diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index cf26c812..c7877d5d 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -54,6 +54,14 @@ on 401/429) for the REST API, and a socket.io *client* for status updates and lo
 - **Annotator** — thin: it forwards the loop frontend's `handle_user_input` events into
   `AnnotatorLogic` and keeps a per-frontend history.
 
+`helpers/entrypoint.py` holds what every node's `main.py` repeats: `node_parser` builds a
+configargparse parser with `--host`/`--port`, `run_node` starts uvicorn. A setting is a flag
+*and* an environment variable from one declaration — `--conf-threshold` reads
+`CONF_THRESHOLD`. The exception is `--host`/`--port`, which read `NODE_HOST`/`NODE_PORT`: the
+bare `HOST` already means the loop's address, and a node adopting it would hand it to uvicorn
+and fail to bind. A node that used to require a prefix passes `legacy_env_prefix`, and the
+prefixed names keep working with a warning.
+
 `detector/postprocess.py` and `detector/geometry.py` hold the parts of a detector that do *not*
 depend on the model: confidence filtering, per-class NMS, box/point clipping, and turning
 predictions into the loop's dataclasses. A node should import them rather than write its own —
diff --git a/learning_loop_node/helpers/entrypoint.py b/learning_loop_node/helpers/entrypoint.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..830c89ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/learning_loop_node/helpers/entrypoint.py
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+"""The boilerplate every node's ``main.py`` repeats.
+
+A node entry point always does the same four things: read a handful of settings, build the
+logic object, construct the node, and hand it to uvicorn. Only the middle two are the node's
+own, so :func:`node_parser` and :func:`run_node` cover the rest.
+
+Settings come from a flag *or* an environment variable, because a node is configured on the
+command line while developing and through the container environment in deployment. One
+declaration gives both: ``--conf-threshold`` reads ``CONF_THRESHOLD``.
+
+``--host`` and ``--port`` are the exception — they read ``NODE_HOST`` and ``NODE_PORT`` rather
+than the names their flags imply, because the bare ``HOST`` already means *the loop's address*
+and a node adopting it would hand it to uvicorn and fail to bind.
+"""
+
+import logging
+import os
+from argparse import Action, Namespace
+
+import configargparse
+import uvicorn
+
+
+def node_parser(*, description: str, legacy_env_prefix: str = '') -> configargparse.ArgumentParser:
+    """Build the parser for a node, pre-loaded with the settings every node has.
+
+    :param legacy_env_prefix: A prefix an earlier version of this node required, e.g.
+        ``'DFINE_DETECTOR_'``. Prefixed names are still honoured, with a warning, so a
+        deployment keeps working until it is updated. Leave empty for a node that has always
+        read unprefixed names.
+    """
+    parser = _NodeArgumentParser(description=description, legacy_env_prefix=legacy_env_prefix)
+    parser.add_argument('--host', default='0.0.0.0', env_var='NODE_HOST',
+                        help='Host interface to bind to')
+    parser.add_argument('--port', type=int, default=80, env_var='NODE_PORT', help='Port to bind to')
+    return parser
+
+
+def run_node(app: str, args: Namespace) -> None:
+    """Serve the node.
+
+    :param app: Import string of the node object, conventionally ``'main:node'``.
+    """
+    reload = os.getenv('UVICORN_RELOAD', 'FALSE').lower() in ('true', '1')
+    logging.info('Uvicorn reload is set to: %s', reload)
+    uvicorn.run(app, host=args.host, port=args.port, lifespan='on', reload=reload)
+
+
+class _NodeArgumentParser(configargparse.ArgumentParser):
+    """Parser whose every setting is also an environment variable named after its flag."""
+
+    def __init__(self, *, description: str, legacy_env_prefix: str) -> None:
+        super().__init__(description=description)
+        self.legacy_env_prefix = legacy_env_prefix
+
+    def add_argument(self, *args, **kwargs) -> Action:  # type: ignore[override]
+        action = super().add_argument(*args, **kwargs)
+        if getattr(action, 'env_var', None) is None and action.dest != 'help':
+            action.env_var = action.dest.upper()
+        return action
+
+    def parse_args(self, *args, **kwargs) -> Namespace:  # type: ignore[override]
+        self._adopt_legacy_env_vars()
+        return super().parse_args(*args, **kwargs)
+
+    def _adopt_legacy_env_vars(self) -> None:
+        if not self.legacy_env_prefix:
+            return
+        for action in self._actions:
+            name = getattr(action, 'env_var', None)
+            legacy = self.legacy_env_prefix + name if name else None
+            if not legacy or name in os.environ or legacy not in os.environ:
+                continue
+            os.environ[name] = os.environ[legacy]
+            logging.warning('%s is deprecated and will stop being read; set %s instead', legacy, name)
diff --git a/learning_loop_node/tests/unit/test_entrypoint.py b/learning_loop_node/tests/unit/test_entrypoint.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a478563b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/learning_loop_node/tests/unit/test_entrypoint.py
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+import pytest
+
+from ...helpers.entrypoint import node_parser
+
+MANAGED = ('WEIGHT_TYPE', 'DFINE_DETECTOR_WEIGHT_TYPE', 'HOST', 'NODE_HOST', 'NODE_PORT', 'PORT')
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def clean_env(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch):
+    """Every test starts without the variables it is about to set."""
