diff --git a/navi/config.py b/navi/config.py
index 8b51171..62c420b 100644
--- a/navi/config.py
+++ b/navi/config.py
@@ -107,6 +107,18 @@
     # a profile_id. Empty string means "no default"; the client must supply one.
     navi_default_profile_id: str = ""
 
+    # Web UI switch. When false, the static mounts ("/", /assets, /images,
+    # /content-viewers, /content), the debug/admin panels and the navi_ui MCP
+    # server are not registered — pure API/WS server for terminal clients.
+    # The API itself is unaffected; re-enable later by editing .env only.
+    navi_webclient_enabled: bool = True
+
+    # Bind address for the navi-server launcher (navi/server.py + systemd).
+    # 127.0.0.1 keeps the server local-only; terminals on other machines
+    # connect through SSH tunneling or a reverse proxy.
+    navi_host: str = "127.0.0.1"
+    navi_port: int = 8000
+
     # Internal navi_ui MCP server — lets the agent push structured UI components
     # (card_grid, form) to the webclient via the render_component tool.
     navi_ui_mcp_enabled: bool = True
diff --git a/navi/main.py b/navi/main.py
index ad17269..7a1d55d 100644
--- a/navi/main.py
+++ b/navi/main.py
@@ -64,8 +64,14 @@
             "Refusing to start with permissive CORS in auth mode."
         )
 
+    # The navi_ui MCP server's only consumer is the webclient — skip it when
+    # the web UI is off (deployed terminal-only mode).
+    ui_mcp_active = settings.navi_ui_mcp_enabled and settings.navi_webclient_enabled
+    if not settings.navi_webclient_enabled:
+        log.info("startup.webclient_disabled", message="Web UI is off — pure API/WS server (terminal clients only).")
+
     ui_server_task: asyncio.Task | None = None
-    if settings.navi_ui_mcp_enabled:
+    if ui_mcp_active:
         from navi.mcp.ui_server import start_ui_server
 
         ui_server_task = asyncio.create_task(
@@ -174,7 +180,7 @@
     except asyncio.CancelledError:
         pass
 
-    if settings.navi_ui_mcp_enabled and ui_server_task is not None:
+    if ui_mcp_active and ui_server_task is not None:
         ui_server_task.cancel()
         try:
             await ui_server_task
@@ -224,12 +230,6 @@
 # (With auth disabled require_admin resolves to the anonymous admin user.)
 app.include_router(eval_router, dependencies=[Depends(require_admin)])
 
-app.mount("/assets", StaticFiles(directory=str(_base / "webclient" / "dist" / "assets")), name="assets")
-app.mount("/images", StaticFiles(directory=str(_base / "webclient" / "dist" / "images")), name="images")
-app.mount("/content-viewers", StaticFiles(directory=str(_base / "webclient" / "dist" / "content-viewers")), name="content_viewers")
-app.mount("/content", StaticFiles(directory=str(_base / "navi" / "content")), name="content")
-
-
 @app.get("/api/sessions/{session_id}/files/{filename}", include_in_schema=False)
 async def api_session_file_redirect(session_id: str, filename: str, download: bool = False):
     target = f"/sessions/{session_id}/files/{filename}"
@@ -238,24 +238,48 @@
     return RedirectResponse(url=target, status_code=307)
 
 
-@app.get("/", include_in_schema=False)
-async def index() -> FileResponse:
-    return FileResponse(str(_base / "webclient" / "dist" / "index.html"), headers={"Cache-Control": "no-store"})
+if settings.navi_webclient_enabled:
+    # check_dir=False: a deployed tree may have no webclient/dist build at all
+    # (the UI is off), so the mount must not crash on import. Toggling the flag
+    # or building dist later needs a server restart — by design, config edits
+    # are the re-enable path, and systemd restarts the unit cleanly.
+    app.mount(
+        "/assets",
+        StaticFiles(directory=str(_base / "webclient" / "dist" / "assets"), check_dir=False),
+        name="assets",
+    )
+    app.mount(
+        "/images",
+        StaticFiles(directory=str(_base / "webclient" / "dist" / "images"), check_dir=False),
+        name="images",
+    )
+    app.mount(
+        "/content-viewers",
+        StaticFiles(directory=str(_base / "webclient" / "dist" / "content-viewers"), check_dir=False),
+        name="content_viewers",
+    )
+    app.mount(
+        "/content",
+        StaticFiles(directory=str(_base / "navi" / "content"), check_dir=False),
+        name="content",
+    )
+
+    @app.get("/", include_in_schema=False)
+    async def index() -> FileResponse:
+        return FileResponse(str(_base / "webclient" / "dist" / "index.html"), headers={"Cache-Control": "no-store"})
+
+    if not settings.navi_auth_enabled:
+        # Debug panels are a local-development tool — not exposed in auth mode.
+
+        @app.get("/debug", include_in_schema=False)
+        async def debug() -> FileResponse:
+            return FileResponse("debug/index.html", headers={"Cache-Control": "no-store"})
 
