diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 54c7d5c..7d47913 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -52,17 +52,19 @@ The structural, security, observability, and quality choices are recorded as ADR
 - **Local quality gates:** Husky + lint-staged + commitlint with Conventional Commits — see [ADR-0007](docs/decisions/0007-pre-commit-hooks-and-conventional-commits.md).
 - **Documentation site:** `docs/**/*.md` rendered as a separate static site via **VitePress** (Vite-based, Node-only toolchain, Markdown-first). Mermaid diagrams via `vitepress-plugin-mermaid`. Deployed on its own hostname behind the shared reverse-proxy; CI hook on `docs/` changes rebuilds + publishes. Decoupled from the apps — content lives in `docs/`, no in-app Markdown viewer — see [ADR-0022](docs/decisions/0022-docs-site-vitepress.md).
 - **Charts + dashboards:** `D3 + Observable Plot` wrapped in `libs/shared/charts/`, one Angular component per chart type (bar, donut, line, stacked-bar, …). A11y baked in by the lib (SVG `<title>`/`<desc>`, `<details>` tabular fallback, colour-blind-safe palettes, AA-contrast text, `prefers-reduced-motion` gate). Bundle stays under [ADR-0017](docs/decisions/0017-performance-budgets-lighthouse-ci.md)'s lazy-chunk cap via per-`d3-*` module tree-shaking. Future bespoke visualisations land in raw D3 inside the same lib — see [ADR-0023](docs/decisions/0023-charts-d3-observable-plot.md).
+- **AI service relay:** dedicated `apf-ai-service` repo (ASP.NET Core, Microsoft Agent Framework) consumed via native gRPC HTTP/2 only — proto contract vendored under `apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/proto/apf-ai/` with `ts-proto` codegen committed alongside. BFF dials with `@grpc/grpc-js` (h2c in dev, h2 + TLS in prod), bridges `ChatService.Chat` to `text/event-stream` for the SPA, exposes `RagService.Search` and `ModelsService.ListModels` as plain JSON endpoints. Identity travels as an unsigned `Principal` (subject, roles, attributes) in the proto body for the POC, hashed via the audit module's `HashUserIdService` so portal and AI service audit trails join on the same `actor_id_hash`. Production hardening (signed envelope vs mTLS) deferred — see [ADR-0024](docs/decisions/0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md).
 - **Runtime:** Node.js latest LTS major.
 
 ## Repository status
 
 The Nx workspace is **scaffolded and operational**. The three apps (`portal-shell`, `portal-admin`, `portal-bff`) and the four lib roots (`libs/feature/`, `libs/shared/state`, `libs/shared/tokens`, `libs/shared/ui`, `libs/shared/util`) are in place; CI runs `format:check / lint / test / build` on every PR.
 
-ADRs 0001 → 0023 are accepted and cover the structural, security, observability, quality, i18n, admin-app, docs-site, and charts choices. **Shipped on `main`:**
+ADRs 0001 → 0024 are accepted and cover the structural, security, observability, quality, i18n, admin-app, docs-site, charts, and AI-relay choices. **Shipped on `main`:**
 
 - **Phase-1 foundation** — Nx workspace, Angular `portal-shell`, NestJS `portal-bff`, Prisma + Postgres, Pino + OpenTelemetry, Husky/lint-staged/commitlint, Gitea Actions CI.
 - **Phase-2 auth + audit + security** — OIDC Auth Code + PKCE via MSAL Node, Redis sessions with AES-256-GCM at rest, idle 30 min sliding + absolute 12 h hard ceiling, RP-initiated logout, double-submit CSRF, `audit.events` append-only schema with role-based grants, helmet + env-driven CORS allowlist + rate limiting + structured error envelope (see [ADR-0021](docs/decisions/0021-phase-2-security-baseline.md)).
 - **Phase-3a admin app skeleton** — `portal-admin` SPA exists with brand tokens and routing; business modules (CMS, menu management, user list, audit log viewer) not yet implemented.
+- **AI relay surface** — vendored protos + `AiClientModule` (gRPC clients, Principal mapper, metadata builder) + `AiBridgeController` exposing `POST /api/ai/chat` (SSE), `GET /api/ai/rag/search`, `GET /api/ai/models` (see [ADR-0024](docs/decisions/0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md)). Live consumer (chatbot widget on `portal-shell`) and the proto-drift CI gate ship next.
 
 **Still on the roadmap:**
 
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/.env.example b/apps/portal-bff/.env.example
index b51761b..1b85a54 100644
--- a/apps/portal-bff/.env.example
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/.env.example
@@ -206,3 +206,16 @@ CORS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:4200,http://localhost:4300
 #   BFF_JWKS_KID                    — wired
 #   <SERVICE>_API_BASE_URL          (per integrated downstream — lands with the first integration)
 #   <SERVICE>_TIMEOUT_MS            (optional, defaults to 5000 — lands with the first integration)
+
+# AI service relay (ADR-0024) — the BFF dials apf-ai-service over
+# native gRPC HTTP/2 and bridges chat streams to SSE for the SPA.
+# apf-ai-service runs from its own repo (../apf-ai-service); use
+# that repo's docker-compose.yml to bring it up locally, then point
+# AI_SERVICE_GRPC_ENDPOINT here at the host-published port. No
+# JWT/auth on the wire in v1 — the Principal travels in the proto
+# body (per ADR-0024 §"Sub-decision 4 — POC unsigned principal").
+AI_SERVICE_GRPC_ENDPOINT=localhost:8080
+AI_SERVICE_CLIENT_ID=apf-portal-dev
+# Set to 'true' in preprod/prod (h2 + TLS via the edge proxy);
+# 'false' in dev for h2c against the local apf-ai-service.
