 import { createIdentityDrizzleView, type IdentityDrizzleDatabase } from "@ekklesia/core/identity";
+import { createModuleDatabaseView } from "@ekklesia/core/modules";
 
 export interface ApiDatabaseHandle {
   readonly authorization: AuthorizationDrizzleDatabase;
   readonly identity: IdentityDrizzleDatabase;
+  readonly module: ModuleDatabase;
   /** Closes the one shared pool exactly once, regardless of how many typed views were created
    * over it. Safe to call from both a startup-failure cleanup path and normal shutdown. */
   readonly close: () => Promise<void>;
 }
 
 /**
- * Composes the one physical PostgreSQL pool this process uses for both Core's identity and
- * authorization schemas: one validated, timeout-bounded `pg.Pool` (`createValidatedPostgresPool`,
- * `@ekklesia/core/database`), wrapped by two independent typed Drizzle views
- * (`createIdentityDrizzleView`, `createAuthorizationDrizzleView`). Neither Core domain owns or
- * closes the pool in this composition — `close()` here is the only thing that ever calls
- * `pool.end()`. `createIdentityDrizzleDatabase`/`createAuthorizationDrizzleDatabase` remain
- * available, unaffected, and independently testable for callers that only need one domain.
+ * Composes the one physical PostgreSQL pool this process uses for Core's identity and
+ * authorization schemas plus the module database facade: one validated, timeout-bounded
+ * `pg.Pool` (`createValidatedPostgresPool`, `@ekklesia/core/database`), wrapped by three
+ * independent typed Drizzle views (`createIdentityDrizzleView`, `createAuthorizationDrizzleView`,
+ * `createModuleDatabaseView`). No domain owns or closes the pool in this composition — `close()`
+ * here is the only thing that ever calls `pool.end()`. `createIdentityDrizzleDatabase`/
+ * `createAuthorizationDrizzleDatabase` remain available, unaffected, and independently testable
+ * for callers that only need one domain.
  */
 export function createApiDatabase(
   databaseUrl: string,
@@ -32,5 +36,6 @@ export function createApiDatabase(
     authorization: createAuthorizationDrizzleView(pool),
     close,
     identity: createIdentityDrizzleView(pool),
+    module: createModuleDatabaseView(pool),
   });
 }
diff --git a/apps/api/src/module-http-routes.ts b/apps/api/src/module-http-routes.ts
index 3a6faef..52c373d 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/module-http-routes.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/module-http-routes.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type {
   ModuleId,
   ModuleRouteHandlerContext,
+  ModuleRuntimeServices,
   RegisteredModuleHttpRoute,
 } from "@ekklesia/contracts";
 import type { Context, Hono } from "hono";
@@ -24,6 +25,11 @@ const STRIPPED_CORS_RESPONSE_HEADERS = [
 
 export interface ModuleHttpRoutesOptions extends AuthorizationMiddlewareOptions {
   readonly trustedOrigins: ReadonlySet<string>;
+  /** The same frozen services object the started module runtime's `start`/`stop` hooks already
+   * received for this API runtime — never a fresh one built per request, and never touched for a
+   * denied, trusted-origin-rejected, or `OPTIONS` request, since a handler is only ever invoked
+   * after authorization succeeds. */
+  readonly services: ModuleRuntimeServices;
 }
 
 /** Never carries the offending permission id, route path, module id, or any other configuration
@@ -149,7 +155,11 @@ function sanitizeModuleResponse(response: Response): Response {
  * implicit `HEAD` handling, which re-enters this exact same middleware chain and strips the
  * response body afterward — there is no separate `HEAD` registration or permission path.
  * `route.handler` is invoked only after authorization succeeds, with the raw Fetch `Request` and a
- * frozen context — never a Hono `Context`, database, store, or configuration.
+ * frozen context carrying exactly `moduleId`, `principal`, `params`, and `services` — never a Hono
+ * `Context`, authorization store, or configuration; `services.database` is the module's only
+ * reachable database surface, and is unreachable to anything short of a successfully authorized
+ * handler invocation (a denied request, a rejected trusted-origin check, and `OPTIONS` never reach
+ * this handler at all).
  *
  * Because the routes and registry both derive from the same discovered inventory
  * (`prepareStartupModuleInventory`), every registered route permission should already be
@@ -183,6 +193,7 @@ export function mountModuleHttpRoutes(
         moduleId: route.moduleId,
         params: Object.freeze({ ...c.req.param() }),
         principal: getAuthorizedPrincipal(c),
+        services: options.services,
       });
 
       let response: Response;
diff --git a/apps/api/src/server.ts b/apps/api/src/server.ts
index 59ef64e..6981599 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/server.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/server.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import path from "node:path";
 import { pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
+import type { ModuleRuntimeServices } from "@ekklesia/contracts";
 import {
   createAuthorizationEvaluator,
   createAuthorizationStore,
@@ -84,12 +85,15 @@ function bindServer(app: Hono, host: string, port: number): Promise<ServerType>
  * 1. Discover every installed module's manifest exactly once and compose the one immutable
  *    platform permission registry from Core's own declarations plus every module's
  *    (`prepareStartupModuleInventory`, `./platform-permissions.js`).
- * 2. Construct the one shared PostgreSQL pool (identity and authorization each get a typed
- *    Drizzle view over it — see `./database.js`).
- * 3. Construct the Core identity runtime, authorization store, and evaluator.
+ * 2. Construct the one shared PostgreSQL pool (identity, authorization, and the module database
+ *    facade each get a typed Drizzle view over it — see `./database.js`).
+ * 3. Construct the frozen `ModuleRuntimeServices` (currently just `database`) from that same pool,
+ *    then the Core identity runtime, authorization store, and evaluator.
  * 4. Start the module runtime from that exact same discovered inventory
- *    (`startDiscoveredModuleRuntime`) — never rediscovering modules a second time.
- * 5. Create the Hono application, mounting the started module runtime's published routes.
+ *    (`startDiscoveredModuleRuntime`) — never rediscovering modules a second time — passing it the
+ *    same services object every module's `start`/`stop` hook receives.
+ * 5. Create the Hono application, mounting the started module runtime's published routes and
+ *    passing the exact same services object to every module HTTP handler.
  * 6. Bind the Node HTTP server.
  *
  * Discovery and permission composition happen before any pool, Better Auth instance, module
@@ -97,12 +101,13 @@ function bindServer(app: Hono, host: string, port: number): Promise<ServerType>
  * manifest, a dependency-graph problem, a module claiming the reserved `core.*` permission
  * namespace, or a duplicate permission declaration — leaves nothing to close: it propagates
  * directly, and startup never falls back to a Core-only registry. Core infrastructure (the pool,
- * identity, authorization) exists before any executable module lifecycle code runs, and every
- * module route is published only after the entire module runtime has registered and started
- * successfully, so no request can ever reach a module before every module has started. Returns a
- * handle with an idempotent `shutdown()` so both the executable entry point and tests can stop the
- * server, the module runtime, and the shared pool deterministically. Never applies migrations or
- * generates schema — the database must already be migrated through `pnpm migrations:apply`.
+ * module database facade, identity, authorization) exists before any executable module lifecycle
+ * code runs, and every module route is published only after the entire module runtime has
+ * registered and started successfully, so no request can ever reach a module before every module
+ * has started. Returns a handle with an idempotent `shutdown()` so both the executable entry point
+ * and tests can stop the server, the module runtime, and the shared pool deterministically. Never
+ * applies migrations, generates schema, or issues a module database query merely because modules
+ * were discovered — the database must already be migrated through `pnpm migrations:apply`.
  */
 export async function startApi(
   config: ApiRuntimeConfig,
@@ -122,9 +127,11 @@ export async function startApi(
     operationTimeoutMs,
   });
 
