diff --git a/backend/src/workspaces/contracts.ts b/backend/src/workspaces/contracts.ts
index 6ffcb2c8..0d97d23a 100644
--- a/backend/src/workspaces/contracts.ts
+++ b/backend/src/workspaces/contracts.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { validateCanonicalWorkspace } from "./schema.js";
 import type { CanonicalWorkspace, DwhTransport, VectorTransport } from "./schema.js";
 
 export type InstallationRole = "DWH" | "VECTOR" | "EMBEDDING";
@@ -34,15 +35,24 @@ export interface InstallationContract {
   variables: InstallationVariable[];
 }
 
-const CONNECTOR_SUFFIXES: readonly InstallationSuffix[] = [
-  "TRANSPORT",
+const DIRECT_SUFFIXES: readonly InstallationSuffix[] = [
   "HOST",
   "PORT",
-  "BASE_URL",
   "USER",
   "PASSWORD_FILE",
+  "TLS_CA_FILE",
+];
+
+const REST_SUFFIXES: readonly InstallationSuffix[] = [
+  "BASE_URL",
   "API_KEY_FILE",
   "TLS_CA_FILE",
+];
+
+const SSH_SUFFIXES: readonly InstallationSuffix[] = [
+  "USER",
+  "PASSWORD_FILE",
+  "TLS_CA_FILE",
   "SSH_HOST",
   "SSH_PORT",
   "SSH_USER",
@@ -82,21 +92,46 @@ function connectorVariables(
   role: "DWH" | "VECTOR",
   transports: readonly ConnectorTransport[],
 ): InstallationVariable[] {
-  return CONNECTOR_SUFFIXES.map((suffix) => createVariable(namespace, role, suffix, transports));
+  const suffixTransports = new Map<InstallationSuffix, ConnectorTransport[]>();
+  const add = (suffixes: readonly InstallationSuffix[], transport: ConnectorTransport) => {
+    for (const suffix of suffixes) {
+      const applicable = suffixTransports.get(suffix) ?? [];
+      applicable.push(transport);
+      suffixTransports.set(suffix, applicable);
+    }
+  };
+
+  for (const transport of transports) {
+    if (transport === "postgres_direct" || transport === "pgvector_direct") {
+      add(DIRECT_SUFFIXES, transport);
+    } else if (transport === "rest_api") {
+      add(REST_SUFFIXES, transport);
+    } else {
+      add(SSH_SUFFIXES, transport);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return [
+    createVariable(namespace, role, "TRANSPORT", transports),
+    ...[...suffixTransports.entries()].map(([suffix, applicable]) => (
+      createVariable(namespace, role, suffix, applicable)
+    )),
+  ];
 }
 
 export function buildInstallationContract(workspace: CanonicalWorkspace): InstallationContract {
-  const namespace = namespaceFor(workspace);
+  const canonical = validateCanonicalWorkspace(workspace);
+  const namespace = namespaceFor(canonical);
 
   return {
-    workspaceId: workspace.workspace.id,
+    workspaceId: canonical.workspace.id,
     namespace,
     variables: [
-      ...connectorVariables(namespace, "DWH", workspace.dwh.supported_transports),
+      ...connectorVariables(namespace, "DWH", canonical.dwh.supported_transports),
       ...connectorVariables(
         namespace,
         "VECTOR",
-        workspace.semantic_index.vector_store.supported_transports,
+        canonical.semantic_index.vector_store.supported_transports,
       ),
       ...EMBEDDING_SUFFIXES.map((suffix) => createVariable(namespace, "EMBEDDING", suffix)),
     ],
@@ -110,7 +145,8 @@ function localizedIntroduction(workspace: CanonicalWorkspace): string {
 }
 
 export function renderWorkspaceDocs(workspace: CanonicalWorkspace): { envExample: string; markdown: string } {
-  const contract = buildInstallationContract(workspace);
+  const canonical = validateCanonicalWorkspace(workspace);
+  const contract = buildInstallationContract(canonical);
   const variablesByRole = new Map<InstallationRole, InstallationVariable[]>();
   for (const variable of contract.variables) {
     const variables = variablesByRole.get(variable.role) ?? [];
@@ -119,7 +155,7 @@ export function renderWorkspaceDocs(workspace: CanonicalWorkspace): { envExample
   }
 