+AI_SERVICE_GRPC_TLS=false
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/src/app/app.module.ts b/apps/portal-bff/src/app/app.module.ts
index ae5e43c..1d1e394 100644
--- a/apps/portal-bff/src/app/app.module.ts
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/src/app/app.module.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { AdminModule } from '../admin/admin.module';
 import { AuditModule } from '../audit/audit.module';
 import { AuthModule } from '../auth/auth.module';
 import { DownstreamModule } from '../downstream/downstream.module';
+import { AiBridgeModule } from '../grpc/ai-bridge/ai-bridge.module';
 import { MeModule } from '../me/me.module';
 import { RedisModule } from '../redis/redis.module';
 import { SecurityModule } from '../security/security.module';
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ import { UsersModule } from '../users/users.module';
     SecurityModule,
     HealthModule,
     AdminModule,
+    AiBridgeModule,
     DownstreamModule,
     MeModule,
     UsersModule,
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/ai-bridge.controller.spec.ts b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/ai-bridge.controller.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb324fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/ai-bridge.controller.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,396 @@
+import { EventEmitter } from 'node:events';
+import { randomBytes } from 'node:crypto';
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll, beforeEach } from '@jest/globals';
+import { UnauthorizedException } from '@nestjs/common';
+import {
+  ChannelCredentials,
+  Server,
+  ServerCredentials,
+  status as GrpcStatus,
+  type sendUnaryData,
+  type ServerUnaryCall,
+  type ServerWritableStream,
+} from '@grpc/grpc-js';
+import { HashUserIdService } from '../../audit/hash-user-id.service';
+import { ChatClient } from '../ai-client/chat.client';
+import { GrpcMetadataBuilder } from '../ai-client/grpc-metadata.builder';
+import { ModelsClient } from '../ai-client/models.client';
+import { PrincipalMapper } from '../ai-client/principal.mapper';
+import { RagClient } from '../ai-client/rag.client';
+import {
+  ChatServiceClient,
+  ChatServiceService,
+  type ChatEvent,
+  type ChatRequest,
+} from '../gen/apf-ai/chat';
+import {
+  ModelsServiceClient,
+  ModelsServiceService,
+  type ListModelsRequest,
+  type ListModelsResponse,
+} from '../gen/apf-ai/models';
+import {
+  RagServiceClient,
+  RagServiceService,
+  type RagSearchRequest,
+  type RagSearchResponse,
+} from '../gen/apf-ai/rag';
+import { Struct } from '../gen/apf-ai/google/protobuf/struct';
+import { AiBridgeController } from './ai-bridge.controller';
+import type { AiServiceConfig } from '../../config/check-ai-service-config';
+import type { AuthenticatedUser } from '../../auth/auth.service';
+
+/**
+ * Exercises `AiBridgeController` end-to-end through the gRPC wire
+ * against an in-process fake of every service the controller calls.
+ *
+ * The controller is a thin translation layer (DTO → proto, gRPC →
+ * SSE, session → Principal). The spec confirms each direction of
+ * the translation lands the right bytes.
+ */
+
+const STRONG_SALT = randomBytes(32).toString('base64url');
+const ORIGINAL_SALT = process.env['LOG_USER_ID_SALT'];
+
+beforeAll(() => {
+  process.env['LOG_USER_ID_SALT'] = STRONG_SALT;
+});
+
+afterAll(() => {
+  if (ORIGINAL_SALT === undefined) {
+    delete process.env['LOG_USER_ID_SALT'];
+  } else {
+    process.env['LOG_USER_ID_SALT'] = ORIGINAL_SALT;
+  }
+});
+
+const USER: AuthenticatedUser = {
+  oid: 'user-oid-42',
+  tid: 'tenant-1',
+  username: 'alice@example.org',
+  displayName: 'Alice',
+  amr: ['pwd', 'mfa'],
+  roles: ['admin'],
+};
+
+// ---- Fake gRPC server (Chat + Rag + Models) -------------------
+
+let server: Server;
+let port: number;
+let chatHandler: (call: ServerWritableStream<ChatRequest, ChatEvent>) => void;
+let ragHandler: (
+  call: ServerUnaryCall<RagSearchRequest, RagSearchResponse>,
+  callback: sendUnaryData<RagSearchResponse>,
+) => void;
+let modelsHandler: (
+  call: ServerUnaryCall<ListModelsRequest, ListModelsResponse>,
+  callback: sendUnaryData<ListModelsResponse>,
+) => void;
+let observedChatRequest: ChatRequest | null = null;
+
+beforeAll(async () => {
+  server = new Server();
+  server.addService(ChatServiceService, {
+    chat: (call: ServerWritableStream<ChatRequest, ChatEvent>) => {
+      observedChatRequest = call.request;
+      chatHandler(call);
+    },
+  });
+  server.addService(RagServiceService, {
+    search: (
+      call: ServerUnaryCall<RagSearchRequest, RagSearchResponse>,
+      callback: sendUnaryData<RagSearchResponse>,
+    ) => ragHandler(call, callback),
+  });
+  server.addService(ModelsServiceService, {
+    listModels: (
+      call: ServerUnaryCall<ListModelsRequest, ListModelsResponse>,
+      callback: sendUnaryData<ListModelsResponse>,
+    ) => modelsHandler(call, callback),
+  });
+
+  port = await new Promise<number>((resolve, reject) => {
+    server.bindAsync('127.0.0.1:0', ServerCredentials.createInsecure(), (err, bound) => {
+      if (err) {
+        reject(err);
+        return;
+      }
+      resolve(bound);
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+afterAll(async () => {
+  await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
+    server.tryShutdown((err) => {
+      if (err) {
+        reject(err);
+        return;
+      }
+      resolve();
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+// ---- Controller wiring --------------------------------------
+
+function buildController(): AiBridgeController {
+  const config: AiServiceConfig = {
+    endpoint: `127.0.0.1:${port}`,
