diff --git a/backend/app/services/db_helpers.py b/backend/app/services/db_helpers.py
index 992a76d..0a76379 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/db_helpers.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/db_helpers.py
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ from sqlalchemy import Select
 from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
+from ..models import Source
+from .gallery_dl import ErrorType
+
 
 async def get_or_create[T](
     session: AsyncSession,
@@ -50,3 +53,31 @@ async def get_or_create[T](
     except IntegrityError:
         await sp.rollback()
         return (await session.execute(select_stmt)).scalar_one(), False
+
+
+# --- shared Source health predicates ----------------------------------------
+#
+# The subscriptions rollup, the front-door status ribbon and the list endpoint
+# all have to agree on what "failing" and "no access" MEAN, or the ribbon says
+# 3 and the card it links to shows 4. Same reasoning as get_or_create above:
+# divergent copies of one predicate are how the drift creeps in. Defined here
+# rather than in source_service because scheduler_service needs them too, and
+# source_service already imports scheduler_service (the other direction would
+# be a cycle).
+
+
+def failing_sources_clause():
+    """A source is FAILING when its runs are actually erroring.
+
+    Deliberately not `last_error IS NOT NULL` — a tier-limited source clears
+    last_error and keeps a chip, and must never be counted as broken.
+    """
+    return Source.consecutive_failures > 0
+
+
+def no_access_sources_clause():
+    """A source we can't see the content of: the walk works, the tier doesn't
+    grant it (#874 / milestone #387 phase A). Not a failure — kept separate
+    from failing_sources_clause on purpose, and the two are disjoint because
+    an informational class only ever rides an otherwise-OK run."""
+    return Source.error_type == ErrorType.TIER_LIMITED
diff --git a/backend/app/services/scheduler_service.py b/backend/app/services/scheduler_service.py
index adda050..76c0b27 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/scheduler_service.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/scheduler_service.py
@@ -8,12 +8,13 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 from datetime import UTC, datetime, timedelta
 
-from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy import func, select
 from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import insert as pg_insert
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 from sqlalchemy.orm import selectinload
 
 from ..models import AppSetting, Artist, ImportSettings, Source
+from .db_helpers import failing_sources_clause, no_access_sources_clause
 
 MIN_INTERVAL_SECONDS = 60
 MAX_INTERVAL_SECONDS = 86400
@@ -219,10 +220,28 @@ async def scheduler_status(session: AsyncSession) -> dict:
 
     cooldowns = await active_platform_cooldowns(session)
 
