diff --git a/src/backend/database/routes/terminal.ts b/src/backend/database/routes/terminal.ts
index 81085b21a..d80b668f5 100644
--- a/src/backend/database/routes/terminal.ts
+++ b/src/backend/database/routes/terminal.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import express, {
 } from "express";
 import { randomUUID } from "crypto";
 import multer from "multer";
-import sharp from "sharp";
 import {
   createConcurrencyLimiter,
   exceedsNormalizedImageSize,
@@ -54,6 +53,27 @@ const imageUpload = multer({
   },
 });
 const imageUploadMiddleware = imageUpload.single("image");
+
+type SharpFactory = typeof import("sharp").default;
+
+let sharpFactory: SharpFactory | null = null;
+let sharpLoadFailure: string | null = null;
+
+// A static import of sharp takes backend startup down with it when the native
+// binary for the running architecture is missing. Resolve on first use so only
+// image upload is lost.
+async function loadSharp(): Promise<SharpFactory> {
+  if (sharpFactory) return sharpFactory;
+  if (sharpLoadFailure !== null) throw new Error(sharpLoadFailure);
+  try {
+    sharpFactory = (await import("sharp")).default;
+    return sharpFactory;
+  } catch (error) {
+    sharpLoadFailure = getErrorMessage(error, "unknown");
+    throw new Error(sharpLoadFailure);
+  }
+}
+
 const imageProcessingLimiter = createConcurrencyLimiter(4, 4);
 const imageMultipartAdmissionLimiter = createConcurrencyLimiter(4, 4);
 let imageUploadSequence = 0;
@@ -207,6 +227,24 @@ router.post(
       }
     }
 
+    let sharp: SharpFactory;
+    try {
+      sharp = await loadSharp();
+    } catch (error) {
+      databaseLogger.error(
+        "Image processing unavailable: sharp failed to load",
+        error,
+        {
+          operation: "terminal_image_upload_sharp_unavailable",
+          reason: getErrorMessage(error, "unknown"),
+        },
+      );
+      return res.status(503).json({
+        error: "Image processing is unavailable on this installation",
+        code: "IMAGE_PROCESSING_UNAVAILABLE",
+      });
+    }
+
     let normalizedImage: Buffer;
     let releaseImageProcessingSlot: (() => void) | undefined;
     try {
diff --git a/src/backend/tests/database/routes/terminal-image-upload-sharp-unavailable.test.ts b/src/backend/tests/database/routes/terminal-image-upload-sharp-unavailable.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d3e4b29a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/backend/tests/database/routes/terminal-image-upload-sharp-unavailable.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { Request, RequestHandler, Response } from "express";
+import { databaseLogger } from "../../../utils/logger.js";
+
+const state = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  userId: "user-1",
+  settings: {} as Record<string, string>,
+  sessions: [] as unknown[],
+}));
+
+// A package shipped without the native binary for this architecture.
+vi.mock("sharp", () => {
+  throw new Error(
+    'Could not load the "sharp" module using the darwin-x64 runtime',
+  );
+});
+
+vi.mock("../../../utils/logger.js", () => ({
+  authLogger: { warn: vi.fn(), error: vi.fn(), info: vi.fn() },
+  databaseLogger: { warn: vi.fn(), error: vi.fn(), info: vi.fn() },
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../../utils/auth-manager.js", () => ({
+  AuthManager: {
+    getInstance: () => ({
+      createAuthMiddleware:
+        () => (_req: unknown, _res: unknown, next: () => void) =>
+          next(),
+      createDataAccessMiddleware:
+        () => (_req: unknown, _res: unknown, next: () => void) =>
+          next(),
+    }),
+  },
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../../hosts/terminal/session-manager.js", () => ({
+  sessionManager: {
+    getUserSessions: () => state.sessions,
+  },
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../../../database/repositories/factory.js", () => ({
+  createCurrentSettingsRepository: () => ({
+    get: async (key: string) => state.settings[key] ?? null,
+  }),
+  createCurrentHostResolutionRepository: () => ({}),
+  createCurrentCommandHistoryRepository: () => ({}),
+}));
+
+const { default: router } =
+  await import("../../../database/routes/terminal.js");
+
+interface RouteLayer {
+  route?: {
+    path: string;
+    methods: Record<string, boolean>;
+    stack: Array<{ handle: RequestHandler }>;
+  };
+}
+
+const imageUploadLayer = (
+  router as unknown as { stack: RouteLayer[] }
+).stack.find(
+  (layer) => layer.route?.path === "/image-upload" && layer.route.methods.post,
+);
+const imageUploadHandler =
+  imageUploadLayer!.route!.stack[imageUploadLayer!.route!.stack.length - 1]!
+    .handle;
+
+async function invoke() {
+  const buffer = Buffer.from([0x89, 0x50, 0x4e, 0x47]);
+  const req = {
+    userId: state.userId,
+    body: { instanceId: "tab-1" },
+    file: { buffer, mimetype: "image/png", size: buffer.length },
+    headers: {},
+  } as unknown as Request;
+  const result = { statusCode: 200, body: null as unknown };
+  const res = {
+    status(code: number) {
+      result.statusCode = code;
+      return this;
+    },
+    json(body: unknown) {
+      result.body = body;
+      return this;
+    },
+  } as unknown as Response;
+  await imageUploadHandler(req, res, () => {});
+  return result;
+}
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  vi.mocked(databaseLogger.error).mockClear();
+  state.settings = { terminal_image_storage_mode: "remote-sftp" };
+  state.sessions = [{ tabInstanceId: "tab-1", isConnected: true, sshConn: {} }];
+});
+
+describe("terminal image upload route when sharp cannot be loaded", () => {
+  it("imports the router instead of failing at module scope", () => {
+    expect(imageUploadHandler).toBeTypeOf("function");
+  });
+
+  it("answers 503 and logs the reason rather than throwing", async () => {
+    const response = await invoke();
+
+    expect(response.statusCode).toBe(503);
+    expect(response.body).toMatchObject({
+      code: "IMAGE_PROCESSING_UNAVAILABLE",
+    });
+    expect(databaseLogger.error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "Image processing unavailable: sharp failed to load",
+      expect.anything(),
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        operation: "terminal_image_upload_sharp_unavailable",
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("keeps answering 503 on later uploads without retrying the import", async () => {
+    await invoke();
+    const response = await invoke();
+
+    expect(response.statusCode).toBe(503);
+    expect(response.body).toMatchObject({
+      code: "IMAGE_PROCESSING_UNAVAILABLE",
+    });
+  });
+});