diff --git a/fastapi_app.py b/fastapi_app.py
index c80f551..9d5d71c 100644
--- a/fastapi_app.py
+++ b/fastapi_app.py
@@ -1033,6 +1033,56 @@ async def run_image_classification_inference(
     except Exception as e:
         return JSONResponse(status_code=500, content={"error": str(e)})
 
+@app.post("/explain/image-classification", summary="Explain an Image Classification Prediction (Grad-CAM)")
+async def explain_image_classification(
+    model_checkpoint: str = Form(..., description="Path to the model checkpoint"),
+    image: UploadFile = File(..., description="The image to classify and explain.")
+):
+    """
+    Runs Grad-CAM on an uploaded image and returns the predicted class, its
+    confidence, and a URL to a heatmap overlay showing which regions of the
+    image drove the prediction.
+    """
+    if not job_store.is_valid_checkpoint_path(model_checkpoint):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Invalid or malicious model path")
+
+    input_path = os.path.join(UPLOAD_DIR, f"{uuid.uuid4()}_{image.filename}")
+    try:
+        with open(input_path, "wb") as buffer:
+            shutil.copyfileobj(image.file, buffer)
+
+        output_filename = f"cam_{os.path.basename(input_path)}.png"
+        output_path = os.path.join(OUTPUT_DIR, output_filename)
+
+        cmd = [
+            sys.executable, "image_classification_explain.py",
+            "--model_checkpoint", model_checkpoint,
+            "--image_path", input_path,
+            "--output_path", output_path,
+        ]
+        process = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True, check=True)
+
+        # The script emits a "RESULT_JSON:{...}" line with the prediction.
+        result = {}
+        for line in process.stdout.splitlines():
+            if line.startswith("RESULT_JSON:"):
+                result = json.loads(line[len("RESULT_JSON:"):])
+                break
+
+        return {
+            "prediction": result.get("prediction"),
+            "confidence": result.get("confidence"),
+            "output_url": f"/outputs/{output_filename}",
+        }
+    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+        return JSONResponse(status_code=500, content={"error": "Explanation script failed", "details": e.stderr})
+    except Exception as e:
+        return JSONResponse(status_code=500, content={"error": str(e)})
+    finally:
+        # Clean up the uploaded input image; the overlay in OUTPUT_DIR is served.
+        if os.path.exists(input_path):
+            os.remove(input_path)
+
 @app.post("/inference/image-segmentation", summary="Run Image Segmentation Inference")
 async def run_semantic_segmentation_inference(
     model_checkpoint: str = Form(..., description="Path to the model checkpoint"),
diff --git a/image_classification_explain.py b/image_classification_explain.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c6363e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/image_classification_explain.py
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+# image_classification_explain.py
+#
+# Grad-CAM explainability for image-classification models. Produces a heatmap
+# overlay showing which regions of the image drove the predicted class, so a
+# no-code user can see *why* a prediction was made — not just the label.
+#
+# Works across the registry's two model families:
+#   - CNNs (ResNet, ConvNeXt, EfficientNet): target the last Conv2d layer.
+#   - Transformers (ViT, BEiT, Swin, DINOv2): target the final LayerNorm and
+#     reshape the token sequence back to a 2D grid.
+
+import argparse
+import json
+
+import numpy as np
+import torch
+from PIL import Image
+from transformers import AutoModelForImageClassification, AutoImageProcessor
+
+from pytorch_grad_cam import GradCAM
+from pytorch_grad_cam.utils.image import show_cam_on_image
+from pytorch_grad_cam.utils.model_targets import ClassifierOutputTarget
+
+
+class HFClassifierWrapper(torch.nn.Module):
+    """Return raw logits (a plain tensor) so Grad-CAM can call .backward()."""
+
+    def __init__(self, model):
+        super().__init__()
+        self.model = model
+
+    def forward(self, x):
+        return self.model(pixel_values=x).logits
+
+
+def _grid_reshape(tensor):
+    """Reshape a (B, tokens, C) transformer output to (B, C, H, W).
+
+    Drops the leading CLS token when the token count is a perfect square + 1;
+    infers a square grid from the number of patch tokens.
+    """
+    n_tokens = tensor.size(1)
