diff --git a/clip-service/Dockerfile b/clip-service/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f75aac3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clip-service/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+FROM pytorch/pytorch:2.5.1-cuda12.4-cudnn9-runtime
+
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends curl \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+WORKDIR /app
+
+COPY app/requirements.txt .
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
+
+COPY app/ .
+
+EXPOSE 5200
+
+CMD ["python", "-u", "-m", "uvicorn", "main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "5200"]
diff --git a/clip-service/app/main.py b/clip-service/app/main.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c98d8a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clip-service/app/main.py
@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+"""CLIP embedding service for frigate-notify.
+
+Loads OpenAI ViT-L/14 CLIP model and exposes endpoints for generating
+image embeddings and computing cosine similarity between embeddings.
+Designed to run on a GPU machine (RTX 3090) as a sidecar service.
+"""
+
+import base64
+import io
+import logging
+import time
+from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
+
+import numpy as np
+import open_clip
+import torch
+from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
+from PIL import Image
+from pydantic import BaseModel
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("clip-service")
+logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s")
+
+# --- Pydantic models ---
+
+
+class EmbedRequest(BaseModel):
+    image: str  # base64-encoded image
+
+
+class EmbedResponse(BaseModel):
+    embedding: list[float]
+    inference_ms: float
+
+
+class SimilarityRequest(BaseModel):
+    embedding1: list[float]
+    embedding2: list[float]
+
+
+class SimilarityResponse(BaseModel):
+    score: float
+
+
+class BatchSimilarityRequest(BaseModel):
+    query_embedding: list[float]
+    candidate_embeddings: list[list[float]]
+
+
+class BatchSimilarityResponse(BaseModel):
+    scores: list[float]
+    best_index: int
+    best_score: float
+
+
+# --- Globals ---
+
+model = None
+preprocess = None
+device = None
+model_name = "ViT-L-14"
+pretrained = "openai"
+
+
+def load_model():
+    """Load the CLIP model onto the best available device."""
+    global model, preprocess, device
+
+    if torch.cuda.is_available():
+        device = torch.device("cuda")
+        logger.info("CUDA available — using GPU: %s", torch.cuda.get_device_name(0))
+    else:
+        device = torch.device("cpu")
+        logger.warning("CUDA not available — falling back to CPU")
+
+    logger.info("Loading CLIP model %s (pretrained=%s)...", model_name, pretrained)
+    t0 = time.monotonic()
+    model, _, preprocess = open_clip.create_model_and_transforms(
+        model_name, pretrained=pretrained, device=device
+    )
+    model.eval()
+    elapsed = time.monotonic() - t0
+    logger.info("Model loaded in %.1fs on %s", elapsed, device)
+
+
+@asynccontextmanager
+async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
+    load_model()
+    yield
+
+
+app = FastAPI(title="CLIP Embedding Service", version="1.0.0", lifespan=lifespan)
+
+
+# --- Utility functions ---
+
+
+def cosine_similarity(a: np.ndarray, b: np.ndarray) -> float:
+    """Compute cosine similarity between two vectors."""
+    dot = np.dot(a, b)
+    norm_a = np.linalg.norm(a)
+    norm_b = np.linalg.norm(b)
+    if norm_a == 0 or norm_b == 0:
+        return 0.0
+    return float(dot / (norm_a * norm_b))
+
+
+# --- Endpoints ---
+
+
+@app.get("/health")
+async def health():
+    return {
+        "status": "healthy",
+        "device": str(device) if device else "not_loaded",
+        "model": f"{model_name}/{pretrained}",
+    }
+
+
+@app.post("/embed", response_model=EmbedResponse)
+async def embed(request: EmbedRequest):
+    if model is None or preprocess is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=503, detail="Model not loaded")
+
+    # Decode base64 image
+    try:
+        image_bytes = base64.b64decode(request.image)
+        image = Image.open(io.BytesIO(image_bytes)).convert("RGB")
+    except Exception as e:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=f"Invalid image data: {e}")
+
+    # Preprocess and encode
+    try:
+        image_tensor = preprocess(image).unsqueeze(0).to(device)
+
+        t0 = time.monotonic()
+        with torch.no_grad():
+            embedding = model.encode_image(image_tensor)
+        inference_ms = (time.monotonic() - t0) * 1000
+
+        # Normalize the embedding
+        embedding = embedding / embedding.norm(dim=-1, keepdim=True)
+        embedding_list = embedding.squeeze(0).cpu().numpy().tolist()
+
+    except Exception as e:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=500, detail=f"Inference failed: {e}")
+
+    return EmbedResponse(embedding=embedding_list, inference_ms=round(inference_ms, 2))
+
+
+@app.post("/similarity", response_model=SimilarityResponse)
+async def similarity(request: SimilarityRequest):
+    a = np.array(request.embedding1, dtype=np.float32)