+    clientId: 'apf-portal-test',
+    useTls: false,
+  };
+  const credentials = ChannelCredentials.createInsecure();
+  const metadata = new GrpcMetadataBuilder(config);
+  const chatClient = new ChatClient(new ChatServiceClient(config.endpoint, credentials), metadata);
+  const ragClient = new RagClient(new RagServiceClient(config.endpoint, credentials), metadata);
+  const modelsClient = new ModelsClient(
+    new ModelsServiceClient(config.endpoint, credentials),
+    metadata,
+  );
+  const principalMapper = new PrincipalMapper(new HashUserIdService());
+  return new AiBridgeController(chatClient, ragClient, modelsClient, principalMapper);
+}
+
+// ---- Mock Express Request / Response -----------------------
+
+interface CapturedResponse {
+  statusCode: number | undefined;
+  headers: Record<string, string>;
+  body: string;
+  ended: boolean;
+  writableEnded: boolean;
+}
+
+function mockReq(user: AuthenticatedUser | undefined): {
+  req: import('express').Request;
+  close: () => void;
+} {
+  const emitter = new EventEmitter();
+  const req = Object.assign(emitter, {
+    session: { user },
+  }) as unknown as import('express').Request;
+  return {
+    req,
+    close: () => emitter.emit('close'),
+  };
+}
+
+function mockRes(): { res: import('express').Response; captured: CapturedResponse } {
+  const captured: CapturedResponse = {
+    statusCode: undefined,
+    headers: {},
+    body: '',
+    ended: false,
+    writableEnded: false,
+  };
+  const res = {
+    set statusCode(value: number) {
+      captured.statusCode = value;
+    },
+    get writableEnded() {
+      return captured.writableEnded;
+    },
+    setHeader(name: string, value: string): void {
+      captured.headers[name] = value;
+    },
+    flushHeaders(): void {
+      // no-op for the mock
+    },
+    write(chunk: string | Buffer): boolean {
+      captured.body += typeof chunk === 'string' ? chunk : chunk.toString();
+      return true;
+    },
+    end(chunk?: string | Buffer): void {
+      if (chunk !== undefined) {
+        captured.body += typeof chunk === 'string' ? chunk : chunk.toString();
+      }
+      captured.ended = true;
+      captured.writableEnded = true;
+    },
+  };
+  return { res: res as unknown as import('express').Response, captured };
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  observedChatRequest = null;
+});
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('AiBridgeController — POST /api/ai/chat (SSE bridge)', () => {
+  it('streams ChatEvent frames as SSE and sets the right headers', async () => {
+    chatHandler = (call) => {
+      call.write({ token: { token: 'hi', value: 'Hi' } });
+      call.write({ token: { token: ' there', value: ' there' } });
+      call.write({ done: { stats: { tokensIn: 1, tokensOut: 2, chunksRetrieved: 0 } } });
+      call.end();
+    };
+
+    const controller = buildController();
+    const { req } = mockReq(USER);
+    const { res, captured } = mockRes();
+
+    await controller.chat(
+      {
+        messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'hello' }],
+        conversationId: 'c-1',
+      },
+      req,
+      res,
+    );
+
+    expect(captured.headers['Content-Type']).toBe('text/event-stream; charset=utf-8');
+    expect(captured.headers['Cache-Control']).toBe('no-cache, no-transform');
+    expect(captured.headers['X-Accel-Buffering']).toBe('no');
+    expect(captured.body).toContain('event: token\n');
+    expect(captured.body).toContain('"value":"Hi"');
+    expect(captured.body).toContain('event: done\n');
+    expect(captured.ended).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('places a hashed subject and pass-through roles in the proto Principal', async () => {
+    chatHandler = (call) => {
+      call.write({ done: { stats: { tokensIn: 0, tokensOut: 0, chunksRetrieved: 0 } } });
+      call.end();
+    };
+    const controller = buildController();
+    const { req } = mockReq(USER);
+    const { res } = mockRes();
+
+    await controller.chat(
+      {
+        messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'q' }],
+      },
+      req,
+      res,
+    );
+
+    expect(observedChatRequest?.principal?.subject).toMatch(/^[0-9a-f]{16}$/);
+    expect(observedChatRequest?.principal?.subject).not.toBe(USER.oid);
+    expect(observedChatRequest?.principal?.roles).toEqual(['admin']);
+    expect(observedChatRequest?.principal?.attributes).toEqual({ tenantId: 'tenant-1' });
+    expect(observedChatRequest?.toolsAvailable).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects with 401 when no session.user is present', async () => {
+    const controller = buildController();
+    const { req } = mockReq(undefined);
+    const { res } = mockRes();
+
+    await expect(
+      controller.chat({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'q' }] }, req, res),
+    ).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(UnauthorizedException);
+  });
+
+  it('cancels the gRPC call when the request emits "close" mid-stream', async () => {
+    const cancellationObserved = new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+      chatHandler = (call) => {
+        call.write({ token: { token: 't', value: 't' } });
+        call.on('cancelled', () => resolve());
+        // never end — wait for client cancellation
+      };
+    });
+
+    const controller = buildController();
+    const { req, close } = mockReq(USER);
+    const { res } = mockRes();
+
+    const completion = controller.chat({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'q' }] }, req, res);
+
+    // Give the server time to emit the first frame then cut the
+    // request — this is the controller's documented browser-close
+    // pathway.
