diff --git a/docs/implementer-log.md b/docs/implementer-log.md
index 9939db8..202db05 100644
--- a/docs/implementer-log.md
+++ b/docs/implementer-log.md
@@ -7,5 +7,6 @@ owner fills in the Model column. The reviewer adds findings under "Reviews" once
 |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | v0/01-module-gate-config | 2026-09-25 | done | 1 | pass | none | `go mod download` fetched the module (network available); gate passed on the first run. | ? |
 | v0/02-health | 2026-09-25 | done | 1 | pass | none | First gate run passed. `MarkDown` initially forgot to write the entry back; caught by `TestMarkDown`. | ? |
+| v0/03-proxy | 2026-09-25 | done | 1 | pass | none | `SplitRoute` must reject an empty first segment (`/`, `//x`) as `ok=false`; the model peek restores the body and leaves non-JSON/empty as `""`. | ? |
 
 ## Reviews
diff --git a/internal/proxy/proxy.go b/internal/proxy/proxy.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb59b26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/proxy/proxy.go
@@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
+// Package proxy is the routing reverse proxy. It takes /{route}/v1/…, picks a host from the
+// route's ordered list using the health table, forwards the request, streams the answer back as it
+// arrives, and tells the health table when a host fails.
+package proxy
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httputil"
+	"net/url"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"log/slog"
+
+	"git.wntrmute.dev/kyle/crossbar/internal/config"
+	"git.wntrmute.dev/kyle/crossbar/internal/health"
+)
+
+// MaxBody is the largest request body we look at for a top-level "model" field.
+const MaxBody = 16 << 20
+
+// HostHeader is set on every proxied response: the name of the host that answered.
+const HostHeader = "X-Crossbar-Host"
+
+// errBodyTooLarge is returned when a request body exceeds MaxBody during the model peek.
+var errBodyTooLarge = errors.New("body too large")
+
+// Health is what the proxy needs from the health table.
+type Health interface {
+	Get(name string) (health.Status, bool)
+	MarkDown(name, reason string)
+}
+
+// Handler forwards requests for a route to one of the route's healthy hosts.
+type Handler struct {
+	cfg    *config.Config
+	health Health
+	log    *slog.Logger
+}
+
+// New builds a Handler. A nil logger becomes slog.Default().
+func New(cfg *config.Config, h Health, log *slog.Logger) *Handler {
+	if log == nil {
+		log = slog.Default()
+	}
+	return &Handler{cfg: cfg, health: h, log: log}
+}
+
+// SplitRoute takes the first path segment as the route. "/a/v1/x" -> ("a", "/v1/x", true); "/a" and
+// "/a/" -> ("a", "/", true); "/", "//x", "", "noslash/v1" -> ("", "", false). The query string, if
+// present, is kept in rest.
+func SplitRoute(path string) (route, rest string, ok bool) {
+	if path == "" || path[0] != '/' {
+		return "", "", false
+	}
+	after := path[1:]
+	slash := strings.IndexByte(after, '/')
+	if slash == -1 {
+		if after == "" {
+			return "", "", false
+		}
+		return after, "/", true
+	}
+	if after[:slash] == "" {
+		return "", "", false
+	}
+	return after[:slash], after[slash:], true
+}
+
+// Choose returns the first host in order that is healthy and lists model in Loaded; failing that,
+// the first healthy host. ok is false if none. model may be "".
+func Choose(hosts []string, model string, h Health) (string, bool) {
+	for _, name := range hosts {
+		s, ok := h.Get(name)
+		if !ok || !s.Healthy || !hasModel(s.Loaded, model) {
+			continue
+		}
+		return name, true
+	}
+	for _, name := range hosts {
+		s, ok := h.Get(name)
+		if ok && s.Healthy {
+			return name, true
+		}
+	}
+	return "", false
+}
+
+func hasModel(loaded []string, model string) bool {
+	if model == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+	for _, m := range loaded {
+		if m == model {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// allowedPath reports whether rest may be proxied: under /v1/, or the two admin paths.
+func allowedPath(rest string) bool {
+	return strings.HasPrefix(rest, "/v1/") || rest == "/health" || rest == "/props"
+}
+
+// peekModel reads a non-GET/HEAD body up to MaxBody+1 bytes, restores it on the request, and
+// returns the top-level "model". A non-JSON body or one without a model gives "". A body larger
+// than MaxBody returns errBodyTooLarge.
