diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 06acc8b..d17cc7d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1134,6 +1134,52 @@ delivery as `retrying` and schedules a retry timer for after the
 remaining cooldown period. This ensures no deliveries are lost — they're
 just delayed until the target is healthy again.
 
+### Metrics
+
+`/metrics` serves one Prometheus registry behind basic auth (see
+[Infrastructure Endpoints](#infrastructure-endpoints)). Alongside the
+inbound HTTP metrics recorded by the middleware, it exposes the
+delivery pipeline — the part of the service that can be failing while
+the receive side looks perfectly healthy, because it is: events are
+arriving and being stored, they are just not getting anywhere.
+
+| Metric | Type | Meaning |
+| ------ | ---- | ------- |
+| `webhooker_events_received_total` | counter | Events received and durably stored. Compare against the delivery counters on one dashboard |
+| `webhooker_delivery_attempts_total` | counter | Delivery attempts actually dispatched to a target. A delivery an open circuit breaker refused is not one: it is counted as a retry instead |
+| `webhooker_deliveries_succeeded_total` | counter | Deliveries that reached `delivered` |
+| `webhooker_deliveries_failed_total` | counter | Deliveries that failed terminally and will not be retried |
+| `webhooker_delivery_retries_total` | counter | Deliveries put back into `retrying` |
+| `webhooker_delivery_duration_seconds` | histogram | Wall time of a single dispatched delivery attempt, the same duration the attempt's `DeliveryResult` records |
+| `webhooker_deliveries_pending` | gauge | Deliveries currently in `pending` |
+| `webhooker_deliveries_retrying` | gauge | Deliveries currently in `retrying` |
+| `webhooker_circuit_breakers_open` | gauge | Circuit breakers currently open |
+
+Every delivery metric carries exactly one label, `target_type`, and
+cardinality is the whole reason for that restriction. A target type is
+one of four compile-time constants, so the label domain is bounded by
+construction; a value outside that set collapses to `unknown` rather
+than minting a series of its own. Target ids, event ids and entrypoint
+ids are deliberately not labels: they are UUIDs minted per operator
+action or per inbound request, a series is never reclaimed once it
+exists, and labelling by any of them would make `/metrics` a memory
+leak that grows with traffic.
+
+The two queue-depth gauges are counted out of the databases by a
+sampler that runs every 30 seconds for as long as the delivery engine
+does, rather than tracked as deltas alongside the status transitions: a
+delta would have to be seeded at startup from rows a previous process
+wrote, and would drift permanently on any transition that failed to
+persist.
+
+Those two gauges also publish an `unknown` series, from startup rather
+than on first occurrence. Deliveries queued against a target that has
+since been deleted are counted there: that backlog is the one nobody is
+watching, so it is the one that must not silently vanish from the
+gauge. The outcome counters move only after the status change has been
+written, so a transition the database rejected is never reported as an
+outcome that happened.
+
 ### Rate Limiting
 
 Global blanket rate limiting middleware (e.g., a per-IP throttle shared
@@ -1759,6 +1805,7 @@ webhooker/
 │   │   ├── target_log.go      # Log target (stdout)
 │   │   ├── target_config_view.go  # Masked target config for templates
 │   │   ├── archive_sweeper.go # Periodic pruning of idle archives
+│   │   ├── queue_depth.go     # Periodic sampler behind the queue-depth gauges
 │   │   ├── url_mask.go        # Strips credentials from *url.Error
 │   │   └── ssrf.go            # SSRF prevention (IP validation, safe HTTP transport)
 │   ├── handlers/
@@ -1776,6 +1823,8 @@ webhooker/
 │   │   └── lifecycle.go       # Shared stop-hook waiter, bounded by the stop context
 │   ├── logger/
 │   │   └── logger.go          # slog setup with TTY detection
+│   ├── metrics/
+│   │   └── metrics.go         # Delivery Prometheus collectors, labelled by target type
 │   ├── middleware/
 │   │   ├── middleware.go      # Logging, CORS, Auth, Metrics, MetricsAuth, SecurityHeaders, MaxBodySize
 │   │   ├── csrf.go            # CSRF protection middleware (gorilla/csrf)
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index c51849e..d2c5db6 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/gorilla/sessions v1.4.0
 	github.com/joho/godotenv v1.5.1
 	github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.18.0
+	github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.5.0
 	github.com/slok/go-http-metrics v0.11.0
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4
 	go.uber.org/fx v1.20.1
@@ -38,7 +39,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.17 // indirect
 	github.com/matttproud/golang_protobuf_extensions/v2 v2.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.1-0.20181226105442-5d4384ee4fb2 // indirect
-	github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.5.0 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/common v0.45.0 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.12.0 // indirect
 	github.com/remyoudompheng/bigfft v0.0.0-20230129092748-24d4a6f8daec // indirect
diff --git a/internal/delivery/engine.go b/internal/delivery/engine.go
index a35ebd1..12f238d 100644
--- a/internal/delivery/engine.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/engine.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/lifecycle"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/logger"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/metrics"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -139,6 +140,12 @@ type Engine struct {
 	retryCh    chan Task
 	workers    int
 
+	// mtr is the delivery metric set. Production wires the
+	// process-wide one; a test can substitute a set registered on
+	// a private registry so its assertions are not disturbed by
+	// deliveries other tests are making at the same time.
+	mtr *metrics.Set
+
 	// targets maps each target type to its implementation.
 	targets map[database.TargetType]Target
 
@@ -164,6 +171,7 @@ func New(
 		deliveryCh: make(chan Task, deliveryChannelSize),
 		retryCh:    make(chan Task, retryChannelSize),
 		workers:    defaultWorkers,
+		mtr:        metrics.Default(),
 	}
 
 	e.initTargets(&http.Client{
@@ -283,6 +291,10 @@ func (e *Engine) start() {
 
 	go e.retrySweep(ctx)
 
+	e.wg.Add(1)
+
+	go e.queueDepthSampler(ctx)
+
 	e.log.Info(
 		"delivery engine started",
 		"workers", e.workers,
@@ -837,8 +849,15 @@ func (e *Engine) failUnretryableRetry(
 		0,
 	)
 
+	// The type is passed rather than assigned onto d: the delivery
+	// is loaded here without its target relation, and populating
+	// d.Target would make GORM's SaveBeforeAssociations upsert the
+	// whole target row — plaintext config, which for a slack target
+	// is the credential — into the per-webhook event database. See
+	// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/206.
 	e.updateDeliveryStatus(
-		webhookDB, d, database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+		webhookDB, d, target.Type,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
 	)
 }
 
@@ -859,7 +878,8 @@ func (e *Engine) processDelivery(
 		)
 
 		e.updateDeliveryStatus(
-			webhookDB, d, database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+			webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
+			database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
 		)
 
 		return
@@ -868,6 +888,24 @@ func (e *Engine) processDelivery(
 	target.Deliver(ctx, webhookDB, d, task, e)
 }
 
