diff --git a/chat/app.py b/chat/app.py
index 6233d58..1d47509 100644
--- a/chat/app.py
+++ b/chat/app.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import chat.state.world  # noqa: F401
 
 from chat.web.bots import router as bots_router
 from chat.web.chat import router as chat_router
+from chat.web.drawer import router as drawer_router
 from chat.web.kickoff import router as kickoff_router
 from chat.web.nav import router as nav_router
 from chat.web.settings import router as settings_router
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ app.include_router(kickoff_router)
 app.include_router(settings_router)
 app.include_router(nav_router)
 app.include_router(chat_router)
+app.include_router(drawer_router)
 app.include_router(sse_router)
 app.include_router(turns_router)
 
diff --git a/chat/static/app.css b/chat/static/app.css
index f40bd40..915aa1c 100644
--- a/chat/static/app.css
+++ b/chat/static/app.css
@@ -79,3 +79,13 @@ code { font-family: ui-monospace, "SF Mono", Menlo, monospace; }
 .turn-input textarea { padding: 8px; font: inherit; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 3px; resize: vertical; }
 .drawer { position: fixed; top: 0; right: 0; width: 360px; height: 100vh; background: #fff; border-left: 1px solid #e5e5e5; padding: 16px; overflow-y: auto; z-index: 10; }
 .drawer[hidden] { display: none; }
+.drawer-content { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 16px; }
+.drawer-header { display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: space-between; padding-bottom: 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5; }
+.drawer-close { border: none; background: transparent; color: #1c1c1c; font-size: 24px; padding: 0 4px; cursor: pointer; }
+.drawer-section h3 { margin: 0 0 8px; font-size: 14px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.5px; color: #666; }
+.activity-row, .edge-row { margin-bottom: 12px; }
+.activity-row strong, .edge-row strong { display: block; }
+.memory-list { list-style: none; padding: 0; margin: 0; }
+.memory-list li { padding: 4px 0; font-size: 13px; }
+.sig { display: inline-block; min-width: 16px; }
+.sig-3 { color: #d4af37; }
diff --git a/chat/templates/_drawer.html b/chat/templates/_drawer.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..637a8d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/chat/templates/_drawer.html
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+<div class="drawer-content">
+  <header class="drawer-header">
+    <h2>{{ host_bot.name }}</h2>
+    <button class="drawer-close" type="button"
+            onclick="document.getElementById('drawer').setAttribute('hidden','')">&times;</button>
+  </header>
+
+  <section class="drawer-section">
+    <h3>Scene</h3>
+    {% if scene %}
+      <p>Started: {{ scene.started_at }}</p>
+    {% endif %}
+    {% if container %}
+      <p>Container: {{ container.name }} ({{ container.type }})</p>
+    {% else %}
+      <p class="muted">No active container.</p>
+    {% endif %}
+    <p>Time: {{ chat.time }}</p>
+  </section>
+
+  <section class="drawer-section">
+    <h3>Activity</h3>
+    {% for label, act in [("you", you_activity), (host_bot.name, bot_activity)] %}
+      <div class="activity-row">
+        <strong>{{ label }}</strong>
+        {% if act %}
+          <p>{{ act.posture or "—" }} / {{ (act.action or {}).verb or "—" }}</p>
+          {% if act.attention %}<p class="muted">attention: {{ act.attention }}</p>{% endif %}
+          {% if act.holding %}<p class="muted">holding: {{ act.holding|join(", ") }}</p>{% endif %}
+        {% else %}
+          <p class="muted">No activity recorded.</p>
+        {% endif %}
+      </div>
+    {% endfor %}
+  </section>
+
+  <section class="drawer-section">
+    <h3>Edges</h3>
+    {% if edge_b2y %}
+      <div class="edge-row">
+        <strong>{{ host_bot.name }} &rarr; you</strong>
