diff --git a/services/llama-cpp-annotations.nix b/services/llama-cpp-annotations.nix
index 94f5221..163dfe4 100644
--- a/services/llama-cpp-annotations.nix
+++ b/services/llama-cpp-annotations.nix
@@ -1,15 +1,12 @@
 {
-  config,
   pkgs,
   service_configs,
-  lib,
   ...
 }:
 {
   systemd.services.llama-cpp-annotations = {
     description = "LLM request annotation service for Grafana";
     after = [
-      "network.target"
       "grafana.service"
       "llama-cpp.service"
     ];
@@ -31,10 +28,10 @@
       MemoryDenyWriteExecute = true;
     };
     environment = {
-      LLAMA_CPP_URL = "http://127.0.0.1:${toString service_configs.ports.private.llama_cpp.port}";
       GRAFANA_URL = "http://127.0.0.1:${toString service_configs.ports.private.grafana.port}";
       STATE_FILE = "/var/lib/llama-cpp-annotations/state.json";
       POLL_INTERVAL = "5";
+      CPU_THRESHOLD = "50";
     };
   };
 }
diff --git a/services/llama-cpp-annotations.py b/services/llama-cpp-annotations.py
index d8fac69..6da2c6c 100644
--- a/services/llama-cpp-annotations.py
+++ b/services/llama-cpp-annotations.py
@@ -1,14 +1,42 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+Grafana annotation service for llama-cpp inference requests.
+
+Monitors llama-server CPU usage via /proc. Creates a Grafana annotation
+when inference starts (CPU spikes), closes it when inference ends.
+"""
+
+import glob
 import json
 import os
 import sys
 import time
 import urllib.request
 
-LLAMA_CPP_URL = os.environ.get("LLAMA_CPP_URL", "http://127.0.0.1:6688")
 GRAFANA_URL = os.environ.get("GRAFANA_URL", "http://127.0.0.1:3000")
 STATE_FILE = os.environ.get("STATE_FILE", "/var/lib/llama-cpp-annotations/state.json")
 POLL_INTERVAL = int(os.environ.get("POLL_INTERVAL", "5"))
+CPU_THRESHOLD = float(os.environ.get("CPU_THRESHOLD", "50"))
+
+
+def find_llama_pid():
+    for path in glob.glob("/proc/[0-9]*/comm"):
+        try:
+            with open(path) as f:
+                if f.read().strip() == "llama-server":
+                    return int(path.split("/")[2])
+        except (OSError, ValueError):
+            continue
+    return None
+
+
+def get_cpu_times(pid):
+    try:
+        with open(f"/proc/{pid}/stat") as f:
+            fields = f.read().split(")")[-1].split()
+            return int(fields[11]) + int(fields[12])
+    except (OSError, IndexError, ValueError):
+        return None
 
 
 def http_json(method, url, body=None):
@@ -23,19 +51,6 @@ def http_json(method, url, body=None):
         return json.loads(resp.read())
 
 
-def get_slots():
-    try:
-        req = urllib.request.Request(
-            f"{LLAMA_CPP_URL}/slots",
-            headers={"Accept": "application/json"},
-        )
-        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=5) as resp:
-            return json.loads(resp.read())
-    except Exception as e:
-        print(f"Error fetching slots: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
-        return None
-
-
 def load_state():
     try:
         with open(STATE_FILE) as f:
@@ -81,45 +96,58 @@ def grafana_close(grafana_id, end_ms, text=None):
 
 def main():
     state = load_state()
+    prev_ticks = None
+    prev_time = None
+    hz = os.sysconf("SC_CLK_TCK")
 
     while True:
         now_ms = int(time.time() * 1000)
-        slots = get_slots()
+        pid = find_llama_pid()
 
-        if slots is not None:
-            # Track which slots are currently processing
-            processing_ids = set()
-            for slot in slots:
-                slot_id = str(slot["id"])
-                is_processing = slot.get("is_processing", False)
+        if pid is None:
+            prev_ticks = None
+            prev_time = None
+            time.sleep(POLL_INTERVAL)
+            continue
 
-                if is_processing:
-                    processing_ids.add(slot_id)
-                    if slot_id not in state:
-                        text = f"LLM request (slot {slot['id']})"
-                        grafana_id = grafana_post(text, now_ms)
-                        if grafana_id is not None:
-                            state[slot_id] = {
-                                "grafana_id": grafana_id,
-                                "start_ms": now_ms,
-                            }
-                            save_state(state)
+        ticks = get_cpu_times(pid)
+        now = time.monotonic()
 