+// observeAttempt counts one delivery attempt that was actually
+// dispatched to a target, and records how long it took.
+//
+// It is called from the dispatch paths rather than from around
+// Target.Deliver, because Deliver is also entered for deliveries
+// that never reach the wire: a delivery an open circuit breaker
+// refuses sends nothing, records no DeliveryResult, and is
+// rescheduled. Counting those would climb the attempts counter with
+// no traffic behind it and fill the duration histogram with
+// microsecond samples, which would make the delivery-duration
+// quantiles improve during exactly the outage they exist to reveal.
+func (e *Engine) observeAttempt(
+	t database.TargetType, dur time.Duration,
+) {
+	e.mtr.DeliveryAttempted(t)
+	e.mtr.ObserveDeliveryDuration(t, dur)
+}
+
 // recordResult persists a DeliveryResult row describing a
 // single attempt. It is a cross-target helper the targets
 // call.
@@ -901,10 +939,22 @@ func (e *Engine) recordResult(
 }
 
 // updateDeliveryStatus persists a new status for a delivery.
-// It is a cross-target helper the targets call.
+// It is a cross-target helper the targets call, and therefore the
+// single point where a delivery's outcome — delivered, terminally
+// failed, or put back into retry — is counted.
+//
+// The target type is a parameter rather than read off d.Target
+// because one caller — failUnretryableRetry — deliberately holds a
+// delivery loaded without its target relation, and must keep it that
+// way: a populated d.Target makes GORM upsert the target row, config
+// and all, into the per-webhook database.
+//
+// The counter moves only after the row is written, so a transition
+// the database rejected is not claimed as an outcome that happened.
 func (e *Engine) updateDeliveryStatus(
 	webhookDB *gorm.DB,
 	d *database.Delivery,
+	targetType database.TargetType,
 	status database.DeliveryStatus,
 ) {
 	err := webhookDB.Model(d).
@@ -916,7 +966,11 @@ func (e *Engine) updateDeliveryStatus(
 			"status", status,
 			"error", err,
 		)
+
+		return
 	}
+
+	e.mtr.DeliveryStatusChanged(targetType, status)
 }
 
 func truncate(s string, maxLen int) string {
diff --git a/internal/delivery/engine_integration_test.go b/internal/delivery/engine_integration_test.go
index 966ef0b..0f4738b 100644
--- a/internal/delivery/engine_integration_test.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/engine_integration_test.go
@@ -886,6 +886,82 @@ func TestSweepSingleRetry_TypeNoLongerRetries(
 	)
 }
 
+// TestFailUnretryableRetry_WritesNoTargetRow proves the
+// orphaned-retry terminal path leaves no target row — and so no
+// plaintext target config — in the per-webhook event database.
+//
+// That path loads the delivery without its Target relation on
+// purpose. Populating d.Target makes GORM's SaveBeforeAssociations
+// upsert the whole target row on the status UPDATE, which for a slack
+// target writes the incoming-webhook credential into events-*.db.
+// See https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/206.
+func TestFailUnretryableRetry_WritesNoTargetRow(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+
+	iCreateWebhook(
+		t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, "no-target-row",
+	)
+
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	// A Slack incoming-webhook URL: the target config IS the
+	// credential, which is what makes a leaked target row a
+	// disclosure rather than a curiosity.
+	hookURL := "https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00/B00/x"
+
+	iCreateTarget(t, s.MainDB, targetID,
+		s.WebhookID, "credential-bearing",
+		database.TargetTypeLog, iHTTPConfig(hookURL), 5,
+	)
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"orphaned":"retry"}`,
+	)
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+	)
+
+	iSeedFailedResult(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportSweepWebhookRetries(
+		context.Background(), s.WebhookID,
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+	)
+
+	// The table exists in the per-webhook database because GORM
+	// migrates the Delivery relation's model alongside it. It must
+	// stay empty.
+	var targetRows int64
+
+	require.NoError(t, s.WebhookDB.
+		Table("targets").
+		Count(&targetRows).Error)
+
+	assert.Zero(t, targetRows,
+		"orphaned-retry terminal failure wrote a target row "+
+			"into the per-webhook event database",
+	)
+
+	var configs []string
+
+	require.NoError(t, s.WebhookDB.
+		Table("targets").
+		Pluck("config", &configs).Error)
+
+	assert.NotContains(
+		t, strings.Join(configs, " "), hookURL,
+	)
+}
+
 func TestRecoverSingleRetry_UnknownTargetType(
 	t *testing.T,
 ) {
diff --git a/internal/delivery/export_test.go b/internal/delivery/export_test.go
index fc3f434..ca37c59 100644
--- a/internal/delivery/export_test.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/export_test.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"go.uber.org/fx"
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/metrics"
 )
 
 // ErrExportArchiveWriterEvicted exposes the sentinel returned by
@@ -253,6 +254,7 @@ func NewTestEngine(
 		deliveryCh: make(chan Task, deliveryChannelSize),
 		retryCh:    make(chan Task, retryChannelSize),
 		workers:    workers,
+		mtr:        metrics.Default(),
 	}
 	e.initTargets(client)
 
@@ -267,6 +269,7 @@ func NewTestEngineSmallRetry(
 	e := &Engine{
 		log:     log,
 		retryCh: make(chan Task, 1),
+		mtr:     metrics.Default(),
 	}
 	e.initTargets(nil)
 
@@ -289,12 +292,25 @@ func NewTestEngineWithDB(
 		deliveryCh: make(chan Task, deliveryChannelSize),
 		retryCh:    make(chan Task, retryChannelSize),
 		workers:    workers,
+		mtr:        metrics.Default(),
 	}
 	e.initTargets(client)
 