+    # Ingestion health for the front-door ribbon (#387 B3). Counted over ENABLED
+    # sources rather than the auto_check subset walked above: a source that is
+    # erroring or paywalled is worth surfacing whether or not a schedule happens
+    # to poll it. Two scalar COUNTs, not a second pass over `rows`.
+    #
+    # Both predicates are the shared ones, so the ribbon and the surfaces it
+    # links to cannot disagree about what they are counting.
+    failing_sources = (await session.execute(
+        select(func.count()).select_from(Source)
+        .where(Source.enabled.is_(True), failing_sources_clause())
+    )).scalar_one()
+    no_access_sources = (await session.execute(
+        select(func.count()).select_from(Source)
+        .where(Source.enabled.is_(True), no_access_sources_clause())
+    )).scalar_one()
+
     return {
         "last_tick_at": last_tick_at,
         "next_due_at": next_due_at.isoformat() if next_due_at else None,
         "due_now": due_now,
         "auto_sources": len(rows),
+        "failing_sources": failing_sources,
+        "no_access_sources": no_access_sources,
         "platform_cooldowns": {p: dt.isoformat() for p, dt in cooldowns.items()},
     }
diff --git a/backend/app/services/source_service.py b/backend/app/services/source_service.py
index e6b22c0..51a2a6b 100644
--- a/backend/app/services/source_service.py
+++ b/backend/app/services/source_service.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ from ..models import (
     Post,
     Source,
 )
+from .db_helpers import failing_sources_clause
 from .gallery_dl import ErrorType
 from .platforms import known_platform_keys
 from .scheduler_service import compute_next_check_at
@@ -250,7 +251,9 @@ class SourceService:
             stmt = stmt.where(~Source.url.like("sidecar:%"))
         if failing:
             # Worst-first so the rollup card surfaces the loudest failures.
-            stmt = stmt.where(Source.consecutive_failures > 0).order_by(
+            # Shared clause: the front-door ribbon counts with the same one, so
+            # it can never report a number this list then contradicts.
+            stmt = stmt.where(failing_sources_clause()).order_by(
                 Source.consecutive_failures.desc(), Artist.name.asc(),
             )
         else:
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/posts/FeedStatusRibbon.vue b/frontend/src/components/posts/FeedStatusRibbon.vue
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9addca0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/posts/FeedStatusRibbon.vue
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+<template>
+  <!-- Renders nothing at all until it has something true to say. A ribbon that
+       shows a skeleton or an error on the front door would make the app look
+       broken every cold load; the feed is the point, this is an aside. -->
+  <div v-if="status" class="fc-ribbon">
+    <span class="fc-ribbon__item">
+      <v-icon size="x-small">mdi-clock-outline</v-icon>
+      Checked {{ lastCheckedLabel }}
+    </span>
+
+    <RouterLink
+      v-if="failing" class="fc-ribbon__item fc-ribbon__item--err"
+      :to="{ path: '/subscriptions', query: { status: 'errors' } }"
+    >
+      <v-icon size="x-small">mdi-alert-circle-outline</v-icon>
+      {{ failing }} {{ failing === 1 ? 'source is' : 'sources are' }} failing
+    </RouterLink>
+
+    <!-- The reason this ribbon exists. Phase A made "we can't see this
+         creator's posts" a durable fact; without a line here it stays buried
+         three clicks into Subscriptions, which is exactly where nobody looks
+         until they already suspect something. -->
+    <RouterLink
+      v-if="noAccess" class="fc-ribbon__item fc-ribbon__item--gated"
+      :to="{ path: '/subscriptions', query: { status: 'no_access' } }"
+    >
+      <v-icon size="x-small">mdi-lock-outline</v-icon>
+      {{ noAccess }} you can't see
+    </RouterLink>
+  </div>
+</template>
+
+<script setup>
+import { computed, onMounted } from 'vue'
+import { storeToRefs } from 'pinia'
+
+import { useSourcesStore } from '../../stores/sources.js'
+import { formatRelative } from '../../utils/date.js'
+
+const store = useSourcesStore()
+const { scheduleStatus: status } = storeToRefs(store)
+
+const failing = computed(() => status.value?.failing_sources || 0)
+const noAccess = computed(() => status.value?.no_access_sources || 0)
+const lastCheckedLabel = computed(() =>
+  formatRelative(status.value?.last_tick_at, { nullText: 'never' }),
+)
+
+onMounted(() => {
+  // Swallowed on purpose: this is an aside on the front door, and the feed
+  // must render whether or not the status call succeeds (rule #164 — a
+  // genuinely-external-ish fact degrades to absent, it never gates the page).
+  store.loadScheduleStatus().catch(() => {})
+})
+</script>
+
+<style scoped>
+.fc-ribbon {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  gap: 4px 14px;
+  padding: 2px 0 10px;
+  font-size: 0.78rem;
+  color: rgb(var(--v-theme-on-surface-variant));
+}
+.fc-ribbon__item {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 4px;
+  color: inherit;
+  text-decoration: none;
+}
+/* Only the actionable items take a colour, so a healthy instance reads as one
+   quiet grey line rather than a status dashboard. */
+.fc-ribbon__item--err { color: rgb(var(--v-theme-error)); }
+.fc-ribbon__item--gated { color: rgb(var(--v-theme-info)); }
+.fc-ribbon__item--err:hover,
+.fc-ribbon__item--gated:hover { text-decoration: underline; }
+</style>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SubscriptionsTab.vue b/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SubscriptionsTab.vue
index 1894e77..b5ef2b2 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SubscriptionsTab.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/components/subscriptions/SubscriptionsTab.vue
@@ -368,7 +368,19 @@ const platformsStore = usePlatformsStore()
 const importStore = useImportStore()
 