-            # Close annotations for slots that stopped processing
-            for slot_id in [k for k in state if k not in processing_ids]:
-                info = state.pop(slot_id)
-                # Try to get token count from the slot data
-                n_decoded = None
-                for slot in slots:
-                    if str(slot["id"]) == slot_id:
-                        n_decoded = slot.get("next_token", {}).get("n_decoded")
-                        break
-                text = f"LLM request (slot {slot_id})"
-                if n_decoded is not None and n_decoded > 0:
-                    text += f" — {n_decoded} tokens"
-                grafana_close(info["grafana_id"], now_ms, text)
+        if ticks is None or prev_ticks is None or prev_time is None:
+            prev_ticks = ticks
+            prev_time = now
+            time.sleep(POLL_INTERVAL)
+            continue
+
+        dt = now - prev_time
+        if dt <= 0:
+            prev_ticks = ticks
+            prev_time = now
+            time.sleep(POLL_INTERVAL)
+            continue
+
+        cpu_pct = ((ticks - prev_ticks) / hz) / dt * 100
+        prev_ticks = ticks
+        prev_time = now
+
+        busy = cpu_pct > CPU_THRESHOLD
+
+        if busy and "active" not in state:
+            grafana_id = grafana_post("LLM request", now_ms)
+            if grafana_id is not None:
+                state["active"] = {
+                    "grafana_id": grafana_id,
+                    "start_ms": now_ms,
+                }
                 save_state(state)
 
+        elif not busy and "active" in state:
+            info = state.pop("active")
+            duration_s = (now_ms - info["start_ms"]) / 1000
+            text = f"LLM request ({duration_s:.1f}s)"
+            grafana_close(info["grafana_id"], now_ms, text)
+            save_state(state)
+
         time.sleep(POLL_INTERVAL)
 
 
diff --git a/services/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.nix b/services/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.nix
index c5ee1e2..f797de9 100644
--- a/services/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.nix
+++ b/services/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.nix
@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
 {
   pkgs,
-  service_configs,
   ...
 }:
 {
   systemd.services.llama-cpp-xmrig-pause = {
     description = "Pause xmrig while llama-cpp is processing requests";
     after = [
-      "network.target"
       "llama-cpp.service"
       "xmrig.service"
     ];
@@ -16,20 +14,20 @@
       ExecStart = "${pkgs.python3}/bin/python3 ${./llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.py}";
       Restart = "always";
       RestartSec = "10s";
+      # Needs /proc access (default) and AF_UNIX for systemctl
       NoNewPrivileges = true;
       ProtectHome = true;
       ProtectSystem = "strict";
       PrivateTmp = true;
       RestrictAddressFamilies = [
-        "AF_INET"
-        "AF_INET6"
+        "AF_UNIX" # systemctl talks to systemd over D-Bus unix socket
       ];
       MemoryDenyWriteExecute = true;
     };
     environment = {
-      LLAMA_CPP_URL = "http://127.0.0.1:${toString service_configs.ports.private.llama_cpp.port}";
       POLL_INTERVAL = "3";
       GRACE_PERIOD = "10";
+      CPU_THRESHOLD = "50";
     };
   };
 }
diff --git a/services/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.py b/services/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.py
index 7f816f2..9426be2 100644
--- a/services/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.py
+++ b/services/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.py
@@ -2,42 +2,51 @@
 """
 Pause xmrig while llama-cpp is processing inference requests.
 
-Polls llama-cpp /slots endpoint. When any slot is busy, stops xmrig.
-When all slots are idle for GRACE_PERIOD seconds, restarts xmrig.
-If llama-cpp is unreachable, does nothing (leaves xmrig in its current state).
+Checks if the llama-server process is actively using CPU by reading
+/proc/<pid>/stat. When CPU usage exceeds the threshold, stops xmrig.
+When CPU drops below threshold for GRACE_PERIOD seconds, restarts xmrig.
 """
 
-import json
+import glob
 import os
 import subprocess
 import sys
 import time
-import urllib.request
 