+    setTimeout(close, 30);
+
+    await completion;
+    await cancellationObserved;
+  });
+
+  it('writes a relay error frame on upstream failure', async () => {
+    chatHandler = (call) => {
+      call.emit('error', {
+        code: GrpcStatus.UNAVAILABLE,
+        details: 'upstream down',
+        message: 'upstream down',
+      });
+    };
+
+    const controller = buildController();
+    const { req } = mockReq(USER);
+    const { res, captured } = mockRes();
+
+    await controller.chat({ messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'q' }] }, req, res);
+
+    expect(captured.body).toContain('event: error\n');
+    expect(captured.body).toContain('"code":"urn:apf-ai:unavailable"');
+    expect(captured.body).toContain('"retriable":true');
+    expect(captured.ended).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('AiBridgeController — GET /api/ai/rag/search', () => {
+  it('returns the unary response', async () => {
+    ragHandler = (_call, callback) => {
+      callback(null, {
+        chunks: [
+          {
+            id: 'k',
+            documentId: 'd',
+            content: 'snippet',
+            source: 'src',
+            score: 1,
+            metadata: Struct.fromPartial({}),
+          },
+        ],
+        correlationId: 'corr-1',
+      });
+    };
+
+    const controller = buildController();
+    const { req } = mockReq(USER);
+    const response = await controller.ragSearch({ query: 'hello', topK: 3 }, req);
+
+    expect(response.chunks).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(response.correlationId).toBe('corr-1');
+  });
+
+  it('rejects with 401 when no session.user', async () => {
+    const controller = buildController();
+    const { req } = mockReq(undefined);
+    await expect(controller.ragSearch({ query: 'x' }, req)).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(
+      UnauthorizedException,
+    );
+  });
+});
+
+describe('AiBridgeController — GET /api/ai/models', () => {
+  it('returns the model list', async () => {
+    modelsHandler = (_call, callback) => {
+      callback(null, {
+        active: 'openai-compatible',
+        providers: [
+          {
+            discriminator: 'openai-compatible',
+            capabilities: 'chat,embedding',
+            endpoint: 'http://ollama:11434/v1',
+            model: 'qwen2.5:3b',
+            embeddingModel: 'nomic-embed-text',
+          },
+        ],
+      });
+    };
+
+    const controller = buildController();
+    const { req } = mockReq(USER);
+    const response = await controller.listModels(req);
+    expect(response.active).toBe('openai-compatible');
+    expect(response.providers).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects with 401 when no session.user', async () => {
+    const controller = buildController();
+    const { req } = mockReq(undefined);
+    await expect(controller.listModels(req)).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(UnauthorizedException);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/ai-bridge.controller.ts b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/ai-bridge.controller.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d787df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/ai-bridge.controller.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,232 @@
+import {
+  Body,
+  Controller,
+  Get,
+  HttpStatus,
+  Post,
+  Query,
+  Req,
+  Res,
+  UnauthorizedException,
+} from '@nestjs/common';
+import { ApiCookieAuth, ApiOperation, ApiTags } from '@nestjs/swagger';
+import { status as GrpcStatus, type ServiceError } from '@grpc/grpc-js';
+import type { Request, Response } from 'express';
+import { ChatClient } from '../ai-client/chat.client';
+import { ModelsClient } from '../ai-client/models.client';
+import { PrincipalMapper } from '../ai-client/principal.mapper';
+import { RagClient } from '../ai-client/rag.client';
+import type { ChatEvent, ChatRequest } from '../gen/apf-ai/chat';
+import { ChatRole } from '../gen/apf-ai/common';
+import type { ListModelsResponse } from '../gen/apf-ai/models';
+import type { RagSearchResponse } from '../gen/apf-ai/rag';
+import { ChatRequestDto, type ChatMessageDto } from './dto/chat-request.dto';
+import { RagSearchQueryDto } from './dto/rag-search-query.dto';
+import { chatEventToSseFrame, relayErrorFrame } from './sse.writer';
+import type { AuthenticatedUser } from '../../auth/auth.service';
+
+/**
+ * BFF-facing surface of the AI relay, per
+ * [ADR-0024](../../../../../docs/decisions/0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md):
+ *
+ *   - `POST /api/ai/chat`        — streaming chat, bridged from
+ *                                  `ChatService.Chat` (gRPC server-
+ *                                  stream) to `text/event-stream`.
+ *   - `GET  /api/ai/rag/search`  — unary RAG retrieval.
+ *   - `GET  /api/ai/models`      — list configured providers.
+ *
+ * No `@RequireAdmin()` — AI features are end-user surfaces, gated
+ * only by the active portal session (`req.session.user`). The
+ * session + CSRF middleware mounted in `main.ts` covers the
+ * authentication + double-submit token before the controller
+ * runs; this class asserts presence of `session.user` for the
+ * routes that need it and lets the global middleware handle the
+ * rest.
