diff --git a/src/scenes/Approvals.tsx b/src/scenes/Approvals.tsx
index ce6ccf5..de9e10c 100644
--- a/src/scenes/Approvals.tsx
+++ b/src/scenes/Approvals.tsx
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@ export default function Approvals() {
   const [busy, setBusy] = useState<string | null>(null);
 
   const tenantId = useApp((s) => s.tenantId);
+  const [runtimeHealth, setRuntimeHealth] = useState<"unknown" | "up" | "down">("unknown");
+
   const loadQueue = async () => {
     if (!tenantId) {
       setItems([]);
@@ -52,6 +54,21 @@ export default function Approvals() {
 
   useEffect(() => { void loadQueue(); }, [tenantId]);
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    let cancelled = false;
+    fetch(`${api.config.baseUrl}/api/ea2/runtime-values`, {
+      method: "GET",
+      headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${sessionStorage.getItem("fm.mc.token.v1")}` },
+    })
+      .then((r) => {
+        if (cancelled) return;
+        if (r.status === 422 || r.ok) setRuntimeHealth("up");
+        else setRuntimeHealth("down");
+      })
+      .catch(() => { if (!cancelled) setRuntimeHealth("down"); });
+    return () => { cancelled = true; };
+  }, []);
+
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!activeKey) return;
     let cancelled = false;
@@ -163,21 +180,26 @@ export default function Approvals() {
                   </ul>
                 </div>
               )}
-              <div className="approvals-runtime-note">
-                Acting on a step writes the decision back to EA2. The runtime-values service in this environment is currently offline, so a Submit will be rejected with an error. Use this view to inspect cases; switch to a live environment to act on them.
-              </div>
+              {runtimeHealth === "down" && (
+                <div className="approvals-runtime-note">
+                  Runtime engine is unreachable from this environment. Action buttons are disabled. Use this view to inspect cases; once the runtime comes back, actions will write to EA2.
+                </div>
+              )}
               <div className="approvals-actions">
-                {(tx.available_actions || []).map((a: any) => (
-                  <button
-                    key={a.id}
-                    className={`btn ${a.kind === "approve" || a.kind === "submit" ? "btn-primary" : "btn-secondary"}`}
-                    disabled={!a.enabled || busy === a.id}
-                    onClick={() => handleAction(a.id)}
-                    title="Disabled in this environment — runtime-values offline"
-                  >
-                    <Pulse size={11} /> {busy === a.id ? "Sending…" : `${a.display_label || a.id} · preview`}
-                  </button>
-                ))}
+                {(tx.available_actions || []).map((a: any) => {
+                  const disabled = !a.enabled || busy === a.id || runtimeHealth === "down";
+                  return (
+                    <button
+                      key={a.id}
+                      className={`btn ${a.kind === "approve" || a.kind === "submit" ? "btn-primary" : "btn-secondary"}`}
+                      disabled={disabled}
+                      onClick={() => handleAction(a.id)}
+                      title={runtimeHealth === "down" ? "Runtime engine offline" : a.display_label || a.id}
+                    >
+                      <Pulse size={11} /> {busy === a.id ? "Sending…" : a.display_label || a.id}
+                    </button>
+                  );
+                })}
                 {(!tx.available_actions || tx.available_actions.length === 0) && (
                   <div className="hub-empty">No actions available on this step.</div>
                 )}