 
-if not settings.navi_auth_enabled:
-    # Debug panels are a local-development tool — not exposed in auth mode.
+        @app.get("/debug/eval", include_in_schema=False)
+        async def debug_eval() -> FileResponse:
+            return FileResponse("debug/eval/index.html", headers={"Cache-Control": "no-store"})
 
-    @app.get("/debug", include_in_schema=False)
-    async def debug() -> FileResponse:
-        return FileResponse("debug/index.html", headers={"Cache-Control": "no-store"})
-
-
-    @app.get("/debug/eval", include_in_schema=False)
-    async def debug_eval() -> FileResponse:
-        return FileResponse("debug/eval/index.html", headers={"Cache-Control": "no-store"})
-
-
-@app.get("/admin", include_in_schema=False)
-async def admin_panel() -> FileResponse:
-    return FileResponse("admin/index.html", headers={"Cache-Control": "no-store"})
+    @app.get("/admin", include_in_schema=False)
+    async def admin_panel() -> FileResponse:
+        return FileResponse("admin/index.html", headers={"Cache-Control": "no-store"})
diff --git a/navi/server.py b/navi/server.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..591bc7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/navi/server.py
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+"""`navi-server` — one-command launcher for the Navi API server.
+
+Reads bind address from settings (NAVI_HOST / NAVI_PORT, default 127.0.0.1:8000)
+so a deployed unit needs no hardcoded values. Meant for systemd / interactive
+use; for development `uvicorn navi.main:app --reload` is still the way.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import uvicorn
+
+from navi.config import settings
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    uvicorn.run(
+        "navi.main:app",
+        host=settings.navi_host,
+        port=settings.navi_port,
+        log_level=settings.log_level.lower(),
+    )
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 1c45d60..3bf18b2 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@
 
 [project.scripts]
 navi-code = "clients.terminal.cli:main"
+navi-server = "navi.server:main"
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 dev = [
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_deployment_flags.py b/tests/unit/test_deployment_flags.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37deb40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_deployment_flags.py
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+"""Deployment flags: NAVI_WEBCLIENT_ENABLED gating and navi-server settings.
+
+The webclient gating in navi/main.py runs at import time, so these tests
+launch a subprocess with the flag in the environment and inspect the
+registered routes — monkeypatching settings in-process would not re-gate.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+
+from navi.config import Settings
+
+ROUTES_SCRIPT = """
+import json
+import navi.main as m
+print(json.dumps(sorted({r.path for r in m.app.routes})))
+"""
+
+
+def _app_routes(extra_env: dict[str, str]) -> list[str]:
+    env = {k: v for k, v in os.environ.items() if k != "NAVI_WEBCLIENT_ENABLED"}
+    env.update(extra_env)
+    out = subprocess.run(
+        [sys.executable, "-c", ROUTES_SCRIPT],
+        capture_output=True, text=True, env=env, cwd=os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(__file__))),
+        timeout=120,
+    )
+    assert out.returncode == 0, out.stderr[-2000:]
+    # Import-time logging (profile loading etc.) shares stdout — the JSON
+    # payload is the last line printed by the script itself.
+    return json.loads(out.stdout.strip().splitlines()[-1])
+
+
+def test_settings_defaults():
+    s = Settings(database_url="postgresql://x")
+    assert s.navi_webclient_enabled is True
+    assert s.navi_host == "127.0.0.1"
+    assert s.navi_port == 8000
+
+
+def test_webclient_enabled_default_registers_ui_routes():
+    routes = _app_routes({"NAVI_WEBCLIENT_ENABLED": "true"})
+    # Web panel, static mounts and the debug tools are all present.
+    assert "/" in routes
+    assert "/admin" in routes
+    assert "/health" in routes
+    assert "/ws/sessions/{session_id}" in routes
+
+
+def test_webclient_disabled_drops_ui_routes_only():
+    routes = _app_routes({"NAVI_WEBCLIENT_ENABLED": "false"})
+    # Everything web-facing is gone …
+    assert "/" not in routes
+    assert "/admin" not in routes
+    assert "/debug" not in routes
+    assert not any(r.startswith(("/assets", "/images", "/content")) for r in routes)
+    # … but the API the terminal client uses is fully intact.
+    assert "/health" in routes
+    assert "/sessions" in routes
+    assert "/ws/sessions/{session_id}" in routes
+    assert "/api/sessions/{session_id}/files/{filename}" in routes
+    # The /admin/* JSON API (profile/memory/sessions management) stays —
+    # only the HTML panel is web UI. require_admin still gates it.
+    assert "/admin/profiles" in routes
\ No newline at end of file