-LLAMA_CPP_URL = os.environ["LLAMA_CPP_URL"].rstrip("/")
 POLL_INTERVAL = int(os.environ.get("POLL_INTERVAL", "3"))
 GRACE_PERIOD = float(os.environ.get("GRACE_PERIOD", "10"))
+# CPU percentage (per-core) above which llama-server is considered busy.
+# Idle llama-server uses ~0% CPU; active inference saturates multiple cores.
+CPU_THRESHOLD = float(os.environ.get("CPU_THRESHOLD", "50"))
 
 
 def log(msg):
     print(f"[llama-cpp-xmrig-pause] {msg}", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)
 
 
-def get_slots():
-    """Fetch /slots from llama-cpp. Returns list of slot dicts, or None on error."""
-    req = urllib.request.Request(f"{LLAMA_CPP_URL}/slots")
+def find_llama_pid():
+    """Find the PID of the llama-server process."""
+    for path in glob.glob("/proc/[0-9]*/comm"):
+        try:
+            with open(path) as f:
+                if f.read().strip() == "llama-server":
+                    return int(path.split("/")[2])
+        except (OSError, ValueError):
+            continue
+    return None
+
+
+def get_cpu_times(pid):
+    """Read utime + stime from /proc/<pid>/stat. Returns total ticks or None."""
     try:
-        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=5) as resp:
-            return json.loads(resp.read())
-    except (urllib.error.URLError, OSError, json.JSONDecodeError, ValueError) as exc:
-        log(f"Cannot reach llama-cpp: {exc}")
+        with open(f"/proc/{pid}/stat") as f:
+            fields = f.read().split(")")[-1].split()
+            # fields[11] = utime, fields[12] = stime (0-indexed after ')')
+            return int(fields[11]) + int(fields[12])
+    except (OSError, IndexError, ValueError):
         return None
 
 
-def any_slot_busy(slots):
-    return any(s.get("is_processing", False) for s in slots)
-
-
 def systemctl(action, unit):
     result = subprocess.run(
         ["systemctl", action, unit],
@@ -51,35 +60,58 @@ def systemctl(action, unit):
 
 def main():
     xmrig_paused = False
-    idle_since = None  # monotonic timestamp when slots first went idle
+    idle_since = None
+    prev_ticks = None
+    prev_time = None
+    hz = os.sysconf("SC_CLK_TCK")
 
-    log(f"Starting: url={LLAMA_CPP_URL} poll={POLL_INTERVAL}s grace={GRACE_PERIOD}s")
+    log(f"Starting: poll={POLL_INTERVAL}s grace={GRACE_PERIOD}s threshold={CPU_THRESHOLD}%")
 
     while True:
-        slots = get_slots()
-
-        if slots is None:
-            # llama-cpp unreachable — leave xmrig alone, reset idle timer
+        pid = find_llama_pid()
+        if pid is None:
+            # llama-server not running
             idle_since = None
+            prev_ticks = None
+            prev_time = None
             time.sleep(POLL_INTERVAL)
             continue
 
-        busy = any_slot_busy(slots)
+        ticks = get_cpu_times(pid)
+        now = time.monotonic()
+
+        if ticks is None or prev_ticks is None or prev_time is None:
+            prev_ticks = ticks
+            prev_time = now
+            time.sleep(POLL_INTERVAL)
+            continue
+
+        dt = now - prev_time
+        if dt <= 0:
+            prev_ticks = ticks
+            prev_time = now
+            time.sleep(POLL_INTERVAL)
+            continue
+
+        # CPU% = (delta_ticks / hz) / delta_seconds * 100
+        cpu_pct = ((ticks - prev_ticks) / hz) / dt * 100
+        prev_ticks = ticks
+        prev_time = now
+
+        busy = cpu_pct > CPU_THRESHOLD
 
         if busy:
             idle_since = None
             if not xmrig_paused:
-                log("Slot busy — stopping xmrig")
+                log(f"llama-server busy ({cpu_pct:.0f}% CPU) — stopping xmrig")
                 if systemctl("stop", "xmrig"):
                     xmrig_paused = True
         else:
-            # All slots idle
             if xmrig_paused:
-                now = time.monotonic()
                 if idle_since is None:
                     idle_since = now
                 elif now - idle_since >= GRACE_PERIOD:
-                    log("Slots idle past grace period — starting xmrig")
+                    log(f"llama-server idle ({cpu_pct:.0f}% CPU) past grace period — starting xmrig")
                     if systemctl("start", "xmrig"):
                         xmrig_paused = False
                     idle_since = None
diff --git a/tests/llama-cpp-annotations.nix b/tests/llama-cpp-annotations.nix
index 4d7eb2d..649de47 100644
--- a/tests/llama-cpp-annotations.nix
+++ b/tests/llama-cpp-annotations.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 {
-  lib,
   pkgs,
   ...
 }:
@@ -8,49 +7,7 @@ let
   script = ../services/llama-cpp-annotations.py;
   python = pkgs.python3;
 
