diff --git a/src/bridge/console-ws-api.test.ts b/src/bridge/console-ws-api.test.ts
index 164d1cb..5912ecc 100644
--- a/src/bridge/console-ws-api.test.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/console-ws-api.test.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { join } from 'node:path';
 import Database from 'better-sqlite3';
 import express from 'express';
 import request from 'supertest';
-import { decideAccess, handleConsoleSocket, createConsoleStatusRouter } from './console-ws-api.js';
+import { decideAccess, handleConsoleSocket, createConsoleStatusRouter, createConsoleSessionRouter } from './console-ws-api.js';
 import { runMigrations } from '../db/migrate.js';
 import { createAccessResolver } from '../ssh/access.js';
 import { createGrantsRepo } from '../ssh/grants-repo.js';
@@ -353,4 +353,57 @@ describe('createConsoleStatusRouter', () => {
     const res = await request(app).get('/api/local/tasks/t1/console/status');
     expect(res.status).toBe(401);
   });
+
+  it('no-auth (authActive=false): synthesizes a local admin user instead of 401', async () => {
+    let seenUser: any;
+    const app = express();
+    app.use('/api', createConsoleStatusRouter({
+      registry: { get: () => null } as any,
+      requireAuth: (_req: any, _res: any, next: any) => next(),
+      resolveTask: async (_id: string, user: any) => { seenUser = user; return null; },
+      authActive: false,
+    }));
+    const res = await request(app).get('/api/local/tasks/t1/console/status');
+    // 200 active=false (task not visible shape), NOT 401 — the synthetic user
+    // cleared the auth guard. admin role makes null-owner no-auth tasks visible.
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(seenUser).toEqual({ id: 'local', role: 'admin', orgIds: [] });
+  });
+});
+
+describe('createConsoleSessionRouter', () => {
+  it('no-auth (authActive=false): synthesizes a local admin user instead of 401', async () => {
+    let seenUser: any;
+    const app = express();
+    app.use(express.json());
+    app.use('/api', createConsoleSessionRouter({
+      sub: {} as any,
+      preflight: {} as any,
+      requireAuth: (_req: any, _res: any, next: any) => next(),
+      resolveTask: async (_id: string, user: any) => { seenUser = user; return null; },
+      authActive: false,
+    }));
+    const res = await request(app)
+      .post('/api/local/tasks/t1/console/session')
+      .send({ connection_id: 'c1' });
+    // 404 task_not_found (resolveTask returned null), NOT 401 — proves the
+    // synthetic user passed the auth guard before task resolution.
+    expect(res.status).toBe(404);
+    expect(seenUser).toEqual({ id: 'local', role: 'admin', orgIds: [] });
+  });
+
+  it('still returns 401 when auth is active and there is no user', async () => {
+    const app = express();
+    app.use(express.json());
+    app.use('/api', createConsoleSessionRouter({
+      sub: {} as any,
+      preflight: {} as any,
+      requireAuth: (_req: any, _res: any, next: any) => next(),
+      resolveTask: async () => null,
+    }));
+    const res = await request(app)
+      .post('/api/local/tasks/t1/console/session')
+      .send({ connection_id: 'c1' });
+    expect(res.status).toBe(401);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/bridge/console-ws-api.ts b/src/bridge/console-ws-api.ts
index 0fe39a8..3f886e1 100644
--- a/src/bridge/console-ws-api.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/console-ws-api.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,20 @@ import { openConsoleSession } from '../engine/tools/ssh-console.js';
 export interface SimpleUser { id: string; role: 'admin' | 'user' | string }
 export interface SimpleTask { id: string; ownerId: string; visibility: string; pieceName: string }
 
