diff --git a/backend/src/app.ts b/backend/src/app.ts
index c254692..b0177dd 100755
--- a/backend/src/app.ts
+++ b/backend/src/app.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import adminCategoriesRouter from './routes/adminCategories';
 import adminTagsRouter from './routes/adminTags';
 import adminUploadLinksRouter from './routes/adminUploadLinks';
 import adminItemDraftsRouter from './routes/adminItemDrafts';
+import intakeActionsRouter from './routes/intakeActions';
 import intakeRouter from './routes/intake';
 import adminVersionRouter from './routes/adminVersion';
 import filtersRouter from './routes/filters';
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ app.use('/api/cart', cartRouter);
 // Public and unauthenticated by design (#222). No requireAdminGate: the token
 // in the path is the whole access control, and every refusal is a 404.
 app.use('/api/intake', intakeRouter);
+app.use('/api/intake-actions', intakeActionsRouter);
 app.use('/api/checkout/cart', cartCheckoutRouter);
 // requireAdminGate is attached to each admin router rather than to a path
 // prefix. Attached to the router, an admin router added later at some other
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/intakeActions.ts b/backend/src/routes/intakeActions.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e60867
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/routes/intakeActions.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+import { Router, Request, Response } from 'express';
+import { pool } from '../db';
+import { asyncRoute } from '../asyncRoute';
+import { IntakeAction, verifyAction } from '../intake/actionLinks';
+
+const router = Router();
+
+const ACTIONS: readonly IntakeAction[] = ['regenerate', 'discard'];
+
+function isAction(value: string): value is IntakeAction {
+  return (ACTIONS as readonly string[]).includes(value);
+}
+
+interface Checked {
+  itemId: number;
+  action: IntakeAction;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Public, and protected by the signature rather than by the admin gate.
+ *
+ * These are clicked from an inbox by someone who is not signed in, which is the
+ * whole point of them. Neither action can publish: the worst outcome of a
+ * leaked link is a wasted API call or a hide the review queue can undo, and
+ * that is exactly what makes putting them in an email acceptable.
+ */
+function check(req: Request, res: Response): Checked | null {
+  const action = req.params.action ?? '';
+  if (!isAction(action)) {
+    res.status(404).json({ error: 'unknown action' });
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  const itemId = Number(req.params.itemId);
+  const expiresAt = Number(req.query.expires);
+  const sig = typeof req.query.sig === 'string' ? req.query.sig : '';
+
+  if (!Number.isInteger(itemId) || !verifyAction(itemId, action, expiresAt, sig)) {
+    // One response for a forged signature, an expired link and an unconfigured
+    // secret alike. Distinguishing them would tell somebody probing which of
+    // those they had achieved.
+    res.status(403).json({ error: 'this link is not valid, or has expired' });
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  return { itemId, action };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Confirms, and changes nothing.
+ *
+ * Mail scanners and corporate link-rewriting gateways issue a GET against every
+ * URL in a message before a human ever sees it. A GET that discarded a draft
+ * would therefore fire itself on delivery, carrying a valid signature and
+ * looking entirely legitimate in the log — and nobody would know to go and
+ * recover it. So the state change lives on POST, and this exists only to let a
+ * person confirm what they are about to do.
+ */
+router.get(
+  '/:itemId/:action',
+  asyncRoute(async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
+    const checked = check(req, res);
+    if (!checked) return;
+
+    const { rows } = await pool.query<{ item_name: string; state: string }>(
+      `SELECT i.name AS item_name, d.state
+       FROM item_drafts d JOIN items i ON i.id = d.item_id
+       WHERE d.item_id = $1`,
+      [checked.itemId]
+    );
+    if (!rows[0]) return res.status(404).json({ error: 'no draft for this item' });
+
+    res.json({
+      itemId: checked.itemId,
+      action: checked.action,
+      itemName: rows[0].item_name,
+      state: rows[0].state,
+      confirmWith: 'POST to this same url'
+    });
+  })
+);
+
+router.post(
+  '/:itemId/:action',
+  asyncRoute(async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
+    const checked = check(req, res);
+    if (!checked) return;
+
+    if (checked.action === 'regenerate') {
+      // attempts cleared with the state, for the same reason the admin route
+      // does it: the worker only picks up rows below the attempt cap, so
+      // re-queueing an exhausted draft without clearing them would do nothing
+      // and say nothing.
