diff --git a/bin/liveness_probe b/bin/liveness_probe
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..2035d8ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/liveness_probe
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env -S ruby --disable=gems
+
+$file_path = ENV.fetch("RACECAR_LIVENESS_PROBE_FILE_PATH", "")
+$liveness_max_interval = Integer(ENV.fetch("RACECAR_LIVENESS_PROBE_MAX_INTERVAL")) rescue nil
+
+file_path_and_max_interval_set? or exit(1)
+liveness_file_exists? or exit(1)
+liveness_within_timeout_interval? or exit(1)
+
+# Didn't exit so all is well
+$stderr.puts("Racecar healthcheck OK #{elapased_since_liveness_event}")
+exit(0)
+
+
+BEGIN {
+  def liveness_within_timeout_interval?
+    result = elapased_since_liveness_event < $liveness_max_interval
+    if result
+      true
+    else
+      $stdout.puts(
+        "Racecar healthcheck failed: No liveness within interval #{$liveness_max_interval}s. Last liveness at #{last_liveness_event_at}, #{elapased_since_liveness_event} seconds ago."
+      )
+      false
+    end
+  end
+
+  def liveness_file_exists?
+    result = File.exist?($file_path)
+    if result
+      true
+    else
+      $stdout.puts("Racecar healthcheck failed: File not found RACECAR_LIVENESS_PROBE_FILE_PATH=#{$file_path}")
+      false
+    end
+  end
+
+  def file_path_and_max_interval_set?
+    if !$file_path.empty? && $liveness_max_interval.is_a?(Integer)
+      true
+    else
+      $stdout.puts(
+        "Racecar healthcheck failed: Bad values RACECAR_LIVENESS_PROBE_FILE_PATH=`#{$file_path}` RACECAR_LIVENESS_PROBE_MAX_INTERVAL=`#{$liveness_max_interval}`"
+      )
+      false
+    end
+  end
+
+  def elapased_since_liveness_event
+    Time.now - last_liveness_event_at
+  end
+
+  def last_liveness_event_at
+    File.mtime($file_path)
+  end
+}
diff --git a/lib/racecar/cli.rb b/lib/racecar/cli.rb
index 76081eec..e0951788 100644
--- a/lib/racecar/cli.rb
+++ b/lib/racecar/cli.rb
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 require "fileutils"
 require "racecar/rails_config_file_loader"
 require "racecar/daemon"
+require "racecar/liveness_probe"
 
 module Racecar
   class Cli
@@ -58,6 +59,11 @@ def run
         $stderr.puts "=> Ctrl-C to shutdown consumer"
       end
 
+      if config.liveness_probe_file_path
+        $stderr.puts "=> Liveness probe enabled"
+        config.install_liveness_probe
+      end
+
       processor = consumer_class.new
       Racecar.run(processor)
       nil
diff --git a/lib/racecar/config.rb b/lib/racecar/config.rb
index ef64ea0f..4452211a 100644
--- a/lib/racecar/config.rb
+++ b/lib/racecar/config.rb
@@ -167,6 +167,12 @@ class Config < KingKonf::Config
           for backward compatibility, however this can be quite memory intensive"
     integer :statistics_interval, default: 1
 
+    desc "Path to a file Racecar will touch to show liveness"
+    string :liveness_probe_file_path
+
+    desc "Used only by the liveness probe script: Max time (in seconds) between liveness events before process is considered not live"
+    string :liveness_probe_max_interval
+
     # The error handler must be set directly on the object.
     attr_reader :error_handler
 