 	return e
 }
 
+// ExportSetMetrics substitutes the engine's metric set, so a test can
+// assert on collectors registered on a private registry instead of
+// the process-wide ones every other test is also moving.
+func (e *Engine) ExportSetMetrics(mtr *metrics.Set) {
+	e.mtr = mtr
+}
+
+// ExportSampleQueueDepths runs one queue depth sample synchronously.
+func (e *Engine) ExportSampleQueueDepths(ctx context.Context) {
+	e.sampleQueueDepths(ctx)
+}
+
 // NewTestCircuitBreaker creates a CircuitBreaker with
 // custom settings for testing.
 func NewTestCircuitBreaker(
diff --git a/internal/delivery/metrics_test.go b/internal/delivery/metrics_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..284114a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/delivery/metrics_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,545 @@
+package delivery_test
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/google/uuid"
+	"github.com/prometheus/client_golang/prometheus"
+	dto "github.com/prometheus/client_model/go"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/delivery"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/metrics"
+)
+
+// Metric names as exposed on /metrics.
+const (
+	mAttempts  = "webhooker_delivery_attempts_total"
+	mSucceeded = "webhooker_deliveries_succeeded_total"
+	mFailed    = "webhooker_deliveries_failed_total"
+	mRetries   = "webhooker_delivery_retries_total"
+	mDuration  = "webhooker_delivery_duration_seconds"
+	mPending   = "webhooker_deliveries_pending"
+	mRetrying  = "webhooker_deliveries_retrying"
+	mBreakers  = "webhooker_circuit_breakers_open"
+)
+
+const (
+	mTypeHTTP    = "http"
+	mTypeLog     = "log"
+	mTypeUnknown = "unknown"
+)
+
+// mIsolate gives the setup's engine a metric set registered on a
+// private registry. The process-wide collectors are moved by every
+// other delivery test running in parallel, so exact assertions are
+// only possible against a registry this test owns.
+func mIsolate(
+	t *testing.T, s iSetup,
+) *prometheus.Registry {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	reg := prometheus.NewRegistry()
+	s.Engine.ExportSetMetrics(metrics.New(reg))
+
+	return reg
+}
+
+// mFind returns the series of the named metric carrying the given
+// target_type label.
+func mFind(
+	t *testing.T,
+	reg *prometheus.Registry,
+	name, targetType string,
+) *dto.Metric {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	families, err := reg.Gather()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	for _, fam := range families {
+		if fam.GetName() != name {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		for _, m := range fam.GetMetric() {
+			for _, label := range m.GetLabel() {
+				if label.GetName() == "target_type" &&
+					label.GetValue() == targetType {
+					return m
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	t.Fatalf(
+		"metric %s{target_type=%q} not found",
+		name, targetType,
+	)
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func mCounter(
+	t *testing.T,
+	reg *prometheus.Registry,
+	name, targetType string,
+) float64 {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	return mFind(t, reg, name, targetType).
+		GetCounter().GetValue()
+}
+
+func mGauge(
+	t *testing.T,
+	reg *prometheus.Registry,
+	name, targetType string,
+) float64 {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	return mFind(t, reg, name, targetType).
+		GetGauge().GetValue()
+}
+
+// mHTTPDurations returns how many samples the delivery duration
+// histogram holds for the http target type, which is the type every
+// test here times.
+func mHTTPDurations(
+	t *testing.T, reg *prometheus.Registry,
+) uint64 {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	return mFind(t, reg, mDuration, mTypeHTTP).
+		GetHistogram().GetSampleCount()
+}
+
+// TestDeliveryMetrics_SuccessAndRetryExhaustion drives one delivery
+// that succeeds and one that fails every attempt until its retries
+// are exhausted, and asserts every delivery counter across both.
+func TestDeliveryMetrics_SuccessAndRetryExhaustion(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+	reg := mIsolate(t, s)
+
+	mDeliverOK(t, s)
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mAttempts, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mSucceeded, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mFailed, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mRetries, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, uint64(1),
+		mHTTPDurations(t, reg))
+
+	mExhaustRetries(t, s)
+
+	// Two further attempts: the first is retried, the second is
+	// the last one allowed and fails the delivery terminally.
+	assert.InDelta(t, 3.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mAttempts, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mSucceeded, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mRetries, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mFailed, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, uint64(3),
+		mHTTPDurations(t, reg))
+
+	// Two consecutive failures are below the trip threshold.
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mBreakers, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+
+	// The label is the target type and nothing finer: two http
+	// targets shared one series, and no other type's moved.
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mAttempts, mTypeLog), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mFailed, mTypeLog), 0)
+}
+
+// mDeliverOK delivers one event to a target that answers 200.
+func mDeliverOK(t *testing.T, s iSetup) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	ts := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(
+		func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		},
+	))
+	defer ts.Close()
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"ok":true}`,
+	)
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	body := event.Body
+	task := iTask(
+		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
+		"metrics-ok", iHTTPConfig(ts.URL), 3, 1, &body,
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportProcessNewTask(context.TODO(), &task)
+
+	iAssertStatus(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
+	)
+}
+
+// mExhaustRetries delivers to a target that answers 500 with a
+// two-attempt budget, driving both attempts so the delivery ends
+// terminally failed.
+func mExhaustRetries(t *testing.T, s iSetup) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	ts := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(
+		func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		},
+	))
+	defer ts.Close()
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"ok":false}`,
+	)
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	body := event.Body
+	cfg := iHTTPConfig(ts.URL)
+
+	first := iTask(
+		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
+		"metrics-fail", cfg, 2, 1, &body,
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportProcessNewTask(context.TODO(), &first)
+
+	iAssertStatus(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+	)
+
+	// The engine's own scheduler would re-enqueue this after the
+	// backoff; driving the second attempt directly keeps the test
+	// deterministic and off the wall clock.
+	second := iTask(
+		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
+		"metrics-fail", cfg, 2, 2, &body,
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportProcessRetryTask(
+		context.TODO(), &second,
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(t, s.WebhookDB, d.ID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+	)
+}
+
+// TestDeliveryMetrics_CircuitBreakerGauge proves the open-breaker
+// gauge follows a breaker that trips.
+func TestDeliveryMetrics_CircuitBreakerGauge(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+	reg := mIsolate(t, s)
+
+	ts := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(
+		func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		},
+	))
+	defer ts.Close()
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"trip":true}`,
+	)
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	body := event.Body
+	cfg := iHTTPConfig(ts.URL)
+
+	// A retry budget above the failure threshold, so the breaker
+	// rather than the budget is what stops the delivery.
+	maxRetries := delivery.ExportDefaultFailureThreshold + 5
+
+	first := iTask(
+		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
+		"metrics-trip", cfg, maxRetries, 1, &body,
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportProcessNewTask(context.TODO(), &first)
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mBreakers, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+
+	for attempt := 2; attempt <= delivery.
+		ExportDefaultFailureThreshold; attempt++ {
+		task := iTask(
+			d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
+			"metrics-trip", cfg, maxRetries, attempt, &body,
+		)
+
+		s.Engine.ExportProcessRetryTask(
+			context.TODO(), &task,
+		)
+	}
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mBreakers, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+}
+
+// TestDeliveryMetrics_BreakerBlockedIsNotAnAttempt proves a delivery
+// an open circuit breaker refuses is neither counted as an attempt
+// nor observed in the duration histogram.
+//
+// It sends nothing and records no result row, so counting it would
+// climb the attempts counter with no traffic behind it and pull the
+// duration quantiles down with near-zero samples for as long as the
+// breaker stayed open — the metric moving the wrong way during the
+// outage it exists to reveal.
+func TestDeliveryMetrics_BreakerBlockedIsNotAnAttempt(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+	reg := mIsolate(t, s)
+
+	ts := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(
+		func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		},
+	))
+	defer ts.Close()
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"blocked":true}`,
+	)
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	d := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	body := event.Body
+	cfg := iHTTPConfig(ts.URL)
+	maxRetries := delivery.ExportDefaultFailureThreshold + 5
+
+	first := iTask(
+		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
+		"metrics-blocked", cfg, maxRetries, 1, &body,
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportProcessNewTask(context.TODO(), &first)
+
+	for attempt := 2; attempt <= delivery.
+		ExportDefaultFailureThreshold; attempt++ {
+		task := iTask(
+			d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
+			"metrics-blocked", cfg, maxRetries, attempt, &body,
+		)
+
+		s.Engine.ExportProcessRetryTask(context.TODO(), &task)
+	}
+
+	require.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mBreakers, mTypeHTTP), 0,
+		"breaker should be open before the blocked attempt")
+
+	threshold := float64(
+		delivery.ExportDefaultFailureThreshold,
+	)