+      const { rowCount } = await pool.query(
+        `UPDATE item_drafts SET state = 'queued', attempts = 0, ai_error = NULL WHERE item_id = $1`,
+        [checked.itemId]
+      );
+      if (rowCount === 0) return res.status(404).json({ error: 'no draft for this item' });
+      return res.json({ state: 'queued' });
+    }
+
+    const client = await pool.connect();
+    try {
+      await client.query('BEGIN');
+      const { rowCount } = await client.query(
+        `UPDATE item_drafts SET state = 'discarded' WHERE item_id = $1`,
+        [checked.itemId]
+      );
+      if (rowCount === 0) {
+        await client.query('ROLLBACK');
+        return res.status(404).json({ error: 'no draft for this item' });
+      }
+      // Nothing is deleted, here or in the admin route. Discard is reachable in
+      // one click from an inbox, and the photographs are often the only copy of
+      // something no longer in the sender's hands.
+      await client.query(`UPDATE items SET status = 'pending' WHERE id = $1`, [checked.itemId]);
+      await client.query('COMMIT');
+      res.json({ state: 'discarded' });
+    } catch (err) {
+      await client.query('ROLLBACK');
+      console.error(err);
+      res.status(500).json({ error: 'internal error' });
+    } finally {
+      client.release();
+    }
+  })
+);
+
+export default router;
diff --git a/backend/tests/integration/adminSettings.integration.test.ts b/backend/tests/integration/adminSettings.integration.test.ts
index 43d41e3..63470e1 100644
--- a/backend/tests/integration/adminSettings.integration.test.ts
+++ b/backend/tests/integration/adminSettings.integration.test.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,10 @@ describe('GET /api/admin/settings', () => {
       passwordResetHours: 1,
       greetingFormat: 'Hi {{firstName}},',
       greetingFallback: 'Hi,',
-      draftingModel: 'claude-sonnet-5'
+      draftingModel: 'claude-sonnet-5',
+      // Empty by default: nowhere to send the intake notification is a working
+      // configuration, and means simply do not send one (#224).
+      intakeNotifyEmail: ''
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/backend/tests/integration/emailTemplates.integration.test.ts b/backend/tests/integration/emailTemplates.integration.test.ts
index d4738c8..bd07bce 100644
--- a/backend/tests/integration/emailTemplates.integration.test.ts
+++ b/backend/tests/integration/emailTemplates.integration.test.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ describe('GET /api/admin/email-templates', () => {
       'emailChanged',
       'favoriteSold',
       'favoriteWithdrawn',
+      'intakeDraft',
       'passwordReset',
       'verification'
     ]);
diff --git a/backend/tests/integration/intakeActions.integration.test.ts b/backend/tests/integration/intakeActions.integration.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..00c8c02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/integration/intakeActions.integration.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+import request from 'supertest';
+import app from '../../src/app';
+import { pool } from '../../src/db';
+import { resetDb, closeDb } from './setup/testDb';
+import { signAction, ACTION_TTL_MS } from '../../src/intake/actionLinks';
+import { notifyDraftReady } from '../../src/intake/notifyDraft';
+
+const SECRET = 'integration-intake-secret';
+const original = process.env.INTAKE_ACTION_SECRET;
+
+beforeAll(() => {
+  process.env.INTAKE_ACTION_SECRET = SECRET;
+});
+
+afterAll(async () => {
+  if (original === undefined) delete process.env.INTAKE_ACTION_SECRET;
+  else process.env.INTAKE_ACTION_SECRET = original;
+  await pool.end();
+  await closeDb();
+});
+
+beforeEach(async () => {
+  await resetDb();
+});
+
+async function seedDraft(): Promise<number> {
+  const { rows } = await pool.query<{ id: number }>(
+    `INSERT INTO items (name, status) VALUES ('Submission', 'pending') RETURNING id`
+  );
+  const itemId = rows[0]!.id;
+  await pool.query(
+    `INSERT INTO item_drafts (item_id, state, ai_name) VALUES ($1, 'ready', 'Blue vase')`,
+    [itemId]
+  );
+  return itemId;
+}
+
+const soon = (): number => Date.now() + ACTION_TTL_MS;
+
+function link(itemId: number, action: 'regenerate' | 'discard', expiresAt: number): string {
+  const sig = signAction(itemId, action, expiresAt);
+  return `/api/intake-actions/${itemId}/${action}?expires=${expiresAt}&sig=${sig}`;
+}
+
+const stateOf = async (itemId: number): Promise<string | undefined> =>
+  (await pool.query<{ state: string }>(`SELECT state FROM item_drafts WHERE item_id = $1`, [itemId]))
+    .rows[0]?.state;
+
+describe('the signed action links', () => {
+  /**
+   * The reason GET does not act. Mail scanners and link-rewriting gateways
+   * issue a GET against every URL in a message before a human sees it, so a GET
+   * that discarded a draft would fire itself on delivery — with a valid
+   * signature, looking entirely legitimate in the log, and nobody would know to
+   * go and recover it.
