diff --git a/api/ping.js b/api/ping.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..023db3e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/ping.js
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+// api/ping.js
+module.exports = (req, res) => {
+  console.log("✅ /api/ping");
+  res.status(200).json({ message: "pong", status: "ok", timestamp: new Date().toISOString() });
+};
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diff --git a/api/ping.test.js b/api/ping.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..65a1a75e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/ping.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+/**
+ * Test for the /api/ping endpoint
+ * Verifies deployment verification functionality
+ */
+
+describe('/api/ping endpoint', () => {
+  let pingHandler;
+  let mockReq;
+  let mockRes;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    // Import the ping handler
+    pingHandler = require('../api/ping.js');
+    
+    // Mock request object
+    mockReq = {};
+    
+    // Mock response object
+    mockRes = {
+      statusCode: null,
+      responseData: null,
+      status: function(code) {
+        this.statusCode = code;
+        return this;
+      },
+      json: function(data) {
+        this.responseData = data;
+        return this;
+      }
+    };
+  });
+
+  it('should return 200 status code', () => {
+    pingHandler(mockReq, mockRes);
+    expect(mockRes.statusCode).toBe(200);
+  });
+
+  it('should return JSON response with required fields', () => {
+    pingHandler(mockReq, mockRes);
+    
+    expect(mockRes.responseData).toBeDefined();
+    expect(typeof mockRes.responseData).toBe('object');
+    expect(mockRes.responseData.message).toBeDefined();
+    expect(mockRes.responseData.status).toBe('ok');
+    expect(mockRes.responseData.timestamp).toBeDefined();
+  });
+
+  it('should return valid timestamp', () => {
+    pingHandler(mockReq, mockRes);
+    
+    const timestamp = mockRes.responseData.timestamp;
+    expect(timestamp).toBeDefined();
+    
+    // Should be a valid ISO string
+    const date = new Date(timestamp);
+    expect(date.toISOString()).toBe(timestamp);
+    
+    // Should be recent (within last minute)
+    const now = new Date();
+    const timeDiff = Math.abs(now.getTime() - date.getTime());
+    expect(timeDiff).toBeLessThan(60000); // Less than 1 minute
+  });
+
+  it('should be suitable for deployment verification', () => {
+    pingHandler(mockReq, mockRes);
+    
+    // Verify all requirements for deployment verification
+    expect(mockRes.statusCode).toBe(200);
+    expect(mockRes.responseData.message).toBe('pong');
+    expect(mockRes.responseData.status).toBe('ok');
+    expect(mockRes.responseData.timestamp).toMatch(/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}T\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}\.\d{3}Z$/);
+  });
+});
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