+ */
+@ApiTags('ai')
+@ApiCookieAuth('portal_session')
+@Controller('ai')
+export class AiBridgeController {
+  constructor(
+    private readonly chatClient: ChatClient,
+    private readonly ragClient: RagClient,
+    private readonly modelsClient: ModelsClient,
+    private readonly principalMapper: PrincipalMapper,
+  ) {}
+
+  @ApiOperation({
+    summary:
+      'Streaming chat. Returns text/event-stream with one frame per ChatEvent (token / citation / agent-step / tool-call / error / done).',
+  })
+  @Post('chat')
+  async chat(
+    @Body() body: ChatRequestDto,
+    @Req() req: Request,
+    @Res() res: Response,
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    const user = requireSessionUser(req);
+
+    const principal = this.principalMapper.fromInputs({
+      oid: user.oid,
+      tid: user.tid,
+      roles: user.roles,
+    });
+    const protoRequest: ChatRequest = {
+      messages: body.messages.map(toProtoMessage),
+      conversationId: body.conversationId ?? '',
+      model: body.model ?? '',
+      provider: body.provider ?? '',
+      toolsAvailable: [],
+      // v1: tool registry is empty (per ADR-0024 §"Tool-dispatch
+      // contract"). The AI service will never emit `tool_call` for
+      // requests with `toolsAvailable: []`; the SSE writer still
+      // covers the case in case a future tool lands.
+      rag: { enabled: false, topK: 0 },
+      principal,
+    };
+
+    writeSseHeaders(res);
+
+    // Browser disconnect (tab close, fetch abort, network drop) →
+    // AbortController → gRPC call.cancel() → upstream LLM stop.
+    // Per ADR-0024 §"SSE bridge between BFF and SPA".
+    const abort = new AbortController();
+    req.on('close', () => {
+      if (!res.writableEnded) {
+        abort.abort();
+      }
+    });
+
+    const stream = this.chatClient.chat(protoRequest, { signal: abort.signal });
+
+    try {
+      for await (const event of stream as AsyncIterable<ChatEvent>) {
+        const frame = chatEventToSseFrame(event);
+        if (frame !== null) {
+          res.write(frame);
+        }
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      // gRPC `CANCELLED` after `abort.abort()` is the expected exit
+      // path on browser disconnect — do not surface an error frame
+      // because the response is already closing. Anything else
+      // becomes a structured error event so the SPA's renderer
+      // sees the failure rather than a torn-down connection.
+      const code = (err as Partial<ServiceError>).code;
+      const cancelled = code === GrpcStatus.CANCELLED;
+      if (!cancelled && !res.writableEnded) {
+        res.write(
+          relayErrorFrame(
+            mapServiceErrorCode(code),
+            (err as Error).message ?? 'AI relay error',
+            isRetriable(code),
+          ),
+        );
+      }
+    } finally {
+      if (!res.writableEnded) {
+        res.end();
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  @ApiOperation({ summary: 'Unary RAG retrieval bounded by the caller principal.' })
+  @Get('rag/search')
+  async ragSearch(
+    @Query() query: RagSearchQueryDto,
+    @Req() req: Request,
+  ): Promise<RagSearchResponse> {
+    const user = requireSessionUser(req);
+    const principal = this.principalMapper.fromInputs({
+      oid: user.oid,
+      tid: user.tid,
+      roles: user.roles,
+    });
+
+    return this.ragClient.search({
+      query: query.query,
+      topK: query.topK ?? 0,
+      filters: {
+        source: query.source ?? '',
+        documentId: query.documentId ?? '',
+      },
+      principal,
+    });
+  }
+
+  @ApiOperation({ summary: 'List configured AI providers and the active provider.' })
+  @Get('models')
+  async listModels(@Req() req: Request): Promise<ListModelsResponse> {
+    requireSessionUser(req);
+    return this.modelsClient.listModels({});
+  }
+}
+
+function requireSessionUser(req: Request): AuthenticatedUser {
+  const user = req.session.user;
+  if (!user) {
+    throw new UnauthorizedException({
+      code: 'unauthenticated',
+      message: 'The AI surface requires an authenticated portal session.',
+    });
+  }
+  return user;
+}
+
+function writeSseHeaders(res: Response): void {
+  res.statusCode = HttpStatus.OK;
+  res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/event-stream; charset=utf-8');
+  res.setHeader('Cache-Control', 'no-cache, no-transform');
+  res.setHeader('Connection', 'keep-alive');
+  // nginx-style buffering hint — keeps reverse-proxies from
+  // accumulating chunks before forwarding, which would defeat the
+  // streaming UX.
+  res.setHeader('X-Accel-Buffering', 'no');
+  res.flushHeaders();
+}
+
+function toProtoMessage(message: ChatMessageDto): {
+  role: ChatRole;
+  content: string;
+  toolCallId: string;
+  name: string;
+} {
+  return {
+    role: ROLE_PROTO[message.role],
+    content: message.content,
+    toolCallId: '',
+    name: '',
+  };
+}
+
+const ROLE_PROTO: Record<ChatMessageDto['role'], ChatRole> = {
+  system: ChatRole.CHAT_ROLE_SYSTEM,
+  user: ChatRole.CHAT_ROLE_USER,
+  assistant: ChatRole.CHAT_ROLE_ASSISTANT,
+};
+
+/**
+ * gRPC status → SSE error code. Keeps the urn:apf-ai:* namespace
+ * the AI service itself uses so a relay-side error and an upstream
+ * error look the same to the SPA's renderer.
