diff --git a/src/db/prisma/migrations/20260427125811_add_virtual_llm_lifecycle/migration.sql b/src/db/prisma/migrations/20260427125811_add_virtual_llm_lifecycle/migration.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..826398d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/db/prisma/migrations/20260427125811_add_virtual_llm_lifecycle/migration.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+-- Add Llm.kind/status discriminators and virtual-provider lifecycle fields.
+-- Existing rows backfill with kind='public' / status='active' so v1 is purely
+-- additive — public LLMs ignore the lifecycle columns entirely.
+
+CREATE TYPE "LlmKind" AS ENUM ('public', 'virtual');
+CREATE TYPE "LlmStatus" AS ENUM ('active', 'inactive', 'hibernating');
+
+ALTER TABLE "Llm"
+  ADD COLUMN "kind"               "LlmKind"   NOT NULL DEFAULT 'public',
+  ADD COLUMN "providerSessionId"  TEXT,
+  ADD COLUMN "lastHeartbeatAt"    TIMESTAMP(3),
+  ADD COLUMN "status"             "LlmStatus" NOT NULL DEFAULT 'active',
+  ADD COLUMN "inactiveSince"      TIMESTAMP(3);
+
+CREATE INDEX "Llm_kind_status_idx"          ON "Llm"("kind", "status");
+CREATE INDEX "Llm_providerSessionId_idx"    ON "Llm"("providerSessionId");
diff --git a/src/db/prisma/schema.prisma b/src/db/prisma/schema.prisma
index a52f1ae..dfc83e5 100644
--- a/src/db/prisma/schema.prisma
+++ b/src/db/prisma/schema.prisma
@@ -182,21 +182,44 @@ model Secret {
 // provider API key server-side so credentials never leave the cluster.
 // Credentials are stored by reference: `apiKeySecret` points at a Secret, and
 // `apiKeySecretKey` names the key within that secret's data.
+//
+// `kind=virtual` rows are *registered by an mcplocal client* (rather than a
+// human via `mcpctl create llm`). Their inference is relayed back through
+// the SSE control channel to the publishing mcplocal session. The lifecycle
+// fields (lastHeartbeatAt, status, inactiveSince) belong to virtual rows;
+// public rows ignore them.
+
+enum LlmKind {
+  public // upstream-URL row, mcpd calls directly
+  virtual // mcplocal-registered, inference relayed via SSE control channel
+}
+
+enum LlmStatus {
+  active // healthy, accepting requests
+  inactive // publisher went away; row pending 4-h GC
+  hibernating // publisher present but backend asleep — wakes on demand (v2)
+}
 
 model Llm {
-  id              String   @id @default(cuid())
-  name            String   @unique
-  type            String // anthropic | openai | deepseek | vllm | ollama | gemini-cli
-  model           String // e.g. claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022
-  url             String   @default("") // endpoint (empty for provider default)
-  tier            String   @default("fast") // fast | heavy
-  description     String   @default("")
-  apiKeySecretId  String? // FK to Secret
-  apiKeySecretKey String? // key inside the Secret's data
-  extraConfig     Json     @default("{}") // per-type extras
-  version         Int      @default(1)
-  createdAt       DateTime @default(now())
-  updatedAt       DateTime @updatedAt
+  id                String    @id @default(cuid())
+  name              String    @unique
+  type              String // anthropic | openai | deepseek | vllm | ollama | gemini-cli
+  model             String // e.g. claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022
+  url               String    @default("") // endpoint (empty for provider default)
+  tier              String    @default("fast") // fast | heavy
+  description       String    @default("")
+  apiKeySecretId    String? // FK to Secret
+  apiKeySecretKey   String? // key inside the Secret's data
+  extraConfig       Json      @default("{}") // per-type extras
+  // ── Virtual-provider lifecycle (NULL/default for kind=public) ──
+  kind              LlmKind   @default(public)
+  providerSessionId String? // mcplocal session that owns this row when virtual
+  lastHeartbeatAt   DateTime? // bumped on every publisher heartbeat
+  status            LlmStatus @default(active)
+  inactiveSince     DateTime? // when status flipped from active; used for 4-h GC
+  version           Int       @default(1)
+  createdAt         DateTime  @default(now())
+  updatedAt         DateTime  @updatedAt
 
   apiKeySecret Secret? @relation(fields: [apiKeySecretId], references: [id], onDelete: SetNull)
   agents       Agent[]
@@ -204,6 +227,8 @@ model Llm {
   @@index([name])
   @@index([tier])
   @@index([apiKeySecretId])
+  @@index([kind, status])
+  @@index([providerSessionId])
 }
 