-  mockLlamaCpp = pkgs.writeText "mock-llama-cpp-server.py" ''
-    import http.server, json, sys, os
-
-    PORT = int(sys.argv[1])
-    STATE_FILE = sys.argv[2]
-
-    if not os.path.exists(STATE_FILE):
-        with open(STATE_FILE, "w") as f:
-            json.dump([{"id": 0, "is_processing": False, "next_token": {"n_decoded": 0}}], f)
-
-    class Handler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
-        def log_message(self, fmt, *args):
-            pass
-
-        def _json(self, code, body):
-            data = json.dumps(body).encode()
-            self.send_response(code)
-            self.send_header("Content-Type", "application/json")
-            self.end_headers()
-            self.wfile.write(data)
-
-        def do_GET(self):
-            if self.path == "/slots":
-                with open(STATE_FILE) as f:
-                    slots = json.load(f)
-                self._json(200, slots)
-            else:
-                self.send_response(404)
-                self.end_headers()
-
-        def do_POST(self):
-            if self.path == "/test/set-slots":
-                length = int(self.headers.get("Content-Length", 0))
-                body = json.loads(self.rfile.read(length)) if length else []
-                with open(STATE_FILE, "w") as f:
-                    json.dump(body, f)
-                self._json(200, {"ok": True})
-            else:
-                self.send_response(404)
-                self.end_headers()
-
-    http.server.HTTPServer(("127.0.0.1", PORT), Handler).serve_forever()
-  '';
+  mockLlamaProcess = ./mock-llama-server-proc.py;
 in
 pkgs.testers.runNixOSTest {
   name = "llama-cpp-annotations";
@@ -61,6 +18,7 @@ pkgs.testers.runNixOSTest {
       environment.systemPackages = [
         pkgs.python3
         pkgs.curl
+        pkgs.procps
       ];
     };
 
@@ -69,25 +27,23 @@ pkgs.testers.runNixOSTest {
     import time
 
     GRAFANA_PORT = 13000
-    LLAMA_PORT = 16688
     ANNOTS_FILE = "/tmp/annotations.json"
-    SLOTS_FILE = "/tmp/llama-slots.json"
+    LLAMA_STATE = "/tmp/llama-state.txt"
     STATE_FILE = "/tmp/llama-annot-state.json"
     PYTHON = "${python}/bin/python3"
     MOCK_GRAFANA = "${mockGrafana}"
-    MOCK_LLAMA = "${mockLlamaCpp}"
+    MOCK_LLAMA = "${mockLlamaProcess}"
     SCRIPT = "${script}"
 
     def read_annotations():
         out = machine.succeed(f"cat {ANNOTS_FILE} 2>/dev/null || echo '[]'")
         return json.loads(out.strip())
 
-    def set_slots(slots):
-        machine.succeed(
-            f"curl -sf -X POST http://127.0.0.1:{LLAMA_PORT}/test/set-slots "
-            f"-H 'Content-Type: application/json' "
-            f"-d '{json.dumps(slots)}'"
-        )
+    def set_busy():
+        machine.succeed(f"echo busy > {LLAMA_STATE}")
+
+    def set_idle():
+        machine.succeed(f"echo idle > {LLAMA_STATE}")
 
