diff --git a/packages/core/src/telemetry/heap-snapshot.test.ts b/packages/core/src/telemetry/heap-snapshot.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9180a5338d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/telemetry/heap-snapshot.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2026 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import v8 from 'node:v8';
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+import { captureHeapSnapshot } from './heap-snapshot.js';
+import { debugLogger } from '../utils/debugLogger.js';
+
+vi.mock('node:v8');
+vi.mock('node:fs');
+vi.mock('../utils/debugLogger.js', () => ({
+  debugLogger: {
+    error: vi.fn(),
+  },
+}));
+
+describe('heap-snapshot', () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.resetAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it('should capture a heap snapshot to a secure directory', () => {
+    vi.mocked(fs.mkdtempSync).mockReturnValue('/tmp/gemini-heap-abc123');
+
+    const filePath = captureHeapSnapshot();
+
+    expect(filePath).toContain('gemini-heap-abc123');
+    expect(filePath).toContain('.heapsnapshot');
+    expect(v8.writeHeapSnapshot).toHaveBeenCalledWith(filePath);
+  });
+
+  it('should return null and log an error if capture fails', () => {
+    vi.mocked(fs.mkdtempSync).mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw new Error('Disk full');
+    });
+
+    const result = captureHeapSnapshot();
+
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+    expect(debugLogger.error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining('Failed to capture heap snapshot'),
+      expect.any(Error),
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/telemetry/heap-snapshot.ts b/packages/core/src/telemetry/heap-snapshot.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5ad2155164
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/telemetry/heap-snapshot.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2026 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import v8 from 'node:v8';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import { debugLogger } from '../utils/debugLogger.js';
+
+/**
+ * Utility to capture a V8 heap snapshot.
+ * Snapshots are saved to a secure, uniquely named temporary directory.
+ *
+ * @returns The absolute path to the generated .heapsnapshot file, or null if it failed.
+ */
+export function captureHeapSnapshot(): string | null {
+  try {
+    const timestamp = Date.now();
+    const filename = `gemini-heap-${timestamp}.heapsnapshot`;
+
+    // Use mkdtempSync for a secure, uniquely named directory (mitigates symlink attacks)
+    const snapshotsDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gemini-heap-'));
+    const filePath = path.join(snapshotsDir, filename);
+
+    // Note: v8.writeHeapSnapshot is a synchronous, blocking operation.
+    // This is intentional during diagnostics to capture a consistent heap state.
+    v8.writeHeapSnapshot(filePath);
+
+    return filePath;
+  } catch (error) {
+    // Telemetry/diagnostic failures should not crash the application
+    debugLogger.error('Failed to capture heap snapshot:', error);
+    return null;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/src/telemetry/index.ts b/packages/core/src/telemetry/index.ts
index d3cc033341..83e5517882 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/telemetry/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/telemetry/index.ts
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ export {
   startGlobalMemoryMonitoring,
   stopGlobalMemoryMonitoring,
 } from './memory-monitor.js';
+export { captureHeapSnapshot } from './heap-snapshot.js';
 export type { MemorySnapshot, ProcessMetrics } from './memory-monitor.js';
 export {
   EventLoopMonitor,
diff --git a/packages/core/src/telemetry/memory-monitor.ts b/packages/core/src/telemetry/memory-monitor.ts
index aeaecc6ca0..7214203099 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/telemetry/memory-monitor.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/telemetry/memory-monitor.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import {
   isPerformanceMonitoringActive,
 } from './metrics.js';
 import { RateLimiter } from './rate-limiter.js';
+import { captureHeapSnapshot } from './heap-snapshot.js';
 
 export interface MemorySnapshot {
   timestamp: number;
@@ -386,6 +387,14 @@ export class MemoryMonitor {
     this.highWaterMarkTracker.resetAllHighWaterMarks();
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Capture a V8 heap snapshot for memory diagnostics.
+   * @returns The absolute path to the generated .heapsnapshot file, or null if it failed.
+   */
+  captureHeapSnapshot(): string | null {
+    return captureHeapSnapshot();
+  }
+
   /**
    * Cleanup resources
    */