diff --git a/src/app/api/public/intake/route.ts b/src/app/api/public/intake/route.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f066ce1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/api/public/intake/route.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+import { getAdminPb } from "@/lib/pb/admin";
+import { positionBetween } from "@/lib/ordering/fractional";
+import { nextCardNumber } from "@/lib/cards/number";
+import { parseBrief } from "@/lib/intake/brief";
+import { sanitiseTurns } from "@/lib/intake/turn";
+import { isIntakeToken } from "@/lib/intake/token";
+import {
+  bumpSubmissionCount,
+  resolveIntakeLink,
+} from "@/lib/intake-links";
+import { jsonError, jsonOk } from "@/lib/http/json";
+import type { CardRecord, ColumnRecord } from "@/lib/pb/types";
+
+/**
+ * POST /api/public/intake — turn a confirmed brief into an Inbox card via a
+ * public token.
+ *
+ * Deliberately a sibling of /api/client/intake rather than a branch inside
+ * it. The signed-in route's tests prove the server decides column, priority,
+ * accepted and created_by_role against a hostile body; this route has the
+ * same shape with one extra field (`created_by_role = "anonymous"`) set in
+ * code. The hostile-brief test in Task 17 is what proves the property holds
+ * here.
+ *
+ * The brief is re-parsed through the same `parseBrief` whitelist — the model
+ * (and the browser it ran in) is not trusted to send back what it generated.
+ *
+ * Token resolution happens here too, so a malformed body without a `token`
+ * fails before the database is touched.
+ */
+export async function POST(request: Request): Promise<Response> {
+  let body: unknown;
+  try {
+    body = await request.json();
+  } catch {
+    return jsonError("Invalid request body", 400);
+  }
+
+  const record = (body ?? {}) as Record<string, unknown>;
+  const token = record.token;
+
+  if (!isIntakeToken(token)) {
+    return jsonError("Not found", 404);
+  }
+
+  const link = await resolveIntakeLink(token);
+  // 404 for unknown, revoked, or expired — same wording for all three so the
+  // response cannot be used to probe token existence.
+  if (
+    !link ||
+    !link.active ||
+    (link.expires_at && link.expires_at < new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 10))
+  ) {
+    return jsonError("Not found", 404);
+  }
+
+  const pb = await getAdminPb();
+
+  // Re-parsed, not trusted. The browser could send anything here.
+  const turns = sanitiseTurns(record.transcript as never);
+  const brief = parseBrief(
+    typeof record.brief === "string"
+      ? record.brief
+      : JSON.stringify(record.brief ?? {}),
+    turns
+  );
+
+  const band = record.sizeBand;
+  const sizeBand =
+    band === "small" || band === "medium" || band === "large" ? band : "";
+
+  const inbox = await pb
+    .collection("columns")
+    .getFirstListItem<ColumnRecord>(
+      `project = "${link.project}" && is_inbox = true`
+    )
+    .catch(() => null);
+
+  if (!inbox) {
+    console.error(`[intake-public] project ${link.project} has no inbox column`);
+    return jsonError("This project cannot accept new cards", 409);
+  }
+
+  const last = await pb
+    .collection("cards")
+    .getFirstListItem<CardRecord>(`column = "${inbox.id}"`, {
+      sort: "-position",
+    })
+    .catch(() => null);
+
+  const numbered = await pb.collection("cards").getFullList<CardRecord>({
+    filter: `project = "${link.project}"`,
+    fields: "number",
+  });
+
+  const card = await pb.collection("cards").create<CardRecord>({
+    project: link.project,
+    // Every field below is chosen here, not taken from the request.
+    column: inbox.id,
+    title: brief.title,
+    description: brief.summary,
+    position: positionBetween(last ? last.position : null, null),
+    priority: "medium",
+    created_by: "",
+    created_by_role: "anonymous",
+    accepted: false,
+    archived: false,
+    number: nextCardNumber(numbered.map((c) => Number(c.number) || 0)),
+    brief,
+    transcript: turns,
+    size_band: sizeBand,
+  });
+
+  let position = 1000;
+  for (const title of brief.subtasks) {
+    await pb.collection("subtasks").create({
+      card: card.id,
+      title,
+      done: false,
+      position,
+    });
+    position += 1000;
+  }
+
+  await pb.collection("activity").create({
+    project: link.project,
+    card: card.id,
+    // Empty actor on purpose — the schema requires the field, but the submitter
+    // is anonymous by construction. The card detail page distinguishes
+    // anonymous submissions in the UI rather than via the actor field.
+    actor: "",
+    action: "card_submitted_anonymously",
+    field: "",
+    old_value: "",
+    new_value: card.title,
+  });
+
+  // Counter bumps are best-effort — failing one must not lose the card.
+  // The card is already created; an inconsistent counter is recoverable from
+  // the admin UI.
+  try {
+    await bumpSubmissionCount(link);
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error("[intake-public] bumpSubmissionCount failed:", error);
+  }
+
+  return jsonOk(
+    { card: { id: card.id, number: card.number, title: card.title } },
+    201
+  );
+}