+/**
+ * Resolve the request user for the Console REST endpoints. In no-auth
+ * single-user mode (`authActive === false`) there is no `req.user`, so a
+ * stable `local` admin user is synthesized — admin role is required for the
+ * no-auth task (owner_id NULL) to pass `buildVisibilityWhere` in resolveTask.
+ * Mirrors the WS upgrade path and notifications-api's no-auth synthetic user.
+ */
+function resolveConsoleUser(req: Request, authActive: boolean): SimpleUser | null {
+  const u = (req.user as SimpleUser | undefined) ?? null;
+  if (u) return u;
+  if (!authActive) return { id: 'local', role: 'admin', orgIds: [] } as SimpleUser & { orgIds: string[] };
+  return null;
+}
+
 export type AccessDecision =
   | { allowed: true; canWrite: boolean }
   | { allowed: false; reason: 'unauthenticated' | 'task_not_visible' | 'no_session' | 'no_grant' };
@@ -245,6 +259,10 @@ export function createConsoleStatusRouter(deps: {
   registry: SessionRegistry;
   requireAuth: any;
   resolveTask: (taskId: string, user: SimpleUser) => Promise<SimpleTask | null>;
+  /** No-auth single-user mode: synthesize a local admin user so the Console
+   *  status poll works without login (admin role makes null-owner no-auth
+   *  tasks visible via buildVisibilityWhere). Defaults to true. */
+  authActive?: boolean;
 }): Router {
   const r = Router();
   r.get(
@@ -252,7 +270,7 @@ export function createConsoleStatusRouter(deps: {
     deps.requireAuth,
     async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
       const taskId = req.params.taskId!;
-      const user = (req.user as SimpleUser | undefined) ?? null;
+      const user = resolveConsoleUser(req, deps.authActive ?? true);
       if (!user) {
         res.status(401).json({ error: 'unauthenticated' });
         return;
@@ -366,6 +384,9 @@ export function createConsoleSessionRouter(deps: {
   preflight: OpenConsoleDeps['preflight'];
   requireAuth: any;
   resolveTask: (taskId: string, user: SimpleUser) => Promise<SimpleTask | null>;
+  /** No-auth single-user mode: synthesize a local admin user so users can
+   *  open Console sessions without login. Defaults to true. */
+  authActive?: boolean;
 }): Router {
   const r = Router();
   r.post(
@@ -373,7 +394,7 @@ export function createConsoleSessionRouter(deps: {
     deps.requireAuth,
     async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
       const taskId = req.params.taskId!;
-      const user = (req.user as SimpleUser | undefined) ?? null;
+      const user = resolveConsoleUser(req, deps.authActive ?? true);
       if (!user) {
         res.status(401).json({ error: 'unauthenticated' });
         return;
diff --git a/src/bridge/local-tasks-api.test.ts b/src/bridge/local-tasks-api.test.ts
index 1186afa..eec007e 100644
--- a/src/bridge/local-tasks-api.test.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/local-tasks-api.test.ts
@@ -97,6 +97,48 @@ describe('POST /api/local/tasks with visibility', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('POST /api/local/tasks in no-auth mode (synthetic local owner)', () => {
+  let tempDir = '';
+  let repo: Repository;
+  let app: express.Application;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'lt-api-noauth-'));
+    repo = new Repository(join(tempDir, 'db.sqlite'));
+    app = express();
+    app.use(express.json());
+    // No user middleware: simulates a no-auth deployment where req.user is
+    // undefined. mountLocalTasksApi is told auth is off so it registers the
+    // task under the stable 'local' owner instead of NULL.
+    mountLocalTasksApi(app, {
+      repo,
+      worktreeDir: join(tempDir, 'workspaces'),
+      authActive: false,
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    repo.close();
+    rmSync(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it('registers the task and its spawned job under owner "local" (not NULL)', async () => {
+    const res = await request(app).post('/api/local/tasks').send({
+      body: 'hello no-auth',
+      piece: 'chat',
+    });
+    expect(res.status).toBe(201);
+    expect(res.body.task.ownerId).toBe('local');
+
+    // The spawned job must inherit 'local' so per-task reflection / visibility
+    // lookups (which key on jobs.owner_id) line up in no-auth.
+    const row = repo.getDb()
+      .prepare(`SELECT owner_id FROM jobs WHERE repo = ? ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 1`)
+      .get(localTaskRepoName(res.body.task.id)) as { owner_id: string | null } | undefined;
+    expect(row?.owner_id).toBe('local');
+  });
+});
+
 describe('DELETE /api/local/tasks/:id owner-or-admin', () => {
   let tempDir = '';
   let repo: Repository;
diff --git a/src/bridge/local-tasks-api.ts b/src/bridge/local-tasks-api.ts
index b72ee2b..f2af72a 100644
--- a/src/bridge/local-tasks-api.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/local-tasks-api.ts
@@ -36,10 +36,23 @@ export interface LocalTasksApiOptions {
    * without a server restart. Clamped to [1, 1000] MB. Default: 50.
    */
   getMaxUploadMb?: () => number;
+  /**
+   * Whether the auth subsystem is wired. When `false` (no-auth single-user
+   * deployment) requests carry no `req.user`, so new tasks/jobs are registered
+   * under the stable `local` owner instead of NULL — keeping per-task
+   * reflection / visibility lookups (which key on owner_id) consistent with the
+   * rest of the no-auth path. Defaults to `true` (owner stays req.user.id).
+   */
+  authActive?: boolean;
 }
 