+  let services: ModuleRuntimeServices;
   let runtime: ReturnType<typeof createIdentityRuntime>;
   let authorizationStore: ReturnType<typeof createAuthorizationStore>;
   try {
+    services = Object.freeze({ database: databaseHandle.module });
     runtime = createIdentityRuntime({
       config: config.identity,
       db: databaseHandle.identity,
@@ -146,7 +153,7 @@ export async function startApi(
   // handle to stop here, only the pool this failure leaves open.
   let moduleRuntime: StartedModuleRuntime;
   try {
-    moduleRuntime = await startDiscoveredModuleRuntime(inventory.modules);
+    moduleRuntime = await startDiscoveredModuleRuntime(inventory.modules, services);
   } catch (error) {
     await safeCloseDatabase(databaseHandle);
     throw error;
@@ -161,6 +168,7 @@ export async function startApi(
         store: authorizationStore,
       },
       moduleRoutes: moduleRuntime.routes,
+      moduleServices: services,
       runtime,
       trustedOrigins: config.identity.trustedOrigins,
     });
@@ -184,12 +192,14 @@ export async function startApi(
   // would previously get an already-resolved `undefined` immediately, before the listener had
   // actually drained or the pool had actually closed. Storing the promise itself means every
   // caller — concurrent or sequential — awaits the exact same drain-then-close operation and
-  // observes it complete (or fail) exactly once. Order matters: the HTTP listener is drained and
-  // closed first so no new or in-flight request can reach a module handler while the module
-  // runtime is stopping, then the module runtime stops, then the shared pool closes. Unlike the
-  // startup-cleanup paths above, a module-stop failure here is not swallowed — it is a genuine
-  // shutdown result a caller should observe — but database cleanup still always runs first, so a
-  // stop failure never leaves the pool open.
+  // observes it complete (or fail) exactly once. Order matters, and is now additionally
+  // load-bearing for the module database facade: the HTTP listener is drained and closed first so
+  // no new or in-flight request can reach a module handler while the module runtime is stopping;
+  // then the module runtime stops — its stop hooks may still use `services.database`, which is
+  // safe because the pool is not yet closed; only then does the shared pool close, so no module
+  // code can run against it afterward. Unlike the startup-cleanup paths above, a module-stop
+  // failure here is not swallowed — it is a genuine shutdown result a caller should observe — but
+  // database cleanup still always runs first, so a stop failure never leaves the pool open.
   let shutdownPromise: Promise<void> | undefined;
   const shutdown = (): Promise<void> => {
     if (!shutdownPromise) {
diff --git a/apps/api/tests/app.test.ts b/apps/api/tests/app.test.ts
index 272344c..8daa650 100644
--- a/apps/api/tests/app.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/tests/app.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
-import { ANONYMOUS_PRINCIPAL, createAuthenticatedPrincipal } from "@ekklesia/contracts";
+import {
+  ANONYMOUS_PRINCIPAL,
+  createAuthenticatedPrincipal,
+  type ModuleDatabase,
+  type ModuleRuntimeServices,
+} from "@ekklesia/contracts";
 import {
   type AuthorizationEvaluator,
   type AuthorizationStore,
@@ -21,6 +26,22 @@ function fakeRuntime(overrides: Partial<EkklesiaIdentityRuntime> = {}): Ekklesia
   };
 }
 
+/** A small typed fake `ModuleRuntimeServices` — these tests exercise `createApiApp`'s own wiring,
+ * never real database behavior, so no PostgreSQL is required. */
+function fakeModuleServices(): ModuleRuntimeServices {
+  const database = Object.freeze({
+    delete: vi.fn(),
+    execute: vi.fn(),
+    insert: vi.fn(),
+    select: vi.fn(),
+    selectDistinct: vi.fn(),
+    selectDistinctOn: vi.fn(),
+    transaction: vi.fn(),
+    update: vi.fn(),
+  }) as unknown as ModuleDatabase;
+  return Object.freeze({ database });
+}
+
 /** A fully stubbed authorization dependency, denying everything by default — tests that need a
  * specific decision or store behavior override the relevant method explicitly. The registry
  * defaults to Core's own (containing `core.authorization.grants.manage`, exactly what the
@@ -53,6 +74,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
     const runtime = fakeRuntime();
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime,
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -69,6 +91,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
     const runtime = fakeRuntime();
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime,
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -86,6 +109,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
     });
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime,
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -105,6 +129,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
     });
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime,
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -126,6 +151,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
     });
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime,
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -147,6 +173,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
     });
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime,
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -165,6 +192,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
     });
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime,
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -182,6 +210,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
   it("has deterministic 404 behavior for an unknown route", async () => {
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime: fakeRuntime(),
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -196,6 +225,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
   it("reflects an allowed origin in Access-Control-Allow-Origin with credentials support", async () => {
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime: fakeRuntime(),
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -212,6 +242,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
   it("never returns Access-Control-Allow-Origin for a disallowed origin", async () => {
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime: fakeRuntime(),
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -227,6 +258,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
   it("supports requests with no Origin header at all (native/server clients)", async () => {
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime: fakeRuntime(),
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -240,6 +272,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
   it("handles preflight OPTIONS requests deterministically for an allowed origin", async () => {
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime: fakeRuntime(),
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -260,6 +293,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
   it("never wildcards Access-Control-Allow-Origin", async () => {
     const app = createApiApp({
       moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+      moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
       authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
       runtime: fakeRuntime(),
       trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -283,6 +317,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
       const evaluatorAuthorize = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ allowed: false });
       const app = createApiApp({
         moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+        moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
         authorization: fakeAuthorization({ evaluator: { authorize: evaluatorAuthorize } }),
         runtime: fakeRuntime(),
         trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
@@ -309,6 +344,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
       };
       const app = createApiApp({
         moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+        moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
         authorization: fakeAuthorization({
           evaluator: { authorize: evaluatorAuthorize },
           registry: emptyRegistry,
@@ -326,6 +362,7 @@ describe("Ekklesia API Hono application", () => {
     it("applies the same CORS policy to /api/v1/grants as the rest of /api/v1/*", async () => {
       const app = createApiApp({
         moduleRoutes: Object.freeze([]),
+        moduleServices: fakeModuleServices(),
         authorization: fakeAuthorization({}),
         runtime: fakeRuntime(),
         trustedOrigins: [trustedOrigin],
diff --git a/apps/api/tests/lifecycle.test.ts b/apps/api/tests/lifecycle.test.ts
index b404456..3628d25 100644
--- a/apps/api/tests/lifecycle.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/tests/lifecycle.test.ts
@@ -111,6 +111,19 @@ function createEventRecorder(): { events: string[]; expression: string } {
   return { events, expression: `globalThis[Symbol.for(${JSON.stringify(key)})]` };
 }
 