@@ -266,6 +272,14 @@ def instrumenter
     end
     attr_writer :instrumenter
 
+    def install_liveness_probe
+      require "active_support/notifications"
+      @liveness_probe = LivenessProbe
+        .new(ActiveSupport::Notifications, liveness_probe_file_path)
+        .tap(&:install)
+    end
+    attr_reader :liveness_probe
+
     private
 
     def rdkafka_security_config
diff --git a/lib/racecar/liveness_probe.rb b/lib/racecar/liveness_probe.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2cd87a1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/racecar/liveness_probe.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+require "fileutils"
+
+module Racecar
+  class LivenessProbe
+    def initialize(message_bus, file_path)
+      @message_bus = message_bus
+      @file_path = file_path
+      @subscribers = []
+    end
+
+    attr_reader :message_bus, :file_path, :subscribers
+
+    def install
+      unless file_path && file_writeable?
+        raise(
+          "Liveness probe configuration error: `liveness_probe_file_path` must be set to a writable file path.\n" \
+            "  Set `RACECAR_LIVENESS_PROBE_FILE_PATH` and `RACECAR_LIVENESS_MAX_INTERVAL` environment variables."
+        )
+      end
+
+      subscribers << message_bus.subscribe("start_main_loop.racecar") do
+        touch_liveness_file
+      end
+
+      subscribers = message_bus.subscribe("shut_down.racecar") do
+        delete_livess_file
+      end
+
+      nil
+    end
+
+    def uninstall
+      subscribers.each { |s| message_bus.unsubscribe(s) }
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def touch_liveness_file
+      FileUtils.touch(file_path)
+    end
+
+    def delete_livess_file
+      FileUtils.rm_rf(file_path)
+    end
+
+    def file_writeable?
+      File.write(file_path, "")
+      File.unlink(file_path)
+      true
+    rescue
+      false
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/racecar/runner.rb b/lib/racecar/runner.rb
index f0555748..0536a5f7 100644
--- a/lib/racecar/runner.rb
+++ b/lib/racecar/runner.rb
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ def run
       loop do
         break if @stop_requested
         resume_paused_partitions
+
+        @instrumenter.instrument("start_main_loop", instrumentation_payload)
         @instrumenter.instrument("main_loop", instrumentation_payload) do
           case process_method
           when :batch then
@@ -94,6 +96,7 @@ def run
     ensure
       producer.close
       Racecar::Datadog.close if Object.const_defined?("Racecar::Datadog")
+      @instrumenter.instrument("shut_down", instrumentation_payload || {})
     end
 