     start_all()
     machine.wait_for_unit("multi-user.target")
@@ -98,10 +54,7 @@ pkgs.testers.runNixOSTest {
             f"systemd-run --unit=mock-grafana {PYTHON} {MOCK_GRAFANA} {GRAFANA_PORT} {ANNOTS_FILE}"
         )
         machine.succeed(
-            f"echo '[{{\"id\": 0, \"is_processing\": false, \"next_token\": {{\"n_decoded\": 0}}}}]' > {SLOTS_FILE}"
-        )
-        machine.succeed(
-            f"systemd-run --unit=mock-llama {PYTHON} {MOCK_LLAMA} {LLAMA_PORT} {SLOTS_FILE}"
+            f"systemd-run --unit=mock-llama {PYTHON} {MOCK_LLAMA} {LLAMA_STATE}"
         )
         machine.wait_until_succeeds(
             f"curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:{GRAFANA_PORT}/api/annotations -X POST "
@@ -109,7 +62,7 @@ pkgs.testers.runNixOSTest {
             timeout=10,
         )
         machine.wait_until_succeeds(
-            f"curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:{LLAMA_PORT}/slots | grep -q is_processing",
+            "pgrep -x llama-server",
             timeout=10,
         )
         machine.succeed(f"echo '[]' > {ANNOTS_FILE}")
@@ -117,62 +70,62 @@ pkgs.testers.runNixOSTest {
     with subtest("Start annotation service"):
         machine.succeed(
             f"systemd-run --unit=llama-annot "
-            f"--setenv=LLAMA_CPP_URL=http://127.0.0.1:{LLAMA_PORT} "
             f"--setenv=GRAFANA_URL=http://127.0.0.1:{GRAFANA_PORT} "
             f"--setenv=STATE_FILE={STATE_FILE} "
             f"--setenv=POLL_INTERVAL=2 "
+            f"--setenv=CPU_THRESHOLD=10 "
             f"{PYTHON} {SCRIPT}"
         )
-        time.sleep(3)
+        time.sleep(5)
 
-    with subtest("No annotations when slots are idle"):
+    with subtest("No annotations when idle"):
         annots = read_annotations()
         assert annots == [], f"Expected no annotations, got: {annots}"
 
-    with subtest("Annotation created when slot starts processing"):
-        set_slots([{"id": 0, "is_processing": True, "next_token": {"n_decoded": 0}}])
+    with subtest("Annotation created when llama-server becomes busy"):
+        set_busy()
         machine.wait_until_succeeds(
             f"cat {ANNOTS_FILE} | {PYTHON} -c "
             f"\"import sys,json; a=json.load(sys.stdin); exit(0 if a else 1)\"",
-            timeout=15,
+            timeout=20,
         )
         annots = read_annotations()
         assert len(annots) == 1, f"Expected 1 annotation, got: {annots}"
         assert "llama-cpp" in annots[0].get("tags", []), f"Missing tag: {annots[0]}"
-        assert "slot 0" in annots[0]["text"], f"Missing slot info: {annots[0]['text']}"
+        assert "LLM request" in annots[0]["text"], f"Missing text: {annots[0]['text']}"
         assert "timeEnd" not in annots[0], f"timeEnd should not be set: {annots[0]}"
 
-    with subtest("Annotation closed when slot stops processing"):
-        set_slots([{"id": 0, "is_processing": False, "next_token": {"n_decoded": 42}}])
+    with subtest("Annotation closed when llama-server becomes idle"):
+        set_idle()
         machine.wait_until_succeeds(
             f"cat {ANNOTS_FILE} | {PYTHON} -c "
             f"\"import sys,json; a=json.load(sys.stdin); exit(0 if a and 'timeEnd' in a[0] else 1)\"",
-            timeout=15,
+            timeout=20,
         )
         annots = read_annotations()
         assert len(annots) == 1, f"Expected 1, got: {annots}"
         assert "timeEnd" in annots[0], f"timeEnd missing: {annots[0]}"
         assert annots[0]["timeEnd"] > annots[0]["time"], "timeEnd should be after time"
-        assert "42 tokens" in annots[0].get("text", ""), f"Token count missing: {annots[0]}"
+        assert "s)" in annots[0].get("text", ""), f"Duration missing: {annots[0]}"
 
