diff --git a/ARCHITECTURE.md b/ARCHITECTURE.md
index d66e7e1..6aa37e7 100644
--- a/ARCHITECTURE.md
+++ b/ARCHITECTURE.md
@@ -167,9 +167,10 @@ on which port the client connected to.
 
 ### Route Table Source
 
-Route tables are defined inline under each listener in the TOML
-configuration file. The design anticipates future migration to a SQLite
-database for dynamic route management via the control plane API.
+Route tables are persisted in the SQLite database. On first run, they are
+seeded from the TOML configuration. On subsequent runs, the database is
+the source of truth. Routes can be added or removed at runtime via the
+gRPC admin API.
 
 ---
 
@@ -179,7 +180,11 @@ TOML configuration file, loaded at startup. The proxy refuses to start if
 required fields are missing or invalid.
 
 ```toml
-# Listeners. Each has its own route table.
+# Database. Required.
+[database]
+path = "/srv/mc-proxy/mc-proxy.db"
+
+# Listeners. Each has its own route table (seeds DB on first run).
 [[listeners]]
 addr = ":443"
 
@@ -205,6 +210,13 @@ addr = ":9443"
   hostname = "mcias.metacircular.net"
   backend  = "127.0.0.1:28443"
 
+# gRPC admin API. Optional — omit addr to disable.
+[grpc]
+addr      = "127.0.0.1:9090"
+tls_cert  = "/srv/mc-proxy/certs/cert.pem"
+tls_key   = "/srv/mc-proxy/certs/key.pem"
+client_ca = "/srv/mc-proxy/certs/ca.pem"
+
 # Firewall. Global blocklist, evaluated before routing. Default allow.
 [firewall]
 geoip_db          = "/srv/mc-proxy/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb"
@@ -240,17 +252,64 @@ these are structural and must be in the TOML file.
 
 ## Storage
 
-mc-proxy has minimal storage requirements. There is no database in the
-initial implementation.
+### SQLite Database
+
+Listeners, routes, and firewall rules are persisted in a SQLite database
+(WAL mode, foreign keys enabled, busy timeout 5000ms). The pure-Go driver
+`modernc.org/sqlite` is used (no CGo).
+
+**Startup behavior:**
+
+1. Open the database at the configured path. Run migrations.
+2. If the database is empty (first run): seed from the TOML config.
+3. If the database has data: load from it. TOML listener/route/firewall
+   fields are ignored.
+
+The TOML config continues to own operational settings: proxy timeouts,
+log level, gRPC config, GeoIP database path.
+
+**Write-through pattern:** The gRPC admin API writes to the database first,
+then updates in-memory state. If the database write fails, the in-memory
+state is not modified.
+
+### Schema
+
+```sql
+CREATE TABLE listeners (
+    id   INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
+    addr TEXT NOT NULL UNIQUE
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE routes (
+    id          INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
+    listener_id INTEGER NOT NULL REFERENCES listeners(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
+    hostname    TEXT NOT NULL,
+    backend     TEXT NOT NULL,
+    UNIQUE(listener_id, hostname)
+);
+
+CREATE TABLE firewall_rules (
+    id    INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
+    type  TEXT NOT NULL CHECK(type IN ('ip', 'cidr', 'country')),
+    value TEXT NOT NULL,
+    UNIQUE(type, value)
+);
+```
+
+### Data Directory
 