+ */
+function mapServiceErrorCode(code: number | undefined): string {
+  switch (code) {
+    case GrpcStatus.UNAVAILABLE:
+      return 'urn:apf-ai:unavailable';
+    case GrpcStatus.DEADLINE_EXCEEDED:
+      return 'urn:apf-ai:timeout';
+    case GrpcStatus.PERMISSION_DENIED:
+      return 'urn:apf-ai:permission_denied';
+    case GrpcStatus.RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED:
+      return 'urn:apf-ai:rate_limited';
+    case GrpcStatus.INVALID_ARGUMENT:
+      return 'urn:apf-ai:invalid_argument';
+    default:
+      return 'urn:apf-ai:relay_error';
+  }
+}
+
+function isRetriable(code: number | undefined): boolean {
+  return code === GrpcStatus.UNAVAILABLE || code === GrpcStatus.DEADLINE_EXCEEDED;
+}
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/ai-bridge.module.ts b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/ai-bridge.module.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..273f129
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/ai-bridge.module.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { AiClientModule } from '../ai-client/ai-client.module';
+import { AiBridgeController } from './ai-bridge.controller';
+
+/**
+ * Hosts `AiBridgeController` and depends on `AiClientModule` for
+ * the four wrapper clients (`ChatClient`, `RagClient`,
+ * `ModelsClient`, plus `PrincipalMapper`). `AiClientModule`'s
+ * `OnApplicationShutdown` lifecycle closes the gRPC stubs at
+ * process termination — wiring this module into `AppModule`
+ * brings both the controller AND the shutdown contract along.
+ *
+ * Per [ADR-0024](../../../../../docs/decisions/0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md)
+ * §"Out of scope for this ADR" the ingestion surface is not
+ * exposed via the BFF in v1 — `IngestionClient` is in
+ * `AiClientModule` for future reuse but `AiBridgeController`
+ * does not surface it. The CLI under `apf-ai-service/tools/Apf.Ai.Ingest/`
+ * is the v1 ingestion path.
+ */
+@Module({
+  imports: [AiClientModule],
+  controllers: [AiBridgeController],
+})
+export class AiBridgeModule {}
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/dto/chat-request.dto.ts b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/dto/chat-request.dto.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..729a5d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/dto/chat-request.dto.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import { Type } from 'class-transformer';
+import {
+  ArrayMaxSize,
+  ArrayMinSize,
+  IsArray,
+  IsIn,
+  IsOptional,
+  IsString,
+  MaxLength,
+  MinLength,
+  ValidateNested,
+} from 'class-validator';
+
+/**
+ * Roles the SPA may attach to a message in the chat history.
+ *
+ * `tool` is intentionally absent — tool-result messages are
+ * constructed by the BFF itself (caller-side tool dispatch, per
+ * [ADR-0024](../../../../../../docs/decisions/0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md)
+ * §"Tool-dispatch contract — caller-side execution") and never
+ * provided by the SPA. v1 ships with an empty tool registry, so
+ * no `tool` message ever reaches this controller.
+ */
+const ALLOWED_ROLES = ['user', 'assistant', 'system'] as const;
+type AllowedRole = (typeof ALLOWED_ROLES)[number];
+
+export class ChatMessageDto {
+  @IsIn(ALLOWED_ROLES)
+  role!: AllowedRole;
+
+  /**
+   * Free-form message body. The cap is generous (16 KB) to support
+   * code blocks and pasted excerpts; the BFF leaves further
+   * pre-processing (truncation, token counting) to the AI service.
+   */
+  @IsString()
+  @MinLength(0)
+  @MaxLength(16_384)
+  content!: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * POST /api/ai/chat body.
+ *
+ * Stateless from the BFF's perspective — the SPA owns the
+ * conversation history. `conversationId` is an opaque correlation
+ * key used by the AI service's audit log (not a database key on
+ * either side); the SPA may omit it for one-off calls.
+ */
+export class ChatRequestDto {
+  @IsArray()
+  @ArrayMinSize(1)
+  @ArrayMaxSize(64)
+  @ValidateNested({ each: true })
+  @Type(() => ChatMessageDto)
+  messages!: ChatMessageDto[];
+
+  @IsOptional()
+  @IsString()
+  @MaxLength(128)
+  conversationId?: string;
+
+  /**
+   * Optional model + provider hints. Both default to "" on the
+   * wire, which the AI service interprets as "use the configured
+   * default". The SPA does not need to pass these in v1.
+   */
+  @IsOptional()
+  @IsString()
+  @MaxLength(64)
+  model?: string;
+
+  @IsOptional()
+  @IsString()
+  @MaxLength(64)
+  provider?: string;
+}
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/dto/rag-search-query.dto.ts b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/dto/rag-search-query.dto.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e909d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/dto/rag-search-query.dto.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import { Type } from 'class-transformer';
+import { IsInt, IsOptional, IsString, Max, Min, MinLength } from 'class-validator';
+
+/**
+ * Query-string DTO for `GET /api/ai/rag/search`.
+ *
+ * Bounded — the upstream RAG service has its own server-side cap on
+ * `top_k`, but the BFF rejects obviously-out-of-range values early
+ * so a single SPA bug cannot induce repeated 400s round-tripped
+ * through the AI service.
+ */
+export class RagSearchQueryDto {
+  @IsString()
+  @MinLength(1)
+  query!: string;
+
+  @IsOptional()
+  @Type(() => Number)
+  @IsInt()
+  @Min(1)
+  @Max(50)
+  topK?: number;
+
+  @IsOptional()
+  @IsString()
+  source?: string;
+
+  @IsOptional()
+  @IsString()
+  documentId?: string;
+}
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/sse.writer.spec.ts b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/sse.writer.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..84d5d72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/sse.writer.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from '@jest/globals';
+import { chatEventToSseFrame, relayErrorFrame } from './sse.writer';
+
+/**
+ * Locks the wire shape the SPA consumes. Each frame is:
+ *
+ *   event: <name>\n
+ *   data: <json>\n
+ *   \n
+ *
+ * The terminal blank line is the SSE message separator.