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, threshold,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mAttempts, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, uint64(threshold),
+		mHTTPDurations(t, reg))
+
+	retriesBefore := mCounter(t, reg, mRetries, mTypeHTTP)
+
+	blocked := iTask(
+		d, event, s.WebhookID, targetID,
+		"metrics-blocked", cfg, maxRetries,
+		delivery.ExportDefaultFailureThreshold+1, &body,
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportProcessRetryTask(context.TODO(), &blocked)
+
+	// The breaker refused it: rescheduled, so the retry counter
+	// moved, but nothing was attempted or timed.
+	assert.InDelta(t, retriesBefore+1,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mRetries, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, threshold,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mAttempts, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, uint64(threshold),
+		mHTTPDurations(t, reg))
+}
+
+// TestDeliveryMetrics_OrphanedRetryFailureLabelled proves the
+// terminal failure of a delivery whose target no longer retries is
+// counted against the target's real type, not against unknown. The
+// type is threaded in as an argument because populating d.Target on
+// that path would write the target row into the per-webhook database
+// (https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/webhooker/issues/206).
+func TestDeliveryMetrics_OrphanedRetryFailureLabelled(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+	reg := mIsolate(t, s)
+
+	iCreateWebhook(
+		t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, "orphaned-label",
+	)
+
+	deliveryID := iSeedRetryingWithType(
+		t, s, database.TargetTypeLog,
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportSweepWebhookRetries(
+		context.Background(), s.WebhookID,
+	)
+
+	iAssertStatus(t, s.WebhookDB, deliveryID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+	)
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mCounter(t, reg, mFailed, mTypeLog), 0)
+}
+
+// TestDeliveryMetrics_QueueDepthGauges proves the sampler publishes
+// the queued deliveries it finds in the per-webhook databases, and
+// that a drained queue reads zero rather than keeping its last
+// value.
+func TestDeliveryMetrics_QueueDepthGauges(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+	reg := mIsolate(t, s)
+
+	iCreateWebhook(
+		t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, "queue-depth",
+	)
+
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	iCreateTarget(t, s.MainDB, targetID, s.WebhookID,
+		"queue-depth-target", database.TargetTypeHTTP,
+		iHTTPConfig("https://example.com/hook"), 3,
+	)
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"queued":true}`,
+	)
+
+	pending := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	retrying := iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportSampleQueueDepths(context.Background())
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 2.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mPending, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mRetrying, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mPending, mTypeLog), 0)
+
+	require.NoError(t, s.WebhookDB.
+		Model(&database.Delivery{}).
+		Where("id IN ?", []string{pending.ID, retrying.ID}).
+		Update(
+			"status", database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
+		).Error)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportSampleQueueDepths(context.Background())
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mPending, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mRetrying, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+}
+
+// TestDeliveryMetrics_QueueDepthDeletedTarget proves a backlog queued
+// against a target that has since been deleted stays visible, in the
+// unknown series, instead of being dropped. That backlog is the one
+// nobody is watching, so losing it would defeat the queue-depth
+// alerting this metric exists for.
+func TestDeliveryMetrics_QueueDepthDeletedTarget(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	s := newISetup(t)
+	reg := mIsolate(t, s)
+
+	iCreateWebhook(
+		t, s.MainDB, s.WebhookID, "deleted-target",
+	)
+
+	// No target row is created: this is a delivery whose target was
+	// deleted out from under it.
+	targetID := uuid.New().String()
+
+	event := iSeedEvent(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, s.WebhookID, `{"orphan":true}`,
+	)
+
+	iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	iSeedDelivery(
+		t, s.WebhookDB, event.ID, targetID,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+	)
+
+	s.Engine.ExportSampleQueueDepths(context.Background())
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mPending, mTypeUnknown), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mRetrying, mTypeUnknown), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0,
+		mGauge(t, reg, mPending, mTypeHTTP), 0)
+}
diff --git a/internal/delivery/queue_depth.go b/internal/delivery/queue_depth.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..760a5a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/delivery/queue_depth.go
@@ -0,0 +1,187 @@
+package delivery
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"time"
+
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
+)
+
+// queueDepthSampleInterval is how often the pending and retrying
+// queue depths are counted and published as gauges.
+const queueDepthSampleInterval = 30 * time.Second
+
+// queueDepthSampler publishes the pending and retrying queue depths
+// on a timer for as long as the engine runs.
+//
+// The depths are counted out of the databases rather than tracked as
+// deltas alongside the status transitions. A delta counter would have
+// to be seeded correctly at startup from rows written by a previous
+// process, and would drift permanently on any transition that failed
+// to persist. Counting is the measurement that cannot go wrong, and
+// it is the same whole-database walk the retry sweep already makes.
+func (e *Engine) queueDepthSampler(ctx context.Context) {
+	defer e.wg.Done()
+
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(queueDepthSampleInterval)
+	defer ticker.Stop()
+
+	e.sampleQueueDepths(ctx)
+
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return
+		case <-ticker.C:
+			e.sampleQueueDepths(ctx)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// sampleQueueDepths counts every queued delivery across all
+// per-webhook databases and publishes the result.
+func (e *Engine) sampleQueueDepths(ctx context.Context) {
+	if e.database == nil || e.dbManager == nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	types, err := e.targetTypesByID()
+	if err != nil {
+		e.log.Error(
+			"queue depth sample: failed to load target types",
+			"error", err,
+		)
+
+		return
+	}
+
+	var webhookIDs []string
+
+	err = e.database.DB().
+		Model(&database.Webhook{}).
+		Pluck("id", &webhookIDs).Error
+	if err != nil {
+		e.log.Error(
+			"queue depth sample: failed to query webhook IDs",
+			"error", err,
+		)
+
+		return
+	}
+
+	pending := make(map[database.TargetType]int)
+	retrying := make(map[database.TargetType]int)
+
+	for _, webhookID := range webhookIDs {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return
+		default:
+		}
+
+		if !e.dbManager.DBExists(webhookID) {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		e.sampleWebhookQueueDepths(
+			webhookID, types, pending, retrying,
+		)
+	}
+
+	e.mtr.SetQueueDepths(pending, retrying)
+}
+
+// targetTypesByID maps every configured target id to its type. The
+// deliveries live in the per-webhook databases but carry only a
+// target id, so the type label has to come from the main database.
+func (e *Engine) targetTypesByID() (
+	map[string]database.TargetType, error,
+) {
+	var rows []struct {
+		ID   string
+		Type database.TargetType
+	}
+
+	err := e.database.DB().
+		Model(&database.Target{}).
+		Select("id", "type").
+		Scan(&rows).Error
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("loading targets: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	types := make(map[string]database.TargetType, len(rows))
+
+	for _, row := range rows {
+		types[row.ID] = row.Type
+	}
+
+	return types, nil
+}
+
+// sampleWebhookQueueDepths adds one webhook's queued deliveries into
+// the running totals.
+//
+// A delivery whose target has since been deleted is not in the type
+// map and so counts under the empty target type. Set.SetQueueDepths
+// folds that into the unknown series rather than dropping it: a
+// backlog stuck behind a deleted target is a backlog that still needs
+// to be alertable.
+func (e *Engine) sampleWebhookQueueDepths(
+	webhookID string,
+	types map[string]database.TargetType,
+	pending, retrying map[database.TargetType]int,
+) {
+	webhookDB, err := e.dbManager.GetDB(webhookID)
+	if err != nil {
+		e.log.Error(
+			"queue depth sample: failed to get webhook database",
+			"webhook_id", webhookID,
+			"error", err,
+		)
+
+		return
+	}
+
+	var rows []struct {
+		TargetID string
+		Status   database.DeliveryStatus
+		Depth    int
+	}
+
+	err = webhookDB.
+		Model(&database.Delivery{}).
+		Select("target_id", "status", "count(*) as depth").
+		Where("status IN ?", []database.DeliveryStatus{
+			database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+			database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+		}).
+		Group("target_id, status").
+		Scan(&rows).Error
+	if err != nil {
+		e.log.Error(
+			"queue depth sample: "+
+				"failed to count queued deliveries",
+			"webhook_id", webhookID,
+			"error", err,
+		)
+
+		return
+	}
+
+	for _, row := range rows {
+		targetType := types[row.TargetID]
+
+		switch row.Status {
+		case database.DeliveryStatusPending:
+			pending[targetType] += row.Depth
+		case database.DeliveryStatusRetrying:
+			retrying[targetType] += row.Depth
+		case database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
+			database.DeliveryStatusFailed:
+			// Excluded by the query above: a delivery that has
+			// reached a terminal state is not queued.
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/delivery/target.go b/internal/delivery/target.go
index 9e131b2..17c3bf5 100644
--- a/internal/delivery/target.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/target.go
@@ -27,6 +27,12 @@ type Scheduler interface {
 // own circuit breaker, and reschedules via the injected
 // Scheduler. Fire-and-forget targets simply record a single
 // attempt.
+//
+// An implementation reports each attempt it actually dispatches to
+// Engine.observeAttempt, alongside the DeliveryResult it records for
+// it. Deliver is also entered for attempts that never happen — an
+// open circuit breaker refuses one — so the count cannot be taken
+// from around this call.
 type Target interface {
 	Deliver(
 		ctx context.Context,
@@ -74,6 +80,12 @@ type attemptResult struct {
 	errMsg     string
 }
 