+/** Same globalThis-symbol technique as `createEventRecorder`, but captures an actual object
+ * reference (such as `context.services.database`) rather than a string label, so a test can prove
+ * two values pushed from different, independently dynamically-imported invocations (a module's own
+ * `start` hook and one of its HTTP handlers) are the exact same object. */
+function createReferenceRecorder(): { values: unknown[]; expression: string } {
+  const key = `ekklesia.api.lifecycle.test.ref.${eventSymbols.length}.${Date.now()}.${Math.random()}`;
+  const symbol = Symbol.for(key);
+  const values: unknown[] = [];
+  (globalThis as unknown as Record<PropertyKey, unknown>)[symbol] = values;
+  eventSymbols.push(symbol);
+  return { values, expression: `globalThis[Symbol.for(${JSON.stringify(key)})]` };
+}
+
 interface WorkingFixtureModuleOptions {
   /** Declares one `GET /ping` route against `<id>.ping.read` when true. */
   readonly withRoute?: boolean;
@@ -659,6 +672,47 @@ describe("Ekklesia API module runtime startup and shutdown", () => {
     await running.shutdown();
   });
 
+  it("gives a module's HTTP handler the exact same database facade object its own start hook received", async () => {
+    const modulesDirectory = await createTemporaryModulesDirectory();
+    const refs = createReferenceRecorder();
+    await createFixtureModule(modulesDirectory, "db-identity", {
+      permissions: [{ baseline: "public", description: "Ping.", id: "db-identity.ping.read" }],
+    });
+    await writeFile(
+      path.join(modulesDirectory, "db-identity", "dist/server/index.js"),
+      `export default {
+        id: "db-identity",
+        version: "0.1.0",
+        register({ http }) {
+          http.route({
+            method: "GET",
+            path: "/ping",
+            permission: "db-identity.ping.read",
+            handler: async (_request, context) => {
+              ${refs.expression}.push(context.services.database);
+              return new Response(null, { status: 204 });
+            },
+          });
+        },
+        start(context) {
+          ${refs.expression}.push(context.services.database);
+        }
+      };`,
+    );
+    mockPoolAndAuth();
+    mockSuccessfulServe();
+
+    const running = await startApi(validConfig(), { modulesDirectoryOverride: modulesDirectory });
+    const response = await running.app.request("/api/v1/modules/db-identity/ping");
+
+    expect(response.status).toBe(204);
+    expect(refs.values).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(refs.values[0]).toBeDefined();
+    expect(refs.values[0]).toBe(refs.values[1]);
+
+    await running.shutdown();
+  });
+
   it("closes the pool exactly once and binds no server when a module's entrypoint fails to load", async () => {
     const modulesDirectory = await createTemporaryModulesDirectory();
     await createFixtureModule(modulesDirectory, "broken-export");
@@ -789,6 +843,31 @@ describe("Ekklesia API module runtime startup and shutdown", () => {
     expect(recorder.events).toEqual(["server:close", "ordered:stop", "pool:end"]);
   });
 
+  it("gives a module's stop hook the exact same database facade object its start hook received, while the pool is still open", async () => {
+    const modulesDirectory = await createTemporaryModulesDirectory();
+    const refs = createReferenceRecorder();
+    await createFixtureModule(modulesDirectory, "db-stop-identity");
+    await writeFile(
+      path.join(modulesDirectory, "db-stop-identity", "dist/server/index.js"),
+      `export default {
+        id: "db-stop-identity",
+        version: "0.1.0",
+        start(context) { ${refs.expression}.push(context.services.database); },
+        stop(context) { ${refs.expression}.push(context.services.database); }
+      };`,
+    );
+    const { poolEnd } = mockPoolAndAuth();
+    mockSuccessfulServe();
+
+    const running = await startApi(validConfig(), { modulesDirectoryOverride: modulesDirectory });
+    await running.shutdown();
+
+    expect(refs.values).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(refs.values[0]).toBeDefined();
+    expect(refs.values[0]).toBe(refs.values[1]);
+    expect(poolEnd).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
   it("still runs pool cleanup and lets the shutdown rejection surface when the module runtime fails to stop", async () => {
     const modulesDirectory = await createTemporaryModulesDirectory();
     const recorder = createEventRecorder();
diff --git a/apps/api/tests/module-http-routes.test.ts b/apps/api/tests/module-http-routes.test.ts
index f2346e0..d0fbdbb 100644
--- a/apps/api/tests/module-http-routes.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/tests/module-http-routes.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import {
   ANONYMOUS_PRINCIPAL,
   createAuthenticatedPrincipal,
+  type ModuleDatabase,
   type ModuleRouteHandler,
   type ModuleRouteHandlerContext,
+  type ModuleRuntimeServices,
   parsePermissionId,
   type PermissionId,
   type RegisteredModuleHttpRoute,
@@ -51,24 +53,56 @@ function moduleRoute(fields: RegisteredModuleHttpRoute): RegisteredModuleHttpRou
   return Object.freeze({ ...fields });
 }
 
+/** A small typed fake `ModuleRuntimeServices` — these tests exercise route mounting,
+ * authorization, and response sanitization, never real database behavior, so no PostgreSQL is
+ * required. Each `database` method stays a distinct spy so a test can assert none of them were
+ * ever called (denied, trusted-origin-rejected, and `OPTIONS` requests never reach a handler). */
+function fakeModuleServices(): ModuleRuntimeServices {
+  const database = Object.freeze({
+    delete: vi.fn(),
+    execute: vi.fn(),
+    insert: vi.fn(),
+    select: vi.fn(),
+    selectDistinct: vi.fn(),
+    selectDistinctOn: vi.fn(),
+    transaction: vi.fn(),
+    update: vi.fn(),
+  }) as unknown as ModuleDatabase;
+  return Object.freeze({ database });
+}
+
+function expectDatabaseFakeUntouched(services: ModuleRuntimeServices): void {
+  expect(vi.mocked(services.database.select)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  expect(vi.mocked(services.database.selectDistinct)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  expect(vi.mocked(services.database.selectDistinctOn)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  expect(vi.mocked(services.database.insert)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  expect(vi.mocked(services.database.update)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  expect(vi.mocked(services.database.delete)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  expect(vi.mocked(services.database.execute)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  expect(vi.mocked(services.database.transaction)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+}
+
 function buildModuleApp(options: {
   readonly evaluator?: AuthorizationEvaluator;
   readonly registry: PermissionRegistry;
   readonly routes: readonly RegisteredModuleHttpRoute[];
   readonly runtime?: EkklesiaIdentityRuntime;
+  readonly services?: ModuleRuntimeServices;
   readonly trustedOrigins?: readonly string[];
 }) {
   const evaluator = options.evaluator ?? {
     authorize: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ allowed: true }),
   };
   const runtime = options.runtime ?? fakeRuntime();
+  const services = options.services ?? fakeModuleServices();
   const app = createApiApp({
     authorization: { evaluator, registry: options.registry, store: fakeStore() },
     moduleRoutes: options.routes,
+    moduleServices: services,
     runtime,
     trustedOrigins: options.trustedOrigins ?? [trustedOrigin],
   });
-  return { app, evaluator, runtime };
+  return { app, evaluator, runtime, services };
 }
 