+ */
+
+describe('chatEventToSseFrame', () => {
+  it('maps token events with the JSON-encoded inner value', () => {
+    const frame = chatEventToSseFrame({ token: { token: 't1', value: 'hello' } });
+    expect(frame).toBe(`event: token\ndata: {"token":"t1","value":"hello"}\n\n`);
+  });
+
+  it('maps citation events', () => {
+    const frame = chatEventToSseFrame({
+      citation: {
+        chunkId: 'c-1',
+        documentId: 'd-1',
+        source: 's',
+        score: 0.42,
+        snippet: 'snip',
+      },
+    });
+    expect(frame?.startsWith('event: citation\n')).toBe(true);
+    expect(frame).toContain('"chunkId":"c-1"');
+  });
+
+  it('maps agent_step to kebab-case `agent-step`', () => {
+    const frame = chatEventToSseFrame({
+      agentStep: { agent: 'a', step: 's', stepId: '1' },
+    });
+    expect(frame?.startsWith('event: agent-step\n')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('maps tool_call to kebab-case `tool-call`', () => {
+    const frame = chatEventToSseFrame({
+      toolCall: { callId: 'c-1', name: 'echo', args: undefined },
+    });
+    expect(frame?.startsWith('event: tool-call\n')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('maps error events', () => {
+    const frame = chatEventToSseFrame({
+      error: { code: 'urn:apf-ai:foo', message: 'bad', retriable: false },
+    });
+    expect(frame).toBe(
+      `event: error\ndata: {"code":"urn:apf-ai:foo","message":"bad","retriable":false}\n\n`,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('maps done as the terminal frame', () => {
+    const frame = chatEventToSseFrame({
+      done: { stats: { tokensIn: 1, tokensOut: 2, chunksRetrieved: 0 } },
+    });
+    expect(frame?.startsWith('event: done\n')).toBe(true);
+    expect(frame?.endsWith('\n\n')).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('returns null when no oneof case is populated', () => {
+    expect(chatEventToSseFrame({})).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('relayErrorFrame', () => {
+  it('emits an error frame with the supplied code + message + retriable flag', () => {
+    expect(relayErrorFrame('urn:apf-ai:relay_error', 'kaboom', true)).toBe(
+      `event: error\ndata: {"code":"urn:apf-ai:relay_error","message":"kaboom","retriable":true}\n\n`,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('defaults `retriable` to false when omitted', () => {
+    const frame = relayErrorFrame('urn:apf-ai:foo', 'msg');
+    expect(frame).toContain('"retriable":false');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/sse.writer.ts b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/sse.writer.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da9588a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-bridge/sse.writer.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+import type { ChatEvent } from '../gen/apf-ai/chat';
+
+/**
+ * Translate one `apf.ai.v1.ChatEvent` into a single SSE frame for
+ * the SPA, per ADR-0024 §"Sub-decision 2 — SSE bridge between BFF
+ * and SPA". The mapping is intentionally one-to-one with the
+ * proto `oneof` cases:
+ *
+ *   token       → `event: token`        / data = TokenEvent JSON
+ *   citation    → `event: citation`     / data = CitationEvent JSON
+ *   agent_step  → `event: agent-step`   / data = AgentStepEvent JSON
+ *   tool_call   → `event: tool-call`    / data = ToolCallEvent JSON
+ *   error       → `event: error`        / data = ErrorEvent JSON
+ *   done        → `event: done`         / data = DoneEvent JSON
+ *
+ * SSE event names use kebab-case so the SPA's `EventSource` /
+ * fetch-streaming consumer can dispatch with `.addEventListener('agent-step', …)`
+ * without re-mapping proto camelCase. The terminal `done` frame is
+ * the contract's stream-close marker — no `[DONE]` sentinel, per
+ * ADR-0024.
+ *
+ * Returns `null` when the event carries no populated oneof case
+ * (defensive — gRPC-js will not produce this in practice, but the
+ * caller can safely skip on `null` rather than emit an empty
+ * frame). The data payload is JSON.stringified; consumers parse
+ * with `JSON.parse(event.data)`.
+ */
+export function chatEventToSseFrame(event: ChatEvent): string | null {
+  if (event.token !== undefined) {
+    return formatFrame('token', event.token);
+  }
+  if (event.citation !== undefined) {
+    return formatFrame('citation', event.citation);
+  }
+  if (event.agentStep !== undefined) {
+    return formatFrame('agent-step', event.agentStep);
+  }
+  if (event.toolCall !== undefined) {
+    return formatFrame('tool-call', event.toolCall);
+  }
+  if (event.error !== undefined) {
+    return formatFrame('error', event.error);
+  }
+  if (event.done !== undefined) {
+    return formatFrame('done', event.done);
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Convenience used by the controller's error path: synthesise a
+ * `urn:apf-ai:relay_error` event frame so the SPA receives a
+ * structured failure rather than a torn-down connection. Matches the
+ * shape of the AI service's own `ErrorEvent` so the SPA's renderer
+ * does not need a second code path for relay-level failures vs
+ * upstream model errors.
+ */
+export function relayErrorFrame(code: string, message: string, retriable = false): string {
+  return formatFrame('error', { code, message, retriable });
+}
+
+function formatFrame(eventName: string, data: unknown): string {
+  // SSE spec: every field line ends with `\n`, the frame is
+  // terminated by a blank line (`\n\n`). `data:` is followed by a
+  // single space convention. `JSON.stringify` produces no newlines
+  // for plain objects, so a single `data:` line is correct; a
+  // multi-line payload (not used by this codec) would require
+  // splitting on `\n` and prefixing each part with `data:`.