+func peekModel(r *http.Request) (string, error) {
+	if r.Method == http.MethodGet || r.Method == http.MethodHead {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	if r.Body == nil || r.Body == http.NoBody {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	body, err := io.ReadAll(io.LimitReader(r.Body, MaxBody+1))
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if len(body) > MaxBody {
+		return "", errBodyTooLarge
+	}
+	r.Body = io.NopCloser(bytes.NewReader(body))
+	r.ContentLength = int64(len(body))
+
+	var req struct {
+		Model string `json:"model"`
+	}
+	_ = json.Unmarshal(body, &req)
+	return req.Model, nil
+}
+
+// statusRecorder records the status written and forwards Flush so the reverse proxy can stream.
+type statusRecorder struct {
+	http.ResponseWriter
+	status int
+}
+
+func (r *statusRecorder) WriteHeader(code int) {
+	r.status = code
+	r.ResponseWriter.WriteHeader(code)
+}
+
+func (r *statusRecorder) Flush() {
+	r.ResponseWriter.(http.Flusher).Flush()
+}
+
+func (p *Handler) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	route, rest, ok := SplitRoute(r.URL.Path)
+	if !ok {
+		p.writeError(w, http.StatusBadRequest, "missing route")
+		return
+	}
+	routeCfg, ok := p.cfg.Routes[route]
+	if !ok {
+		p.writeError(w, http.StatusNotFound, "unknown route")
+		return
+	}
+	if !allowedPath(rest) {
+		p.writeError(w, http.StatusNotFound, "not found")
+		return
+	}
+	model, err := peekModel(r)
+	if err != nil {
+		p.writeError(w, http.StatusRequestEntityTooLarge, "body too large")
+		return
+	}
+	if model == "" {
+		model = routeCfg.DefaultModel
+	}
+	name, ok := Choose(routeCfg.Hosts, model, p.health)
+	if !ok {
+		p.writeError(w, http.StatusServiceUnavailable, "no healthy host")
+		return
+	}
+
+	host, ok := p.cfg.Hosts[name]
+	if !ok {
+		p.writeError(w, http.StatusBadGateway, "upstream failed")
+		return
+	}
+	target, err := url.Parse(host.BaseURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		p.writeError(w, http.StatusBadGateway, "upstream failed")
+		return
+	}
+
+	pr := newReverseProxy(p.health, name, target, rest)
+	rec := &statusRecorder{ResponseWriter: w, status: http.StatusOK}
+	start := time.Now()
+	pr.ServeHTTP(rec, r)
+	p.log.Info("request",
+		"route", route,
+		"host", name,
+		"method", r.Method,
+		"path", rest,
+		"status", rec.status,
+		"ms", time.Since(start).Milliseconds(),
+	)
+}
+
+func (p *Handler) writeError(w http.ResponseWriter, status int, msg string) {
+	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+	w.WriteHeader(status)
+	_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]string{"error": msg})
+}
+
+// newReverseProxy forwards to a single host, rewriting the path to target.Path+rest and keeping the
+// original query string. It flushes after every write so long server-sent-event streams are not
+// buffered, and marks the host down on any transport error other than a client disconnect.
+func newReverseProxy(h Health, name string, target *url.URL, rest string) *httputil.ReverseProxy {
+	return &httputil.ReverseProxy{
+		Rewrite: func(pr *httputil.ProxyRequest) {
+			pr.SetURL(target)
+			pr.Out.URL.Path = target.Path + rest
+			pr.Out.URL.RawPath = ""
+			pr.Out.Host = target.Host
+			pr.SetXForwarded()
+		},
+		FlushInterval: -1,
+		ModifyResponse: func(resp *http.Response) error {
+			resp.Header.Set(HostHeader, name)
+			return nil
+		},
+		ErrorHandler: func(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request, err error) {
+			if errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
+				return
+			}
+			h.MarkDown(name, err.Error())
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusBadGateway)
+			_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]string{"error": "upstream failed", "host": name})
+		},
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/proxy/proxy_test.go b/internal/proxy/proxy_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d15174
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/proxy/proxy_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,318 @@
+package proxy_test
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.wntrmute.dev/kyle/crossbar/internal/config"
+	"git.wntrmute.dev/kyle/crossbar/internal/health"
+	"git.wntrmute.dev/kyle/crossbar/internal/proxy"
+)
+
+// fakeHealth is a hand-set health table that also records MarkDown calls.