+        <p>Affinity: {{ edge_b2y.affinity }}/100 &middot; Trust: {{ edge_b2y.trust }}/100</p>
+        {% if edge_b2y.summary %}<p class="muted">{{ edge_b2y.summary }}</p>{% endif %}
+        {% if edge_b2y.knowledge %}
+          <details><summary>Knowledge ({{ edge_b2y.knowledge|length }})</summary>
+            <ul>{% for fact in edge_b2y.knowledge %}<li>{{ fact }}</li>{% endfor %}</ul>
+          </details>
+        {% endif %}
+      </div>
+    {% endif %}
+    {% if edge_y2b %}
+      <div class="edge-row">
+        <strong>you &rarr; {{ host_bot.name }}</strong>
+        <p>Affinity: {{ edge_y2b.affinity }}/100 &middot; Trust: {{ edge_y2b.trust }}/100</p>
+        {% if edge_y2b.summary %}<p class="muted">{{ edge_y2b.summary }}</p>{% endif %}
+      </div>
+    {% endif %}
+    {% if not edge_b2y and not edge_y2b %}
+      <p class="muted">No edges yet.</p>
+    {% endif %}
+  </section>
+
+  <section class="drawer-section">
+    <h3>Pinned memories ({{ pinned|length }} / {{ pin_cap }})</h3>
+    {% if pinned %}
+      <ul class="memory-list">
+        {% for m in pinned %}
+          <li>
+            <span class="sig sig-{{ m.significance }}">{{ ['·','•','★','★★'][m.significance|default(0)] }}</span>
+            {{ m.pov_summary }}
+          </li>
+        {% endfor %}
+      </ul>
+    {% else %}
+      <p class="muted">No pinned memories.</p>
+    {% endif %}
+  </section>
+
+  <section class="drawer-section">
+    <h3>Recent memories</h3>
+    {% if recent_memories %}
+      <ul class="memory-list">
+        {% for m in recent_memories %}
+          <li>
+            <span class="sig sig-{{ m.significance }}">{{ ['·','•','★','★★'][m.significance|default(0)] }}</span>
+            {{ m.pov_summary[:200] }}{% if m.pov_summary|length > 200 %}…{% endif %}
+          </li>
+        {% endfor %}
+      </ul>
+    {% else %}
+      <p class="muted">No memories yet.</p>
+    {% endif %}
+  </section>
+</div>
diff --git a/chat/templates/chat.html b/chat/templates/chat.html
index 02f5c2d..0e45b6b 100644
--- a/chat/templates/chat.html
+++ b/chat/templates/chat.html
@@ -30,8 +30,11 @@
     <button type="submit">Send</button>
   </form>
 
-  <aside class="drawer" id="drawer" hidden>
-    <p class="muted">Drawer (read-only). T24 fills this in.</p>
+  <aside class="drawer" id="drawer" hidden
+         hx-get="/chats/{{ chat.id }}/drawer"
+         hx-trigger="revealed"
+         hx-swap="innerHTML">
+    <p class="muted">Loading drawer&hellip;</p>
   </aside>
 </div>
 <script>
diff --git a/chat/web/drawer.py b/chat/web/drawer.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c5a1e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/chat/web/drawer.py
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+"""Read-only chat drawer (T24).
+
+Returns an HTML partial rendered into the chat shell's `<aside id="drawer">`
+on first reveal. Shows the current scene + container, per-entity activity,
+host <-> you edges, pinned memories with an `n / cap` counter, and recent
+witnessed memories from the host's POV with significance markers.
+
+Edit affordances are added in T25; this endpoint is intentionally read-only.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, Request
+from fastapi.responses import HTMLResponse
+from fastapi.templating import Jinja2Templates
+
+from chat.state.edges import get_edge
+from chat.state.entities import get_bot, get_you
+from chat.state.memory import get_pinned
+from chat.state.world import active_scene, get_activity, get_chat, get_container
+from chat.web.bots import get_conn
+
+TEMPLATES = Jinja2Templates(
+    directory=str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "templates")
+)
+
+router = APIRouter()
+
+# Soft cap on pinned memories per owner (§8.5). Surfaced in the drawer header
+# as `pinned|length / pin_cap`; eviction logic itself lives in T22.
+PIN_CAP = 8
+
+# Recent-memories list is bounded to keep the drawer cheap to render.