 function permissionRegistry(
@@ -262,6 +296,7 @@ describe("module route handler adaptation", () => {
     const runtime = fakeRuntime({
       resolvePrincipal: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(createAuthenticatedPrincipal("user_1")),
     });
+    const services = fakeModuleServices();
     const { app } = buildModuleApp({
       registry: permissionRegistry([{ id: readPermission, baseline: "public" }]),
       routes: [
@@ -274,6 +309,7 @@ describe("module route handler adaptation", () => {
         }),
       ],
       runtime,
+      services,
     });
 
     const response = await app.request("/api/v1/modules/calendar/events/evt-1/rsvp?notify=true", {
@@ -288,13 +324,25 @@ describe("module route handler adaptation", () => {
     expect(body.url).toContain("/api/v1/modules/calendar/events/evt-1/rsvp?notify=true");
     expect(capturedRequest).toBeInstanceOf(Request);
     expect(capturedRequest?.headers.get("x-custom")).toBe("abc");
-    expect(capturedContext).toEqual({
+    // Exactly moduleId, params, principal, services — never a Hono Context, authorization store,
+    // or configuration reaches a module handler.
+    expect(Object.keys(capturedContext ?? {}).sort()).toEqual([
+      "moduleId",
+      "params",
+      "principal",
+      "services",
+    ]);
+    expect(capturedContext).toMatchObject({
       moduleId: "calendar",
       params: { eventId: "evt-1" },
       principal: { kind: "authenticated", userId: "user_1" },
     });
+    // Reference-identical to the exact services object the caller passed in — never a fresh one
+    // built per request.
+    expect(capturedContext?.services).toBe(services);
     expect(Object.isFrozen(capturedContext)).toBe(true);
     expect(Object.isFrozen(capturedContext?.params)).toBe(true);
+    expect(Object.isFrozen(capturedContext?.services)).toBe(true);
   });
 
   it("gives static and root routes a frozen, empty params object", async () => {
@@ -394,12 +442,12 @@ describe("module route authorization", () => {
     );
   });
 
-  it("does not invoke the handler when authorization denies", async () => {
+  it("does not invoke the handler or touch the module database when authorization denies", async () => {
     const handler = vi.fn<ModuleRouteHandler>(async () => Response.json({ ok: true }));
     const evaluator: AuthorizationEvaluator = {
       authorize: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ allowed: false }),
     };
-    const { app } = buildModuleApp({
+    const { app, services } = buildModuleApp({
       evaluator,
       registry: permissionRegistry([{ id: readPermission, baseline: "restricted" }]),
       routes: [
@@ -417,6 +465,7 @@ describe("module route authorization", () => {
     expect(response.status).toBe(403);
     expect(await response.json()).toEqual({ code: "AUTHORIZATION_DENIED" });
     expect(handler).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expectDatabaseFakeUntouched(services);
   });
 
   it("does not invoke the handler when principal resolution fails", async () => {
@@ -518,7 +567,7 @@ describe("module route trusted-origin enforcement", () => {
       authorize: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ allowed: true }),
     };
     const methods = ["POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE"] as const;
-    const { app } = buildModuleApp({
+    const { app, services } = buildModuleApp({
       evaluator,
       registry: permissionRegistry([{ id: writePermission, baseline: "public" }]),
       routes: methods.map((method) =>
@@ -545,6 +594,7 @@ describe("module route trusted-origin enforcement", () => {
     }
     expect(handler).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(evaluator.authorize).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expectDatabaseFakeUntouched(services);
   });
 
   it("allows a trusted-origin state-changing request through to the handler", async () => {
@@ -647,12 +697,12 @@ describe("module route CORS", () => {
     expect(tokens.filter((token) => token.toLowerCase() === "origin")).toHaveLength(1);
   });
 
-  it("never invokes authorization or the handler for an OPTIONS preflight", async () => {
+  it("never invokes authorization, the handler, or the module database for an OPTIONS preflight", async () => {
     const handler = vi.fn<ModuleRouteHandler>(async () => Response.json({ ok: true }));
     const evaluator: AuthorizationEvaluator = {
       authorize: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ allowed: true }),
     };
-    const { app } = buildModuleApp({
+    const { app, services } = buildModuleApp({
       evaluator,
       registry: permissionRegistry([{ id: writePermission, baseline: "public" }]),
       routes: [
@@ -673,6 +723,7 @@ describe("module route CORS", () => {
 
     expect(handler).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(evaluator.authorize).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expectDatabaseFakeUntouched(services);
   });
 
   it("never reflects an untrusted origin for a module route", async () => {
diff --git a/core/src/modules/database.ts b/core/src/modules/database.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dc88dc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/modules/database.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import type { ModuleDatabase } from "@ekklesia/contracts";
+import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/node-postgres";
+import type { Pool } from "pg";
+
+/**
+ * A typed `ModuleDatabase` view over an externally owned pool — the module-facing counterpart to
+ * `createIdentityDrizzleView` (`core/src/identity/database.ts`) and
+ * `createAuthorizationDrizzleView` (`core/src/authorization/database.ts`): the same "one pool, one
+ * typed view per domain" composition, extended to a third domain. Never constructs, registers an
+ * error listener on, or closes a pool itself — the caller (`apps/api/src/database.ts`) retains that
+ * responsibility exactly once, regardless of how many typed views it creates over the same pool.
+ *
+ * Carries no schema, unlike the identity and authorization views: a module brings its own Drizzle
+ * table objects to each call rather than selecting against a schema this facade would otherwise
+ * have to know about, so there is no `TFullSchema` for `drizzle(...)` to accept here. Building this
+ * view performs no query and no migration — `drizzle(pool)` only wraps the given client, the same
+ * synchronous, I/O-free construction `createIdentityDrizzleView`/`createAuthorizationDrizzleView`
+ * already rely on.
+ *
+ * Deliberately returns a fresh object with each operation explicitly bound to the underlying
+ * Drizzle instance, rather than the `drizzle(pool)` instance itself: Drizzle's own query methods
+ * are plain prototype methods that read `this.session`/`this.dialect` internally (not
+ * arrow-function instance properties), so handing that instance straight to a module would both
+ * break the moment a module destructured a method off it (`const { select } = database` loses
+ * `this`) and, more importantly, would leave every non-public property (`$client`, `_`, `query`,
+ * `$cache`, `with`) physically reachable on the object at runtime — reachable to a module written
+ * in plain JavaScript or one that bypasses the `ModuleDatabase` type with a cast, not just hidden
+ * by TypeScript. Building this literal, `Object.freeze`d object closes both gaps: only the eight
+ * intended operations exist on it at all, each correctly bound, and nothing else does.
+ */
+export function createModuleDatabaseView(pool: Pool): ModuleDatabase {
+  const db = drizzle(pool);
+  return Object.freeze({
+    delete: db.delete.bind(db),
+    execute: db.execute.bind(db),
+    insert: db.insert.bind(db),
+    select: db.select.bind(db),
+    selectDistinct: db.selectDistinct.bind(db),
+    selectDistinctOn: db.selectDistinctOn.bind(db),
+    transaction: db.transaction.bind(db),
+    update: db.update.bind(db),
+  });
+}
diff --git a/core/src/modules/index.ts b/core/src/modules/index.ts
index b324e7e..e2cb6ef 100644
--- a/core/src/modules/index.ts
+++ b/core/src/modules/index.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+export * from "./database.js";
 export * from "./discovery.js";
 export * from "./migration-discovery.js";
 export * from "./permissions.js";
diff --git a/core/src/modules/runtime.ts b/core/src/modules/runtime.ts
index 88157d9..60a63fd 100644
--- a/core/src/modules/runtime.ts
+++ b/core/src/modules/runtime.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {
   type ModuleRouteDefinitionInput,
   type ModuleRuntimeContext,
   type ModuleRuntimeDefinition,
+  type ModuleRuntimeServices,
   moduleRouteShapeKey,
   parseModuleRuntimeDefinition,
   type RegisteredCapability,
@@ -70,7 +71,12 @@ export interface StartedModuleRuntime {
   stop(): Promise<void>;
 }
 
