diff --git a/tools/thothctl/cmd/thothctl/main.go b/tools/thothctl/cmd/thothctl/main.go
index 509c0eb6..a9f3d415 100644
--- a/tools/thothctl/cmd/thothctl/main.go
+++ b/tools/thothctl/cmd/thothctl/main.go
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ Commands:
   pi check            Alias for pi test.
   pi configure [--provider P --model M --thinking low|medium|high]
                       Select closed backend defaults interactively on a TTY; all flags are required otherwise.
+  pi restart --yes [--drain]
+                      Recreate only core with the currently selected Pi image and verify readiness.
   pi update --version V --source build --yes [--drain]
                       Rebuild a pinned Pi version and recreate only core.
   pi update --version V --source pull --image IMAGE@sha256:DIGEST --yes [--drain]
@@ -315,6 +317,21 @@ func piCommand(ctx context.Context, installation config.Installation, runner com
 		}
 		fmt.Fprintf(stdout, "Pi defaults applied and read back. Provider credentials remain only in the host file %s (mode 0600). Never pass credentials to thothctl.\n", authFile)
 		return 0
+	case "restart":
+		request, err := parsePiRestartArgs(
+			args[1:],
+			installation.RestartStatePath(),
+			installation.UpdateStatePath(),
+		)
+		if err != nil {
+			return commandUsageError(stderr, err.Error())
+		}
+		result, err := pi.Restart(ctx, controlled, request)
+		if err != nil {
+			return piFailure(stderr, err, secretValues)
+		}
+		fmt.Fprintf(stdout, "Pi core restarted with the existing image; version %s readiness and smoke checks passed.\n", output.Sanitize(result.Version, secretValues))
+		return 0
 	case "update":
 		request, err := parsePiUpdateArgs(args[1:], installation.UpdateStatePath())
 		if err != nil {
@@ -350,8 +367,13 @@ func piCommand(ctx context.Context, installation config.Installation, runner com
 			return 0
 		}
 		if len(args) == 3 && args[1] == "recover" && args[2] == "--yes" {
-			statePath := installation.UpdateStatePath()
-			if err := pi.RecoverMaintenance(ctx, controlled, statePath, true); err != nil {
+			if err := pi.RecoverLifecycleMaintenance(
+				ctx,
+				controlled,
+				installation.UpdateStatePath(),
+				installation.RestartStatePath(),
+				true,
+			); err != nil {
 				return piFailure(stderr, err, secretValues)
 			}
 			fmt.Fprintln(stdout, "Pi maintenance recovery verified; stale lifecycle files were removed and admissions are open.")
@@ -518,6 +540,30 @@ func parsePiUpdateArgs(args []string, statePath string) (pi.Request, error) {
 	return request, nil
 }
 
+func parsePiRestartArgs(args []string, restartStatePath, updateStatePath string) (pi.RestartRequest, error) {
+	request := pi.RestartRequest{StatePath: restartStatePath, UpdateStatePath: updateStatePath}
+	for len(args) > 0 {
+		switch args[0] {
+		case "--yes":
+			if request.Confirm {
+				return pi.RestartRequest{}, errors.New("--yes may be supplied once")
+			}
+			request.Confirm, args = true, args[1:]
+		case "--drain":
+			if request.Drain {
+				return pi.RestartRequest{}, errors.New("--drain may be supplied once")
+			}
+			request.Drain, args = true, args[1:]
+		default:
+			return pi.RestartRequest{}, errors.New("unknown pi restart option")
+		}
+	}
+	if !request.Confirm {
+		return pi.RestartRequest{}, errors.New("pi restart requires --yes")
+	}
+	return request, nil
+}
+
 func piFailure(stderr io.Writer, err error, secretValues []string) int {
 	code := 1
 	if errors.Is(err, pi.ErrConfirmationRequired) || errors.Is(err, pi.ErrInvalidRequest) || errors.Is(err, pi.ErrActiveSessions) || errors.Is(err, pi.ErrInterruptedUpdate) {
diff --git a/tools/thothctl/cmd/thothctl/main_test.go b/tools/thothctl/cmd/thothctl/main_test.go
index a956c662..aa36a43f 100644
--- a/tools/thothctl/cmd/thothctl/main_test.go
+++ b/tools/thothctl/cmd/thothctl/main_test.go
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ func TestLogsRejectsFollowAndOtherArguments(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestUsageDocumentsClosedConfigureUpdateSourcesAndMaintenanceRecovery(t *testing.T) {
+func TestUsageDocumentsClosedConfigureUpdateSourcesRestartAndMaintenanceRecovery(t *testing.T) {
 	if strings.Contains(usage, "--follow") {
 		t.Fatal("usage still advertises unbounded log following")
 	}
@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ func TestUsageDocumentsClosedConfigureUpdateSourcesAndMaintenanceRecovery(t *tes
 		"--provider P --model M --thinking low|medium|high",
 		"--source build",
 		"--source pull --image IMAGE@sha256:DIGEST",
+		"pi restart --yes [--drain]",
+		"Recreate only core with the currently selected Pi image",
 		"pi maintenance status",
 		"pi maintenance recover --yes",
 		"sessions migrate --yes",
@@ -103,6 +105,47 @@ func TestUsageDocumentsClosedConfigureUpdateSourcesAndMaintenanceRecovery(t *tes
 	}
 }
 