   const envExample = [
-    `# Generated installation bindings for ${workspace.workspace.id}`,
+    `# Generated installation bindings for ${canonical.workspace.id}`,
     "# Provide secret file paths only; never paste secret values here.",
     ...contract.variables.map((variable) => `${variable.name}=`),
     "",
@@ -128,16 +164,18 @@ export function renderWorkspaceDocs(workspace: CanonicalWorkspace): { envExample
   const markdown = [
     "# Installation requirements",
     "",
-    `**Workspace:** ${workspace.workspace.name}`,
+    `**Workspace:** ${canonical.workspace.name}`,
     "",
-    localizedIntroduction(workspace),
+    localizedIntroduction(canonical),
     "",
     "Use the following UI fields as installation bindings. Secret fields always contain file paths, never secret values.",
     "",
     ...(["DWH", "VECTOR", "EMBEDDING"] as const).flatMap((role) => [
       `## ${role === "DWH" ? "Data warehouse" : role === "VECTOR" ? "Vector store" : "Embedding service"}`,
       "",
-      ...(variablesByRole.get(role) ?? []).map((variable) => `- \`${variable.name}\``),
+      ...(variablesByRole.get(role) ?? []).map((variable) => (
+        `- \`${variable.name}\`${variable.transports ? ` (for: ${variable.transports.join(", ")})` : ""}`
+      )),
       "",
     ]),
   ].join("\n");
diff --git a/backend/src/workspaces/schema.ts b/backend/src/workspaces/schema.ts
index da5ad961..619ca55c 100644
--- a/backend/src/workspaces/schema.ts
+++ b/backend/src/workspaces/schema.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ export interface CanonicalWorkspace {
     engine: "postgres";
     database: string;
     schema: string;
+    port?: number;
+    timeout_ms?: number;
     supported_transports: DwhTransport[];
   };
   semantic_index: {
@@ -27,12 +29,15 @@ export interface CanonicalWorkspace {
       collection: string;
       dimensions: number;
       distance: "cosine" | "l2" | "inner_product";
+      port?: number;
+      timeout_ms?: number;
       supported_transports: VectorTransport[];
     };
     embedding: {
       provider: "ollama_compatible" | "openai_compatible";
       model: string;
       dimensions: number;
+      timeout_ms?: number;
     };
   };
   llm_policy: {
@@ -48,6 +53,8 @@ const identifier = z.string().regex(/^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*$/, {
   message: "database identifiers must start with a letter or underscore",
 });
 const dimensions = z.number().int().positive().max(32_768);
+const port = z.number().int().min(1).max(65_535);
+const timeoutMs = z.number().int().positive();
 const modelReference = z.string().regex(/^[^/\s]+\/[^/\s]+$/, {
   message: "model must use provider/model syntax",
 });
@@ -70,6 +77,8 @@ const WorkspaceSchema = z.object({
     engine: z.literal("postgres"),
     database: identifier,
     schema: identifier,
+    port: port.optional(),
+    timeout_ms: timeoutMs.optional(),
     supported_transports: z.array(z.enum(DWH_TRANSPORTS)).min(1),
   }).strict(),
   semantic_index: z.object({
@@ -78,12 +87,15 @@ const WorkspaceSchema = z.object({
       collection: identifier,
       dimensions,
       distance: z.enum(["cosine", "l2", "inner_product"]),
+      port: port.optional(),
+      timeout_ms: timeoutMs.optional(),
       supported_transports: z.array(z.enum(VECTOR_TRANSPORTS)).min(1),
     }).strict(),
     embedding: z.object({
       provider: z.enum(["ollama_compatible", "openai_compatible"]),
       model: z.string().trim().min(1),
       dimensions,
+      timeout_ms: timeoutMs.optional(),
     }).strict(),
   }).strict(),
   llm_policy: z.object({
@@ -127,11 +139,15 @@ export function parseWorkspaceYaml(source: string): CanonicalWorkspace {
     throw new Error(`Invalid workspace YAML: ${document.errors.map((error) => error.message).join("; ")}`);
   }
 
-  return WorkspaceSchema.parse(document.toJSON()) as CanonicalWorkspace;
+  return validateCanonicalWorkspace(document.toJSON());
+}
+
+export function validateCanonicalWorkspace(workspace: unknown): CanonicalWorkspace {
+  return WorkspaceSchema.parse(workspace) as CanonicalWorkspace;
 }
 
 export function serializeWorkspaceYaml(workspace: CanonicalWorkspace): string {
-  const canonical = WorkspaceSchema.parse(workspace) as CanonicalWorkspace;
+  const canonical = validateCanonicalWorkspace(workspace);
   return stringify(canonical, { lineWidth: 0, sortMapEntries: true });
 }
 
diff --git a/backend/test/workspaces-contracts.test.ts b/backend/test/workspaces-contracts.test.ts
index a65e010f..ac7acb81 100644
--- a/backend/test/workspaces-contracts.test.ts
+++ b/backend/test/workspaces-contracts.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { expect, test } from "vitest";
 import { buildInstallationContract, renderWorkspaceDocs } from "../src/workspaces/contracts.js";
-import { parseWorkspaceYaml } from "../src/workspaces/schema.js";
+import { type CanonicalWorkspace, parseWorkspaceYaml } from "../src/workspaces/schema.js";
 