-export interface StartModuleRuntimeOptions extends ModuleDiscoveryOptions {}
+export interface StartModuleRuntimeOptions extends ModuleDiscoveryOptions {
+  /** The same frozen services object every started module's `start`/`stop` hooks and (once
+   * `apps/api` mounts routes) HTTP handlers receive for this runtime — a required production
+   * dependency, never an optional test-only global. See `ModuleRuntimeServices`. */
+  readonly services: ModuleRuntimeServices;
+}
 
 interface LoadedModule {
   readonly definition: ModuleRuntimeDefinition;
@@ -201,6 +207,7 @@ class StagedCapabilityRegistry {
   createRuntimeContext(
     module: DiscoveredModule,
     phase: "rollback" | "start" | "stop",
+    services: ModuleRuntimeServices,
   ): ModuleRuntimeContext {
     const capabilities: CapabilityResolver = Object.freeze({
       resolve: (capabilityId: CapabilityId): RegisteredCapability | undefined => {
@@ -208,7 +215,7 @@ class StagedCapabilityRegistry {
         return this.#registered.get(capabilityId);
       },
     });
-    return Object.freeze({ capabilities, moduleId: module.manifest.id });
+    return Object.freeze({ capabilities, moduleId: module.manifest.id, services });
   }
 
   publish(): CapabilityRegistry {
@@ -466,11 +473,14 @@ async function stopModules(
   modules: readonly LoadedModule[],
   registry: StagedCapabilityRegistry,
   phase: "rollback" | "stop",
+  services: ModuleRuntimeServices,
 ): Promise<readonly ModuleRuntimeIssue[]> {
   const issues: ModuleRuntimeIssue[] = [];
   for (const module of [...modules].reverse()) {
     try {
-      await module.definition.stop?.(registry.createRuntimeContext(module.discovered, phase));
+      await module.definition.stop?.(
+        registry.createRuntimeContext(module.discovered, phase, services),
+      );
     } catch (error) {
       if (error instanceof ModuleRuntimeSignal) {
         issues.push(error.issue);
@@ -492,11 +502,14 @@ async function stopModules(
 async function startModules(
   modules: readonly LoadedModule[],
   registry: StagedCapabilityRegistry,
+  services: ModuleRuntimeServices,
 ): Promise<void> {
   const started: LoadedModule[] = [];
   for (const module of modules) {
     try {
-      await module.definition.start?.(registry.createRuntimeContext(module.discovered, "start"));
+      await module.definition.start?.(
+        registry.createRuntimeContext(module.discovered, "start", services),
+      );
       started.push(module);
     } catch (error) {
       const startIssue =
@@ -508,7 +521,7 @@ async function startModules(
               module.discovered.manifest.id,
               `Module ${module.discovered.manifest.id} startup failed.`,
             );
-      const rollbackIssues = await stopModules(started, registry, "rollback");
+      const rollbackIssues = await stopModules(started, registry, "rollback", services);
       throw new ModuleRuntimeError([startIssue, ...rollbackIssues]);
     }
   }
@@ -524,12 +537,13 @@ async function startModules(
  */
 export async function startDiscoveredModuleRuntime(
   discoveredModules: readonly DiscoveredModule[],
+  services: ModuleRuntimeServices,
 ): Promise<StartedModuleRuntime> {
   const modules = await loadRuntimeDefinitions(discoveredModules);
   const capabilityRegistry = new StagedCapabilityRegistry();
   const httpRoutes = new StagedModuleHttpRoutes();
   await registerModules(modules, capabilityRegistry, httpRoutes);
-  await startModules(modules, capabilityRegistry);
+  await startModules(modules, capabilityRegistry, services);
 
