diff --git a/scripts/smoke_test_api.gd b/scripts/smoke_test_api.gd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1886817
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/smoke_test_api.gd
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+extends SceneTree
+## Headless smoke test for the ApiClient autoload.
+##
+## Run with:
+##     godot --headless --path . --script res://scripts/smoke_test_api.gd
+##
+## Requires the backend to be running (default base URL
+## `application/agp/api_base_url` -> http://127.0.0.1:8000).
+##
+## Calls the real autoload's `health_check()` (which exercises the generic
+## `request()` primitive) and exits 0 on a `status == "ok"` response, 1
+## otherwise. This script is intentionally NOT wired into any game scene.
+
+
+func _initialize() -> void:
+	_run()
+
+
+func _run() -> void:
+	print("SMOKE: calling ApiClient.health_check() ...")
+	var result: Dictionary = await ApiClient.health_check()
+	print("SMOKE: result = ", result)
+
+	if result.ok \
+			and result.data is Dictionary \
+			and str((result.data as Dictionary).get("status", "")) == "ok":
+		print("SMOKE RESULT: PASS (status=ok)")
+		quit(0)
+	else:
+		printerr("SMOKE RESULT: FAIL")
+		quit(1)