+// elapsed returns how long the attempt took. The field is stored in
+// milliseconds because that is what DeliveryResult persists.
+func (r attemptResult) elapsed() time.Duration {
+	return time.Duration(r.duration) * time.Millisecond
+}
+
 // initTargets builds the target registry, wiring each target
 // to the engine's persistence helpers and giving the HTTP and
 // Slack targets the shared SSRF-safe client. It is called by
diff --git a/internal/delivery/target_database.go b/internal/delivery/target_database.go
index db29520..04ccaf6 100644
--- a/internal/delivery/target_database.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/target_database.go
@@ -42,7 +42,14 @@ func (t *databaseTarget) Deliver(
 	_ *Task,
 	_ Scheduler,
 ) {
+	start := time.Now()
+
 	err := t.archive(d)
+
+	elapsed := time.Since(start)
+
+	t.eng.observeAttempt(d.Target.Type, elapsed)
+
 	if err != nil {
 		t.eng.log.Error(
 			"failed to archive event to database target",
@@ -53,22 +60,25 @@ func (t *databaseTarget) Deliver(
 
 		t.eng.recordResult(
 			webhookDB, d, 1, false, 0, "",
-			err.Error(), 0,
+			err.Error(), elapsed.Milliseconds(),
 		)
 
 		t.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-			webhookDB, d, database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+			webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
+			database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
 		)
 
 		return
 	}
 
 	t.eng.recordResult(
-		webhookDB, d, 1, true, 0, "", "", 0,
+		webhookDB, d, 1, true, 0, "", "",
+		elapsed.Milliseconds(),
 	)
 
 	t.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-		webhookDB, d, database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
+		webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
+		database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
 	)
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/delivery/target_http.go b/internal/delivery/target_http.go
index f39af45..c8d025a 100644
--- a/internal/delivery/target_http.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/target_http.go
@@ -74,6 +74,8 @@ func (c *httpCore) fireAndForget(
 	d *database.Delivery,
 	res attemptResult,
 ) {
+	c.eng.observeAttempt(d.Target.Type, res.elapsed())
+
 	c.eng.recordResult(
 		webhookDB, d, 1, res.success,
 		res.statusCode, res.respBody, res.errMsg,
@@ -82,7 +84,7 @@ func (c *httpCore) fireAndForget(
 
 	if res.success {
 		c.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-			webhookDB, d,
+			webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
 			database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
 		)
 
@@ -90,7 +92,8 @@ func (c *httpCore) fireAndForget(
 	}
 
 	c.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-		webhookDB, d, database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+		webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
 	)
 }
 
@@ -107,10 +110,17 @@ func (c *httpCore) withRetry(
 		return
 	}
 
+	// Allow may have moved the breaker to half-open, and the
+	// attempt below may open or close it, so the gauge is
+	// republished on every exit from here.
+	defer c.publishCircuitState(d.Target.Type)
+
 	attemptNum := task.AttemptNum
 
 	res := attempt()
 
+	c.eng.observeAttempt(d.Target.Type, res.elapsed())
+
 	c.eng.recordResult(
 		webhookDB, d, attemptNum, res.success,
 		res.statusCode, res.respBody, res.errMsg,
@@ -121,7 +131,7 @@ func (c *httpCore) withRetry(
 		cb.RecordSuccess()
 
 		c.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-			webhookDB, d,
+			webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
 			database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
 		)
 
@@ -146,6 +156,8 @@ func (c *httpCore) circuitBreakerBlock(
 		return false
 	}
 
+	defer c.publishCircuitState(d.Target.Type)
+
 	remaining := cb.CooldownRemaining()
 
 	c.eng.log.Info(
@@ -157,7 +169,7 @@ func (c *httpCore) circuitBreakerBlock(
 	)
 
 	c.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-		webhookDB, d,
+		webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
 		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
 	)
 
@@ -177,7 +189,7 @@ func (c *httpCore) handleRetry(
 ) {
 	if attemptNum >= maxRetries {
 		c.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-			webhookDB, d,
+			webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
 			database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
 		)
 
@@ -185,7 +197,8 @@ func (c *httpCore) handleRetry(
 	}
 
 	c.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-		webhookDB, d, database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+		webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
 	)
 
 	backoff := calcBackoff(attemptNum)
@@ -215,6 +228,28 @@ func (c *httpCore) getCircuitBreaker(
 	return cb
 }
 
+// publishCircuitState recounts this core's open breakers and
+// publishes the gauge. Each core holds the breakers of exactly one
+// target type, so the recount is over that type's targets alone.
+// Counting rather than adjusting a delta keeps the gauge honest
+// however a breaker changed state.
+func (c *httpCore) publishCircuitState(
+	targetType database.TargetType,
+) {
+	open := 0
+
+	c.circuitBreakers.Range(func(_, val any) bool {
+		cb, ok := val.(*CircuitBreaker)
+		if ok && cb.State() == CircuitOpen {
+			open++
+		}
+
+		return true
+	})
+
+	c.eng.mtr.SetCircuitBreakersOpen(targetType, open)
+}
+
 // remainingBackoff returns how long remains of the backoff
 // window for the last attempt of a recovered retrying
 // delivery. It implements rescheduler.
@@ -302,7 +337,8 @@ func (t *httpTarget) Deliver(
 		)
 
 		t.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-			webhookDB, d, database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+			webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
+			database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
 		)
 
 		return
diff --git a/internal/delivery/target_log.go b/internal/delivery/target_log.go
index ce2d690..26aa7e2 100644
--- a/internal/delivery/target_log.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/target_log.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package delivery
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"time"
 
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
@@ -34,6 +35,8 @@ func (t *logTarget) Deliver(
 	_ *Task,
 	_ Scheduler,
 ) {
+	start := time.Now()
+
 	t.eng.log.Info(
 		"webhook event delivered to log target",
 		"delivery_id", d.ID,
@@ -48,11 +51,17 @@ func (t *logTarget) Deliver(
 		"body", d.Event.Body,
 	)
 