   const capabilities = capabilityRegistry.publish();
   const routes = httpRoutes.publish();
@@ -549,7 +563,7 @@ export async function startDiscoveredModuleRuntime(
     routes,
     stop: (): Promise<void> => {
       stopPromise ??= (async () => {
-        const issues = await stopModules(modules, capabilityRegistry, "stop");
+        const issues = await stopModules(modules, capabilityRegistry, "stop", services);
         if (issues.length > 0) {
           throw new ModuleRuntimeError(issues);
         }
@@ -563,5 +577,5 @@ export async function startModuleRuntime(
   options: StartModuleRuntimeOptions,
 ): Promise<StartedModuleRuntime> {
   const discovered = await discoverModules(options);
-  return startDiscoveredModuleRuntime(discovered);
+  return startDiscoveredModuleRuntime(discovered, options.services);
 }
diff --git a/core/tests/module-database.test.ts b/core/tests/module-database.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..15662e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/tests/module-database.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+import { integer, pgTable, text } from "drizzle-orm/pg-core";
+import type { Pool } from "pg";
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { createModuleDatabaseView } from "../src/modules/database.js";
+
+const testTable = pgTable("core_module_database_test", {
+  id: integer("id").primaryKey(),
+  name: text("name").notNull(),
+});
+
+function fakePool(): Pool {
+  return {
+    connect: vi.fn(),
+    end: vi.fn(),
+    on: vi.fn(),
+    query: vi.fn(),
+  } as unknown as Pool;
+}
+
+describe("createModuleDatabaseView", () => {
+  it("wraps an externally owned pool without constructing, connecting to, registering an error listener on, or closing one itself", () => {
+    const pool = fakePool();
+
+    const database = createModuleDatabaseView(pool);
+
+    expect(database).toBeDefined();
+    expect(vi.mocked(pool.connect)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(vi.mocked(pool.end)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(vi.mocked(pool.on)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(vi.mocked(pool.query)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("exposes exactly the intended query surface, frozen, with no raw pool/client/session/dialect escape hatch", () => {
+    const database = createModuleDatabaseView(fakePool());
+
+    expect(Object.keys(database).sort()).toEqual([
+      "delete",
+      "execute",
+      "insert",
+      "select",
+      "selectDistinct",
+      "selectDistinctOn",
+      "transaction",
+      "update",
+    ]);
+    expect(Object.isFrozen(database)).toBe(true);
+    for (const forbidden of ["$client", "_", "query", "session", "dialect", "pool", "with"]) {
+      expect(forbidden in database).toBe(false);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("keeps every forwarded operation correctly bound to its underlying Drizzle instance, even when destructured off the facade", async () => {
+    const database = createModuleDatabaseView(fakePool());
+    const {
+      select,
+      selectDistinct,
+      selectDistinctOn,
+      insert,
+      update,
+      delete: remove,
+      execute,
+      transaction,
+    } = database;
+
+    // Each of these synchronously builds a query object from `this.session`/`this.dialect` without
+    // performing I/O — if the forwarded method lost its `this` binding when destructured (a real JS
+    // pitfall for plain prototype methods), the very first property access inside would throw.
+    expect(() => select()).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => selectDistinct()).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => selectDistinctOn([testTable.name])).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => insert(testTable)).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => update(testTable)).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => remove(testTable)).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => execute("select 1")).not.toThrow();
+
+    let transactionResult: unknown;
+    expect(() => {
+      transactionResult = transaction(async () => undefined);
+    }).not.toThrow();
+    expect(transactionResult).toBeInstanceOf(Promise);
+    // The fake pool cannot complete a real transaction; only the synchronous binding matters here.
+    await Promise.resolve(transactionResult).catch(() => undefined);
+  });
+
+  it("never constructs a second pool — the given pool instance is the only one ever touched", () => {
+    const pool = fakePool();
+
+    createModuleDatabaseView(pool);
+    createModuleDatabaseView(pool);
+
+    // Two views built from the same pool never allocate a new connection — there is nothing on
+    // `pool` for either call to have invoked at all (see the construction test above), so calling
+    // this twice is itself the proof that no per-call pool allocation ever happens.
+    expect(vi.mocked(pool.connect)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/core/tests/module-runtime.test.ts b/core/tests/module-runtime.test.ts
index aefc443..51a1f78 100644
--- a/core/tests/module-runtime.test.ts
+++ b/core/tests/module-runtime.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { mkdir, mkdtemp, rm, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
+import type { ModuleDatabase, ModuleRuntimeServices } from "@ekklesia/contracts";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { discoverModules } from "../src/modules/discovery.js";
 import {
@@ -108,11 +109,50 @@ function createEventRecorder(): { events: string[]; expression: string } {
   };
 }
 
-function runtimeOptions(modulesDirectory: string) {
+/** Same globalThis-symbol technique as `createEventRecorder`, but for capturing an actual object
+ * reference (such as `context.services`) pushed from inside a dynamically imported fixture module,
+ * rather than a string label — dynamic `import()` of a file:// URL still shares this process's
+ * heap, so a reference pushed from the fixture and read back here is the exact same object. */
+function createReferenceRecorder(): { values: unknown[]; expression: string } {
+  const key = `ekklesia.runtime.test.ref.${eventSymbols.length}.${Date.now()}.${Math.random()}`;
+  const symbol = Symbol.for(key);
+  const values: unknown[] = [];
+  (globalThis as unknown as Record<PropertyKey, unknown>)[symbol] = values;
+  eventSymbols.push(symbol);
+  return {
+    values,
+    expression: `globalThis[Symbol.for(${JSON.stringify(key)})]`,
+  };
+}
+
+/** A small typed fake `ModuleDatabase` — no PostgreSQL required for these unit tests, which only
+ * ever assert on context wiring and object identity, never on actual query behavior. */
+function fakeModuleDatabase(): ModuleDatabase {
+  return Object.freeze({
+    delete: vi.fn(),
+    execute: vi.fn(),
+    insert: vi.fn(),
+    select: vi.fn(),
+    selectDistinct: vi.fn(),
+    selectDistinctOn: vi.fn(),
+    transaction: vi.fn(),
+    update: vi.fn(),
+  }) as unknown as ModuleDatabase;
+}
+
+function fakeModuleRuntimeServices(): ModuleRuntimeServices {
+  return Object.freeze({ database: fakeModuleDatabase() });
+}
+
+function runtimeOptions(
+  modulesDirectory: string,
+  services: ModuleRuntimeServices = fakeModuleRuntimeServices(),
+) {
   return {
     moduleSdkVersion: "0.1.0",
     modulesDirectory,
     platformVersion: "0.1.0",
+    services,
   };
 }
 
@@ -822,7 +862,7 @@ describe("already-discovered module runtime", () => {
     const discovered = await discoverModules(runtimeOptions(modulesDirectory));
     expect(discoverModules).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
 
-    const runtime = await startDiscoveredModuleRuntime(discovered);
+    const runtime = await startDiscoveredModuleRuntime(discovered, fakeModuleRuntimeServices());
     expect(discoverModules).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
     expect(runtime.modules.map((module) => module.id)).toEqual(["already-discovered"]);
     await runtime.stop();
@@ -840,7 +880,10 @@ describe("already-discovered module runtime", () => {
     const discovered = await discoverModules(runtimeOptions(modulesDirectory));
     expect(discovered.map((module) => module.manifest.id)).toEqual(["first", "second"]);
 