 export function mountLocalTasksApi(app: Application, opts: LocalTasksApiOptions): void {
   const { repo, worktreeDir, sessRepo } = opts;
+  // No-auth single-user mode: register new tasks/jobs under the 'local' owner
+  // (the same namespace pieces/memory/reflection use) rather than letting the
+  // missing req.user fall through to a NULL owner. In auth mode this is
+  // undefined, so `req.user.id ?? noAuthOwner` keeps the real owner.
+  const noAuthOwner: string | undefined = (opts.authActive ?? true) ? undefined : 'local';
 
   const resolveUploadLimit = (): string => {
     const raw = opts.getMaxUploadMb?.() ?? 50;
@@ -161,7 +174,7 @@ export function mountLocalTasksApi(app: Application, opts: LocalTasksApiOptions)
         outputFormat,
         askPolicy,
         priority,
-        ownerId: req.user?.id,
+        ownerId: req.user?.id ?? noAuthOwner,
         visibility,
         visibilityScopeOrgId: visibility === 'org' ? visibilityScopeOrgId : null,
         browserSessionProfileId,
diff --git a/src/bridge/reflection-api.test.ts b/src/bridge/reflection-api.test.ts
index 5eff613..db080b9 100644
--- a/src/bridge/reflection-api.test.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/reflection-api.test.ts
@@ -379,6 +379,42 @@ describe('reflection-api', () => {
       expect(res.body.pieceEdited).toBe(true);
     });
 