     with subtest("State survives restart"):
-        set_slots([{"id": 0, "is_processing": True, "next_token": {"n_decoded": 0}}])
+        set_busy()
         machine.wait_until_succeeds(
             f"cat {ANNOTS_FILE} | {PYTHON} -c "
             f"\"import sys,json; a=json.load(sys.stdin); exit(0 if len(a)==2 else 1)\"",
-            timeout=15,
+            timeout=20,
         )
         machine.succeed("systemctl stop llama-annot || true")
         time.sleep(1)
         machine.succeed(
             f"systemd-run --unit=llama-annot-2 "
-            f"--setenv=LLAMA_CPP_URL=http://127.0.0.1:{LLAMA_PORT} "
             f"--setenv=GRAFANA_URL=http://127.0.0.1:{GRAFANA_PORT} "
             f"--setenv=STATE_FILE={STATE_FILE} "
             f"--setenv=POLL_INTERVAL=2 "
+            f"--setenv=CPU_THRESHOLD=10 "
             f"{PYTHON} {SCRIPT}"
         )
-        time.sleep(4)
+        time.sleep(6)
         annots = read_annotations()
         assert len(annots) == 2, f"Restart should not duplicate, got: {annots}"
   '';
diff --git a/tests/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.nix b/tests/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..44eca77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+{
+  pkgs,
+  ...
+}:
+let
+  script = ../services/llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.py;
+  python = pkgs.python3;
+
+  # SmolLM-135M Q2_K: 85MB, modern GGUFv3, generates ~30 tok/s on one CPU
+  # thread — slow enough that a 200-token request keeps the process busy for
+  # several seconds, fast enough that tests don't crawl.
+  tinyModel = pkgs.fetchurl {
+    url = "https://huggingface.co/QuantFactory/SmolLM-135M-GGUF/resolve/main/SmolLM-135M.Q2_K.gguf";
+    hash = "sha256-DX46drPNJILNba21xfY2tyE0/yPWgOhz43gJdeSYKh4=";
+  };
+in
+pkgs.testers.runNixOSTest {
+  name = "llama-cpp-xmrig-pause";
+
+  nodes.machine =
+    { pkgs, ... }:
+    {
+      environment.systemPackages = [
+        pkgs.python3
+        pkgs.procps
+        pkgs.curl
+        pkgs.llama-cpp
+      ];
+
+      # Mock xmrig as a simple sleep process that can be stopped/started.
+      systemd.services.xmrig = {
+        description = "Mock xmrig miner";
+        serviceConfig = {
+          ExecStart = "${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/sleep infinity";
+          Type = "simple";
+        };
+        wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
+      };
+    };
+
+  testScript = ''
+    import time
+
+    PORT = 18088
+    MODEL = "${tinyModel}"
+    PYTHON = "${python}/bin/python3"
+    SCRIPT = "${script}"
+
+    # Tuned for test speed while remaining realistic.
+    # POLL_INTERVAL=1 keeps detection latency low.
+    # GRACE_PERIOD=5 is long enough to verify "stays stopped" but short enough
+    # that the full test completes in ~2 minutes.
+    # CPU_THRESHOLD=10 is low because the VM has limited cores and the model
+    # is small — but any active inference still saturates a core.
+    POLL_INTERVAL = "1"
+    GRACE_PERIOD = "5"
+    CPU_THRESHOLD = "10"
+
+    infer_counter = 0
+
+    def send_completion(n_predict=200):
+        """Fire a completion request in the background via a transient systemd unit."""
+        global infer_counter
+        infer_counter += 1
+        name = f"infer-{infer_counter}"
+        machine.succeed(
+            f"systemd-run --unit={name} --property=Type=exec "
+            f"curl -sf -X POST http://127.0.0.1:{PORT}/completion "
+            f"-H 'Content-Type: application/json' "
+            f"-d '{{\"prompt\": \"Once upon a time in a land far away there lived\", \"n_predict\": {n_predict}}}'"
+        )
+        return name
+
+    def wait_inference_done(unit_name, timeout=60):
+        """Wait for a background inference request to finish."""
+        machine.wait_until_fails(
+            f"systemctl is-active {unit_name}",
+            timeout=timeout,
+        )
+
+    start_all()
+    machine.wait_for_unit("multi-user.target")
+    machine.wait_for_unit("xmrig.service")
+
+    with subtest("Start llama-server"):
+        machine.succeed(
+            f"systemd-run --unit=llama-server "
+            # Single inference thread to maximise per-core CPU%, which is
+            # what the monitor measures.  Keeps token generation slow enough
+            # (~30 tok/s) that a 200-token request sustains load for seconds.
+            f"llama-server --model {MODEL} --port {PORT} --ctx-size 512 -t 1 -np 1"
+        )
+        machine.wait_until_succeeds(
+            f"curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:{PORT}/health",
+            timeout=30,
