diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index de45d4d..10cfdf6 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -125,10 +125,13 @@ tower = { version = "0.5", default-features = false }
 tower-http = { version = "0.6", default-features = false, features = ["limit", "timeout"] }
 http-body-util = "0.1"
 
-# OpenTelemetry — OTLP trace + metrics export
+# OpenTelemetry — OTLP trace + metrics export.
+# Use the blocking HTTP exporter client to avoid Tokio-reactor panics in
+# OpenTelemetry background batch threads when ZeroClaw emits spans/metrics from
+# non-Tokio contexts.
 opentelemetry = { version = "0.31", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "metrics"] }
 opentelemetry_sdk = { version = "0.31", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "metrics"] }
-opentelemetry-otlp = { version = "0.31", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "metrics", "http-proto", "reqwest-client", "reqwest-rustls-webpki-roots"] }
+opentelemetry-otlp = { version = "0.31", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "metrics", "http-proto", "reqwest-blocking-client", "reqwest-rustls-webpki-roots"] }
 
 # Serial port for peripheral communication (STM32, etc.)
 tokio-serial = { version = "5", default-features = false, optional = true }
diff --git a/docs/config-reference.md b/docs/config-reference.md
index 2bc0a93..f19cb27 100644
--- a/docs/config-reference.md
+++ b/docs/config-reference.md
@@ -26,6 +26,28 @@ Schema export command:
 | `default_model` | `anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6` | model routed through selected provider |
 | `default_temperature` | `0.7` | model temperature |
 
+## `[observability]`
+
+| Key | Default | Purpose |
+|---|---|---|
+| `backend` | `none` | Observability backend: `none`, `noop`, `log`, `prometheus`, `otel`, `opentelemetry`, or `otlp` |
+| `otel_endpoint` | `http://localhost:4318` | OTLP HTTP endpoint used when backend is `otel` |
+| `otel_service_name` | `zeroclaw` | Service name emitted to OTLP collector |
+
+Notes:
+
+- `backend = "otel"` uses OTLP HTTP export with a blocking exporter client so spans and metrics can be emitted safely from non-Tokio contexts.
+- Alias values `opentelemetry` and `otlp` map to the same OTel backend.
+
+Example:
+
+```toml
+[observability]
+backend = "otel"
+otel_endpoint = "http://localhost:4318"
+otel_service_name = "zeroclaw"
+```
+
 ## Environment Provider Overrides
 
 Provider selection can also be controlled by environment variables. Precedence is:
diff --git a/tests/otel_dependency_feature_regression.rs b/tests/otel_dependency_feature_regression.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0620b75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/otel_dependency_feature_regression.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#[test]
+fn opentelemetry_otlp_uses_blocking_reqwest_client() {
+    let manifest = include_str!("../Cargo.toml");
+    let otlp_line = manifest
+        .lines()
+        .find(|line| line.trim_start().starts_with("opentelemetry-otlp ="))
+        .expect("Cargo.toml must define opentelemetry-otlp dependency");
+
+    assert!(
+        otlp_line.contains("\"reqwest-blocking-client\""),
+        "opentelemetry-otlp must include reqwest-blocking-client to avoid Tokio reactor panics"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        !otlp_line.contains("\"reqwest-client\""),
+        "opentelemetry-otlp must not include async reqwest-client in this runtime mode"
+    );
+}