+    it('no-auth: returns the snapshot for a NULL-owner task job via the synthetic local user', async () => {
+      // Reproduces the real no-auth deployment: task jobs are created with
+      // owner_id = NULL (req.user is undefined), while reflection snapshots are
+      // written under the 'local' namespace (reflectionOwner = job.ownerId ??
+      // 'local'). The badge query filtered `owner_id = 'local'`, which never
+      // matches a NULL owner, so the 🧠 badge stayed silently empty even though
+      // reflection ran and wrote to data/users/local/.reflection-history/.
+      const db = repo.getDb();
+      const now = new Date().toISOString();
+      db.prepare(`
+        INSERT INTO jobs (id, repo, issue_number, status, piece_name, required_profile, task_class,
+          instruction, attempt, max_attempts, ask_count, subtask_depth, task_kind, created_at, updated_at, owner_id)
+        VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+      `).run('j-task9-001', 'local/task-9', 1, 'succeeded', 'chat', 'default', 'auto',
+        'No-auth task', 1, 1, 0, 0, 'agent', now, now, null);
+
+      const deps = { dataDir: tmpDir };
+      const { snapshotId } = await writeSnapshot(
+        deps,
+        { 'pref.md': 'before' },
+        { 'pref.md': 'after' },
+        makeMeta({ originalJobId: 'j-task9-001', userId: 'local', memoryChanges: 2, pieceEdited: false }),
+        undefined,
+        undefined,
+        new Date('2026-05-11T16:00:00Z'),
+      );
+
+      // No x-test-user-id header → the auth gate injects the synthetic 'local' user.
+      const res = await request(app).get('/api/local/reflection/latest-for-task/9');
+
+      expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+      expect(res.body).not.toBeNull();
+      expect(res.body.snapshotId).toBe(snapshotId);
+      expect(res.body.memoryChanges).toBe(2);
+    });
+
     it('returns null when the task job is owned by another user', async () => {
       // Insert a job owned by OTHER_ID for task 8
       const db = repo.getDb();
diff --git a/src/bridge/reflection-api.ts b/src/bridge/reflection-api.ts
index 5eb2c08..64e98ed 100644
--- a/src/bridge/reflection-api.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/reflection-api.ts
@@ -265,6 +265,19 @@ export function createReflectionApi(deps: ReflectionApiDeps): Router {
         rows = db
           .prepare(`SELECT id, owner_id FROM jobs WHERE repo = ? ORDER BY created_at DESC`)
           .all(repoName) as JobRow[];
+      } else if (!authActive) {
+        // No-auth single-user mode: task jobs are created with owner_id = NULL
+        // (req.user is undefined), but the synthetic user id is 'local' and the
+        // reflection writer stores snapshots under 'local' (reflectionOwner =
+        // job.ownerId ?? 'local'). Match NULL-owner jobs so the badge links them
+        // — without this the `owner_id = 'local'` filter never matched the NULL
+        // owner and the 🧠 badge stayed silently empty. Safe: no-auth has exactly
+        // one user, and listSnapshots below already reads the 'local' namespace.
+        rows = db
+          .prepare(
+            `SELECT id, owner_id FROM jobs WHERE repo = ? AND (owner_id = ? OR owner_id IS NULL) ORDER BY created_at DESC`,
+          )
+          .all(repoName, u.id) as JobRow[];
       } else {
         rows = db
           .prepare(
diff --git a/src/bridge/scheduled-tasks-api.test.ts b/src/bridge/scheduled-tasks-api.test.ts
index ce6bcc2..38279fa 100644
--- a/src/bridge/scheduled-tasks-api.test.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/scheduled-tasks-api.test.ts
@@ -108,6 +108,40 @@ describe('POST /api/scheduled-tasks with visibility', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('POST /api/scheduled-tasks in no-auth mode (synthetic local owner)', () => {
+  let nTempDir = '';
+  let nRepo: Repository;
+  let nApp: express.Application;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    nTempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'sched-noauth-api-'));
+    nRepo = new Repository(join(nTempDir, 'db.sqlite'));
+    const nScheduler = new Scheduler(nRepo, join(nTempDir, 'workspaces'));
+    nApp = express();
+    nApp.use(express.json());
+    // No user middleware: no-auth deployment (req.user undefined). authActive:false
+    // tells the router to register the scheduled task under the 'local' owner so
+    // the jobs the scheduler later spawns inherit it (not NULL).
+    mountScheduledTasksApi(nApp, nRepo, nScheduler, { authActive: false });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    nRepo.close();
+    rmSync(nTempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it('registers the scheduled task under owner "local" instead of NULL', async () => {
+    const res = await request(nApp).post('/api/scheduled-tasks').send({
+      body: 'nightly thing',
+      scheduleType: 'daily',
+      hour: 9,
+      minute: 0,
+    });
+    expect(res.status).toBe(201);
+    expect(res.body.task.ownerId).toBe('local');
+  });
+});
+
 describe('POST /api/scheduled-tasks', () => {
   it('should create a daily schedule', async () => {
     const res = await request(app)
diff --git a/src/bridge/scheduled-tasks-api.ts b/src/bridge/scheduled-tasks-api.ts
index a5dd096..cf69298 100644
--- a/src/bridge/scheduled-tasks-api.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/scheduled-tasks-api.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,14 @@ export interface ScheduledTasksApiOptions {
    * field is silently dropped (legacy / no-auth deployments).
    */
   sessRepo?: BrowserSessionRepo;
+  /**
+   * Whether the auth subsystem is wired. When `false` (no-auth single-user
+   * deployment) requests carry no `req.user`, so new scheduled tasks (and the
+   * jobs the scheduler spawns from them) are owned by the stable `local` user
+   * instead of NULL — keeping per-task reflection / visibility consistent with
+   * the rest of the no-auth path. Defaults to `true`.
+   */
+  authActive?: boolean;
 }
 