+	elapsed := time.Since(start)
+
+	t.eng.observeAttempt(d.Target.Type, elapsed)
+
 	t.eng.recordResult(
-		webhookDB, d, 1, true, 0, "", "", 0,
+		webhookDB, d, 1, true, 0, "", "",
+		elapsed.Milliseconds(),
 	)
 
 	t.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-		webhookDB, d, database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
+		webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
+		database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
 	)
 }
diff --git a/internal/delivery/target_slack.go b/internal/delivery/target_slack.go
index 5f98359..3f855d1 100644
--- a/internal/delivery/target_slack.go
+++ b/internal/delivery/target_slack.go
@@ -101,7 +101,8 @@ func (t *slackTarget) failConfig(
 	)
 
 	t.eng.updateDeliveryStatus(
-		webhookDB, d, database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+		webhookDB, d, d.Target.Type,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
 	)
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/handlers/handlers.go b/internal/handlers/handlers.go
index 8d451bc..9100867 100644
--- a/internal/handlers/handlers.go
+++ b/internal/handlers/handlers.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/globals"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/healthcheck"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/logger"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/metrics"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/middleware"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/session"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/templates"
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ type Handlers struct {
 	mw        *middleware.Middleware
 	notifier  delivery.Notifier
 	evictor   delivery.WebhookEvictor
+	mtr       *metrics.Set
 	templates map[string]*template.Template
 
 	// dummyVerifications counts the equivalent-cost verifications
@@ -114,6 +116,7 @@ func New(
 	s.mw = params.Middleware
 	s.notifier = params.Notifier
 	s.evictor = params.Evictor
+	s.mtr = metrics.Default()
 
 	// Parse all page templates once at startup
 	s.templates = map[string]*template.Template{
diff --git a/internal/handlers/webhook.go b/internal/handlers/webhook.go
index 1b1543f..920e68b 100644
--- a/internal/handlers/webhook.go
+++ b/internal/handlers/webhook.go
@@ -217,6 +217,11 @@ func (h *Handlers) createAndDeliverEvent(
 		return
 	}
 