+func TestParsePiRestartArgs(t *testing.T) {
+	restartPath := "/var/lib/thothctl/restart-state.json"
+	updatePath := "/var/lib/thothctl/update-state.json"
+	for _, test := range []struct {
+		name    string
+		args    []string
+		want    pi.RestartRequest
+		wantErr string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "confirmed",
+			args: []string{"--yes"},
+			want: pi.RestartRequest{StatePath: restartPath, UpdateStatePath: updatePath, Confirm: true},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "drain",
+			args: []string{"--yes", "--drain"},
+			want: pi.RestartRequest{StatePath: restartPath, UpdateStatePath: updatePath, Confirm: true, Drain: true},
+		},
+		{name: "duplicate yes", args: []string{"--yes", "--yes"}, wantErr: "--yes may be supplied once"},
+		{name: "duplicate drain", args: []string{"--drain", "--drain"}, wantErr: "--drain may be supplied once"},
+		{name: "unknown", args: []string{"--force"}, wantErr: "unknown pi restart option"},
+	} {
+		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got, err := parsePiRestartArgs(test.args, restartPath, updatePath)
+			if test.wantErr != "" {
+				if err == nil || err.Error() != test.wantErr {
+					t.Fatalf("parsePiRestartArgs(%v) error = %v, want %q", test.args, err, test.wantErr)
+				}
+				return
+			}
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("parsePiRestartArgs(%v) error = %v", test.args, err)
+			}
+			if got != test.want {
+				t.Fatalf("parsePiRestartArgs(%v) = %#v, want %#v", test.args, got, test.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestRunSessionsMigrateRequiresExplicitConfirmationBeforeDocker(t *testing.T) {
 	fixture := newCLIFixture(t, "")
 	fixture.setProfile(t, "server")
@@ -596,6 +639,49 @@ func TestRunPiUpdateRequiresExplicitConfirmationWithoutInvokingDocker(t *testing
 	assertDockerNotInvoked(t, fixture)
 }
 
+func TestRunPiRestartRequiresExplicitConfirmationWithoutInvokingDocker(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newCLIFixture(t, "THT_LLM_URL=https://llm.example.invalid\n")
+	fixture.setEnvironment(t)
+
+	var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
+	exitCode := run(context.Background(), []string{
+		"--installation", fixture.installationPath, "pi", "restart",
+	}, &stdout, &stderr)
+
+	if exitCode != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("run() exit code = %d, want 2", exitCode)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(stderr.String(), "pi restart requires --yes") {
+		t.Errorf("stderr = %q, want explicit confirmation guidance", stderr.String())
+	}
+	assertDockerNotInvoked(t, fixture)
+}
+
+func TestRunPiRestartSanitizesSuccessOutput(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newCLIFixture(t, "PI_TOKEN_FILE=%s\nTHT_LLM_URL=https://llm.example.invalid\n")
+	secretPath := filepath.Join(fixture.root, "pi-restart-secret")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(secretPath, []byte("pi-restart-secret"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	fixture.setEnvironment(t, secretPath)
+	t.Setenv("THOTHCTL_FAKE_PI_VERSION", "pi-restart-secret")
+
+	var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
+	exitCode := run(context.Background(), []string{
+		"--installation", fixture.installationPath, "pi", "restart", "--yes",
+	}, &stdout, &stderr)
+
+	if exitCode != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("run() exit code = %d, stderr = %s", exitCode, stderr.String())
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(stdout.String(), "Pi core restarted with the existing image;") {
+		t.Fatalf("stdout = %q, want restart success", stdout.String())
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(stdout.String()+stderr.String(), "pi-restart-secret") {
+		t.Fatalf("Pi restart exposed a secret: stdout=%q stderr=%q", stdout.String(), stderr.String())
+	}
+}
+
 func TestRunPiUpdateRequiresExplicitSourceWithoutInvokingDocker(t *testing.T) {
 	fixture := newCLIFixture(t, "THT_LLM_URL=https://llm.example.invalid\n")
 	fixture.setEnvironment(t)
@@ -664,6 +750,46 @@ func TestRunPiMaintenanceStatusAndRecoverConfirmationContract(t *testing.T) {
 	assertDockerNotInvoked(t, second)
 }
 