-    const runtime = await startDiscoveredModuleRuntime([...discovered].reverse());
+    const runtime = await startDiscoveredModuleRuntime(
+      [...discovered].reverse(),
+      fakeModuleRuntimeServices(),
+    );
     expect(runtime.modules.map((module) => module.id)).toEqual(["second", "first"]);
     await runtime.stop();
   });
@@ -857,3 +900,98 @@ describe("already-discovered module runtime", () => {
     await runtime.stop();
   });
 });
+
+describe("module runtime services", () => {
+  it("never gives register a services field, and gives start and stop the exact same services object", async () => {
+    const modulesDirectory = await createModulesDirectory();
+    const services = fakeModuleRuntimeServices();
+    const registerServices = createReferenceRecorder();
+    const lifecycleServices = createReferenceRecorder();
+    await createRuntimeModule(modulesDirectory, "wired", {
+      serverSource: `export default {
+        id: "wired", version: "0.1.0",
+        register(context) { ${registerServices.expression}.push(context.services); },
+        start(context) { ${lifecycleServices.expression}.push(context.services); },
+        stop(context) { ${lifecycleServices.expression}.push(context.services); }
+      };`,
+    });
+
+    const runtime = await startModuleRuntime(runtimeOptions(modulesDirectory, services));
+    await runtime.stop();
+
+    expect(registerServices.values).toEqual([undefined]);
+    expect(lifecycleServices.values).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(lifecycleServices.values[0]).toBe(services);
+    expect(lifecycleServices.values[1]).toBe(services);
+  });
+
+  it("shares the exact same services object identity across every module's start hook", async () => {
+    const modulesDirectory = await createModulesDirectory();
+    const services = fakeModuleRuntimeServices();
+    const recorder = createReferenceRecorder();
+    await createRuntimeModule(modulesDirectory, "alpha", {
+      serverSource: `export default {
+        id: "alpha", version: "0.1.0",
+        start(context) { ${recorder.expression}.push(context.services); }
+      };`,
+    });
+    await createRuntimeModule(modulesDirectory, "beta", {
+      manifest: manifestFor("beta", {
+        dependencies: { modules: { required: { alpha: "^0.1.0" } } },
+      }),
+      serverSource: `export default {
+        id: "beta", version: "0.1.0",
+        start(context) { ${recorder.expression}.push(context.services); }
+      };`,
+    });
+
+    const runtime = await startModuleRuntime(runtimeOptions(modulesDirectory, services));
+
+    expect(recorder.values).toEqual([services, services]);
+    await runtime.stop();
+  });
+
+  it("gives a rollback stop hook the same services object a start failure left available", async () => {
+    const modulesDirectory = await createModulesDirectory();
+    const services = fakeModuleRuntimeServices();
+    const recorder = createReferenceRecorder();
+    await createRuntimeModule(modulesDirectory, "started", {
+      serverSource: `export default {
+        id: "started", version: "0.1.0",
+        start(context) { ${recorder.expression}.push(context.services); },
+        stop(context) { ${recorder.expression}.push(context.services); }
+      };`,
+    });
+    await createRuntimeModule(modulesDirectory, "failing", {
+      manifest: manifestFor("failing", {
+        dependencies: { modules: { required: { started: "^0.1.0" } } },
+      }),
+      serverSource: `export default {
+        id: "failing", version: "0.1.0",
+        start() { throw new Error("boom"); }
+      };`,
+    });
+
+    await expect(
+      startModuleRuntime(runtimeOptions(modulesDirectory, services)),
+    ).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(ModuleRuntimeError);
+
+    expect(recorder.values).toEqual([services, services]);
+  });
+
+  it("starts and stops a zero-module runtime without ever touching the provided services", async () => {
+    const modulesDirectory = await createModulesDirectory();
+    const services = fakeModuleRuntimeServices();
+
+    const runtime = await startModuleRuntime(runtimeOptions(modulesDirectory, services));
+    await runtime.stop();
+
+    expect(runtime.modules).toEqual([]);
+    expect(vi.mocked(services.database.select)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(vi.mocked(services.database.insert)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(vi.mocked(services.database.update)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(vi.mocked(services.database.delete)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(vi.mocked(services.database.execute)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(vi.mocked(services.database.transaction)).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/contracts/src/index.ts b/packages/contracts/src/index.ts
index 8577526..a134206 100644
--- a/packages/contracts/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/contracts/src/index.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 export * from "./authorization.js";
 export * from "./identifiers.js";
 export * from "./identity.js";
+export * from "./module-database.js";
 export * from "./module-http.js";
 export * from "./module-lifecycle.js";
 export * from "./module-manifest.js";
diff --git a/packages/contracts/src/module-database.ts b/packages/contracts/src/module-database.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..89de610
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/contracts/src/module-database.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import type { NodePgDatabase } from "drizzle-orm/node-postgres";
+
+/**
+ * A trusted backend module's typed Drizzle query surface — the same query-building methods a
+ * platform-owned Drizzle instance exposes, restricted to exactly the operations a module needs to
+ * read and write its own tables. Derived with `Pick` from the real `drizzle-orm/node-postgres`
+ * database type rather than hand-declared, so every method keeps Drizzle's own table-aware
+ * argument and result inference exactly as-is — a module calling `database.select().from(table)`
+ * or `database.insert(table).values(...)` gets the identical typed builder a direct Drizzle caller
+ * would, with no `any`/`unknown` erasure anywhere in the chain.
+ *
+ * Deliberately excludes everything `NodePgDatabase` or the `drizzle(...)` factory otherwise
+ * exposes: `$client` (the raw `pg` client/pool), `_` (internal session/dialect/schema state),
+ * `query` (a relational-query builder tied to one schema, which would have to span every
+ * installed module's tables to exist here at all), `$cache`, `$count`, `$with`, `with`, and
+ * `refreshMaterializedView`. There is no connection string, pool, session, or dialect object
+ * reachable through this type. Carries no schema generic — a module brings its own Drizzle table
+ * objects (`@ekklesia/module-sdk`'s `defineModuleSchema`) to each call, so there is no global
+ * relational schema spanning every installed module for this type to leak.
+ *
+ * This is an integration boundary, not a security sandbox: modules are trusted, compiled backend
+ * plugins that already run arbitrary code in this process, exactly like every other lifecycle hook
+ * and HTTP handler they define. `ModuleDatabase` exists to keep a module's code Drizzle-typed and
+ * decoupled from how the platform physically connects to PostgreSQL — not to defend against a
+ * malicious module, which this facade cannot do and does not attempt to do.
+ */
+export type ModuleDatabase = Pick<
+  NodePgDatabase,
+  | "select"
+  | "selectDistinct"
+  | "selectDistinctOn"
+  | "insert"
+  | "update"
+  | "delete"
+  | "execute"
+  | "transaction"
+>;
+
+/**
+ * The complete set of platform-provided services a trusted module's `start`/`stop` lifecycle hooks
+ * and authorized HTTP route handlers receive — for this phase, exactly one: `database`. Frozen, and
+ * never handed to a module's `register` hook (`ModuleRegistrationContext` has no `services` field):
+ * registration stays declarative and database-free, exactly as before this contract existed.
+ * Deliberately has no storage, jobs, configuration, secrets, or authorization field yet — those
+ * remain out of scope until a later phase explicitly adds them here, one at a time, the same way
+ * `database` was added.
+ */
+export interface ModuleRuntimeServices {
+  readonly database: ModuleDatabase;
+}
diff --git a/packages/contracts/src/module-http.ts b/packages/contracts/src/module-http.ts
index 4678f4e..9dd9749 100644
--- a/packages/contracts/src/module-http.ts
+++ b/packages/contracts/src/module-http.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { z } from "zod";
 import type { EkklesiaPrincipal } from "./identity.js";
 import { type ModuleId, type PermissionId, permissionIdSchema } from "./identifiers.js";
+import type { ModuleRuntimeServices } from "./module-database.js";
 
 // Not imported from `./module-runtime.js`'s own `Awaitable` (structurally identical) — importing
 // it would create a source dependency cycle with that module, which also imports from this one for
@@ -124,16 +125,19 @@ export function moduleRouteShapeKey(method: ModuleHttpMethod, path: ModuleRouteP
 }
 