+    n_patches = n_tokens - 1 if int((n_tokens - 1) ** 0.5) ** 2 == (n_tokens - 1) else n_tokens
+    start = n_tokens - n_patches
+    side = int(round(n_patches ** 0.5))
+    result = tensor[:, start:start + side * side, :].reshape(
+        tensor.size(0), side, side, tensor.size(2)
+    )
+    return result.permute(0, 3, 1, 2)
+
+
+def select_target_layer(model):
+    """Pick a Grad-CAM target layer and (optionally) a reshape transform.
+
+    Returns (target_layers, reshape_transform_or_None).
+    """
+    conv_layers = [m for m in model.modules() if isinstance(m, torch.nn.Conv2d)]
+    if conv_layers:
+        # CNN: the last conv layer holds the richest localized features.
+        return [conv_layers[-1]], None
+
+    # Transformer: use the last LayerNorm and reshape tokens to a grid.
+    norm_layers = [m for m in model.modules() if isinstance(m, torch.nn.LayerNorm)]
+    if not norm_layers:
+        raise ValueError("Could not find a Conv2d or LayerNorm target layer for Grad-CAM.")
+    return [norm_layers[-1]], _grid_reshape
+
+
+def run_explain(model_checkpoint: str, image_path: str, output_path: str):
+    device = "cuda" if torch.cuda.is_available() else "cpu"
+    print(f"Using device: {device}")
+
+    processor = AutoImageProcessor.from_pretrained(model_checkpoint)
+    model = AutoModelForImageClassification.from_pretrained(model_checkpoint).to(device).eval()
+
+    image = Image.open(image_path).convert("RGB")
+    inputs = processor(images=image, return_tensors="pt").to(device)
+    pixel_values = inputs["pixel_values"]
+
+    # Predicted class.
+    with torch.no_grad():
+        logits = model(pixel_values=pixel_values).logits
+    pred_idx = int(logits.argmax(-1).item())
+    pred_label = model.config.id2label.get(pred_idx, str(pred_idx))
+    confidence = float(torch.softmax(logits, dim=-1)[0, pred_idx].item())
+    print(f"Predicted class: {pred_label} (Confidence: {confidence:.4f})")
+
+    # Grad-CAM.
+    target_layers, reshape = select_target_layer(model)
+    wrapper = HFClassifierWrapper(model)
+    cam = GradCAM(model=wrapper, target_layers=target_layers, reshape_transform=reshape)
+    grayscale_cam = cam(
+        input_tensor=pixel_values,
+        targets=[ClassifierOutputTarget(pred_idx)],
+    )[0]
+
+    # Overlay the heatmap on the (normalized-to-0..1) processed image so the CAM
+    # aligns with what the model actually saw.
+    vis = pixel_values[0].detach().cpu().numpy().transpose(1, 2, 0)
+    vis = (vis - vis.min()) / (vis.max() - vis.min() + 1e-8)
+    overlay = show_cam_on_image(vis, grayscale_cam, use_rgb=True)
+    Image.fromarray(overlay).save(output_path)
+    print(f"Explanation saved to: {output_path}")
+
+    return {"prediction": pred_label, "confidence": confidence, "output_path": output_path}
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Grad-CAM explanation for image classification.")
+    parser.add_argument("--model_checkpoint", type=str, required=True)
+    parser.add_argument("--image_path", type=str, required=True)
+    parser.add_argument("--output_path", type=str, required=True)
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    result = run_explain(args.model_checkpoint, args.image_path, args.output_path)
+    # Emit a JSON line so the API can parse the prediction alongside the image.
+    print("RESULT_JSON:" + json.dumps(result))
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 7b7ee79..d982740 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ pycocotools==2.0.11
 ultralytics==8.4.92
 faster-coco-eval==1.7.2
 segmentation-models-pytorch==0.5.0
+grad-cam==1.5.5
 
 # --- API ---
 fastapi==0.139.0
diff --git a/scripts/smoke_test.py b/scripts/smoke_test.py
index 163869d..65da2de 100644
--- a/scripts/smoke_test.py
+++ b/scripts/smoke_test.py
@@ -114,7 +114,13 @@ def smoke_classification(work: Path, env):
         img = next((data / "test").rglob("*.png"))
         ok = run([PY, "image_classification_inference.py",
                   "--model_checkpoint", ckpt, "--image_path", img], env)
-    return ("classification", ok and ckpt is not None)
+    if ok and ckpt:
+        # Grad-CAM explanation on the same checkpoint.
+        img = next((data / "test").rglob("*.png"))
+        ok = run([PY, "image_classification_explain.py", "--model_checkpoint", ckpt,
+                  "--image_path", img, "--output_path", work / "cls_cam.png"], env)
+        ok = ok and (work / "cls_cam.png").exists()
+    return ("classification+explain", ok and ckpt is not None)
 
 
 def smoke_detection_hf(work: Path, env):