 // ── Groups ──
diff --git a/src/db/tests/llm-virtual-schema.test.ts b/src/db/tests/llm-virtual-schema.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..12fdfde
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/db/tests/llm-virtual-schema.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import type { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client';
+import { setupTestDb, cleanupTestDb, clearAllTables } from './helpers.js';
+
+describe('llm virtual-provider schema', () => {
+  let prisma: PrismaClient;
+
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    prisma = await setupTestDb();
+  }, 30_000);
+
+  afterAll(async () => {
+    await cleanupTestDb();
+  });
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    await clearAllTables(prisma);
+  });
+
+  it('defaults a freshly inserted Llm to kind=public, status=active', async () => {
+    const llm = await prisma.llm.create({
+      data: { name: 'plain', type: 'openai', model: 'gpt-4o' },
+    });
+    expect(llm.kind).toBe('public');
+    expect(llm.status).toBe('active');
+    expect(llm.providerSessionId).toBeNull();
+    expect(llm.lastHeartbeatAt).toBeNull();
+    expect(llm.inactiveSince).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('persists kind=virtual + lifecycle fields together', async () => {
+    const now = new Date();
+    const llm = await prisma.llm.create({
+      data: {
+        name: 'vllm-local',
+        type: 'openai',
+        model: 'Qwen/Qwen2.5-7B-Instruct-AWQ',
+        kind: 'virtual',
+        providerSessionId: 'sess-abc',
+        lastHeartbeatAt: now,
+        status: 'active',
+      },
+    });
+    expect(llm.kind).toBe('virtual');
+    expect(llm.providerSessionId).toBe('sess-abc');
+    expect(llm.lastHeartbeatAt?.getTime()).toBe(now.getTime());
+    expect(llm.status).toBe('active');
+  });
+
+  it('flips status active → inactive and records inactiveSince', async () => {
+    const llm = await prisma.llm.create({
+      data: {
+        name: 'goingaway',
+        type: 'openai',
+        model: 'm',
+        kind: 'virtual',
+        providerSessionId: 's1',
+      },
+    });
+    const flippedAt = new Date();
+    await prisma.llm.update({
+      where: { id: llm.id },
+      data: { status: 'inactive', inactiveSince: flippedAt },
+    });
+    const reloaded = await prisma.llm.findUnique({ where: { id: llm.id } });
+    expect(reloaded?.status).toBe('inactive');
+    expect(reloaded?.inactiveSince?.getTime()).toBe(flippedAt.getTime());
+  });
+
+  it('hibernating is a valid LlmStatus value (reserved for v2 wake path)', async () => {
+    const llm = await prisma.llm.create({
+      data: {
+        name: 'sleepy',
+        type: 'openai',
+        model: 'm',
+        kind: 'virtual',
+        providerSessionId: 's-sleep',
+        status: 'hibernating',
+      },
+    });
+    expect(llm.status).toBe('hibernating');
+  });
+
+  it('rejects unknown enum values for kind / status', async () => {
+    await expect(
+      prisma.llm.create({
+        // Cast through unknown — runtime test of the enum constraint, not TS.
+        data: ({ name: 'bad', type: 'openai', model: 'm', kind: 'made-up' } as unknown) as Parameters<typeof prisma.llm.create>[0]['data'],
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow();
+
+    await expect(
+      prisma.llm.create({
+        data: ({ name: 'bad2', type: 'openai', model: 'm', status: 'unknown' } as unknown) as Parameters<typeof prisma.llm.create>[0]['data'],
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow();
+  });
+
+  it('finds virtual rows by (kind, status) cheaply', async () => {
+    // Mix of public + virtual + assorted statuses — confirms the
+    // @@index([kind, status]) covers the GC sweep query.
+    await prisma.llm.create({ data: { name: 'pub-1', type: 'openai', model: 'm' } });
+    await prisma.llm.create({ data: { name: 'pub-2', type: 'openai', model: 'm' } });
+    await prisma.llm.create({
+      data: { name: 'v-1', type: 'openai', model: 'm', kind: 'virtual', providerSessionId: 's1', status: 'active' },
+    });
+    await prisma.llm.create({
+      data: { name: 'v-2', type: 'openai', model: 'm', kind: 'virtual', providerSessionId: 's2', status: 'inactive', inactiveSince: new Date() },
+    });
+
+    const stale = await prisma.llm.findMany({
+      where: { kind: 'virtual', status: 'inactive' },
+      select: { name: true },
+    });
+    expect(stale.map((l) => l.name)).toEqual(['v-2']);
+  });
+
+  it('finds rows by providerSessionId (used on mcplocal reconnect)', async () => {
+    await prisma.llm.create({
+      data: { name: 'a', type: 'openai', model: 'm', kind: 'virtual', providerSessionId: 'shared' },
+    });
+    await prisma.llm.create({
+      data: { name: 'b', type: 'openai', model: 'm', kind: 'virtual', providerSessionId: 'shared' },
+    });
+    await prisma.llm.create({
+      data: { name: 'c', type: 'openai', model: 'm', kind: 'virtual', providerSessionId: 'other' },
+    });
+
+    const owned = await prisma.llm.findMany({
+      where: { providerSessionId: 'shared' },
+      select: { name: true },
+      orderBy: { name: 'asc' },
+    });
+    expect(owned.map((l) => l.name)).toEqual(['a', 'b']);
+  });
+});