 /**
- * What a module's route handler receives about the caller and the match — never a database
- * connection, authorization-store, grant-management, storage, jobs, configuration, secrets, the
- * Hono `Context`, or a raw Better Auth session. `principal` is already authorized by the time a
- * handler runs: `apps/api/src/module-http-routes.ts` mounts and enforces every route before ever
- * invoking its handler; this contracts-layer module never invokes a handler itself.
+ * What a module's route handler receives about the caller, the match, and the platform services
+ * available to it — never an authorization-store, grant-management, storage, jobs, configuration,
+ * secrets, the Hono `Context`, or a raw Better Auth session. `principal` is already authorized by
+ * the time a handler runs: `apps/api/src/module-http-routes.ts` mounts and enforces every route
+ * before ever invoking its handler; this contracts-layer module never invokes a handler itself.
+ * `services` is the same frozen `ModuleRuntimeServices` object the owning module's `start`/`stop`
+ * hooks receive for this API runtime — never a fresh one built per request.
  */
 export interface ModuleRouteHandlerContext {
   readonly moduleId: ModuleId;
   readonly principal: EkklesiaPrincipal;
   readonly params: Readonly<Record<string, string>>;
+  readonly services: ModuleRuntimeServices;
 }
 
 /** A framework-neutral Fetch handler: standard `Request` in, standard `Response` out. The full
diff --git a/packages/contracts/src/module-runtime.ts b/packages/contracts/src/module-runtime.ts
index e61d5c7..521a3a9 100644
--- a/packages/contracts/src/module-runtime.ts
+++ b/packages/contracts/src/module-runtime.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { CapabilityId, ModuleId } from "./identifiers.js";
 import { moduleIdSchema } from "./identifiers.js";
+import type { ModuleRuntimeServices } from "./module-database.js";
 import type { ModuleHttpRouteRegistrar } from "./module-http.js";
 import { semanticVersionSchema } from "./versions.js";
 
@@ -29,9 +30,14 @@ export interface ModuleRegistrationContext {
   readonly moduleId: ModuleId;
 }
 
+/** The same context shape for both `start` and `stop`: whichever hook runs, it receives the exact
+ * same frozen `services` object identity as the other, for a given API runtime — never a fresh
+ * `ModuleRuntimeServices` built per hook invocation. Unlike `ModuleRegistrationContext`, this never
+ * carries `http`: a route can only ever be declared during `register`. */
 export interface ModuleRuntimeContext {
   readonly capabilities: CapabilityResolver;
   readonly moduleId: ModuleId;
+  readonly services: ModuleRuntimeServices;
 }
 
 export interface ModuleRuntimeDefinition {
diff --git a/packages/contracts/tests/module-database.test.ts b/packages/contracts/tests/module-database.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b6457e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/contracts/tests/module-database.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+import { integer, pgTable, text } from "drizzle-orm/pg-core";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import type { ModuleDatabase, ModuleRuntimeServices } from "../src/index.js";
+
+const testTable = pgTable("contracts_module_database_test", {
+  id: integer("id").primaryKey(),
+  name: text("name").notNull(),
+});
+
+/**
+ * Never invoked — exists solely so `pnpm typecheck` (part of `pnpm verify`) proves `ModuleDatabase`
+ * preserves Drizzle's own table-aware argument and result inference for every required operation,
+ * with no `any`/`unknown` erasure anywhere in the chain. A regression that widened any of these
+ * signatures to `any` would still compile a *call* to the method but would break one of the
+ * explicit row-shape assertions below.
+ */
+function typeOnlyOperationInference(database: ModuleDatabase): void {
+  const selected = database.select({ id: testTable.id, name: testTable.name }).from(testTable);
+  const selectedRow: { id: number; name: string } = {} as Awaited<typeof selected>[number];
+  void selectedRow;
+
+  const distinct = database.selectDistinct().from(testTable);
+  const distinctRow: { id: number; name: string } = {} as Awaited<typeof distinct>[number];
+  void distinctRow;
+
+  const distinctOn = database.selectDistinctOn([testTable.name]).from(testTable);
+  const distinctOnRow: { id: number; name: string } = {} as Awaited<typeof distinctOn>[number];
+  void distinctOnRow;
+
+  const inserted = database.insert(testTable).values({ id: 1, name: "a" });
+  void inserted;
+
+  const updated = database.update(testTable).set({ name: "b" });
+  void updated;
+
+  const deleted = database.delete(testTable);
+  void deleted;
+
+  const executed = database.execute("select 1");
+  void executed;
+
+  void database.transaction(async (tx) => {
+    const rows: Array<{ id: number }> = await tx.select({ id: testTable.id }).from(testTable);
+    return rows;
+  });
+}
+void typeOnlyOperationInference;
+
+/**
+ * Never invoked — proves at typecheck time that `ModuleDatabase` structurally excludes every raw
+ * PostgreSQL/Drizzle escape hatch a module must never reach through this facade. If any of these
+ * properties were ever (re)added to the picked surface, the corresponding `@ts-expect-error` would
+ * itself become a type error ("unused '@ts-expect-error' directive"), failing `pnpm typecheck`.
+ */
+function typeOnlyExclusions(database: ModuleDatabase): void {
+  // @ts-expect-error `$client` (the raw pg client/pool) is not part of the public facade.
+  void database.$client;
+  // @ts-expect-error `_` (internal session/dialect/schema state) is not part of the public facade.
+  void database._;
+  // @ts-expect-error `query` (a schema-bound relational query builder) is not part of the public facade.
+  void database.query;
+  // @ts-expect-error a raw connection pool is not part of the public facade.
+  void database.pool;
+  // @ts-expect-error a raw connection string is not part of the public facade.
+  void database.connectionString;
+  // @ts-expect-error migration operations are not part of the public facade.
+  void database.migrate;
+}
+void typeOnlyExclusions;
+
+/** Never invoked — proves `ModuleRuntimeServices` has exactly one field, `database`, typed as
+ * `ModuleDatabase`, with no storage/jobs/configuration/secrets/authorization field this phase. */
+function typeOnlyServicesShape(services: ModuleRuntimeServices): void {
+  const database: ModuleDatabase = services.database;
+  void database;
+  // @ts-expect-error `storage` does not exist on `ModuleRuntimeServices` yet.
+  void services.storage;
+  // @ts-expect-error `jobs` does not exist on `ModuleRuntimeServices` yet.
+  void services.jobs;
+  // @ts-expect-error `authorization` does not exist on `ModuleRuntimeServices` yet.
+  void services.authorization;
+}
+void typeOnlyServicesShape;
+
+describe("ModuleDatabase", () => {
+  it("is a real, importable type contract enforced by pnpm typecheck", () => {
+    // The meaningful assertions for this module-level type contract are compile-time
+    // (`typeOnlyOperationInference`, `typeOnlyExclusions`, `typeOnlyServicesShape` above, checked
+    // by `pnpm typecheck`); this keeps the file a genuine, executed Vitest suite rather than a
+    // file Vitest would otherwise skip for declaring no runnable test.
+    expect(typeof typeOnlyOperationInference).toBe("function");
+    expect(typeof typeOnlyExclusions).toBe("function");
+    expect(typeof typeOnlyServicesShape).toBe("function");
+  });
+});