diff --git a/IMPLEMENTATION.md b/IMPLEMENTATION.md
index a83ed20..1dcf9e5 100644
--- a/IMPLEMENTATION.md
+++ b/IMPLEMENTATION.md
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ Each type lives in `src/FrameProcessor/Domain/`. Tests in `tests/FrameProcessor.
 
 ## Phase 6 — MQTT
 
-### [ ] 6.1 `MqttPublisher` hosted service
+### [x] 6.1 `MqttPublisher` hosted service
 - Singleton `IHostedService` wrapping `IMqttClient` (MQTTnet v4).
 - `WithReconnectDelay`, `WithCleanSession(false)`, credentials/TLS from `MqttOptions`.
 - Exposes `bool IsConnected` for `/health`.
diff --git a/src/FrameProcessor/Mqtt/MqttPublisher.cs b/src/FrameProcessor/Mqtt/MqttPublisher.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7940d20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/FrameProcessor/Mqtt/MqttPublisher.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+using FrameProcessor.Configuration;
+using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;
+using MQTTnet;
+using MQTTnet.Client;
+
+namespace FrameProcessor.Mqtt;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Persistent MQTT client wrapped in a hosted service. Connects on startup and
+/// reconnects in the background after disconnects. Connection state is surfaced
+/// via <see cref="IsConnected"/> for the <c>/health</c> endpoint.
+/// </summary>
+public sealed class MqttPublisher : BackgroundService
+{
+    private static readonly TimeSpan ReconnectDelay = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5);
+
+    private readonly IOptions<MqttOptions> _options;
+    private readonly ILogger<MqttPublisher> _logger;
+    private readonly IMqttClient _client;
+
+    public MqttPublisher(IOptions<MqttOptions> options, ILogger<MqttPublisher> logger)
+    {
+        _options = options;
+        _logger = logger;
+        _client = new MqttFactory().CreateMqttClient();
+    }
+
+    public bool IsConnected => _client.IsConnected;
+
+    public override async Task StartAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            await _client.ConnectAsync(BuildClientOptions(), cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            _logger.LogInformation(
+                "MQTT connected to {Host}:{Port}",
+                _options.Value.Host,
+                _options.Value.Port);
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex) when (!cancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
+        {
+            _logger.LogWarning(
+                ex,
+                "Initial MQTT connect to {Host}:{Port} failed; background reconnect will retry",
+                _options.Value.Host,
+                _options.Value.Port);
+        }
+
+        await base.StartAsync(cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+    }
+
+    protected override async Task ExecuteAsync(CancellationToken stoppingToken)
+    {
+        while (!stoppingToken.IsCancellationRequested)
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                await Task.Delay(ReconnectDelay, stoppingToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            }
+            catch (OperationCanceledException)
+            {
+                return;
+            }
+
+            if (_client.IsConnected)
+            {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            try
+            {
+                await _client.ConnectAsync(BuildClientOptions(), stoppingToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                _logger.LogInformation(
+                    "MQTT reconnected to {Host}:{Port}",
+                    _options.Value.Host,
+                    _options.Value.Port);
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex) when (!stoppingToken.IsCancellationRequested)
+            {
+                _logger.LogWarning(
+                    ex,
+                    "MQTT reconnect to {Host}:{Port} failed",
+                    _options.Value.Host,
+                    _options.Value.Port);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    public override async Task StopAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    {
+        await base.StopAsync(cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+        if (_client.IsConnected)
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                await _client.DisconnectAsync(cancellationToken: cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                _logger.LogWarning(ex, "MQTT disconnect on shutdown failed");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    public override void Dispose()
+    {
+        _client.Dispose();
+        base.Dispose();
+    }
+
+    private MqttClientOptions BuildClientOptions()
+    {
+        var opts = _options.Value;
+        var builder = new MqttClientOptionsBuilder()
+            .WithTcpServer(opts.Host, opts.Port)
+            .WithClientId(opts.ClientId)
+            .WithCleanSession(false);
+
+        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(opts.Username))
+        {
+            builder = builder.WithCredentials(opts.Username, opts.Password);
+        }
+
+        if (opts.UseTls)
+        {
+            builder = builder.WithTlsOptions(_ => { });
+        }
+
+        return builder.Build();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/FrameProcessor/Program.cs b/src/FrameProcessor/Program.cs
index be676dc..e0712a3 100644
--- a/src/FrameProcessor/Program.cs
+++ b/src/FrameProcessor/Program.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 using FrameProcessor.Configuration;
 using FrameProcessor.ImagePipeline;
+using FrameProcessor.Mqtt;
 using FrameProcessor.Storage;
 
 var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
@@ -38,6 +39,8 @@ builder.Services.AddSingleton<FramesOptionsValidator>();
 builder.Services.AddSingleton<FramesRegistry>();
 builder.Services.AddSingleton<IImagePipeline, FrameProcessor.ImagePipeline.ImagePipeline>();
 builder.Services.AddSingleton<ImageStore>();
+builder.Services.AddSingleton<MqttPublisher>();
+builder.Services.AddHostedService(sp => sp.GetRequiredService<MqttPublisher>());
 
 var app = builder.Build();