+type fakeHealth struct {
+	mu     sync.Mutex
+	st     map[string]health.Status
+	marked []string
+}
+
+func (f *fakeHealth) Get(name string) (health.Status, bool) {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	s, ok := f.st[name]
+	return s, ok
+}
+
+func (f *fakeHealth) MarkDown(name, reason string) {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	f.marked = append(f.marked, name)
+	s := f.st[name]
+	s.Healthy = false
+	s.LastErr = reason
+	f.st[name] = s
+}
+
+func (f *fakeHealth) markedHosts() []string {
+	f.mu.Lock()
+	defer f.mu.Unlock()
+	return append([]string{}, f.marked...)
+}
+
+// upstream records what it received and answers with its name.
+type upstream struct {
+	name string
+	srv  *httptest.Server
+	mu   sync.Mutex
+	reqs []recorded
+}
+
+type recorded struct {
+	method, path, host, xff string
+	body                    string
+}
+
+func newUpstream(t *testing.T, name string) *upstream {
+	u := &upstream{name: name}
+	u.srv = httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		b, _ := io.ReadAll(r.Body)
+		u.mu.Lock()
+		u.reqs = append(u.reqs, recorded{r.Method, r.URL.RequestURI(), r.Host, r.Header.Get("X-Forwarded-For"), string(b)})
+		u.mu.Unlock()
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, `{"from":%q}`, name)
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(u.srv.Close)
+	return u
+}
+
+func (u *upstream) last(t *testing.T) recorded {
+	u.mu.Lock()
+	defer u.mu.Unlock()
+	if len(u.reqs) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("%s: no request received", u.name)
+	}
+	return u.reqs[len(u.reqs)-1]
+}
+
+func cfgFor(t *testing.T, alpha, beta string) *config.Config {
+	c, err := config.Parse(strings.NewReader(fmt.Sprintf(`
+listen = "127.0.0.1:1"
+[hosts.alpha]
+base_url = %q
+models = { "shared" = { }, "alpha-only" = { } }
+[hosts.beta]
+base_url = %q
+models = { "shared" = { }, "beta-only" = { } }
+[routes.r]
+hosts = ["alpha", "beta"]
+default_model = "shared"
+[routes.beta-first]
+hosts = ["beta", "alpha"]
+`, alpha, beta)))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return c
+}
+
+func healthy(loaded ...string) health.Status {
+	return health.Status{Healthy: true, Loaded: loaded, Consecutive: 1}
+}
+
+func TestSplitRoute(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		path, route, rest string
+		ok                bool
+	}{
+		{"/a/v1/x", "a", "/v1/x", true},
+		{"/a/v1/x?q=1", "a", "/v1/x?q=1", true},
+		{"/a", "a", "/", true},
+		{"/a/", "a", "/", true},
+		{"/opencode-a/v1/chat/completions", "opencode-a", "/v1/chat/completions", true},
+		{"/", "", "", false},
+		{"//x", "", "", false},
+		{"", "", "", false},
+		{"noslash/v1", "", "", false},
+	} {
+		route, rest, ok := proxy.SplitRoute(tc.path)
+		if route != tc.route || rest != tc.rest || ok != tc.ok {
+			t.Errorf("SplitRoute(%q) = %q %q %v, want %q %q %v", tc.path, route, rest, ok, tc.route, tc.rest, tc.ok)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestChoose(t *testing.T) {
+	h := &fakeHealth{st: map[string]health.Status{
+		"down":  {Healthy: false, Loaded: []string{"m"}},
+		"alpha": healthy("shared", "alpha-only"),
+		"beta":  healthy("shared", "beta-only"),
+	}}
+	hosts := []string{"down", "alpha", "beta"}
+	if got, ok := proxy.Choose(hosts, "", h); !ok || got != "alpha" {
+		t.Errorf("no model: %q %v, want alpha (first healthy)", got, ok)
+	}
+	if got, ok := proxy.Choose(hosts, "beta-only", h); !ok || got != "beta" {
+		t.Errorf("beta-only: %q %v, want beta (has the model loaded)", got, ok)
+	}
+	if got, ok := proxy.Choose(hosts, "nobody-has-it", h); !ok || got != "alpha" {
+		t.Errorf("unknown model falls back to the first healthy host: %q %v", got, ok)
+	}
+	if got, ok := proxy.Choose([]string{"down", "missing"}, "m", h); ok {
+		t.Errorf("no healthy host must give ok=false, got %q", got)
+	}
+	if got, ok := proxy.Choose(nil, "m", h); ok {