 const search = ref('')
-const statusFilter = ref('all')
+// URL-addressable (#387 B3) so the front-door status ribbon can link straight
+// to "the sources this number is about" — a count that lands you on an
+// unfiltered list makes the reader do the filtering the ribbon just did.
+// Mirrors how artistFilter already reads from route.query below.
+const statusFilter = computed({
+  get: () => route.query.status || 'all',
+  set: (v) => {
+    const q = { ...route.query }
+    if (!v || v === 'all') delete q.status
+    else q.status = v
+    router.replace({ query: q })
+  },
+})
 const needsAttention = ref(false)
 const expanded = ref([])
 const selected = ref([])
diff --git a/frontend/src/router.js b/frontend/src/router.js
index 3de94dd..00bd714 100644
--- a/frontend/src/router.js
+++ b/frontend/src/router.js
@@ -35,7 +35,10 @@ const routes = [
   //
   // No stickyChrome: unlike Browse/Gallery/Settings this view has no sticky
   // sub-header for the nav to butt against, so the nav keeps its normal fade.
-  { path: '/latest', name: 'latest', component: PostsView, meta: { title: 'Latest', navOrder: 5 } },
+  // `props` turns on the ingestion-status ribbon (#387 B3). Only here: inside
+  // Browse's Posts tab the same view renders without it.
+  { path: '/latest', name: 'latest', component: PostsView, props: { statusRibbon: true },
+    meta: { title: 'Latest', navOrder: 5 } },
 
   // FC-2: image backbone
   { path: '/showcase', name: 'showcase', component: ShowcaseView, meta: { title: 'Showcase', navOrder: 10 } },
diff --git a/frontend/src/views/PostsView.vue b/frontend/src/views/PostsView.vue
index 30bbb96..ee5b760 100644
--- a/frontend/src/views/PostsView.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/views/PostsView.vue
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@
 
     <!-- Normal feed -->
     <template v-else>
+      <FeedStatusRibbon v-if="statusRibbon" />
+
       <PostsFilterBar
         :artist-id="artistFilter"
         :platform="platformFilter"
@@ -89,6 +91,16 @@ import { useRoute, useRouter } from 'vue-router'
 import { usePostsStore } from '../stores/posts.js'
 import PostsFilterBar from '../components/posts/PostsFilterBar.vue'
 import PostCard from '../components/posts/PostCard.vue'
+import FeedStatusRibbon from '../components/posts/FeedStatusRibbon.vue'
+
+// The ingestion-status ribbon is a FRONT-DOOR concern, not a feed concern —
+// inside Browse's Posts tab you are looking FOR something, and the Subscriptions
+// hub is a click away. Passed as a route prop rather than sniffed from
+// route.name so the view does not have to know what it is mounted as, and so
+// the router file states the intent in one place.
+defineProps({
+  statusRibbon: { type: Boolean, default: false },
+})
 
 const route = useRoute()
 const router = useRouter()
diff --git a/frontend/test/components/feedStatusRibbon.spec.js b/frontend/test/components/feedStatusRibbon.spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9106f96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/test/components/feedStatusRibbon.spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+// @vitest-environment happy-dom
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach, vi } from 'vitest'
+
+import FeedStatusRibbon from '../../src/components/posts/FeedStatusRibbon.vue'
+import { useSourcesStore } from '../../src/stores/sources.js'
+import { freshPinia, mountComponent } from '../support/mountComponent.js'
+
+// #387 B3. This ribbon is the ONLY place phase A's work reaches someone who
+// wasn't already looking for it, so what it does and does not say is the whole
+// feature. These pin: it stays silent when it has nothing true to report, it
+// keeps "failing" and "no access" as separate claims, and it never renders a
+// zero — a "0 failing" on the front door is noise that trains you to ignore
+// the line, which is exactly what would hide the real number later.
+
+function mountWith (status) {
+  const pinia = freshPinia()
+  useSourcesStore().scheduleStatus = status
+  return mountComponent(FeedStatusRibbon, { pinia })
+}
+
+describe('FeedStatusRibbon', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    // The component fetches on mount and swallows failures by design; stub it
+    // so the assertions are about the seeded state, not a race with the call.
+    globalThis.fetch = vi.fn(async () => { throw new Error('offline') })
+  })
+  afterEach(() => vi.restoreAllMocks())
+
+  it('renders nothing before it has a status', () => {
+    const w = mountWith(null)
+    expect(w.find('.fc-ribbon').exists()).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('a healthy instance is one quiet line, with no zeroes', () => {
+    const w = mountWith({
+      last_tick_at: new Date().toISOString(), failing_sources: 0, no_access_sources: 0,
+    })
+    expect(w.find('.fc-ribbon').exists()).toBe(true)
+    expect(w.text()).toContain('Checked')
+    // Assert on the claims, not on the digit — a just-now timestamp can render
+    // its own "0 minutes ago" and a substring check would catch that instead.
+    expect(w.text()).not.toContain('failing')
+    expect(w.text()).not.toContain("can't see")
+    expect(w.find('.fc-ribbon__item--err').exists()).toBe(false)
+    expect(w.find('.fc-ribbon__item--gated').exists()).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('reports failing and no-access as two separate claims', () => {
+    const w = mountWith({
+      last_tick_at: new Date().toISOString(), failing_sources: 2, no_access_sources: 5,
+    })
+    expect(w.find('.fc-ribbon__item--err').text()).toContain('2 sources are failing')
+    expect(w.find('.fc-ribbon__item--gated').text()).toContain("5 you can't see")
+  })
+
+  it('no-access alone does not light the failing item', () => {
+    // The whole point of phase A: a paywalled creator is not a broken one.
+    const w = mountWith({
+      last_tick_at: new Date().toISOString(), failing_sources: 0, no_access_sources: 3,
+    })
+    expect(w.find('.fc-ribbon__item--err').exists()).toBe(false)
+    expect(w.find('.fc-ribbon__item--gated').exists()).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('says "never" rather than a blank when nothing has ever run', () => {
+    const w = mountWith({ last_tick_at: null, failing_sources: 0, no_access_sources: 0 })
+    expect(w.text()).toContain('never')
+  })
+
+  it('singularises one failing source', () => {
+    const w = mountWith({
+      last_tick_at: new Date().toISOString(), failing_sources: 1, no_access_sources: 0,
+    })
+    expect(w.find('.fc-ribbon__item--err').text()).toContain('1 source is failing')
+  })
+})
diff --git a/tests/test_scheduler_service.py b/tests/test_scheduler_service.py
index e94c554..3b40d1a 100644
--- a/tests/test_scheduler_service.py
+++ b/tests/test_scheduler_service.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import pytest
 from backend.app.models import Artist, ImportSettings, Source
 from backend.app.services.scheduler_service import (
     compute_effective_interval,
+    scheduler_status,
     select_due_sources,
 )
 