+	// Counted here, after the commit: an event is received once it
+	// is durably stored, which is what the delivery counters are
+	// compared against on a dashboard.
+	h.mtr.EventReceived()
+
 	h.finishWebhookResponse(w, event, entrypoint, tasks)
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/metrics/metrics.go b/internal/metrics/metrics.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b69538f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/metrics/metrics.go
@@ -0,0 +1,344 @@
+// Package metrics defines the Prometheus collectors describing
+// webhooker's delivery pipeline: how many events arrive, how many
+// deliveries are attempted, how they end, how long they take, how
+// deep the queues are, and how many circuit breakers are open.
+//
+// The inbound HTTP metrics come from the go-http-metrics recorder in
+// internal/middleware and land on prometheus.DefaultRegisterer. These
+// collectors register there too, so both surfaces are gathered by the
+// one promhttp handler mounted on the authenticated /metrics route.
+package metrics
+
+import (
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/prometheus/client_golang/prometheus"
+	"github.com/prometheus/client_golang/prometheus/promauto"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
+)
+
+// namespace prefixes every collector defined here.
+const namespace = "webhooker"
+
+// targetTypeLabel is the only label any delivery metric carries, and
+// cardinality is the whole reason for that.
+//
+// A target type is one of four compile-time constants, so the label
+// domain is bounded by construction. Target ids, event ids and
+// entrypoint ids are not: they are UUIDs minted per operator action
+// or per inbound request, a series is never reclaimed once it exists,
+// and labelling by any of them makes /metrics a memory leak that
+// grows with traffic. normalizeTargetType enforces the bound at every
+// call site — a type the registry does not know collapses into
+// unknownTargetType rather than minting a series of its own.
+const targetTypeLabel = "target_type"
+
+// unknownTargetType is the bucket for a target type outside the known
+// set, so an unrecognised value cannot mint a new series.
+const unknownTargetType = "unknown"
+
+// Delivery duration buckets, exponential from 5ms so the last bucket
+// (about 98s) sits above the 30s outbound HTTP client timeout.
+const (
+	durationBucketStart  = 0.005
+	durationBucketFactor = 3
+	durationBucketCount  = 10
+)
+
+// knownTargetTypes is the fixed label domain: the target types the
+// delivery engine implements.
+//
+//nolint:gochecknoglobals // the label domain, built once per process
+var knownTargetTypes = []database.TargetType{
+	database.TargetTypeHTTP,
+	database.TargetTypeDatabase,
+	database.TargetTypeLog,
+	database.TargetTypeSlack,
+}
+
+// defaultSet is the process-wide metric set, registered on the same
+// registry the HTTP middleware and the /metrics handler already use.
+// It is built on first use rather than in an init so that a test
+// binary that never touches metrics never registers them.
+//
+//nolint:gochecknoglobals // one process-wide registration, by design
+var defaultSet = sync.OnceValue(func() *Set {
+	return New(prometheus.DefaultRegisterer)
+})
+
+// Default returns the process-wide metric set.
+func Default() *Set {
+	return defaultSet()
+}
+
+// Set is one registered group of webhooker's delivery collectors.
+// Production uses the single Default set; tests build their own
+// against a private registry so assertions are not disturbed by
+// deliveries other tests are making concurrently.
+type Set struct {
+	eventsReceived      prometheus.Counter
+	deliveryAttempts    *prometheus.CounterVec
+	deliveriesSucceeded *prometheus.CounterVec
+	deliveriesFailed    *prometheus.CounterVec
+	deliveryRetries     *prometheus.CounterVec
+	deliveryDuration    *prometheus.HistogramVec
+	deliveriesPending   *prometheus.GaugeVec
+	deliveriesRetrying  *prometheus.GaugeVec
+	circuitBreakersOpen *prometheus.GaugeVec
+}
+
+// New registers a full set of delivery collectors on reg and returns
+// it. It panics if reg already holds them, which is the intended
+// behaviour for a duplicate registration.
+func New(reg prometheus.Registerer) *Set {
+	factory := promauto.With(reg)
+
+	s := &Set{
+		eventsReceived: factory.NewCounter(
+			prometheus.CounterOpts{
+				Namespace: namespace,
+				Name:      "events_received_total",
+				Help: "Webhook events received and " +
+					"stored, so the receive and deliver " +
+					"sides can be compared.",
+			},
+		),
+		deliveryDuration: factory.NewHistogramVec(
+			prometheus.HistogramOpts{
+				Namespace: namespace,
+				Name:      "delivery_duration_seconds",
+				Help: "Wall time of a single delivery " +
+					"attempt, by target type.",
+				Buckets: prometheus.ExponentialBuckets(
+					durationBucketStart,
+					durationBucketFactor,
+					durationBucketCount,
+				),
+			},
+			[]string{targetTypeLabel},
+		),
+	}
+
+	s.registerCounters(factory)
+	s.registerGauges(factory)
+	s.initSeries()
+
+	return s
+}
+
+// EventReceived counts one inbound webhook event stored.
+func (s *Set) EventReceived() {
+	s.eventsReceived.Inc()
+}
+
+// DeliveryAttempted counts one delivery attempt dispatched to a
+// target.
+func (s *Set) DeliveryAttempted(t database.TargetType) {
+	s.deliveryAttempts.
+		WithLabelValues(normalizeTargetType(t)).
+		Inc()
+}
+
+// ObserveDeliveryDuration records how long one delivery attempt took.
+func (s *Set) ObserveDeliveryDuration(
+	t database.TargetType, d time.Duration,
+) {
+	s.deliveryDuration.
+		WithLabelValues(normalizeTargetType(t)).
+		Observe(d.Seconds())
+}
+
+// DeliveryStatusChanged counts a delivery's transition into a new
+// status. The mapping from status to counter lives here, next to the
+// collectors, so the engine has a single call for every transition it
+// persists. A move back to pending is not an outcome and counts
+// nothing.
+func (s *Set) DeliveryStatusChanged(
+	t database.TargetType, status database.DeliveryStatus,
+) {
+	label := normalizeTargetType(t)
+
+	switch status {
+	case database.DeliveryStatusDelivered:
+		s.deliveriesSucceeded.WithLabelValues(label).Inc()
+	case database.DeliveryStatusFailed:
+		s.deliveriesFailed.WithLabelValues(label).Inc()
+	case database.DeliveryStatusRetrying:
+		s.deliveryRetries.WithLabelValues(label).Inc()
+	case database.DeliveryStatusPending:
+	}
+}
+
+// SetQueueDepths publishes the pending and retrying queue depths from
+// one sample. Every label in the queue domain is written on every
+// call, so a type whose queue has drained reads zero instead of
+// holding its last value forever.
+func (s *Set) SetQueueDepths(
+	pending, retrying map[database.TargetType]int,
+) {
+	pendingByLabel := foldToLabels(pending)
+	retryingByLabel := foldToLabels(retrying)
+
+	for _, label := range queueDepthLabels() {
+		s.deliveriesPending.WithLabelValues(label).
+			Set(float64(pendingByLabel[label]))
+		s.deliveriesRetrying.WithLabelValues(label).
+			Set(float64(retryingByLabel[label]))
+	}
+}
+
+// queueDepthLabels is the label domain of the two queue-depth gauges:
+// the known target types plus unknown.
+//
+// Unknown is a real bucket here, not a safety net. A delivery queued
+// against a target that has since been deleted carries a target id no
+// longer in the targets table, so the sample resolves it to the empty
+// type; folding it into unknown is what keeps that backlog visible.
+// Dropping it would hide the one queue nobody is watching.
+func queueDepthLabels() []string {
+	labels := make([]string, 0, len(knownTargetTypes)+1)
+
+	for _, t := range knownTargetTypes {
+		labels = append(labels, string(t))
+	}
+
+	return append(labels, unknownTargetType)
+}
+
+// foldToLabels collapses a per-target-type count onto the bounded
+// label domain, summing everything outside the known set into
+// unknown.
+func foldToLabels(
+	counts map[database.TargetType]int,
+) map[string]int {
+	byLabel := make(map[string]int, len(counts))
+
+	for t, n := range counts {
+		byLabel[normalizeTargetType(t)] += n
+	}
+
+	return byLabel
+}
+
+// SetCircuitBreakersOpen publishes how many of a target type's
+// circuit breakers are currently open.
+func (s *Set) SetCircuitBreakersOpen(
+	t database.TargetType, open int,
+) {
+	s.circuitBreakersOpen.
+		WithLabelValues(normalizeTargetType(t)).
+		Set(float64(open))
+}
+
+func (s *Set) registerCounters(factory promauto.Factory) {
+	s.deliveryAttempts = factory.NewCounterVec(
+		prometheus.CounterOpts{
+			Namespace: namespace,
+			Name:      "delivery_attempts_total",
+			Help: "Delivery attempts dispatched to a " +
+				"target, by target type.",
+		},
+		[]string{targetTypeLabel},
+	)
+
+	s.deliveriesSucceeded = factory.NewCounterVec(
+		prometheus.CounterOpts{
+			Namespace: namespace,
+			Name:      "deliveries_succeeded_total",
+			Help: "Deliveries that reached the delivered " +
+				"state, by target type.",
+		},
+		[]string{targetTypeLabel},
+	)
+
+	s.deliveriesFailed = factory.NewCounterVec(
+		prometheus.CounterOpts{
+			Namespace: namespace,
+			Name:      "deliveries_failed_total",
+			Help: "Deliveries that failed terminally and " +
+				"will not be retried, by target type.",
+		},
+		[]string{targetTypeLabel},
+	)
+
+	s.deliveryRetries = factory.NewCounterVec(
+		prometheus.CounterOpts{
+			Namespace: namespace,
+			Name:      "delivery_retries_total",
+			Help: "Deliveries put back into the retrying " +
+				"state, by target type.",
+		},
+		[]string{targetTypeLabel},
+	)
+}
+
+func (s *Set) registerGauges(factory promauto.Factory) {
+	s.deliveriesPending = factory.NewGaugeVec(
+		prometheus.GaugeOpts{
+			Namespace: namespace,
+			Name:      "deliveries_pending",
+			Help: "Deliveries currently in the pending " +
+				"state, by target type.",
+		},
+		[]string{targetTypeLabel},
+	)
+
+	s.deliveriesRetrying = factory.NewGaugeVec(