 ```
 /srv/mc-proxy/
 ├── mc-proxy.toml               Configuration
+├── mc-proxy.db                 SQLite database
+├── certs/                      TLS certificates (for gRPC admin API)
 ├── GeoLite2-Country.mmdb       GeoIP database (if using country blocks)
-└── backups/                    Reserved for future use
+└── backups/                    Database snapshots
 ```
 
-No TLS certificates are stored — mc-proxy does not terminate TLS.
+mc-proxy does not terminate TLS on the proxy listeners, so no proxy
+certificates are needed. The `certs/` directory is for the gRPC admin
+API's TLS and optional mTLS keypair.
 
 ---
 
@@ -334,8 +393,7 @@ Items are listed roughly in priority order:
 
 | Item | Description |
 |------|-------------|
-| **gRPC admin API** | Internal-only API for managing routes and firewall rules at runtime, integrated with the Metacircular Control Plane. |
-| **SQLite route storage** | Migrate route table from TOML to SQLite for dynamic management via the admin API. |
+| **MCP integration** | Wire the gRPC admin API into the Metacircular Control Plane for centralized management. |
 | **L7 HTTPS support** | TLS-terminating mode for selected routes, enabling HTTP-level features (user-agent blocking, header inspection, request routing). |
 | **ACME integration** | Automatic certificate provisioning via Let's Encrypt for L7 routes. |
 | **User-agent blocking** | Block connections based on user-agent string (requires L7 mode). |
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index cb9de74..ab247d4 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ make build        # compile all packages
 make test         # run all tests
 make vet          # go vet
 make lint         # golangci-lint
+make proto        # regenerate gRPC code from proto definitions
+make devserver    # build and run locally with srv/mc-proxy.toml
 ```
 
 Run a single test:
@@ -26,9 +28,10 @@ go test ./internal/sni -run TestExtract
 
 - **Module path**: `git.wntrmute.dev/kyle/mc-proxy`
 - **Go with CGO_ENABLED=0**, statically linked, Alpine containers
-- **No API surface yet** — config-driven via TOML; gRPC admin API planned for future MCP integration
-- **No auth** — this is pre-auth infrastructure; services behind it handle their own MCIAS auth
-- **No database** — routes and firewall rules are in the TOML config; SQLite planned for dynamic route management
+- **gRPC admin API** — manages routes and firewall rules at runtime; TLS with optional mTLS; optional (disabled if `[grpc]` section omitted from config)
+- **No auth on proxy listeners** — this is pre-auth infrastructure; services behind it handle their own MCIAS auth
+- **SQLite database** — persists listeners, routes, and firewall rules; pure-Go driver (`modernc.org/sqlite`); seeded from TOML on first run, DB is source of truth thereafter
+- **Write-through pattern** — gRPC mutations write to DB first, then update in-memory state
 - **Config**: TOML via `go-toml/v2`, runtime data in `/srv/mc-proxy/`
 - **Testing**: stdlib `testing` only, `t.TempDir()` for isolation
 - **Linting**: golangci-lint v2 with `.golangci.yaml`
@@ -36,10 +39,13 @@ go test ./internal/sni -run TestExtract
 ## Package Structure
 
 - `internal/config/` — TOML config loading and validation
+- `internal/db/` — SQLite database: migrations, CRUD for listeners/routes/firewall rules, seeding, snapshots
 - `internal/sni/` — TLS ClientHello parser; extracts SNI hostname without consuming bytes
-- `internal/firewall/` — global blocklist evaluation (IP, CIDR, GeoIP via MaxMind GeoLite2); thread-safe GeoIP reload
+- `internal/firewall/` — global blocklist evaluation (IP, CIDR, GeoIP via MaxMind GeoLite2); thread-safe mutations and GeoIP reload
 - `internal/proxy/` — bidirectional TCP relay with half-close propagation and idle timeout
-- `internal/server/` — orchestrates listeners → firewall → SNI → route → proxy pipeline; graceful shutdown
+- `internal/server/` — orchestrates listeners → firewall → SNI → route → proxy pipeline; per-listener state with connection tracking
+- `internal/grpcserver/` — gRPC admin API: route/firewall CRUD, status, write-through to DB
+- `proto/mc-proxy/v1/` — protobuf definitions; `gen/mc-proxy/v1/` has generated code
 
 ## Signals
 
@@ -52,3 +58,4 @@ go test ./internal/sni -run TestExtract
 - Firewall rules are always evaluated before any routing decision.
 - SNI matching is exact and case-insensitive.
 - Blocked connections get a TCP RST — no error messages, no TLS alerts.
+- Database writes must succeed before in-memory state is updated (write-through).