+    b = np.array(request.embedding2, dtype=np.float32)
+
+    if a.shape != b.shape:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail=f"Embedding dimensions must match: {a.shape} vs {b.shape}",
+        )
+
+    score = cosine_similarity(a, b)
+    return SimilarityResponse(score=round(score, 6))
+
+
+@app.post("/batch-similarity", response_model=BatchSimilarityResponse)
+async def batch_similarity(request: BatchSimilarityRequest):
+    query = np.array(request.query_embedding, dtype=np.float32)
+
+    if not request.candidate_embeddings:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="No candidate embeddings provided")
+
+    candidates = np.array(request.candidate_embeddings, dtype=np.float32)
+
+    if query.shape[0] != candidates.shape[1]:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail=f"Dimension mismatch: query={query.shape[0]}, candidates={candidates.shape[1]}",
+        )
+
+    # Compute cosine similarity for all candidates at once
+    query_norm = query / (np.linalg.norm(query) + 1e-10)
+    candidate_norms = candidates / (
+        np.linalg.norm(candidates, axis=1, keepdims=True) + 1e-10
+    )
+    scores = candidate_norms @ query_norm
+
+    scores_list = [round(float(s), 6) for s in scores]
+    best_index = int(np.argmax(scores))
+    best_score = scores_list[best_index]
+
+    return BatchSimilarityResponse(
+        scores=scores_list, best_index=best_index, best_score=best_score
+    )
diff --git a/clip-service/app/requirements.txt b/clip-service/app/requirements.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..172e6ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clip-service/app/requirements.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+fastapi>=0.115.0
+uvicorn[standard]>=0.34.0
+open-clip-torch>=2.29.0
+torch>=2.5.0
+Pillow>=10.0.0
+numpy>=1.26.0
+python-multipart>=0.0.18
diff --git a/clip-service/docker-compose.yml b/clip-service/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9535858
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clip-service/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+services:
+  clip-service:
+    build: .
+    container_name: clip-service
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    ports:
+      - "5200:5200"
+    deploy:
+      resources:
+        reservations:
+          devices:
+            - driver: nvidia
+              count: 1
+              capabilities: [gpu]
+    mem_limit: 4G
+    memswap_limit: 4G
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -sf http://localhost:5200/health || exit 1"]
+      interval: 30s
+      timeout: 10s
+      retries: 3
+      start_period: 120s
+    logging:
+      driver: "json-file"
+      options:
+        max-size: "50m"
+        max-file: "3"
diff --git a/clip-service/tests/conftest.py b/clip-service/tests/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43341b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clip-service/tests/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+"""Test configuration: mock heavy dependencies that aren't needed for unit tests."""
+
+import sys
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+# Mock modules that are not installed in the test environment.
+# The tests only exercise pure numpy math, not model inference.
+for mod_name in [
+    "torch",
+    "open_clip",
+    "fastapi",
+    "fastapi.responses",
+    "pydantic",
+    "PIL",
+    "PIL.Image",
+    "uvicorn",
+]:
+    if mod_name not in sys.modules:
+        sys.modules[mod_name] = MagicMock()
+
+# Provide a real BaseModel stand-in so Pydantic models can be defined
+# (they are referenced at import time in main.py).
+import types
+
+pydantic_mock = sys.modules["pydantic"]
+
+
+class _FakeBaseModel:
+    def __init_subclass__(cls, **kwargs):
+        pass
+
+    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+        for k, v in kwargs.items():
+            setattr(self, k, v)
+
+
+pydantic_mock.BaseModel = _FakeBaseModel
+
+# Provide a fake FastAPI and HTTPException so the module loads
+fastapi_mock = sys.modules["fastapi"]
+
+
+class _FakeFastAPI:
+    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+        pass
+
+    def get(self, *a, **kw):
+        def decorator(fn):
+            return fn
+        return decorator
+
+    def post(self, *a, **kw):
+        def decorator(fn):
+            return fn
+        return decorator
+
+
+class _FakeHTTPException(Exception):
+    def __init__(self, status_code=500, detail=""):
+        self.status_code = status_code
+        self.detail = detail
+
+
+fastapi_mock.FastAPI = _FakeFastAPI
+fastapi_mock.HTTPException = _FakeHTTPException
diff --git a/clip-service/tests/test_clip.py b/clip-service/tests/test_clip.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a3b361
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clip-service/tests/test_clip.py
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+"""Tests for CLIP service math utilities.
+
+These tests exercise the cosine similarity logic using pure numpy --
+no GPU, no model loading, no network calls required.
+"""
+
+import numpy as np
+import pytest
+
+# Import the cosine_similarity function directly from the app module.