     def stop
diff --git a/spec/integration/kubernetes_probes_spec.rb b/spec/integration/kubernetes_probes_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3105e77b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/integration/kubernetes_probes_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+require "timeout"
+require "securerandom"
+require "active_support/notifications"
+require "racecar/cli"
+
+RSpec.describe "kubernetes probes", type: :integration do
+  describe "liveness probe" do
+    before do
+      set_env_vars
+      reset_config
+
+      input_topic = generate_output_topic_name
+      create_topic(topic: input_topic)
+      consumer_class.subscribes_to(input_topic)
+      Thread.current.name = "main"
+    end
+
+    after do
+      stop_racecar
+      ensure_liveness_file_is_deleted
+      unset_env_vars
+      reset_notifications
+    end
+
+    it "initially fails and passes when the main loop starts" do
+      expect(Pathname.new(liveness_file_path)).not_to be_readable
+      expect(run_probe).to be false
+
+      start_racecar
+      wait_for_main_loop
+
+      expect(run_probe).to be true
+    end
+
+    it "fails if processing stalls for too long" do
+      start_racecar
+      wait_for_main_loop
+
+      expect(run_probe).to be true
+
+      stall_processing(liveness_timeout * 1.1)
+
+      expect(run_probe).to be false
+    end
+
+    context "even when the timeout is long" do
+      let(:liveness_timeout) { 10 }
+
+      it "fails immediately after stopping" do
+        start_racecar
+        wait_for_main_loop
+
+        stop_racecar
+
+        expect(run_probe).to be false
+      end
+    end
+
+    let(:liveness_file_path) { "/tmp/racecar-liveness-file-#{SecureRandom.hex(4)}" }
+    let(:liveness_timeout) { 1 }
+    let(:racecar_cli) { Racecar::Cli.new([consumer_class.name.to_s]) }
+
+    let(:consumer_class) do
+      NoOpConsumer = Class.new(Racecar::Consumer) do
+        self.group_id = "soon-to-be-ready"
+
+        define_method :process do |_message|
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    def start_racecar
+      @cli_run_thread = Thread.new { Thread.current.name = "cli thread"; racecar_cli.run }
+    end
+
+    def stop_racecar
+      Process.kill("INT", Process.pid)
+      if @cli_run_thread.alive?
+        @cli_run_thread.wakeup
+        @cli_run_thread.join(2)
+        @cli_run_thread.terminate
+      end
+    end
+
+    def run_probe
+      command = "bin/liveness_probe"
+      output, status = Open3.capture2e(env_vars, command)
+      status.success?
+    end
+
+    def stall_processing(time)
+      test_thread = Thread.current
+      subscriber = ActiveSupport::Notifications.subscribe(/main_loop/) do |event, *_|
+        ActiveSupport::Notifications.unsubscribe(subscriber)
+
+        sleep(time)
+        test_thread.wakeup
+        sleep
+      end
+
+      sleep_with_timeout
+    end
+
+    def wait_for_main_loop
+      test_thread = Thread.current
+      subscriber = ActiveSupport::Notifications.subscribe(/main_loop/) do |event, *_|
+        ActiveSupport::Notifications.unsubscribe(subscriber)
+
+        test_thread.wakeup
+      end
+
+      sleep_with_timeout
+    end
+
+    def sleep_with_timeout(max_sleep = 2)
+      Timeout.timeout(max_sleep) { sleep }
+    end
+  end
+
+  def set_env_vars
+    env_vars.each { |k,v| ENV[k] = v }
+  end
+
+  def unset_env_vars
+    env_vars.each { |k,_v| ENV.delete(k) }
+  end
+
+  def env_vars
+    {
+      "RACECAR_LIVENESS_PROBE_FILE_PATH" => liveness_file_path,
+      "RACECAR_LIVENESS_PROBE_MAX_INTERVAL" => liveness_timeout.to_s,
+    }
+  end
+
+  def ensure_liveness_file_is_deleted
+    File.unlink(liveness_file_path) if File.exist?(liveness_file_path)
+  end
+
+  def reset_config
+    Racecar.config = Racecar::Config.new
+    Racecar.config.max_wait_time = 0.05
+  end
+
+  def reset_notifications
+    Racecar.config.liveness_probe.uninstall
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/liveness_probe_spec.rb b/spec/liveness_probe_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..90b707b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/liveness_probe_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+require "racecar/liveness_probe"
+require "active_support/notifications"
+
+RSpec.describe Racecar::LivenessProbe do
+  let(:probe) { Racecar::LivenessProbe.new(message_bus, file_path_string) }
+  let(:file_path) { Pathname.new(file_path_string) }
+  let(:file_path_string) { "/tmp/liveness-probe-test-#{SecureRandom.hex(4)}" }
+  let(:message_bus) { ActiveSupport::Notifications }
+
+  after do
+    ActiveSupport::Notifications.notifier = ActiveSupport::Notifications::Fanout.new
+    FileUtils.rm_rf(file_path)
+  end
+
+  describe "#install" do
+    context "when the file is writeable"  do
+      it "touches the file on 'start_main_loop'" do
+        probe.install
+
+        expect { message_bus.publish("start_main_loop.racecar") }.to(change { file_path.exist? }.from(false).to(true))
+      end
+
+      it "deletes the file on 'shut_down'" do
+        probe.install
+
+        FileUtils.touch(file_path)
+
+        expect { message_bus.publish("shut_down.racecar") }.to(change { file_path.exist? }.from(true).to(false))
+      end
+    end
+
+    context "when the file is not writable"  do
+      context "because the directory does not exist" do
+        let(:file_path_string) { "directory-does-not-exist/liveness-file" }
+
+        it "raises a helpful message" do
+          expect { probe.install }.to(raise_error(/Liveness probe configuration error/))
+        end
+      end
+
+      context "because the process does not have write permissions" do
+        let(:file_path_string) { "/etc" }
+
+        it "raises a helpful message" do
+          expect { probe.install }.to(raise_error(/Liveness probe configuration error/))
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "#uninstall" do
+    before { probe.install }
+
+    it "stops the probe " do
+      probe.uninstall
+
+
+      expect(file_path).not_to exist
+    end
+
+    def trigger_probe
+      message_bus.instrument("start_main_loop.racecar")
+    end
+  end
+end