 export function mountScheduledTasksApi(
@@ -20,6 +28,7 @@ export function mountScheduledTasksApi(
   apiOpts: ScheduledTasksApiOptions = {},
 ): void {
   const { sessRepo } = apiOpts;
+  const noAuthOwner: string | null = (apiOpts.authActive ?? true) ? null : 'local';
 
   /**
    * Validate and resolve a browserSessionProfileId from a request body.
@@ -133,7 +142,7 @@ export function mountScheduledTasksApi(
           return;
         }
       }
-      const ownerId = (req.user as Express.User | undefined)?.id ?? null;
+      const ownerId = (req.user as Express.User | undefined)?.id ?? noAuthOwner;
 
       const profileBinding = resolveBrowserSessionProfileId(
         req.body?.browserSessionProfileId,
diff --git a/src/bridge/server.ts b/src/bridge/server.ts
index 51769bc..7b71884 100644
--- a/src/bridge/server.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/server.ts
@@ -585,6 +585,7 @@ export function createCoreServer(opts: CoreServerOptions): {
 
           const sshDeps: SshApiDeps = {
             db: repo.getDb(),
+            authActive,
             requireAuth: authActive ? requireAuth : (_req, _res, next) => next(),
             requireAdmin: authActive ? requireAdmin : (_req, _res, next) => next(),
             getUserId: (req) => (req.user as { id?: string } | undefined)?.id ?? null,
@@ -712,9 +713,11 @@ export function createCoreServer(opts: CoreServerOptions): {
             registry: sessionRegistry,
             resolveUserFromUpgrade: async (req) => {
               if (!authenticateUpgrade) {
-                // Auth disabled: no user available — reject WS attaches.
-                // (In auth-off mode the WS layer simply isn't usable.)
-                return null;
+                // No-auth single-user mode: synthesize a stable `local` admin
+                // user so the Console terminal WS attaches (admin role makes
+                // the null-owner no-auth task visible in resolveTask). Mirrors
+                // the Console REST routers and notifications-api.
+                return { id: 'local', role: 'admin' };
               }
               const u = await authenticateUpgrade(req);
               return u ? { id: u.id, role: u.role } : null;
@@ -778,6 +781,7 @@ export function createCoreServer(opts: CoreServerOptions): {
             '/api',
             createConsoleStatusRouter({
               registry: sessionRegistry,
+              authActive,
               requireAuth: authActive ? requireAuth : (_req: Request, _res: Response, next: NextFunction) => next(),
               resolveTask: consoleDeps.resolveTask,
             }),
@@ -793,6 +797,7 @@ export function createCoreServer(opts: CoreServerOptions): {
             createConsoleSessionRouter({
               sub: sshSubsystem,
               preflight: sshPreflight,
+              authActive,
               requireAuth: authActive ? requireAuth : (_req: Request, _res: Response, next: NextFunction) => next(),
               resolveTask: consoleDeps.resolveTask,
             }),
@@ -822,6 +827,7 @@ export function createCoreServer(opts: CoreServerOptions): {
   mountLocalTasksApi(app, {
     repo,
     worktreeDir,
+    authActive,
     generateTitle: opts.generateTitle,
     selectPiece: opts.selectPiece,
     pieceExists: opts.piecesDir
@@ -936,7 +942,7 @@ export function createCoreServer(opts: CoreServerOptions): {
 
   if (opts.scheduler) {
     app.use('/api/scheduled-tasks', express.json());
-    mountScheduledTasksApi(app, repo, opts.scheduler, { sessRepo });
+    mountScheduledTasksApi(app, repo, opts.scheduler, { sessRepo, authActive });
   }
 