+  return `event: ${eventName}\ndata: ${JSON.stringify(data)}\n\n`;
+}
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-client/ai-client.module.ts b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-client/ai-client.module.ts
index 3f50292..7195330 100644
--- a/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-client/ai-client.module.ts
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/src/grpc/ai-client/ai-client.module.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-import { Module, type Provider } from '@nestjs/common';
-import { ChannelCredentials } from '@grpc/grpc-js';
+import { Inject, Module, type OnApplicationShutdown, type Provider } from '@nestjs/common';
+import { ChannelCredentials, type Client } from '@grpc/grpc-js';
 import { HashUserIdService } from '../../audit/hash-user-id.service';
 import { assertAiServiceConfig, type AiServiceConfig } from '../../config/check-ai-service-config';
 import { ChatServiceClient } from '../gen/apf-ai/chat';
@@ -122,11 +122,32 @@ const grpcStubProviders: Provider[] = [
   ],
   exports: [ChatClient, RagClient, IngestionClient, ModelsClient, PrincipalMapper],
 })
-export class AiClientModule {
-  // Lifecycle (channel close on shutdown) lands when the SSE-bridge
-  // PR wires this module into AppModule. v1 process termination
-  // closes the gRPC sockets via OS-level descriptor reclaim — fine
-  // for the dev/preprod posture; prod will add an explicit
-  // OnApplicationShutdown hook once Nest's shutdown hooks are
-  // enabled in main.ts.
+export class AiClientModule implements OnApplicationShutdown {
+  constructor(
+    @Inject(AI_CHAT_GRPC_CLIENT) private readonly chatStub: Client,
+    @Inject(AI_RAG_GRPC_CLIENT) private readonly ragStub: Client,
+    @Inject(AI_INGESTION_GRPC_CLIENT) private readonly ingestionStub: Client,
+    @Inject(AI_MODELS_GRPC_CLIENT) private readonly modelsStub: Client,
+  ) {}
+
+  /**
+   * Close every generated gRPC stub when the BFF receives `SIGTERM`
+   * / `SIGINT`. Each `Client.close()` flushes pending RPCs (with
+   * their own gRPC `CANCELLED` semantics) and tears down the
+   * shared HTTP/2 channel so the process can exit promptly without
+   * waiting for the channel's keepalive PINGs.
+   *
+   * The four stubs share the same underlying HTTP/2 channel (same
+   * endpoint + same credentials, gRPC-js de-duplicates), so the
+   * four `close()` calls are cheap but kept explicit — adding a
+   * fifth stub later means adding a fifth `close()` line, which is
+   * easier to spot than iterating an array that grew without
+   * review.
+   */
+  onApplicationShutdown(): void {
+    this.chatStub.close();
+    this.ragStub.close();
+    this.ingestionStub.close();
+    this.modelsStub.close();
+  }
 }
diff --git a/apps/portal-bff/src/main.ts b/apps/portal-bff/src/main.ts
index abbc33b..0194920 100644
--- a/apps/portal-bff/src/main.ts
+++ b/apps/portal-bff/src/main.ts
@@ -81,6 +81,16 @@ async function bootstrap() {
   const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule, { bufferLogs: true });
   app.useLogger(app.get(Logger));
 
+  // Wire `SIGTERM` / `SIGINT` / `SIGHUP` to NestJS lifecycle hooks
+  // (`OnApplicationShutdown`). Without this call, modules that
+  // hold long-lived resources (gRPC channels to `apf-ai-service`
+  // per [ADR-0024](../../../docs/decisions/0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md),
+  // Redis clients, …) would only release them via OS-level
+  // descriptor reclaim at process death, which delays orderly
+  // termination on `pnpm nx serve` reload and on prod rolling
+  // restarts.
+  app.enableShutdownHooks();
+
   // Global exception filter — normalises every 4xx/5xx response to
   // `{ error: { code, message, traceId } }`. The Nest default
   // serialises HttpException's getResponse() at the top level,
diff --git a/docs/decisions/0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md b/docs/decisions/0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md
index ebe6437..c6876e2 100644
--- a/docs/decisions/0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md
+++ b/docs/decisions/0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ---
-status: proposed
+status: accepted
 date: 2026-05-19
 decision-makers: R&D Lead
 tags: [backend, security, observability]
diff --git a/docs/decisions/README.md b/docs/decisions/README.md
index 3923a6d..ec2d7f6 100644
--- a/docs/decisions/README.md
+++ b/docs/decisions/README.md
@@ -67,4 +67,4 @@ ADRs are listed in numerical order. To slice by topic, filter on the `Tags` colu
 | [0021](0021-phase-2-security-baseline.md)                    | Phase-2 security baseline — helmet, CORS allowlist, double-submit CSRF, rate limiting, structured error envelope | accepted | `security`, `backend`                                          | 2026-05-13 |
 | [0022](0022-docs-site-vitepress.md)                          | Documentation site — VitePress + Mermaid plugin, separate static deployment                                      | accepted | `process`, `infrastructure`                                    | 2026-05-15 |
 | [0023](0023-charts-d3-observable-plot.md)                    | Charts + dashboards — D3 + Observable Plot wrapped in `libs/shared/charts`                                       | accepted | `frontend`, `accessibility`, `performance`                     | 2026-05-16 |
-| [0024](0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md)             | AI service relay — vendored gRPC protos, NestJS gRPC client, SSE bridge to the SPA, POC unsigned principal       | proposed | `backend`, `security`, `observability`                         | 2026-05-19 |
+| [0024](0024-ai-service-relay-grpc-sse-bridge.md)             | AI service relay — vendored gRPC protos, NestJS gRPC client, SSE bridge to the SPA, POC unsigned principal       | accepted | `backend`, `security`, `observability`                         | 2026-05-19 |