+# We add the app directory to sys.path so the import works without
+# installing the package.
+import sys
+import os
+
+sys.path.insert(
+    0, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", "app")
+)
+
+from main import cosine_similarity
+
+
+class TestCosineSimilarity:
+    """Test the cosine_similarity helper function."""
+
+    def test_identical_vectors(self):
+        """Identical vectors should have cosine similarity of 1.0."""
+        v = np.array([1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        score = cosine_similarity(v, v)
+        assert score == pytest.approx(1.0, abs=1e-6)
+
+    def test_identical_unit_vectors(self):
+        """Identical unit vectors should also yield 1.0."""
+        v = np.array([0.0, 1.0, 0.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        score = cosine_similarity(v, v)
+        assert score == pytest.approx(1.0, abs=1e-6)
+
+    def test_orthogonal_vectors(self):
+        """Orthogonal vectors should have cosine similarity of 0.0."""
+        a = np.array([1.0, 0.0, 0.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        b = np.array([0.0, 1.0, 0.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        score = cosine_similarity(a, b)
+        assert score == pytest.approx(0.0, abs=1e-6)
+
+    def test_opposite_vectors(self):
+        """Opposite vectors should have cosine similarity of -1.0."""
+        a = np.array([1.0, 2.0, 3.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        b = np.array([-1.0, -2.0, -3.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        score = cosine_similarity(a, b)
+        assert score == pytest.approx(-1.0, abs=1e-6)
+
+    def test_zero_vector_returns_zero(self):
+        """A zero vector should return 0.0 (guarded against division by zero)."""
+        a = np.array([0.0, 0.0, 0.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        b = np.array([1.0, 2.0, 3.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        score = cosine_similarity(a, b)
+        assert score == pytest.approx(0.0, abs=1e-6)
+
+    def test_high_dimensional(self):
+        """Test with 768-dimensional vectors (CLIP ViT-L/14 output size)."""
+        rng = np.random.RandomState(42)
+        a = rng.randn(768).astype(np.float32)
+        # Similarity with itself should be 1.0
+        score = cosine_similarity(a, a)
+        assert score == pytest.approx(1.0, abs=1e-5)
+
+
+class TestBatchSimilarity:
+    """Test batch similarity logic (matching the endpoint's numpy math)."""
+
+    def _batch_similarity(
+        self, query: np.ndarray, candidates: np.ndarray
+    ) -> tuple[list[float], int, float]:
+        """Replicate the batch-similarity endpoint logic."""
+        query_norm = query / (np.linalg.norm(query) + 1e-10)
+        candidate_norms = candidates / (
+            np.linalg.norm(candidates, axis=1, keepdims=True) + 1e-10
+        )
+        scores = candidate_norms @ query_norm
+        scores_list = [float(s) for s in scores]
+        best_index = int(np.argmax(scores))
+        best_score = scores_list[best_index]
+        return scores_list, best_index, best_score
+
+    def test_best_match_index(self):
+        """The candidate most similar to the query should be identified."""
+        query = np.array([1.0, 0.0, 0.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        candidates = np.array(
+            [
+                [0.0, 1.0, 0.0],  # orthogonal
+                [0.9, 0.1, 0.0],  # close match
+                [1.0, 0.0, 0.0],  # exact match
+                [0.5, 0.5, 0.0],  # partial match
+            ],
+            dtype=np.float32,
+        )
+        scores, best_idx, best_score = self._batch_similarity(query, candidates)
+
+        assert best_idx == 2
+        assert best_score == pytest.approx(1.0, abs=1e-5)
+        assert len(scores) == 4
+        # Orthogonal candidate should score ~0
+        assert scores[0] == pytest.approx(0.0, abs=1e-5)
+
+    def test_single_candidate(self):
+        """Batch with a single candidate should work correctly."""
+        query = np.array([1.0, 1.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        candidates = np.array([[1.0, 1.0]], dtype=np.float32)
+
+        scores, best_idx, best_score = self._batch_similarity(query, candidates)
+        assert best_idx == 0
+        assert best_score == pytest.approx(1.0, abs=1e-5)
+
+    def test_scores_ordering(self):
+        """Scores should reflect relative similarity to the query."""
+        query = np.array([1.0, 0.0], dtype=np.float32)
+        candidates = np.array(
+            [
+                [0.5, 0.866],  # ~60 degrees
+                [0.866, 0.5],  # ~30 degrees
+                [1.0, 0.0],    # 0 degrees (exact)
+            ],
+            dtype=np.float32,
+        )
+        scores, best_idx, _ = self._batch_similarity(query, candidates)
+
+        # Exact match should be best
+        assert best_idx == 2
+        # 30 degrees should score higher than 60 degrees
+        assert scores[1] > scores[0]