+RECENT_LIMIT = 10
+
+
+@router.get("/chats/{chat_id}/drawer", response_class=HTMLResponse)
+async def drawer(chat_id: str, request: Request, conn=Depends(get_conn)):
+    chat = get_chat(conn, chat_id)
+    if chat is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail=f"chat not found: {chat_id}")
+
+    host_bot = get_bot(conn, chat["host_bot_id"])
+    if host_bot is None:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=404, detail=f"host bot not found: {chat['host_bot_id']}"
+        )
+    you_entity = get_you(conn) or {"name": "you", "pronouns": "", "persona": ""}
+
+    scene = active_scene(conn, chat_id)
+    container = None
+    if scene and scene.get("container_id") is not None:
+        container = get_container(conn, scene["container_id"])
+
+    you_activity = get_activity(conn, "you")
+    bot_activity = get_activity(conn, chat["host_bot_id"])
+
+    edge_b2y = get_edge(conn, chat["host_bot_id"], "you")
+    edge_y2b = get_edge(conn, "you", chat["host_bot_id"])
+
+    # Recent memories from host's POV (witness_host = 1), most recent first.
+    # Raw query keeps this read self-contained — no projector helper exposes
+    # "latest N for an owner" yet and the drawer is the only consumer.
+    recent_rows = conn.execute(
+        """
+        SELECT id, pov_summary, significance, pinned, created_at
+        FROM memories
+        WHERE owner_id = ? AND witness_host = 1
+        ORDER BY id DESC
+        LIMIT ?
+        """,
+        (chat["host_bot_id"], RECENT_LIMIT),
+    ).fetchall()
+    recent_memories = [
+        {
+            "id": r[0],
+            "pov_summary": r[1],
+            "significance": r[2],
+            "pinned": r[3],
+            "created_at": r[4],
+        }
+        for r in recent_rows
+    ]
+
+    pinned = get_pinned(conn, chat["host_bot_id"])
+
+    return TEMPLATES.TemplateResponse(
+        request,
+        "_drawer.html",
+        {
+            "chat": chat,
+            "host_bot": host_bot,
+            "you_entity": you_entity,
+            "scene": scene,
+            "container": container,
+            "you_activity": you_activity,
+            "bot_activity": bot_activity,
+            "edge_b2y": edge_b2y,
+            "edge_y2b": edge_y2b,
+            "recent_memories": recent_memories,
+            "pinned": pinned,
+            "pin_cap": PIN_CAP,
+        },
+    )
diff --git a/tests/test_drawer_render.py b/tests/test_drawer_render.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..89309d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_drawer_render.py
@@ -0,0 +1,210 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+
+from chat.app import app
+from chat.db.connection import open_db
+from chat.eventlog.log import append_event
+from chat.eventlog.projector import project
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def client(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    cfg = tmp_path / "config.toml"
+    cfg.write_text('featherless_api_key = "test"\n')
+    monkeypatch.setenv("CHAT_CONFIG_PATH", str(cfg))
+    db = tmp_path / "test.db"
+    monkeypatch.setenv("CHAT_DB_PATH", str(db))
+    with TestClient(app) as c:
+        # Disable background worker (we won't drive turns).
+        if hasattr(app.state, "background_worker"):
+            app.state.background_worker.enabled = False
+        yield c
+
+
+def _seed(db: Path) -> None:
+    with open_db(db) as conn:
+        append_event(
+            conn,
+            kind="bot_authored",
+            payload={
+                "id": "bot_a",
+                "name": "BotA",
+                "persona": "...",
+                "voice_samples": [],
+                "traits": ["shy"],
+                "backstory": "",
+                "initial_relationship_to_you": "",
+                "kickoff_prose": "",
+            },
+        )
+        append_event(
+            conn,
+            kind="you_authored",
+            payload={
+                "name": "Me",
+                "pronouns": "they/them",
+                "persona": "engineer",
+            },
+        )
+        append_event(
+            conn,
+            kind="chat_created",
+            payload={
+                "id": "chat_bot_a",
+                "host_bot_id": "bot_a",
+                "initial_time": "2026-04-26T20:00:00+00:00",
+                "narrative_anchor": "Day 1",
+                "weather": "",
+            },
+        )
+        # Activity for both you and host bot.