+func TestRunPiMaintenanceRecoverClearsRestartLifecycleState(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newCLIFixture(t, "THT_LLM_URL=https://llm.example.invalid\n")
+	fixture.setEnvironment(t)
+	installation, err := config.Load(fixture.installationPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	const restartState = `{
+  "version": 4,
+  "transaction": "restart-recovery",
+  "phase": "preflight",
+  "target": {"version": "0.80.3", "source": "restart"},
+  "previous": {
+    "id": "sha256:bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb",
+    "reference": "thothii-core:local",
+    "mounts": [],
+    "mount_fingerprint": "e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855",
+    "configuration_sha256": "config"
+  }
+}`
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(installation.RestartStatePath()), 0o700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(installation.RestartStatePath(), []byte(restartState), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
+	exitCode := run(context.Background(), []string{
+		"--installation", fixture.installationPath, "pi", "maintenance", "recover", "--yes",
+	}, &stdout, &stderr)
+
+	if exitCode != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("run() exit code = %d, stderr = %s", exitCode, stderr.String())
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(installation.RestartStatePath()); !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		t.Fatalf("restart state still exists: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestRunWorkspaceInspectDispatchesThroughTheMaintenanceService(t *testing.T) {
 	fixture := newCLIFixture(t, "SAFE_VALUE=1\n")
 	fixture.setEnvironment(t)
@@ -866,13 +992,20 @@ case " $* " in
     fi
     printf '%s\n' '{"applied":[],"drifted":[],"pending":[]}' ;;
   *" ps --format json "*) printf '%s\n' '[{"Service":"core","State":"running","Health":"healthy"},{"Service":"frontend","State":"running","Health":"healthy"}]' ;;
+  *" ps -q core "*) printf '%s\n' 'core-id' ;;
   *" image inspect --format {{.Id}} "*) printf '%s\n' "${THOTHCTL_FAKE_IMAGE_ID:-sha256:bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb}" ;;
-  *"io.thothii.pi.version"*) printf '%s\n' '0.80.3' ;;
-  *"PI_VERSION"*) printf '%s\n' '0.80.3' ;;
-  *" pi --version "*) printf '%s\n' '0.80.3' ;;
+  *"inspect --format {{.Image}} core-id"*) printf '%s\n' "${THOTHCTL_FAKE_IMAGE_ID:-sha256:bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb}" ;;
+  *"inspect --format {{json .Mounts}} core-id"*) printf '%s\n' '[{"Type":"volume","Name":"settings","Source":"settings","Destination":"/home/thoth/.pi","RW":true}]' ;;
+  *"io.thothii.pi.version"*) printf '%s\n' "${THOTHCTL_FAKE_PI_VERSION:-0.80.3}" ;;
+  *"PI_VERSION"*) printf '%s\n' "${THOTHCTL_FAKE_PI_VERSION:-0.80.3}" ;;
+  *" pi --version "*) printf '%s\n' "${THOTHCTL_FAKE_PI_VERSION:-0.80.3}" ;;
   *"/pi-management/options "*) printf '%s\n' '{"providers":["provider"],"models":[{"provider":"provider","id":"model"}],"reasoning":["low","medium","high"]}' ;;
   *"settings-cli.js --snapshot"*) printf '%s\n' '{"exists":false,"rawBase64":""}' ;;
   *"/settings "*) printf '%s\n' '{"provider":"provider","model":"model","thinking":"medium"}' ;;
+  *"/pi-management/test "*) printf '%s\n' '{"ready":true}' ;;
+  *"/sessions?scope="*) printf '%s\n' '[]' ;;
+  *"/internal/maintenance/activate "*) printf '%s\n' '{"active":true,"admissions":0}' ;;
+  *"/internal/maintenance/deactivate "*) printf '%s\n' '{"active":false,"admissions":0}' ;;
   *"/internal/maintenance/status "*) printf '%s\n' '{"active":true,"admissions":0}' ;;
   *" logs "*) printf '%s\n' "$THOTHCTL_FAKE_LOG" ;;
   *" run --rm --no-deps --no-TTY "*" workspace-maintenance "*) printf '%s\n' "$THOTHCTL_FAKE_WORKSPACE_RESULT" ;;
@@ -918,6 +1051,7 @@ func (f cliFixture) setEnvContents(t *testing.T, env string) {
 	t.Setenv("THOTHCTL_FAKE_MIGRATION_EXIT", "0")
 	t.Setenv("THOTHCTL_FAKE_WORKSPACE_RESULT", "")
 	t.Setenv("THOTHCTL_FAKE_IMAGE_ID", "sha256:bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb")
+	t.Setenv("THOTHCTL_FAKE_PI_VERSION", "0.80.3")
 }
 
 func (f cliFixture) setProfile(t *testing.T, profile string) {