+        )
+        machine.succeed("pgrep -x llama-server")
+
+    with subtest("Start pause monitor"):
+        machine.succeed(
+            f"systemd-run --unit=llama-xmrig-pause "
+            f"--setenv=POLL_INTERVAL={POLL_INTERVAL} "
+            f"--setenv=GRACE_PERIOD={GRACE_PERIOD} "
+            f"--setenv=CPU_THRESHOLD={CPU_THRESHOLD} "
+            f"{PYTHON} {SCRIPT}"
+        )
+        # The monitor needs two consecutive polls to compute a CPU delta.
+        # Wait for baseline to stabilise.
+        time.sleep(3)
+
+    with subtest("xmrig stays running while llama-server is idle"):
+        machine.succeed("systemctl is-active xmrig")
+
+    with subtest("xmrig stopped during prompt processing"):
+        unit = send_completion(n_predict=200)
+        machine.wait_until_fails("systemctl is-active xmrig", timeout=20)
+
+    with subtest("xmrig remains stopped during grace period after inference ends"):
+        wait_inference_done(unit)
+        # Inference just finished.  The monitor will need 1-2 polls to detect
+        # idle, then the grace period starts.  Checking 2s after completion
+        # is well within the 5s grace window.
+        time.sleep(2)
+        machine.fail("systemctl is-active xmrig")
+
+    with subtest("xmrig resumes after grace period expires"):
+        # Already idle since previous subtest.  Grace period (5s) plus
+        # detection delay (~2 polls) means xmrig should restart within ~8s.
+        machine.wait_until_succeeds("systemctl is-active xmrig", timeout=15)
+
+    with subtest("Sequential prompts do not cause xmrig flapping"):
+        # First prompt — stop xmrig
+        unit1 = send_completion(n_predict=200)
+        machine.wait_until_fails("systemctl is-active xmrig", timeout=20)
+        wait_inference_done(unit1)
+
+        # Brief idle gap — shorter than grace period
+        time.sleep(2)
+
+        # Second prompt arrives before grace period expires, resetting it
+        unit2 = send_completion(n_predict=200)
+        time.sleep(3)
+
+        # xmrig must still be stopped
+        machine.fail("systemctl is-active xmrig")
+
+        wait_inference_done(unit2)
+        machine.wait_until_succeeds("systemctl is-active xmrig", timeout=15)
+
+    with subtest("xmrig stays stopped during sustained inference"):
+        unit = send_completion(n_predict=500)
+        machine.wait_until_fails("systemctl is-active xmrig", timeout=20)
+
+        # Stay busy longer than the grace period to prove continuous
+        # activity keeps xmrig stopped indefinitely.
+        time.sleep(8)
+        machine.fail("systemctl is-active xmrig")
+
+        wait_inference_done(unit)
+        machine.wait_until_succeeds("systemctl is-active xmrig", timeout=15)
+  '';
+}
diff --git a/tests/mock-llama-server-proc.py b/tests/mock-llama-server-proc.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6119372
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/mock-llama-server-proc.py
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+Mock llama-server process for NixOS VM tests.
+
+Sets /proc/self/comm to "llama-server" via prctl so that monitoring scripts
+(llama-cpp-annotations, llama-cpp-xmrig-pause) can discover this process
+the same way they discover the real one.
+
+Usage: python3 mock-llama-server-proc.py <state-file>
+
+The state file controls behavior:
+  "busy"  -> burn CPU in a tight loop (simulates prompt processing / inference)
+  "idle"  -> sleep (simulates waiting for requests)
+"""
+
+import ctypes
+import ctypes.util
+import sys
+import time
+
+STATE_FILE = sys.argv[1]
+
+# PR_SET_NAME = 15, sets /proc/self/comm
+libc = ctypes.CDLL(ctypes.util.find_library("c"), use_errno=True)
+libc.prctl(15, b"llama-server", 0, 0, 0)
+
+with open(STATE_FILE, "w") as f:
+    f.write("idle")
+
+while True:
+    try:
+        with open(STATE_FILE) as f:
+            state = f.read().strip()
+    except Exception:
+        state = "idle"
+
+    if state == "busy":
+        end = time.monotonic() + 0.1
+        while time.monotonic() < end:
+            _ = sum(range(10000))
+    else:
+        time.sleep(0.5)
diff --git a/tests/tests.nix b/tests/tests.nix
index 21e5b08..2dcec9a 100644
--- a/tests/tests.nix
+++ b/tests/tests.nix
@@ -28,9 +28,9 @@ in
   # zfs scrub annotations test
   zfsScrubAnnotationsTest = handleTest ./zfs-scrub-annotations.nix;
 
-  # llama-cpp annotation service test
+  # llama-cpp tests
   llamaCppAnnotationsTest = handleTest ./llama-cpp-annotations.nix;
-
+  llamaCppXmrigPauseTest = handleTest ./llama-cpp-xmrig-pause.nix;
   # ntfy alerts test
   ntfyAlertsTest = handleTest ./ntfy-alerts.nix;