diff --git a/crates/config/src/constants/runtime.rs b/crates/config/src/constants/runtime.rs
index 36fc33141..3e0203a71 100644
--- a/crates/config/src/constants/runtime.rs
+++ b/crates/config/src/constants/runtime.rs
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ pub const ENV_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLED: &str = "RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLE
 pub const ENV_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_INTERVAL_SECS: &str = "RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_INTERVAL_SECS";
 pub const ENV_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_FORCE: &str = "RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_FORCE";
 pub const ENV_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_IDLE_INTERVALS: &str = "RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_IDLE_INTERVALS";
-pub const DEFAULT_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLED: bool = false;
+pub const DEFAULT_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLED: bool = true;
 pub const DEFAULT_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_INTERVAL_SECS: u64 = 30;
 pub const DEFAULT_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_FORCE: bool = true;
 pub const DEFAULT_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_IDLE_INTERVALS: u64 = 3;
diff --git a/deploy/config/rustfs.env b/deploy/config/rustfs.env
index c16ecd95e..95dfb6ff5 100644
--- a/deploy/config/rustfs.env
+++ b/deploy/config/rustfs.env
@@ -20,6 +20,13 @@ RUSTFS_CONSOLE_ADDRESS=0.0.0.0:9001
 # RUSTFS_SERVER_DOMAINS=s3.example.com
 # Optional RustFS license content
 # RUSTFS_LICENSE=REPLACE_WITH_LICENSE_CONTENT
+# Allocator reclaim is enabled by default to return freed allocator pages to
+# the OS after idle samples. Set to false only for latency-sensitive profiles
+# that have measured a benefit from keeping allocator pages resident.
+# RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLED=false
+# RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_INTERVAL_SECS=30
+# RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_IDLE_INTERVALS=3
+# RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_FORCE=true
 # Observability configuration endpoint: RUSTFS_OBS_ENDPOINT
 RUSTFS_OBS_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4318
 # Optional TLS certificates directory path: deploy/certs
diff --git a/rustfs/src/allocator_reclaim.rs b/rustfs/src/allocator_reclaim.rs
index 5c2853de2..f2983e9ac 100644
--- a/rustfs/src/allocator_reclaim.rs
+++ b/rustfs/src/allocator_reclaim.rs
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@
 //! GET, scanner, and heal workloads, mimalloc can retain freed pages in process
 //! heaps for later reuse instead of immediately returning them to the OS. That
 //! behavior is usually good for latency, but it can make process RSS look high
-//! after a workload has gone idle. This module provides an opt-in background
-//! loop that waits for a configurable idle window and then asks the allocator to
+//! after a workload has gone idle. This module provides a configurable
+//! background loop that waits for an idle window and then asks the allocator to
 //! collect retained memory.
 //!
 //! The loop is intentionally conservative:
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ use metrics::{counter, gauge, histogram};
 use serde::Serialize;
 use std::time::Duration;
 use tokio_util::sync::CancellationToken;
-use tracing::{debug, warn};
+use tracing::{debug, info, warn};
 
 const ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_SERVICE_NAME: &str = "allocator_reclaim";
 
@@ -238,8 +238,9 @@ fn reclaimable_work_snapshot() -> ReclaimableWorkSnapshot {
 
 /// Read the startup enablement switch.
 ///
-/// The code default is disabled. Local developer scripts may choose to export
-/// the variable as enabled for their own launch profile.
+/// The code default is enabled so direct binary, container, Helm, and local
+/// script launches share the same reclaim contract. Operators can still set
+/// `RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLED=false` for latency-sensitive deployments.
 fn configured_allocator_reclaim_enabled() -> bool {
     rustfs_utils::get_env_bool(
         rustfs_config::ENV_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLED,
@@ -421,15 +422,27 @@ pub fn init_allocator_reclaim(ctx: CancellationToken) {
     gauge!("rustfs_memory_allocator_reclaim_enabled").set(if enabled { 1.0 } else { 0.0 });
     counter!("rustfs_memory_allocator_backend_info", "backend" => backend.to_string()).increment(1);
 
-    if !enabled {
-        debug!("allocator reclaim loop disabled");
-        return;
-    }
-
     let configured_force = configured_allocator_reclaim_force();
     let force = effective_allocator_reclaim_force(backend, configured_force);
     let idle_intervals = configured_allocator_reclaim_idle_intervals();
     let interval = Duration::from_secs(configured_allocator_reclaim_interval_secs());
+    info!(
+        event = "allocator_reclaim_configured",
+        component = "runtime",
+        subsystem = "memory",
+        state = if enabled { "enabled" } else { "disabled" },
+        backend,
+        configured_force,
+        effective_force = force,
+        idle_intervals,
+        interval_secs = interval.as_secs(),
+        "allocator reclaim configured"
+    );
+
+    if !enabled {
+        debug!("allocator reclaim loop disabled");
+        return;
+    }
 
     tokio::spawn(async move {
         let mut ticker = tokio::time::interval(interval);
diff --git a/rustfs/src/config/cli.rs b/rustfs/src/config/cli.rs
index 172101911..91bb098b4 100644
--- a/rustfs/src/config/cli.rs
+++ b/rustfs/src/config/cli.rs
@@ -302,6 +302,11 @@ pub struct TlsInspectOpts {
 
 /// Server subcommand options
 #[derive(Args, Clone)]
+#[command(after_help = "Allocator reclaim environment:
+  RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLED=true|false  Enable allocator page reclaim after idle samples (default: true)
+  RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_INTERVAL_SECS=30    Sampling interval in seconds
+  RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_FORCE=true|false    Request forceful collection when supported
+  RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_IDLE_INTERVALS=3    Consecutive idle samples required before reclaim")]
 pub struct ServerOpts {
     /// DIR points to a directory on a filesystem.
     #[arg(
@@ -612,4 +617,23 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(help.kind(), ErrorKind::DisplayHelp);
         assert!(help.to_string().contains("Unix only"));
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn server_help_lists_allocator_reclaim_environment() {
+        let result = Cli::try_parse_from(["rustfs", "server", "--help"]);
+        let Err(help) = result else {
+            panic!("help exits without parsing server options");
+        };
+
+        assert_eq!(help.kind(), ErrorKind::DisplayHelp);
+        let help = help.to_string();
+        for env in [
+            "RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLED",
+            "RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_INTERVAL_SECS",
+            "RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_FORCE",
+            "RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_IDLE_INTERVALS",
+        ] {
+            assert!(help.contains(env), "server help should mention {env}");
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/scripts/run.sh b/scripts/run.sh
index 7954c2be1..dbdb78ed4 100755
--- a/scripts/run.sh
+++ b/scripts/run.sh
@@ -52,10 +52,6 @@ if [ -z "${RUSTFS_UNSAFE_BYPASS_DISK_CHECK+x}" ] && [ -z "${MINIO_CI+x}" ]; then
     export RUSTFS_UNSAFE_BYPASS_DISK_CHECK=true
 fi
 
-if [ -z "${RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLED+x}" ]; then
-    export RUSTFS_ALLOCATOR_RECLAIM_ENABLED=true
-fi
-
 export RUSTFS_VOLUMES="${RUSTFS_VOLUMES:-./target/volume/test{1...4}}"
 # export RUSTFS_VOLUMES="./target/volume/test"
 export RUSTFS_ADDRESS="${RUSTFS_ADDRESS:-127.0.0.1:9000}"