diff --git a/src/app/actions/cards.test.ts b/src/app/actions/cards.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..850fd41
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/actions/cards.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+import { createCard } from "@/app/actions/cards";
+import { requireSession } from "@/lib/auth/session";
+import { getServerPb } from "@/lib/pb/server";
+import { resolveWorkArea } from "@/lib/work-areas/server";
+
+vi.mock("next/cache", () => ({ revalidatePath: vi.fn() }));
+vi.mock("@/lib/auth/session", () => ({ requireSession: vi.fn() }));
+vi.mock("@/lib/pb/server", () => ({ getServerPb: vi.fn() }));
+vi.mock("@/lib/work-areas/server", () => ({ resolveWorkArea: vi.fn() }));
+vi.mock("@/app/actions/activity", () => ({ logActivity: vi.fn() }));
+
+describe("owner card creation", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    vi.mocked(requireSession).mockResolvedValue({ userId: "owner-1", role: "owner", clientId: "" });
+    vi.mocked(resolveWorkArea).mockResolvedValue("area-1");
+  });
+
+  it("assigns the next project card number when creating a card", async () => {
+    const create = vi.fn(async () => ({ id: "new-card" }));
+    const cards = {
+      getFirstListItem: vi.fn(async () => ({ position: 1000 })),
+      getFullList: vi.fn(async () => [{ number: 0 }, { number: 5 }, { number: 3 }]),
+      create,
+    };
+    vi.mocked(getServerPb).mockResolvedValue({ collection: () => cards } as never);
+
+    const result = await createCard({
+      projectId: "project-1",
+      columnId: "inbox-1",
+      title: "Prepare a delivery note",
+      clientSlug: "mega-infrastructure",
+      projectSlug: "mega-dashboard",
+      areaId: "area-1",
+    });
+
+    expect(result).toEqual({ id: "new-card" });
+    expect(cards.getFullList).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      filter: 'project = "project-1"',
+      fields: "number",
+    });
+    expect(create).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({
+      project: "project-1",
+      work_area: "area-1",
+      number: 6,
+    }));
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/actions/cards.ts b/src/app/actions/cards.ts
index 2800b42..b50961c 100644
--- a/src/app/actions/cards.ts
+++ b/src/app/actions/cards.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,10 @@ export async function createCard(input: {
       sort: "-position",
     })
     .catch(() => null);
+  const numbered = await pb.collection("cards").getFullList<CardRecord>({
+    filter: `project = "${input.projectId}"`,
+    fields: "number",
+  });
 
   const card = await pb.collection("cards").create<CardRecord>({
     project: input.projectId,
@@ -71,6 +75,7 @@ export async function createCard(input: {
     created_by_role: "owner",
     accepted: true,
     archived: false,
+    number: nextCardNumber(numbered.map((existing) => existing.number)),
   });
 
   await logActivity({
diff --git a/src/lib/intake/brief.test.ts b/src/lib/intake/brief.test.ts
index 261cec1..4ec7832 100644
--- a/src/lib/intake/brief.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/intake/brief.test.ts
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ describe("parseBrief — it is a whitelist, not a parser", () => {
       number: 1,
     });
 
-    const brief = parseBrief(hostile, turns) as Record<string, unknown>;
+    const brief = parseBrief(hostile, turns) as unknown as Record<string, unknown>;
 
     expect(brief.priority).toBeUndefined();
     expect(brief.accepted).toBeUndefined();
diff --git a/src/lib/roadmap/load.test.ts b/src/lib/roadmap/load.test.ts
index 0ca01d3..3b5ff44 100644
--- a/src/lib/roadmap/load.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/roadmap/load.test.ts
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ function card(overrides: Partial<CardRecord> = {}): CardRecord {
     updated: "2026-01-01 00:00:00.000Z",
     project: "p1",
     column: "col1",
+    work_area: "",
     title: "Refactor billing modal",
     description: "",
     position: 0,
diff --git a/tests/integration/intake.test.ts b/tests/integration/intake.test.ts
index d454fef..c99ee80 100644
--- a/tests/integration/intake.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/intake.test.ts
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ describe("a hostile brief cannot escalate", () => {
       created_by_role: "owner",
     });
 
-    const brief = parseBrief(hostile, []) as Record<string, unknown>;
+    const brief = parseBrief(hostile, []) as unknown as Record<string, unknown>;
 
     for (const forbidden of [
       "priority",