+		prometheus.GaugeOpts{
+			Namespace: namespace,
+			Name:      "deliveries_retrying",
+			Help: "Deliveries currently in the retrying " +
+				"state, by target type.",
+		},
+		[]string{targetTypeLabel},
+	)
+
+	s.circuitBreakersOpen = factory.NewGaugeVec(
+		prometheus.GaugeOpts{
+			Namespace: namespace,
+			Name:      "circuit_breakers_open",
+			Help: "Delivery circuit breakers currently " +
+				"open, by target type.",
+		},
+		[]string{targetTypeLabel},
+	)
+}
+
+// initSeries materialises every known-target-type series at zero, so
+// a dashboard and an alert rule see a target type that has not
+// delivered yet rather than a missing series.
+//
+// The queue-depth gauges additionally get their unknown series, which
+// holds deliveries queued against a deleted target. That backlog can
+// predate the process — it is read out of the databases, not counted
+// from transitions — so its series has to exist from the first scrape
+// rather than appearing only once a backlog has already built up.
+func (s *Set) initSeries() {
+	for _, t := range knownTargetTypes {
+		label := string(t)
+
+		s.deliveryAttempts.WithLabelValues(label)
+		s.deliveriesSucceeded.WithLabelValues(label)
+		s.deliveriesFailed.WithLabelValues(label)
+		s.deliveryRetries.WithLabelValues(label)
+		s.deliveriesPending.WithLabelValues(label)
+		s.deliveriesRetrying.WithLabelValues(label)
+		s.circuitBreakersOpen.WithLabelValues(label)
+	}
+
+	s.deliveriesPending.WithLabelValues(unknownTargetType)
+	s.deliveriesRetrying.WithLabelValues(unknownTargetType)
+}
+
+// normalizeTargetType maps a target type onto the bounded label
+// domain, collapsing anything outside it to unknownTargetType.
+func normalizeTargetType(t database.TargetType) string {
+	for _, known := range knownTargetTypes {
+		if t == known {
+			return string(known)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return unknownTargetType
+}
diff --git a/internal/metrics/metrics_test.go b/internal/metrics/metrics_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a8b3a64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/metrics/metrics_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
+package metrics_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/prometheus/client_golang/prometheus"
+	dto "github.com/prometheus/client_model/go"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/database"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/webhooker/internal/metrics"
+)
+
+// knownLabels is the target_type label domain built from the target
+// types the delivery engine implements.
+func knownLabels() []string {
+	return []string{"http", "database", "log", "slack"}
+}
+
+// labelValues returns the target_type label values a metric family
+// currently carries.
+func labelValues(
+	t *testing.T, reg *prometheus.Registry, name string,
+) []string {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	families, err := reg.Gather()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	var values []string
+
+	for _, fam := range families {
+		if fam.GetName() != name {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		for _, m := range fam.GetMetric() {
+			for _, label := range m.GetLabel() {
+				if label.GetName() == "target_type" {
+					values = append(
+						values, label.GetValue(),
+					)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return values
+}
+
+func gaugeValue(
+	t *testing.T,
+	reg *prometheus.Registry,
+	name, targetType string,
+) float64 {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	families, err := reg.Gather()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	for _, fam := range families {
+		if fam.GetName() != name {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		for _, m := range fam.GetMetric() {
+			if hasTargetType(m, targetType) {
+				return m.GetGauge().GetValue()
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	t.Fatalf(
+		"gauge %s{target_type=%q} not found",
+		name, targetType,
+	)
+
+	return 0
+}
+
+func hasTargetType(m *dto.Metric, targetType string) bool {
+	for _, label := range m.GetLabel() {
+		if label.GetName() == "target_type" &&
+			label.GetValue() == targetType {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
+// TestUnknownTargetTypeCollapses is the cardinality guard: a target
+// type outside the known set must not mint a series of its own, or
+// /metrics grows without bound.
+func TestUnknownTargetTypeCollapses(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	reg := prometheus.NewRegistry()
+	set := metrics.New(reg)
+
+	for _, bogus := range []string{
+		"a1b2c3d4-0000-0000-0000-000000000001",
+		"a1b2c3d4-0000-0000-0000-000000000002",
+		"webhook-forwarder",
+	} {
+		set.DeliveryAttempted(database.TargetType(bogus))
+	}
+
+	values := labelValues(
+		t, reg, "webhooker_delivery_attempts_total",
+	)
+
+	assert.ElementsMatch(t,
+		append(knownLabels(), "unknown"),
+		values,
+	)
+}
+
+// TestSetQueueDepthsZeroesDrainedTypes proves a queue that has
+// drained reads zero rather than holding its last sample forever.
+func TestSetQueueDepthsZeroesDrainedTypes(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	reg := prometheus.NewRegistry()
+	set := metrics.New(reg)
+
+	set.SetQueueDepths(
+		map[database.TargetType]int{
+			database.TargetTypeHTTP: 7,
+		},
+		map[database.TargetType]int{
+			database.TargetTypeSlack: 2,
+		},
+	)
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 7.0, gaugeValue(
+		t, reg, "webhooker_deliveries_pending", "http",
+	), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 2.0, gaugeValue(
+		t, reg, "webhooker_deliveries_retrying", "slack",
+	), 0)
+
+	set.SetQueueDepths(
+		map[database.TargetType]int{},
+		map[database.TargetType]int{},
+	)
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0, gaugeValue(
+		t, reg, "webhooker_deliveries_pending", "http",
+	), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0, gaugeValue(
+		t, reg, "webhooker_deliveries_retrying", "slack",
+	), 0)
+}
+
+// TestKnownSeriesExistBeforeAnyDelivery proves every known target
+// type is published at zero from registration, so an alert rule does
+// not have to cope with a missing series.
+func TestKnownSeriesExistBeforeAnyDelivery(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	reg := prometheus.NewRegistry()
+	metrics.New(reg)
+
+	for _, name := range []string{
+		"webhooker_delivery_attempts_total",
+		"webhooker_deliveries_succeeded_total",
+		"webhooker_deliveries_failed_total",
+		"webhooker_delivery_retries_total",
+		"webhooker_circuit_breakers_open",
+	} {
+		assert.ElementsMatch(t,
+			knownLabels(),
+			labelValues(t, reg, name),
+			"metric %s", name,
+		)
+	}
+
+	// The queue gauges additionally publish unknown from
+	// registration: a backlog queued against a deleted target lands
+	// there, and it can predate the process, so the series has to
+	// exist before the first sample rather than appearing only once
+	// something is already stuck.
+	for _, name := range []string{
+		"webhooker_deliveries_pending",
+		"webhooker_deliveries_retrying",
+	} {
+		assert.ElementsMatch(t,
+			append(knownLabels(), "unknown"),
+			labelValues(t, reg, name),
+			"metric %s", name,
+		)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestSetQueueDepthsFoldsUnknownTypes proves a queued delivery whose
+// target type is not a known one — a target deleted out from under it
+// resolves to the empty type — is summed into the unknown series
+// instead of being dropped, and that the fold is a sum rather than a
+// last-writer-wins.
+func TestSetQueueDepthsFoldsUnknownTypes(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	reg := prometheus.NewRegistry()
+	set := metrics.New(reg)
+
+	set.SetQueueDepths(
+		map[database.TargetType]int{
+			database.TargetTypeHTTP:             1,
+			database.TargetType(""):             4,
+			database.TargetType("retired-type"): 3,
+		},
+		map[database.TargetType]int{
+			database.TargetType(""): 2,
+		},
+	)
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 7.0, gaugeValue(
+		t, reg, "webhooker_deliveries_pending", "unknown",
+	), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 2.0, gaugeValue(
+		t, reg, "webhooker_deliveries_retrying", "unknown",
+	), 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0, gaugeValue(
+		t, reg, "webhooker_deliveries_pending", "http",
+	), 0)
+
+	set.SetQueueDepths(
+		map[database.TargetType]int{},
+		map[database.TargetType]int{},
+	)
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0, gaugeValue(
+		t, reg, "webhooker_deliveries_pending", "unknown",
+	), 0)
+}
+
+// TestDeliveryStatusChangedCounts maps each persisted status onto the
+// counter it moves.
+func TestDeliveryStatusChangedCounts(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	reg := prometheus.NewRegistry()
+	set := metrics.New(reg)
+
+	set.DeliveryStatusChanged(
+		database.TargetTypeLog,
+		database.DeliveryStatusDelivered,
+	)
+	set.DeliveryStatusChanged(
+		database.TargetTypeLog,
+		database.DeliveryStatusFailed,
+	)
+	set.DeliveryStatusChanged(
+		database.TargetTypeLog,
+		database.DeliveryStatusRetrying,
+	)
+	set.DeliveryStatusChanged(
+		database.TargetTypeLog,
+		database.DeliveryStatusPending,
+	)
+
+	families, err := reg.Gather()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	counts := map[string]float64{}
+
+	for _, fam := range families {
+		for _, m := range fam.GetMetric() {
+			if hasTargetType(m, "log") {
+				counts[fam.GetName()] =
+					m.GetCounter().GetValue()
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		counts["webhooker_deliveries_succeeded_total"], 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		counts["webhooker_deliveries_failed_total"], 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1.0,
+		counts["webhooker_delivery_retries_total"], 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0.0,
+		counts["webhooker_delivery_attempts_total"], 0)
+}