diff --git a/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/README.md b/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/README.md
index 2450cb48866..bbba0572439 100644
--- a/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/README.md
+++ b/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/README.md
@@ -307,6 +307,7 @@ scrapes bypass CORS and JSON-RPC parsing, and the endpoint is unauthenticated.
 | `prover_prove_transaction_duration_seconds` | histogram | `outcome` | Duration of the whole proving call, covering input validation, the optional blocking check, the virtual OS run and proving. Recorded for failures too, so filter on `outcome` for success-only percentiles. |
 | `prover_os_run_duration_seconds` | histogram | none | Virtual OS execution time, recorded for successful runs only. |
 | `prover_stwo_prove_duration_seconds` | histogram | none | STWO proving time, recorded for successful runs only. Emitted only by builds with the `stwo_proving` feature. |
+| `prover_panics_total` | counter | none | Process panics caught by the global panic hook. Lets an alert watch the panic rate without a log search. |
 
 No user-controlled value becomes a label, so label cardinality stays bounded.
 
@@ -372,14 +373,15 @@ follow-up Ctrl+C would do nothing.
 
 ### Panics
 
-A global panic hook catches every panic and logs one `error`-level event with `event="panic"`. The
-event carries the panic location, the payload, and a forced backtrace. Only static string literals
-reach the log verbatim. A payload built at runtime can hold request or transaction data, so the
-hook replaces it with a placeholder.
+A global panic hook catches every panic. The hook increments `prover_panics_total` before it logs,
+so a recursive panic inside the logging cannot lose the count. It then logs one `error`-level event
+with `event="panic"`. The event carries the panic location, the payload, and a forced backtrace.
+Only static string literals reach the log verbatim. A payload built at runtime can hold request or
+transaction data, so the hook replaces it with a placeholder.
 
-The hook only logs. It does not call `process::abort()` and does not change unwinding behavior, so
-the tokio runtime still contains a panic raised inside a request task and the process keeps
-serving.
+The hook only logs and counts. It does not call `process::abort()` and does not change unwinding
+behavior, so the tokio runtime still contains a panic raised inside a request task and the process
+keeps serving. A rising `prover_panics_total` is therefore the signal to alert on.
 
 ## Limitations
 
diff --git a/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/metrics.rs b/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/metrics.rs
index 0fc94d417d4..a4f872fbb4f 100644
--- a/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/metrics.rs
+++ b/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/metrics.rs
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ const HTTP_DURATION_BUCKETS: &[f64] =
 pub mod names {
     /// Build identity. Always 1, labelled with `version` and `git_sha`.
     pub const BUILD_INFO: &str = "prover_build_info";
+    /// Unhandled panics recorded by the global panic hook.
+    pub const PANICS_TOTAL: &str = "prover_panics_total";
     /// Wall-clock duration of the whole `prove_transaction` call (validation,
     /// blocking check, OS run, proving), labelled by `outcome` so a query can
     /// separate success latency from failure latency. Bucketed.
@@ -112,6 +114,8 @@ pub fn install_exporter(version: &str, git_sha: &str) -> anyhow::Result<Promethe
         "git_sha" => git_sha.to_string(),
     )
     .set(1.0);
+    // Pre-register at zero so the series exists in scrapes before the first panic.
+    metrics::counter!(names::PANICS_TOTAL).increment(0);
     super::http_metrics::preregister_http_metrics();
     Ok(handle)
 }
diff --git a/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/panic.rs b/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/panic.rs
index 28c4e687e57..c9296b0ac79 100644
--- a/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/panic.rs
+++ b/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/panic.rs
@@ -1,14 +1,17 @@
 //! Process-wide panic hook. It replaces the default stderr output with one
 //! structured `tracing` event carrying the panic location and a backtrace,
-//! which log aggregators can index. The hook only logs. It does not change
-//! unwinding behavior, so the tokio runtime still contains a panic raised
-//! inside a request task and the process keeps serving.
+//! which log aggregators can index. It also increments `prover_panics_total`.
+//! The hook only logs and counts. It does not change unwinding behavior, so the
+//! tokio runtime still contains a panic raised inside a request task and the
+//! process keeps serving.
 
 use std::backtrace::Backtrace;
 use std::panic::PanicHookInfo;
 
 use tracing::error;
 
+use crate::server::metrics::names::PANICS_TOTAL;
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 #[path = "panic_test.rs"]
 mod panic_test;
@@ -18,6 +21,8 @@ pub fn install_panic_hook() {
 }
 
 fn panic_hook(info: &PanicHookInfo<'_>) {
+    // Increment first so a recursive panic in the logging below can't lose the count.
+    metrics::counter!(PANICS_TOTAL).increment(1);
     let payload = extract_payload(info);
     let location = info
         .location()
diff --git a/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/panic_test.rs b/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/panic_test.rs
index 7c552655399..398cf730b1f 100644
--- a/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/panic_test.rs
+++ b/crates/starknet_transaction_prover/src/server/panic_test.rs
@@ -1,13 +1,20 @@
 use std::panic::UnwindSafe;
+use std::sync::Mutex;
 
 use tracing_test::traced_test;
 
+use crate::server::metrics::names::PANICS_TOTAL;
 use crate::server::panic::install_panic_hook;
+use crate::server::test_recorder::{metric_value, shared_handle};
+
+/// Serializes the tests that install the global panic hook and read the shared
+/// `prover_panics_total` counter, so their before/after deltas don't interleave.
+static PANIC_HOOK_TEST_LOCK: Mutex<()> = Mutex::new(());
 
-// The panic hook is global state, so a single #[test] keeps the captures serial.
 #[test]
 #[traced_test]
 fn logs_structured_event_with_location_payload_and_backtrace() {
+    let _guard = PANIC_HOOK_TEST_LOCK.lock().unwrap_or_else(|poisoned| poisoned.into_inner());
     // Recorded right next to the panic, so a hook that stops reading
     // `info.location()` (or hardcodes it) fails here instead of passing on a
     // file-only match.
@@ -78,6 +85,18 @@ fn logs_structured_event_with_location_payload_and_backtrace() {
     });
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn panic_hook_bumps_panics_total_counter() {
+    let _guard = PANIC_HOOK_TEST_LOCK.lock().unwrap_or_else(|poisoned| poisoned.into_inner());
+    let handle = shared_handle();
+    let before = metric_value(&handle.render(), PANICS_TOTAL);
+
+    catch_panic_under_hook(|| panic!("counter-test panic"));
+
+    let after = metric_value(&handle.render(), PANICS_TOTAL);
+    assert_eq!(after - before, 1.0);
+}
+
 /// Runs `panicking_body` with the service panic hook installed and swallows
 /// the unwind. Restores whichever hook was installed before.
 fn catch_panic_under_hook(panicking_body: impl FnOnce() + UnwindSafe) {