diff --git a/merlin/daemon.py b/merlin/daemon.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b1c9d81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/merlin/daemon.py
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+"""
+Merlin daemon — main camera loop + FastAPI control API.
+
+Start:  conda run -n cf python -m merlin.daemon
+API:    http://localhost:8522
+  GET  /status       → {"running": bool, "backend": str, "config": {...}}
+  POST /toggle       → start or stop the detection loop
+  POST /config/reload → reload config from ~/.merlin/config.yaml
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+import threading
+from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
+from typing import Any
+
+import cv2
+import mediapipe as mp
+import numpy as np
+import uvicorn
+from fastapi import FastAPI
+from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
+
+from circuitforge_core.input.gestures import CameraCapture, HandsDetector
+from merlin.actions.executor import ActionExecutor
+from merlin.actions.mapper import ActionMapper
+from merlin.config import MerlinConfig
+from merlin.features.blink import BlinkDetector
+from merlin.features.gaze import GazeEstimator
+from merlin.features.hand_gesture import HandGestureDetector
+from merlin.features.head_pose import HeadPoseEstimator
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("merlin.daemon")
+logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
+
+# ---------- Shared state ----------
+_running = False
+_loop_thread: threading.Thread | None = None
+_config = MerlinConfig.load()
+_executor = ActionExecutor()
+_mapper = ActionMapper(_config)
+
+
+def _camera_loop() -> None:
+    global _running
+    blink_det = BlinkDetector(threshold=_config.blink_threshold)
+    gaze_est = GazeEstimator()
+    head_est = HeadPoseEstimator()
+    hand_det = HandGestureDetector()
+    face_mesh = mp.solutions.face_mesh.FaceMesh(
+        refine_landmarks=True,
+        min_detection_confidence=0.7,
+        min_tracking_confidence=0.5,
+    )
+
+    with CameraCapture(device_index=_config.camera_device) as cam:
+        with HandsDetector(max_hands=1) as hands_det:
+            for frame_bgr in cam.frames():
+                if not _running:
+                    break
+                rgb = frame_bgr[:, :, ::-1]
+
+                face_results = face_mesh.process(rgb)
+                if face_results.multi_face_landmarks:
+                    face = np.array(
+                        [
+                            [p.x, p.y, p.z]
+                            for p in face_results.multi_face_landmarks[0].landmark
+                        ],
+                        dtype=np.float32,
+                    )
+                    blink = blink_det.detect(face)
+                    if blink:
+                        action = _mapper.map(blink.value)
+                        if action:
+                            _executor.execute(action)
+
+                    head = head_est.update(face)
+                    if head:
+                        action = _mapper.map(head.value)
+                        if action:
+                            _executor.execute(action)
+
+                hands = hands_det.detect(rgb)
+                if hands:
+                    gesture = hand_det.detect(hands[0].points)
+                    if gesture:
+                        action = _mapper.map(gesture.value)
+                        if action:
+                            _executor.execute(action)
+
+    face_mesh.close()
+    _running = False
+    logger.info("Camera loop stopped")
+
+
+# ---------- FastAPI ----------
+
+
+@asynccontextmanager
+async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
+    logger.info("Merlin daemon starting on port 8522")
+    yield
+    global _running
+    _running = False
+
+
+app = FastAPI(title="Merlin Daemon API", lifespan=lifespan)
+app.add_middleware(
+    CORSMiddleware,
+    allow_origins=["http://localhost:8521"],
+    allow_methods=["*"],
+    allow_headers=["*"],
+)
+
+
+@app.get("/status")
+def status() -> dict[str, Any]:
+    return {
+        "running": _running,
+        "backend": _executor._backend,
+        "config": {
+            "camera_device": _config.camera_device,
+            "blink_threshold": _config.blink_threshold,
+            "mappings": _config.mappings,
+        },
+    }
+
+
+@app.post("/toggle")
+def toggle() -> dict[str, str]:
+    global _running, _loop_thread
+    if _running:
+        _running = False
+        return {"status": "stopped"}
+    _running = True
+    _loop_thread = threading.Thread(target=_camera_loop, daemon=True)
+    _loop_thread.start()
+    return {"status": "started"}
+
+
+@app.post("/config/reload")
+def reload_config() -> dict[str, str]:
+    global _config
+    _config = MerlinConfig.load()
+    _mapper.reload(_config)
+    return {"status": "reloaded"}
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    uvicorn.run("merlin.daemon:app", host="127.0.0.1", port=8522, reload=False)