+		t.Errorf("empty hosts: %q %v", got, ok)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRoutesToFirstHealthyAndRewrites(t *testing.T) {
+	alpha, beta := newUpstream(t, "alpha"), newUpstream(t, "beta")
+	h := &fakeHealth{st: map[string]health.Status{"alpha": healthy("shared"), "beta": healthy("shared")}}
+	p := proxy.New(cfgFor(t, alpha.srv.URL, beta.srv.URL), h, nil)
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "http://crossbar.local:7777/r/v1/models?x=1", nil)
+	req.RemoteAddr = "10.9.8.7:5555"
+	p.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+	if rec.Code != 200 || rec.Header().Get(proxy.HostHeader) != "alpha" {
+		t.Fatalf("status %d host %q body %s", rec.Code, rec.Header().Get(proxy.HostHeader), rec.Body.String())
+	}
+	got := alpha.last(t)
+	if got.path != "/v1/models?x=1" {
+		t.Errorf("upstream path = %q, want route stripped and query kept", got.path)
+	}
+	if got.host != strings.TrimPrefix(alpha.srv.URL, "http://") {
+		t.Errorf("Host header = %q, want the upstream's %q", got.host, strings.TrimPrefix(alpha.srv.URL, "http://"))
+	}
+	if got.xff != "10.9.8.7" {
+		t.Errorf("X-Forwarded-For = %q, want the client address", got.xff)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(rec.Body.String(), `"from":"alpha"`) {
+		t.Errorf("body = %s", rec.Body.String())
+	}
+}
+
+func TestModelPreferenceAndBodyPassThrough(t *testing.T) {
+	alpha, beta := newUpstream(t, "alpha"), newUpstream(t, "beta")
+	h := &fakeHealth{st: map[string]health.Status{"alpha": healthy("shared", "alpha-only"), "beta": healthy("shared", "beta-only")}}
+	p := proxy.New(cfgFor(t, alpha.srv.URL, beta.srv.URL), h, nil)
+	body := `{"model":"beta-only","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"hi"}],"stream":false}`
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	p.ServeHTTP(rec, httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodPost, "/r/v1/chat/completions", strings.NewReader(body)))
+	if rec.Code != 200 || rec.Header().Get(proxy.HostHeader) != "beta" {
+		t.Fatalf("status %d host %q", rec.Code, rec.Header().Get(proxy.HostHeader))
+	}
+	if got := beta.last(t); got.body != body || got.method != http.MethodPost {
+		t.Errorf("upstream got %+v; the body must arrive unchanged after the model peek", got)
+	}
+	// Not JSON: no model, the route default ("shared") applies, first healthy wins.
+	rec = httptest.NewRecorder()
+	p.ServeHTTP(rec, httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodPost, "/r/v1/embeddings", strings.NewReader("plain text")))
+	if rec.Header().Get(proxy.HostHeader) != "alpha" {
+		t.Errorf("non-JSON body: host %q, want alpha", rec.Header().Get(proxy.HostHeader))
+	}
+	if got := alpha.last(t); got.body != "plain text" {
+		t.Errorf("non-JSON body must pass through unchanged, got %q", got.body)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFailoverOnUpstreamError(t *testing.T) {
+	alpha, beta := newUpstream(t, "alpha"), newUpstream(t, "beta")
+	h := &fakeHealth{st: map[string]health.Status{"alpha": healthy("shared"), "beta": healthy("shared")}}
+	p := proxy.New(cfgFor(t, alpha.srv.URL, beta.srv.URL), h, nil)
+	alpha.srv.Close() // health still believes alpha is up
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	p.ServeHTTP(rec, httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/r/v1/models", nil))
+	if rec.Code != http.StatusBadGateway {
+		t.Fatalf("first request after alpha died: %d, want 502", rec.Code)
+	}
+	var e map[string]string
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(rec.Body.Bytes(), &e); err != nil || e["error"] != "upstream failed" || e["host"] != "alpha" {
+		t.Errorf("502 body = %s", rec.Body.String())
+	}
+	if m := h.markedHosts(); len(m) != 1 || m[0] != "alpha" {
+		t.Errorf("MarkDown calls = %v, want [alpha]", m)
+	}
+	rec = httptest.NewRecorder()
+	p.ServeHTTP(rec, httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "/r/v1/models", nil))
+	if rec.Code != 200 || rec.Header().Get(proxy.HostHeader) != "beta" {