 const validWorkspace = parseWorkspaceYaml(`workspace:
   schema_version: 1
@@ -66,3 +66,70 @@ test("renders English UI headings and workspace-language Italian prose", () => {
   expect(docs.markdown).toContain("Configurazione dell'installazione");
   expect(docs.envExample).toContain("THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_VECTOR_TRANSPORT=");
 });
+
+function withTransports(
+  dwhTransport: CanonicalWorkspace["dwh"]["supported_transports"][number],
+  vectorTransport: CanonicalWorkspace["semantic_index"]["vector_store"]["supported_transports"][number],
+): CanonicalWorkspace {
+  return {
+    ...validWorkspace,
+    dwh: { ...validWorkspace.dwh, supported_transports: [dwhTransport] },
+    semantic_index: {
+      ...validWorkspace.semantic_index,
+      vector_store: {
+        ...validWorkspace.semantic_index.vector_store,
+        supported_transports: [vectorTransport],
+      },
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+test("emits only direct connector bindings for direct transports", () => {
+  const variables = buildInstallationContract(withTransports("postgres_direct", "pgvector_direct")).variables;
+
+  for (const role of ["DWH", "VECTOR"] as const) {
+    const names = variables.filter((variable) => variable.role === role).map((variable) => variable.name);
+    expect(names).toContain(`THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_${role}_HOST`);
+    expect(names).toContain(`THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_${role}_PASSWORD_FILE`);
+    expect(names).not.toContain(`THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_${role}_BASE_URL`);
+    expect(names).not.toContain(`THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_${role}_API_KEY_FILE`);
+    expect(names.some((name) => name.includes("_SSH_"))).toBe(false);
+  }
+});
+
+test("emits only REST connector bindings for REST transports", () => {
+  const variables = buildInstallationContract(withTransports("rest_api", "rest_api")).variables;
+
+  for (const role of ["DWH", "VECTOR"] as const) {
+    const names = variables.filter((variable) => variable.role === role).map((variable) => variable.name);
+    expect(names).toContain(`THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_${role}_BASE_URL`);
+    expect(names).toContain(`THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_${role}_API_KEY_FILE`);
+    expect(names).not.toContain(`THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_${role}_HOST`);
+    expect(names).not.toContain(`THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_${role}_PASSWORD_FILE`);
+    expect(names.some((name) => name.includes("_SSH_"))).toBe(false);
+  }
+});
+
+test("emits SSH bindings only for SSH-tunnel transports", () => {
+  const variables = buildInstallationContract(withTransports("ssh_tunnel", "ssh_tunnel")).variables;
+
+  for (const role of ["DWH", "VECTOR"] as const) {
+    const roleVariables = variables.filter((variable) => variable.role === role);
+    expect(roleVariables.map((variable) => variable.name))
+      .toContain(`THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_${role}_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE`);
+    expect(roleVariables.find((variable) => variable.suffix === "SSH_HOST")?.transports)
+      .toEqual(["ssh_tunnel"]);
+    expect(roleVariables.map((variable) => variable.name))
+      .not.toContain(`THT_WS_PSD_CLINICAL_${role}_BASE_URL`);
+  }
+});
+
+test("validates public contract and documentation inputs at runtime", () => {
+  const unsafeWorkspace = {
+    ...validWorkspace,
+    workspace: { ...validWorkspace.workspace, id: "psd\nclinical" },
+  } as CanonicalWorkspace;
+
+  expect(() => buildInstallationContract(unsafeWorkspace)).toThrow(/id/i);
+  expect(() => renderWorkspaceDocs(unsafeWorkspace)).toThrow(/id/i);
+});
diff --git a/backend/test/workspaces-schema.test.ts b/backend/test/workspaces-schema.test.ts
index 1367df6e..8f48d79e 100644
--- a/backend/test/workspaces-schema.test.ts
+++ b/backend/test/workspaces-schema.test.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ dwh:
   engine: postgres
   database: postgres
   schema: datawarehouse
+  port: 5432
+  timeout_ms: 5000
   supported_transports:
     - postgres_direct
     - rest_api
@@ -21,6 +23,8 @@ semantic_index:
     collection: clinical_documents
     dimensions: 768
     distance: cosine
+    port: 5432
+    timeout_ms: 5000
     supported_transports:
       - pgvector_direct
       - rest_api
@@ -29,6 +33,7 @@ semantic_index:
     provider: ollama_compatible
     model: nomic-embed-text-v2-moe
     dimensions: 768
+    timeout_ms: 5000
 llm_policy:
   default: zai/glm-5.2
   allowed:
@@ -53,6 +58,16 @@ test("rejects unknown keys and invalid immutable IDs", () => {
     .toThrow(/id/i);
 });
 
+test("accepts optional connection ports and timeouts but rejects unsafe values", () => {
+  expect(parseWorkspaceYaml(validYaml).dwh.port).toBe(5432);
+  expect(() => parseWorkspaceYaml(validYaml.replace("port: 5432", "port: 0")))
+    .toThrow(/port/i);
+  expect(() => parseWorkspaceYaml(validYaml.replace("port: 5432", "port: 65536")))
+    .toThrow(/port/i);
+  expect(() => parseWorkspaceYaml(validYaml.replace("timeout_ms: 5000", "timeout_ms: 0")))
+    .toThrow(/timeout/i);
+});
+
 test("serializes canonical YAML that parses back to the same workspace", () => {
   const workspace = parseWorkspaceYaml(validYaml);
   const serialized = serializeWorkspaceYaml(workspace);