   // Browser session API
diff --git a/src/bridge/ssh-api.test.ts b/src/bridge/ssh-api.test.ts
index 5cc9be5..44ddedd 100644
--- a/src/bridge/ssh-api.test.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/ssh-api.test.ts
@@ -65,6 +65,10 @@ function makeHarness(opts: {
   tester?: SshTester;
   forceUnlockLimit?: { windowMs: number; maxRequests: number };
   onAccessRevoked?: SshApiDeps['onAccessRevoked'];
+  /** No-auth single-user mode: requireAuth/Admin become passthroughs and the
+   *  user resolvers read req.user, mirroring how server.ts wires SshApiDeps
+   *  when the auth subsystem is disabled. */
+  authActive?: boolean;
 } = {}): Harness {
   const db = makeDb();
   const connectionRepo = createConnectionRepo(db);
@@ -78,14 +82,15 @@ function makeHarness(opts: {
   const userId = opts.userId ?? 'alice';
   const isAdmin = !!opts.isAdmin;
   const isAnon = !!opts.isAnon;
+  const authActive = opts.authActive ?? true;
 
   const requireAuth: express.RequestHandler = (_req, res, next) => {
-    if (isAnon) { res.status(401).json({ error: 'unauthorized' }); return; }
+    if (authActive && isAnon) { res.status(401).json({ error: 'unauthorized' }); return; }
     next();
   };
   const requireAdmin: express.RequestHandler = (_req, res, next) => {
-    if (isAnon) { res.status(401).json({ error: 'unauthorized' }); return; }
-    if (!isAdmin) { res.status(403).json({ error: 'admin_required' }); return; }
+    if (authActive && isAnon) { res.status(401).json({ error: 'unauthorized' }); return; }
+    if (authActive && !isAdmin) { res.status(403).json({ error: 'admin_required' }); return; }
     next();
   };
 
@@ -118,9 +123,13 @@ function makeHarness(opts: {
     db,
     requireAuth,
     requireAdmin,
-    getUserId: () => (isAnon ? null : userId),
-    isAdmin: () => isAdmin,
-    getOrgIds: () => opts.orgIds ?? [],
+    authActive,
+    getUserId: (req) =>
+      authActive ? (isAnon ? null : userId) : ((req.user as { id?: string } | undefined)?.id ?? null),
+    isAdmin: (req) =>
+      authActive ? isAdmin : ((req.user as { role?: string } | undefined)?.role === 'admin'),
+    getOrgIds: (req) =>
+      authActive ? (opts.orgIds ?? []) : ((req.user as { orgIds?: string[] } | undefined)?.orgIds ?? []),
     connectionRepo,
     grantsRepo,
     auditRepo,
@@ -199,6 +208,55 @@ describe('SSH API: auth gating', () => {
   });
 });
 
+// ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// No-auth single-user mode: SSH must work without a logged-in user. The
+// router synthesizes a 'local' owner so per-user connection storage has a
+// stable key (mirrors notes-api / memory-api / user-folder-api).
+// ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe('SSH API: no-auth local fallback (authActive=false)', () => {
+  it('POST /api/ssh/connections succeeds without auth and owns the connection as local', async () => {
+    const h = makeHarness({ authActive: false });
+    const res = await request(h.app).post('/api/ssh/connections').send({
+      label: 'prod',
+      host: 'srv.example.com',
+      port: 22,
+      username: 'deploy',
+      privateKeyPem: SAMPLE_PEM,
+      remotePathPrefix: '/home/deploy',
+    });
+    expect(res.status).toBe(201);
+    expect(res.body.connection.ownerId).toBe('local');
+  });
+
+  it('GET /api/ssh/connections returns 200 (not 401) without auth and lists the local connection', async () => {
+    const h = makeHarness({ authActive: false });
+    const id = await createOwnedConnection(h);
+    const res = await request(h.app).get('/api/ssh/connections');
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(res.body.connections.find((c: { id: string }) => c.id === id)).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it('admin globals endpoint is reachable without auth in no-auth mode', async () => {
+    const h = makeHarness({ authActive: false });
+    const res = await request(h.app)
+      .post('/api/ssh/admin/globals')
+      .send({
+        reason: 'no-auth admin reachability',
+        label: 'shared',
+        host: 'shared.example.com',
+        port: 22,
+        username: 'ops',
+        privateKeyPem: SAMPLE_PEM,
+        remotePathPrefix: '/srv',
+      });
+    // Not 401/403 — the synthetic local user passes the admin gate. The exact
+    // 2xx/4xx depends on payload validation, which other tests cover.
+    expect(res.status).not.toBe(401);
+    expect(res.status).not.toBe(403);
+  });
+});
+
 describe('SSH API: maintenance mode', () => {
   it('blocks user POST /connections with 503 + Retry-After', async () => {
     const h = makeHarness();
diff --git a/src/bridge/ssh-api.ts b/src/bridge/ssh-api.ts
index 64544a8..c12dfec 100644
--- a/src/bridge/ssh-api.ts
+++ b/src/bridge/ssh-api.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
  *   the pending host-key token (token only returned on test / observation).
  */
 
-import { Router, type Request, type Response, type RequestHandler } from 'express';
+import { Router, type Request, type Response, type NextFunction, type RequestHandler } from 'express';
 import type Database from 'better-sqlite3';
 
 import type { SshConnection, SshConnectionRepo, HostKeyVerifyResult } from '../ssh/connection-repo.js';
@@ -78,6 +78,14 @@ export interface SshApiDeps {
   getUserId(req: Request): string | null;
   isAdmin(req: Request): boolean;
   getOrgIds(req: Request): string[];
+  /**
+   * Whether the bridge wired the auth subsystem. When `false` (no-auth
+   * single-user deployment) requests carry no `req.user`, so the router
+   * synthesizes a stable `local` owner — otherwise every endpoint 401s on
+   * the null userId and SSH is unusable. Mirrors notes-api / memory-api /
+   * user-folder-api. Defaults to `true` for existing (auth-only) callers.
+   */
+  authActive?: boolean;
 
   connectionRepo: SshConnectionRepo;
   grantsRepo: SshGrantsRepo;
@@ -279,9 +287,27 @@ function jsonError(res: Response, status: number, error: string, detail?: unknow
 // User router — /api/ssh/connections + /api/ssh/grants
 // ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+/**
+ * No-auth single-user mode: synthesize a `local` user so the per-user
+ * connection store has a stable owner and `getUserId`/`isAdmin` resolve.
+ * Role `admin` keeps the connection-management surface fully usable for the
+ * lone local operator (in single-user mode the admin/grant checks only ever
+ * compare against `local`-owned rows, so this never widens cross-user access).
+ * No-op when auth is active (Passport has already populated `req.user`).
+ */
+function makeSshLocalUserMiddleware(authActive: boolean): RequestHandler {
+  return (req: Request, _res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
+    if (!authActive && !(req as { user?: unknown }).user) {
+      (req as { user?: unknown }).user = { id: 'local', role: 'admin', orgIds: [] };
+    }
+    next();
+  };
+}
+
 export function createSshUserRouter(deps: SshApiDeps): Router {
   const router = Router();
   const testTimeoutMs = deps.connectionTestTimeoutMs ?? 5000;
+  router.use(makeSshLocalUserMiddleware(deps.authActive ?? true));
 
   // GET /api/ssh/connections — list owned (and globals visible via grant).
   // For Phase 5 we return:
@@ -801,6 +827,7 @@ export function createSshUserRouter(deps: SshApiDeps): Router {
 
 export function createSshAdminRouter(deps: SshApiDeps): Router {
   const router = Router();
+  router.use(makeSshLocalUserMiddleware(deps.authActive ?? true));
 
   // GET /api/ssh/admin/connections
   router.get('/connections', deps.requireAdmin, (_req, res) => {