+		t.Errorf("second request: %d %q, want 200 from beta", rec.Code, rec.Header().Get(proxy.HostHeader))
+	}
+}
+
+func TestErrors(t *testing.T) {
+	alpha, beta := newUpstream(t, "alpha"), newUpstream(t, "beta")
+	h := &fakeHealth{st: map[string]health.Status{"alpha": {Healthy: false}, "beta": {Healthy: false}}}
+	p := proxy.New(cfgFor(t, alpha.srv.URL, beta.srv.URL), h, nil)
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		name, method, path string
+		body               io.Reader
+		want               int
+		msg                string
+	}{
+		{"bare slash", http.MethodGet, "/", nil, 400, "missing route"},
+		{"double slash", http.MethodGet, "//v1/models", nil, 400, "missing route"},
+		{"unknown route", http.MethodGet, "/nope/v1/models", nil, 404, "unknown route"},
+		{"disallowed path", http.MethodGet, "/r/slots", nil, 404, "not found"},
+		{"admin through proxy", http.MethodGet, "/r/_crossbar/hosts", nil, 404, "not found"},
+		{"no healthy host", http.MethodGet, "/r/v1/models", nil, 503, "no healthy host"},
+		{"body too large", http.MethodPost, "/r/v1/chat/completions", strings.NewReader(strings.Repeat("x", proxy.MaxBody+1)), 413, "body too large"},
+	} {
+		rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		p.ServeHTTP(rec, httptest.NewRequest(tc.method, tc.path, tc.body))
+		if rec.Code != tc.want {
+			t.Errorf("%s: status %d, want %d", tc.name, rec.Code, tc.want)
+		}
+		var e map[string]string
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(rec.Body.Bytes(), &e); err != nil || e["error"] != tc.msg {
+			t.Errorf("%s: body %s, want error %q", tc.name, rec.Body.String(), tc.msg)
+		}
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(rec.Header().Get("Content-Type"), "application/json") {
+			t.Errorf("%s: errors are JSON", tc.name)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(h.markedHosts()) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("errors before choosing a host must not mark anything down: %v", h.markedHosts())
+	}
+}
+
+// TestStreamingIsNotBuffered: the upstream writes one chunk, flushes, and then waits until the
+// test has *read* that chunk. If the proxy buffered, the read would never complete.
+func TestStreamingIsNotBuffered(t *testing.T) {
+	release := make(chan struct{})
+	up := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/event-stream")
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		fmt.Fprint(w, "data: first\n\n")
+		w.(http.Flusher).Flush()
+		select {
+		case <-release:
+		case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		}
+		fmt.Fprint(w, "data: second\n\n")
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(up.Close)
+	beta := newUpstream(t, "beta")
+	h := &fakeHealth{st: map[string]health.Status{"alpha": healthy("shared"), "beta": healthy("shared")}}
+	front := httptest.NewServer(proxy.New(cfgFor(t, up.URL, beta.srv.URL), h, nil))
+	t.Cleanup(front.Close)
+
+	resp, err := http.Post(front.URL+"/r/v1/chat/completions", "application/json", strings.NewReader(`{"model":"shared","stream":true}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	buf := make([]byte, 64)
+	done := make(chan string, 1)
+	go func() {
+		n, err := resp.Body.Read(buf)
+		if err != nil {
+			done <- "read error: " + err.Error()
+			return
+		}
+		done <- string(buf[:n])
+	}()
+	select {
+	case got := <-done:
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(got, "data: first") {
+			t.Fatalf("first read = %q", got)
+		}
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("the first chunk did not arrive before the upstream finished: the proxy buffers")
+	}
+	close(release)
+	rest, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	if !strings.Contains(string(rest), "data: second") {
+		t.Errorf("rest = %q", rest)
+	}
+	if resp.Header.Get(proxy.HostHeader) != "alpha" {
+		t.Errorf("host header %q", resp.Header.Get(proxy.HostHeader))
+	}
+}