+    for name in MANAGED:
+        monkeypatch.delenv(name, raising=False)
+
+
+def _parser(**kwargs):
+    parser = node_parser(description='a node', **kwargs)
+    parser.add_argument('--weight-type', default='FP16')
+    return parser
+
+
+def test_every_node_gets_a_host_and_a_port():
+    args = _parser().parse_args([])
+    assert (args.host, args.port) == ('0.0.0.0', 80)
+
+
+def test_a_flag_beats_everything():
+    args = _parser().parse_args(['--weight-type', 'FP32'])
+    assert args.weight_type == 'FP32'
+
+
+def test_a_setting_is_read_from_the_variable_named_after_its_flag(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv('WEIGHT_TYPE', 'FP32')
+    assert _parser().parse_args([]).weight_type == 'FP32'
+
+
+def test_the_loop_own_host_is_never_mistaken_for_the_bind_address(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch):
+    """HOST is the loop's address. Binding uvicorn to it would leave the node unreachable."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv('HOST', 'preview.learning-loop.ai')
+    assert _parser().parse_args([]).host == '0.0.0.0'
+
+
+def test_the_bind_address_has_a_name_of_its_own(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv('NODE_HOST', '127.0.0.1')
+    monkeypatch.setenv('NODE_PORT', '8080')
+    args = _parser().parse_args([])
+    assert (args.host, args.port) == ('127.0.0.1', 8080)
+
+
+def test_a_node_that_used_a_prefix_still_reads_it(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv('DFINE_DETECTOR_WEIGHT_TYPE', 'FP32')
+    parser = _parser(legacy_env_prefix='DFINE_DETECTOR_')
+    assert parser.parse_args([]).weight_type == 'FP32'
+
+
+def test_the_prefixed_name_warns_which_one_to_use_instead(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+                                                          caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture):
+    monkeypatch.setenv('DFINE_DETECTOR_WEIGHT_TYPE', 'FP32')
+    _parser(legacy_env_prefix='DFINE_DETECTOR_').parse_args([])
+    assert 'DFINE_DETECTOR_WEIGHT_TYPE' in caplog.text
+    assert 'WEIGHT_TYPE' in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_the_current_name_wins_over_the_prefixed_one(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv('DFINE_DETECTOR_WEIGHT_TYPE', 'FP32')
+    monkeypatch.setenv('WEIGHT_TYPE', 'FP16')
+    assert _parser(legacy_env_prefix='DFINE_DETECTOR_').parse_args([]).weight_type == 'FP16'
+
+
+def test_a_node_without_a_legacy_prefix_ignores_prefixed_names(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv('DFINE_DETECTOR_WEIGHT_TYPE', 'FP32')
+    assert _parser().parse_args([]).weight_type == 'FP16'
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 47409dff..d05073f5 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "python-socketio>=5.16.2,<6.0.0",
     "aiofiles>=0.7.0",
     "python-multipart>=0.0.31",
+    "configargparse>=1.7.1",
     "psutil>=5.9.0,<8.0.0",
     "numpy>=2.0,<3.0",
     "Pillow>=12.3.0,<13.0.0",
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index da0c0bf7..1b373e19 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -449,6 +449,15 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/d1/d6/3965ed04c63042e047cb6a3e6ed1a63a35087b6a609aa3a15ed8ac56c221/colorama-0.4.6-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:4f1d9991f5acc0ca119f9d443620b77f9d6b33703e51011c16baf57afb285fc6", size = 25335, upload-time = "2022-10-25T02:36:20.889Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "configargparse"
+version = "1.7.5"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/3f/0b/30328302903c55218ffc5199646d0e9d28348ff26c02ba77b2ffc58d294a/configargparse-1.7.5.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:e3f9a7bb6be34d66b2e3c4a2f58e3045f8dfae47b0dc039f87bcfaa0f193fb0f", size = 53548, upload-time = "2026-03-11T02:19:38.144Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/fe/19/3ba5e1b0bcc7b91aeab6c258afd70e4907d220fed3972febe38feb40db30/configargparse-1.7.5-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:1e63fdffedf94da9cd435fc13a1cd24777e76879dd2343912c1f871d4ac8c592", size = 27692, upload-time = "2026-03-11T02:19:36.442Z" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "dacite"
 version = "1.9.2"
@@ -781,6 +790,7 @@ source = { virtual = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "aiofiles" },
     { name = "aiohttp" },
+    { name = "configargparse" },
     { name = "dacite" },
     { name = "fastapi" },
     { name = "httpx" },
@@ -813,6 +823,7 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "aiofiles", specifier = ">=0.7.0" },
     { name = "aiohttp", specifier = ">=3.14.3,<4.0.0" },
     { name = "autopep8", marker = "extra == 'dev'", specifier = ">=2.0.2,<3.0.0" },
+    { name = "configargparse", specifier = ">=1.7.1" },
     { name = "dacite", specifier = ">=1.8.1,<2.0.0" },
     { name = "debugpy", marker = "extra == 'dev'", specifier = ">=1.6.7.post1,<2.0.0" },
     { name = "fastapi", specifier = ">=0.135,<1.0" },