+   */
+  it('GET confirms without changing anything', async () => {
+    const itemId = await seedDraft();
+
+    const res = await request(app).get(link(itemId, 'discard', soon()));
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(res.body.action).toBe('discard');
+    expect(await stateOf(itemId)).toBe('ready');
+  });
+
+  it('POST discards and unpublishes the item', async () => {
+    const itemId = await seedDraft();
+
+    const res = await request(app).post(link(itemId, 'discard', soon()));
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(200);
+    expect(await stateOf(itemId)).toBe('discarded');
+    const item = await pool.query(`SELECT status FROM items WHERE id = $1`, [itemId]);
+    expect(item.rows[0]?.status).toBe('pending');
+  });
+
+  // Nothing is deleted, which is what makes a link in an inbox acceptable.
+  it('POST discard keeps the item and its row', async () => {
+    const itemId = await seedDraft();
+    await request(app).post(link(itemId, 'discard', soon()));
+
+    const item = await pool.query(`SELECT id FROM items WHERE id = $1`, [itemId]);
+    expect(item.rows).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
+  it('POST regenerates and clears the attempts', async () => {
+    const itemId = await seedDraft();
+    await pool.query(`UPDATE item_drafts SET attempts = 3 WHERE item_id = $1`, [itemId]);
+
+    await request(app).post(link(itemId, 'regenerate', soon()));
+
+    const { rows } = await pool.query(
+      `SELECT state, attempts FROM item_drafts WHERE item_id = $1`,
+      [itemId]
+    );
+    expect(rows[0]).toMatchObject({ state: 'queued', attempts: 0 });
+  });
+
+  it('refuses a forged signature', async () => {
+    const itemId = await seedDraft();
+
+    const res = await request(app).post(
+      `/api/intake-actions/${itemId}/discard?expires=${soon()}&sig=forged`
+    );
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(403);
+    expect(await stateOf(itemId)).toBe('ready');
+  });
+
+  // The signature names the item, so one link must not act on another.
+  it('refuses a signature minted for a different item', async () => {
+    const mine = await seedDraft();
+    const other = await seedDraft();
+    const expires = soon();
+    const sig = signAction(other, 'discard', expires);
+
+    const res = await request(app).post(
+      `/api/intake-actions/${mine}/discard?expires=${expires}&sig=${sig}`
+    );
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(403);
+    expect(await stateOf(mine)).toBe('ready');
+  });
+
+  // And it names the action, so a regenerate link cannot be upgraded.
+  it('refuses a signature minted for a different action', async () => {
+    const itemId = await seedDraft();
+    const expires = soon();
+    const sig = signAction(itemId, 'regenerate', expires);
+
+    const res = await request(app).post(
+      `/api/intake-actions/${itemId}/discard?expires=${expires}&sig=${sig}`
+    );
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(403);
+    expect(await stateOf(itemId)).toBe('ready');
+  });
+
+  it('refuses an expired link', async () => {
+    const itemId = await seedDraft();
+
+    const res = await request(app).post(link(itemId, 'discard', Date.now() - 1000));
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(403);
+    expect(await stateOf(itemId)).toBe('ready');
+  });
+
+  // There is no signable publish, and asking for one must not find a handler.
+  it('refuses an action it does not recognise', async () => {
+    const itemId = await seedDraft();
+
+    const res = await request(app).post(
+      `/api/intake-actions/${itemId}/publish?expires=${soon()}&sig=anything`
+    );
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(404);
+  });
+
+  it('404s for an item with no draft', async () => {
+    const { rows } = await pool.query<{ id: number }>(
+      `INSERT INTO items (name) VALUES ('ordinary') RETURNING id`
+    );
+
+    const res = await request(app).post(link(rows[0]!.id, 'discard', soon()));
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(404);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('the notification itself', () => {
+  // Nowhere to send it is a working configuration, and must not throw into the
+  // worker and fail a draft that was written correctly.
+  it('does nothing when no recipient is configured', async () => {
+    const itemId = await seedDraft();
+    await expect(notifyDraftReady(itemId)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('does not throw when the item has no draft', async () => {
+    const { rows } = await pool.query<{ id: number }>(
+      `INSERT INTO items (name) VALUES ('ordinary') RETURNING id`
+    );
+    await expect(notifyDraftReady(rows[0]!.id)).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});