+        append_event(
+            conn,
+            kind="activity_change",
+            payload={
+                "entity_id": "you",
+                "posture": "sitting",
+                "action": {"verb": "thinking"},
+                "attention": "the screen",
+            },
+        )
+        append_event(
+            conn,
+            kind="activity_change",
+            payload={
+                "entity_id": "bot_a",
+                "posture": "standing",
+                "action": {"verb": "looking out the window"},
+            },
+        )
+        # Edge host -> you.
+        append_event(
+            conn,
+            kind="edge_update",
+            payload={
+                "source_id": "bot_a",
+                "target_id": "you",
+                "chat_id": "chat_bot_a",
+                "affinity_delta": 5,
+                "trust_delta": 2,
+                "knowledge_facts": ["Me likes coffee"],
+            },
+        )
+        # A regular memory.
+        append_event(
+            conn,
+            kind="memory_written",
+            payload={
+                "owner_id": "bot_a",
+                "chat_id": "chat_bot_a",
+                "pov_summary": "Talked about her sister",
+                "witness_you": 1,
+                "witness_host": 1,
+                "witness_guest": 0,
+                "significance": 2,
+            },
+        )
+        # A pinned memory with significance 3 (★★).
+        append_event(
+            conn,
+            kind="memory_written",
+            payload={
+                "owner_id": "bot_a",
+                "chat_id": "chat_bot_a",
+                "pov_summary": "First kiss",
+                "witness_you": 1,
+                "witness_host": 1,
+                "witness_guest": 0,
+                "significance": 3,
+                "pinned": 1,
+                "auto_pinned": 1,
+            },
+        )
+        project(conn)
+
+
+def test_drawer_404_when_chat_missing(client):
+    response = client.get("/chats/no_such/drawer")
+    assert response.status_code == 404
+
+
+def test_drawer_renders_scene_and_activity(client, tmp_path):
+    _seed(tmp_path / "test.db")
+    response = client.get("/chats/chat_bot_a/drawer")
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    body = response.text
+    # Scene/time anchor.
+    assert "2026-04-26" in body
+    # Activity verbs from both entities.
+    assert "thinking" in body
+    assert "looking out the window" in body
+    # Activity attention.
+    assert "the screen" in body
+
+
+def test_drawer_renders_edges(client, tmp_path):
+    _seed(tmp_path / "test.db")
+    response = client.get("/chats/chat_bot_a/drawer")
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    body = response.text
+    assert "BotA" in body
+    assert "you" in body
+    # Default affinity 50 + delta 5 = 55.
+    assert "55" in body
+    # Knowledge fact appears.
+    assert "Me likes coffee" in body
+
+
+def test_drawer_renders_memories_with_significance_markers(client, tmp_path):
+    _seed(tmp_path / "test.db")
+    response = client.get("/chats/chat_bot_a/drawer")
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    body = response.text
+    assert "Talked about her sister" in body
+    assert "First kiss" in body
+    # Pinned counter shows 1 / 8 (or 1/8).
+    assert "1 / 8" in body or "1/8" in body
+    # Significance star marker for the pinned, score-3 memory.
+    assert "★" in body
+
+
+def test_drawer_handles_no_state_gracefully(client, tmp_path):
+    db = tmp_path / "test.db"
+    with open_db(db) as conn:
+        # Just enough state for the chat to exist.
+        append_event(
+            conn,
+            kind="bot_authored",
+            payload={
+                "id": "bot_a",
+                "name": "BotA",
+                "persona": "...",
+                "voice_samples": [],
+                "traits": [],
+                "backstory": "",
+                "initial_relationship_to_you": "",
+                "kickoff_prose": "",
+            },
+        )
+        append_event(
+            conn,
+            kind="chat_created",
+            payload={
+                "id": "chat_bot_a",
+                "host_bot_id": "bot_a",
+                "initial_time": "2026-04-26T20:00:00+00:00",
+                "narrative_anchor": "Day 1",
+                "weather": "",
+            },
+        )
+        project(conn)
+    response = client.get("/chats/chat_bot_a/drawer")
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    body = response.text
+    # Drawer renders gracefully with empty placeholders.
+    assert "No active container" in body or "Container:" not in body
+    assert "No edges yet" in body or "Edges" in body