@@ -296,3 +297,67 @@ async def test_set_platform_cooldown_upserts(db):
         )
     )).scalars().all()
     assert len(rows) == 1
+
+
+# --- scheduler_status ingestion counts (#387 B3) --------------------------
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_status_counts_failing_and_no_access_separately(db):
+    """The front-door ribbon's two numbers must not bleed into each other.
+
+    A tier-limited source has consecutive_failures == 0 by construction (its
+    run succeeded), so counting failures by `last_error IS NOT NULL` or by the
+    presence of an error_type would report it as broken — which is the exact
+    claim phase A exists to stop the app making.
+    """
+    artist = await _seed_artist(db, name="cnt")
+    db.add_all([
+        Source(artist_id=artist.id, platform="patreon", url="https://cnt-broken",
+               enabled=True, consecutive_failures=3, error_type="auth_error"),
+        Source(artist_id=artist.id, platform="patreon", url="https://cnt-gated",
+               enabled=True, consecutive_failures=0, error_type="tier_limited"),
+        Source(artist_id=artist.id, platform="patreon", url="https://cnt-fine",
+               enabled=True, consecutive_failures=0),
+    ])
+    await db.commit()
+
+    status = await scheduler_status(db)
+    assert status["failing_sources"] == 1
+    assert status["no_access_sources"] == 1
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_status_counts_ignore_disabled_sources(db):
+    """Disabling is the operator's way of parking a sub they stopped paying for
+    (#1285 clears its state on the way). A parked source must not keep a number
+    lit on the front door."""
+    artist = await _seed_artist(db, name="cnt-off")
+    db.add_all([
+        Source(artist_id=artist.id, platform="patreon", url="https://cnt-off-broken",
+               enabled=False, consecutive_failures=5),
+        Source(artist_id=artist.id, platform="patreon", url="https://cnt-off-gated",
+               enabled=False, error_type="tier_limited"),
+    ])
+    await db.commit()
+
+    status = await scheduler_status(db)
+    assert status["failing_sources"] == 0
+    assert status["no_access_sources"] == 0
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_status_counts_are_not_scoped_to_auto_check(db):
+    """A source erroring on a manual-only artist is still erroring. The counts
+    deliberately span all enabled sources, unlike `auto_sources` above which
+    only describes what is on a schedule."""
+    artist = await _seed_artist(db, auto=False, name="cnt-manual")
+    db.add(Source(
+        artist_id=artist.id, platform="patreon", url="https://cnt-manual",
+        enabled=True, consecutive_failures=2,
+    ))
+    await db.commit()
+
+    status = await scheduler_status(db)
+    assert status["failing_sources"] == 1
+    assert status["auto_sources"] == 0